Unpopular Health Imagine a magic elixir that’s free and grants much longer life (12 years for men, 14 years for women.) Despite benefits radically dwarfing the advantages of all health care, the elixir is almost universally spurned. For to receive this magic elixir individuals must put up with what are commonly regarded as unacceptable intrusions: they must […]
Depression Screening – What Is It Worth?
The U.S. government has recommended all American adults undergo depression screening. But how will that work, and what are the most pragmatic ways to aid the public health? The Recommendations: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s US Preventive Services Task Force (someone has to come up with better names) suggested every primary care physician use on every […]
Depression Treatment Stinks. What Will Work Better?
Too Important Depression may be the second or third most prominent cause of medical disability in the world. Yet overall treatment effectiveness is modestly better than placebo. Why? The reasons range from guild restrictions to blinkered thinking. Almost everything considered in depression treatment lies in two categories – drugs or talk therapies. But: 1. Since at […]
Can We Regulate Food Like Tobacco? (7/7/14)
Obesity and Health Many groups, like the Consumers International and the World Obesity Federation, argue food should be regulated as strictly as tobacco. Their claim (BBC News, May 18th) is that deaths from obesity are rising rapidly – about 30% globally from 2005-2010 – and that obesity promotes so many chronic diseases – from diabetes […]
Cancerland (2/10/14)
Number One The number one cause of death in the US is cancer. Many of us go to doctors yearly. We nervously wait for the results of tests. Do I have the Big C – or don’t I? Now cancer is moving on to become the number one cause of death globally, according to the […]