Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are an enduring problem on a global scale, as we often have the occasion to report. Addressing the conditions that are conducive to such resistant bacteria is one important tack to combat this problem: For instance, poverty, crowding, and poor sanitation in developing countries favor the spread of germs, and having cheap antibiotics available without a prescription encourages bacterial resistance. Furthermore, in all countries, over-use or taking an inadequate course of these medications also encourages resistance.

Throughout the ages, people have resorted to countless methods to cure the common cold, yet such bugs continue to plague people around the world, with no cure in sight. However, the results of a recent meta-analysis suggests that there may be an evidence-based treatment that could shorten a cold s duration even if it s still not the cure we ve been searching for.

Michelle Obama was caught eating a cheeseburger, the Baltimore Sun notes. For most of us, this is not headline fodder only an indication that the First Lady is a normal human being. But according to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), an activist group that poses as a health group, Mrs. Obama s occasional burger indulgence is a dangerous practice that must be stopped.

Recent data has indicated that, despite ongoing claims that obesity is skyrocketing in the U.S., it s prevalence has actually been fairly constant for most of the past decade.

ACSH has a long history of balancing hype from various sources with evidence-based science, especially when it comes to countering sensationalized studies that rely on questionable methodologies.

For those who dread hitting the treadmill or going outside for a run, the latest findings from researchers presenting a study at the European Society of Cardiology may compel some laggards to, literally, run for their lives: Jogging, even for as little as one hour (total) a week can increase a man s life expectancy by 6.2 years and a woman s by 5.6 years.

In the nation s ongoing effort to fight obesity, school bake sales seem to be a particularly tempting target for officials seeking to appear to be addressing the problem. But they re mainly shooting themselves in the foot. Schools in some states, including California, New York, and Texas, are instituting regulations that limit bake sales to nutritious foods only.

Residents of Washington state: Brace yourselves. Public health officials have warned that the state is on track for the worst epidemic of pertussis, or whooping cough, since the 1940s. So far this year, over 1,100 cases of the disease have been confirmed, and 20 infants have been hospitalized. We re seeing 100 to 125 new cases every week, says Tim Church, a spokesman for the state Health Department, who also predicts that Washington will end the year with about 3,000 whooping cough cases total.

A new study shows that aspirin may be just as effective as the conventional blood thinner warfarin for heart failure patients when it comes to balancing stroke prevention with adverse effects, particularly bleeding. The finding is important because heart failure (HF) is a common and serious problem affecting millions of Americans, especially among the older population.

It s not often that the U.S. gets grouped along with developing countries such as Kenya, Honduras, and East Timor in measures of health.