MediWeek

As per the recent estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), about 2 billion adults and >340 million children and adolescents are overweight/obese. Many non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are associated with obesity and contribute considerably to death rates worldwide. Non-sugar sweeteners (NSS) are used to replace free sugars for weight control. These include artificial and natural […]

A study by Ascione S et al., recently published in the journal “Rheumatology”, reported a high risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with consumption of coffee (mostly caffeinated coffee) and artificially sweetened soft drinks, specifically in subjects who never smoked. Moreover, there was a reduced risk of RA with moderate consumption of liquor among smokers. Consumption

Self-limiting social media usage improves psychological well-being across multiple dimensions, suggest new findings from a study by Faulhaber et al. The study, published in the journal “Technology, Mind, and Behavior”, showed that participants who self-limited their social media use to 30 min a day for 2 weeks had significant improvements across various psychological well-being measures,

Women who experience early menopause are at a higher risk of incident dementia and deteriorating brain health, according to a recent study by Liao et al., published in the journal “The Lancet”. The study found that earlier age at menopause (before 50 years) was associated with a higher incidence of all-cause dementia and its subtypes

A survey by Hill et al., published in the “Journal of the American Heart Association”, found that individuals with a recent history of clinically significant weight loss (CSWL) showed greater adherence to American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8 (LE8) recommendations for ideal cardiovascular (CV) health. Individuals who had achieved CSWL over the past year had

A study by Hearn MO et al., recently published in the journal “Nature Medicine”, reported that in 2018, 7 in 10 (14.1 million) new cases of type 2 diabetes (T2D) globally were found to be associated with suboptimal consumption of 11 dietary factors (discussed in the next paragraph). Furthermore, India had 50% cases of T2D

A study by Nagata JM et al., recently published in the “Journal of Adolescent Health” reported that longer total screen time is potentially associated with new-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in 9 to 10-year-old children. Moreover, video games and watching videos were the specific screen modalities that were most strongly associated with new-onset OCD. This prospective

A study by Ye Z et al., recently published in the “European Heart Journal – Digital Health”, reported a significant association between longer weekly usage time of mobile phones for making/receiving calls (≥30 min) and higher (12%) risk of new-onset hypertension. This association was greater among those who had higher genetic susceptibility to hypertension. In

The potential of large language model artificial intelligence (AI) systems in medicine has been recognized by the introduction of chatbots, with proficient language manipulation and knowledge processing capabilities. The underlying base model technology of chatbots reflects a disruptive technology likely to change our working and living conditions, although we must be aware of its considerable

A study by Huang Y et al., recently published in the “British Medical Journal”, highlighted the adverse health effects of higher intake of dietary sugar, particularly fructose-containing sugars, majorly related to cardiometabolic risks/diseases like weight gain, ectopic fat accumulation, obesity, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Intake of free or added sugars should be reduced to <25