by Dr Joe | Mar 7, 2010 | Childhood Obesity, Children's Health, General Health
The famous golden arches have been in the news this week and as usual attracting a degree of criticism. Questions have been raised about McDonalds sponsorship of the Winter Olympics and also a deal struck with weight watchers. It is worth getting something on the... by Dr Joe | Mar 2, 2010 | Heart Disease, Medical Research, Pharmaceuticals
In what could almost be a man bites dog story, Australian researchers have criticized Australian doctors for not prescribing enough pills. The study released this week surveyed 322 General Practitioners (family physicians) looking at their management of patients over... by Dr Joe | Feb 26, 2010 | ADHD, Children's Health
Australian research released in 2010 showed that giving medication to children with ADHD did not improve their grades but made them considerably worse .It also showed the drugs increased the blood pressure of children. A US paper has shown that following treatment... by Dr Joe | Feb 24, 2010 | Flu, Health & Wellness, Immunity
For reasons that are beyond me, health authorities will not admit that they got it wrong with swine flu. In some respects this is happening on the quiet as many countries have slashed their orders for vaccines and you hear less about it. In the northern winter... by Dr Joe | Feb 22, 2010 | Movement, Personal Responsibility, Politics
Anyone who has learned to walk has fallen over. The way babies learn to put one leg in front of the other and keep balance is through practice and the neural feedback that comes from falling down. The brain fairly quickly learns what does and does not work so that the... by Dr Joe | Feb 19, 2010 | ADHD, Children's Health, Pharmaceuticals
Every once in a while a study emerges that fundamentally changes a particular aspect of medicine. A long term study which shows that the assumptions underpinning a particular course of treatment, are shown to be wrong. One example was the Women’s Health Initiative in... by Dr Joe | Feb 16, 2010 | General Health, Parenting, Personal Responsibility
Alcohol is in the news fairly regularly. It is both the most widely used and most problematic of all the substances that we use. The thing about alcohol that sets it apart is that there is not only a safe level, but also arguably there is a level of consumption with... by Dr Joe | Feb 12, 2010 | Childhood Obesity, Children's Health
Childhood obesity has been put front and centre with Michelle Obama. An ambitious goal to eliminate childhood obesity in a generation has been made. There is an old quote attributed to Michelangelo that it is better to aim too high and miss than to aim too low and... by Dr Joe | Feb 9, 2010 | Environmental toxins, Personal Responsibility
Here is something obvious-smoking is not good for you. This has been known for probably the best part of 50 years. No one in western societies who has started smoking since the mid 1970s can claim that they were not aware of this. Advertising has been virtually... by Dr Joe | Feb 8, 2010 | Health & Wellness
Whilst the health agenda in the USA has captured most of the headlines, the same issues are confronting other countries too. The central issue remains how to pay for the services, which are expected to be needed by an aging population with a shrinking taxpayer base....
