Health

Surrounded by images of stick-thin and toned women such as Madonna, Teri Hatcher and Jane Fonda (who has admitted to suffering an eating disorder herself), women are exposed to increasingly unrealistic images of how they should look as they age and are working harder than ever to counter the effects of getting old.

Mental health charity Rethink has today branded findings released by the Department of Health on attitudes towards people with mental health problems as “shocking, ignorant, and unacceptable in today’s society.”

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith confirmed the reversal of the downgrading of cannabis to Class C, which took place under Tony Blair in January 2004. The announcement came in the wake of concerns that the more potent skunk form of the drug is contributing to mental illness.

Every local authority in England will be able to appoint a dedicated Stroke Care Coordinator to support stroke survivors and their carers thanks to millions of pounds of extra funding for stroke services, Health Minister Ann Keen announced today.

You have a job list the length of your arm, the kids are screaming and you’ve still got to squeeze in that gym session before going shopping. Sometimes it can all get a bit much and all our best intentions of keeping fit and eating healthily can fall by the way side as the stresses of everyday life get in the way.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson this week underlined the Government's commitment to improving family doctor services alongside further plans to tackle long-standing inequalities in GP provision.

The reserved, traditional ‘stiff upper lip’ is to blame for a high rate of depression among British men, according to a new study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry (May 1, 2008). The study, which was headed by Professor Michael King of the Royal Free and University College Medical School, London, looked at data from general practices in the UK, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Estonia and the Netherlands. It found that the rate of major depression and panic syndrome was highest among males in the UK.

Eight in ten workers (82%) fail to do important things in their home lives every week as work takes over personal time, according to new research from American Express Insurance Services.

A Government funded trial to treat inherited blindness by administering gene therapy to the human retina has proved successful, researchers have announced this week.

The Government's national immunisation programme has prevented well over 3,000 cases of death or serious illness and has ensured that young people are not at risk from Meningitis, according to a new report out last week.