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Health care providers can play a key role in the fight against weight problems in young people

Over the last few decades, the dramatic rise in pediatric obesity rates has emerged as a public health threat requiring urgent attention. The responsibility of identifying and treating eating and weight-related problems early in children and adolescents falls to health care providers and other professionals who work with the child, according to Professor Denise Wilfley and colleagues from the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in the US. Furthermore, the key to successful treatment is a team effort involving providers and parents. [continue reading…]

I was quite surprised by the findings that people still prefer to gather information related to personal health from sources other than the Internet.  Because on March 17, 12010 the Pew Internet and American Life Project was released, it showed that 8 in 10 internet have looked online for health information. Many patients say the internet has had a significant impact on the way they care for themselves or for others. 20% of these patients are going to social networking sites where they are sharing what they know and learn from their peers.

But now  a new survey by the Pew Internet Project in association with the California HealthCare Foundation) is contradicting the earlier study and suggests people search for health info mostly offline?. Those sources include friends, family members, and health professionals. “Still, mobile apps have a growing role in helping people find health information, particularly among young people, the report said. … Seventeen percent of cell phone owners have used their phone to look up health or medical information.” In addition, health-related mobile apps can “calculate disease risks, provide health tips, keep track of workouts, or count calories,” according to the report.

Isn’t this study highlighting the growing use of cel phones  as way of accessing the internet to access this info?  Gonna have to take a closer look at this

Tell us what do you think? We’d love to hear from you

Source:Kaiser Health News

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Women become more lonely and depressed with age, but men grow more content with their lives in retirement, a study has found.This may be because men are happier once they stop working, but older women are more likely to feel lonely or be living alone.
The BBC reports today on findings from University College London researchers who have tracked more than 11,000 men and women aged over 50 from 2002-09 as part of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Curious?Keep reading
Source: BBC