Category Archives: physical activity

The latest wrap of Croakey’s coverage of public health, health reform and the works

April 10, 2012 – 8:37 pm

Croakey readers are welcome to sign up for (rather irregular) summaries of posts. If you’d like to join the mailing list, please send your email or leave it below. Here is the latest compilation, covering articles posted since the beginning of the year. The latest readership figures are now also available, showing that more than 39,000 [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in alcohol, Food, general practice, Indigenous health, Media-related issues, Naked Doctor, private health insurance, public health, rural and remote health, social determinants of health, social media and healthcare, The Conversation, tobacco control, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

When doctors “prescribe” exercise, does it make any difference?

February 3, 2012 – 4:15 pm

Doctors are often encouraged to “prescribe” exercise to sedentary patients, but it’s not been clear whether such initiatives make any difference, to either peoples’  level of activity or their health. In its latest Croakey update, the Primary Health Care Research and Information Service (better known as PHC RIS) highlights a recent systematic review and meta-analysis [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in evidence-based issues, Journal articles, obesity, primary health care | Comments (0)

A rather large wrap of recent Croakey articles: public health, health reform, media coverage of health and more

January 11, 2012 – 10:25 am

As previously mentioned, Croakey readers are welcome to sign up for (rather irregular) summaries of posts. If you’d like to join the mailing list, please send your email or leave it below. Here is the latest compilation, covering from 6 October – December 23, 2011. The latest readership figures are now also available, showing that [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in abortion, alcohol, cancer, child health, childbirth and maternity services, climate change, complementary medicines, conflicts of interest, consumer health information, death and dying, dental care, evidence-based issues, Food, global health, health and medical research, health financing and costs, Health inequalities, health reform, health workforce, Hospitals, Indigenous health, infectious diseases, Media Doctor Australia, Medicare Locals, mental health, MyHospitals website, obesity, pain, palliative care, pharmacy, prevention, primary health care, public health, quality and safety of health care, rural and remote health, SensaSlim, social determinants of health, social media and healthcare, TGA, The Conversation, tobacco control, vaccination, vaccines, WHO | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

What is the single best thing you could do for your health? (On the eve of New Year’s resolutions…)

December 20, 2011 – 8:34 pm

Perhaps it’s a little early in the festive cycle to be thinking of New Year’s resolutions…but the clip below offers an excellent suggestion: can you limit your sitting and sleeping to just 23 and a half hours a day? It is also a clever, creative use of social media to promote the benefits of physical [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in Media-related issues, public health, social media and healthcare | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

The cycle helmet debate continues….

December 19, 2011 – 5:43 pm

In a recent Croakey post, public health researcher Professor Chris Rissel reported on new research which found that one in five adults say they would cycle more if they didn’t have to wear a bicycle helmet. Tim Churches, a Sydney-based epidemiologist with a personal interest in active transport and urban re-design who has previously critiqued [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in health and medical research, public health, road safety | Tagged , , | Comments (12)

More people would cycle if helmets were not compulsory: new study

December 5, 2011 – 12:11 pm

Professor Chris Rissel writes: The ongoing bicycle helmet legislation debate usually focuses on how effective helmets are, and whether rates of head injury among cyclists have changed due to helmet legislation. However, while injury prevention concerns are important, the other side of the issue is whether helmet legislation deters people from cycling, and then missing [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in health and medical research, public health, road safety | Tagged , , | Comments (23)

A stack of reading: the latest health and medical news from The Conversation

August 29, 2011 – 2:34 am

Thanks to Reema Rattan, for providing this update of the latest health and medical reading at The Conversation. The stories below cover medical mishaps, men’s health, breast cancer screening, alcohol labelling, media reporting of suicide, hospital care of patients with mental health problems, puberty, the NT Intervention, bariatric surgery and type 2 diabetes, and the [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in adverse events, alcohol, cancer, child health, diabetes, Hospitals, Indigenous health, legal issues, Media-related issues, men's health, mental health, NT Intervention, public health, screening, surgery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

Making sense of the bicycle helmets stoush

August 24, 2011 – 3:40 am

The pros and cons of mandatory bicycle helmets are hotly contested, as regular Croakey readers will know. In the article below, Daniel Vujcich offers a suggestion for how to move the debate forward. *** Laying down a challenge to all sides of the bicycle helmet debate Daniel Vujcich wries: The debate about the appropriateness of [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in Cochrane Collaboration, evidence-based issues, prevention, public health | Tagged , , , | Comments (40)

Patients have a poor understanding of the causes of cancer

August 22, 2011 – 2:33 pm

Freddy Sitas, Director of Research, Cancer Council NSW, writes: Myths and cancer can go together hand in hand. Not surprisingly, in a complex disease that horribly impacts upon, and cuts short so many lives, there remain many questions around cancer causes. Despite cancer research increasingly unveiling more about the ‘big C’, we still see myths [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in alcohol, cancer, consumer health information, health and medical research, obesity, public health, tobacco control | Tagged , , | Comments (2)

Tackling unhealthy environments: locally and globally

August 13, 2011 – 8:22 am

A Melbourne GP, Dr Margaret Beavis, writes below of the need for healthy urban planning that makes it easy for people to be physically active. At the bottom of the post is a stack of links to resources and articles about initiatives from around the world aimed at tackling unhealthy environments, particularly in disadvantaged areas. [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in environmental health, global health, Health inequalities, public health, rural and remote health, social determinants of health, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (0)