Hong Kong researchers have found that taking part in mental and physical activities can delay cognitive decline in seniors with dementia.

A study published in the MJA (Medical Journal of Australia) suggests that the incidence of cancer will rise by 60% in Australia by 2025 (compared to 2007 levels)

Mindfulness meditation may help people who have multiple sclerosis (MS) reduce the fatigue, anxiety and depression that often accompany the disease.

Prolonged sedentary periods lead to larger waist sizes and higher blood triglyceride levels, even in subjects who exercise regularly, according to Australian investigators.

Positive psychological changes that occur during meditation training are associated with increased activity of telomerase, a crucial enzyme responsible for cellular health, according to an important study from the USA.

Drinking several cups of tea daily can cut your risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) by more than a third, according to Dutch researchers.

A collaborative study by scientists from China and the USA has found that 11 hours of meditation can induce positive structural changes in an area of the brain that helps regulate behaviour.

A large part of human milk consists of complex sugars that are undigestible by babies, but American scientists have worked out that its purpose is instead to influence the composition of bacteria in the infant’s gut.

A team of American scientists has reported that regions of the brain involved in emotional regulation are larger in long-term meditators than in non-meditators.

Canadian psychologists have found that people with low self-esteem can actually feel worse after repeating positive statements about themselves.

Children who spend more than two hours a day watching TV have double the risk of developing asthma, a UK study has found.

US researchers exploring the cognitive benefits of interacting with nature have found that walking in a park in any season, or even just viewing pictures of nature, can help improve memory and attention.

Being moderately overweight can reduce lifespan by two to four years, according to a major new study of obesity and mortality carried out in the UK.

Breast-feeding reduces the risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) by approximately 50% at all ages throughout infancy, according to the results of a German case-control study.

Binge drinking increases the risk of stroke, according to the results of a Finnish prospective cohort study.

Nutrition and lifestyle changes may modulate gene expression in the prostate and decrease men’s risk of developing prostate cancer.

More than 50% of deaths in women from chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease could be avoided if they don’t smoke, watch their weight, exercise and eat a healthy diet low in red meat and trans-fats.

Researchers from the USA have found that happiness can spread from person to person.

Babies delivered by Caesarean section have a 20% higher risk than those delivered normally of developing type 1 diabetes.

An American randomised controlled trial has compared the lipid-lowering effects of lifestyle changes plus dietary supplements with a standard dose of a statin drug.

Listening to enjoyable music may be good for cardiovascular health, a US study suggests.

Loss of sleep, even for a single night, can trigger the body’s inflammatory response, increasing the risk of heart disease and autoimmune disorders.

People who live near green spaces are healthier.

Prolonged, unabated grief, known as complicated grief, activates neurones in the brain’s reward centres, possibly giving memories of lost loved ones addictive qualities.

Men and women in happy marriages have lower blood pressure than single people.

Drinking chlorinated water while pregnant can harm the foetus.

Breastfeeding during the first months of life appears to raise a child's verbal IQ, according to a study of nearly 13,889 children carried out in Belarus.

Women who breastfeed for longer have a decreased chance of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Adverse experiences in childhood increase the risk of developing obesity and type 2 diabetes in adulthood.

Healthy lifestyle behaviors during the early elderly years are associated not only with enhanced life span in men but also with good health and function during older age.

Chronic anxiety can significantly increase the risk of a heart attack for men.

People who start drinking alcohol in later life immediately decrease their risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

Combining four healthy lifestyle habits can add as much as 14 years on to your lifespan.

Even if you are over 65, improving your diet and lifestyle can still lead to significant health benefits and decrease your chances of developing chronic diseases.

The biggest risk for a midlife crisis is not divorce, ill health or losing one's job, it’s merely the act of aging itself.

Babies delivered by elective caesarean section before term carry up to a fourfold increased risk of breathing problems, compared with babies delivered vaginally or by emergency caesarean section.

Babies with only a limited variety of bacteria in their faeces one week after birth are more likely to develop atopy as infants.

Experiments in which students were given small amounts of cash windfalls with instructions on how to spend it, showed that those who gave the money away (donating to charity or giving a gift) were happier at the end of the day than those who blew it on themselves (to pay a bill or indulge in a treat).

Extroverts tend to be overweight, while anxious types are more likely to be thin.

Professional and high-income households are the heaviest drinkers, according to figures from the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Lonely people are prone to illness and early death because their immune system genes are dysregulated.

A study from California has examined the influence of childhood sun exposure on the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) in monozygotic twins.

Italian researchers compared 105 patients suffering from migraine without aura with a control group of 79 healthy subjects using psychometric questionnaires.

A prospective cohort study of 9,011 British civil servants assessed negative aspects of close relationships, such as not confiding and not getting emotional support, using a questionnaire.

Anger and stress in middle-aged men and women are associated with developing high blood pressure and coronary heart disease (CHD).

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the cancer arm of the World Health Organisation, has reclassified overnight shift work as a probable carcinogen.

The results of a prospective observational study of 6005 UK adults over 50 suggest that moderate drinking is associated with better mental health than abstinence.

Longer breastfeeding in infancy is associated with improved lung function in later childhood, as long as the mother does not have asthma.

The American Institute for Cancer Research and World Cancer Research Fund have issued a comprehensive report detailing the links between cancer and various dietary and lifestyle factors.

Researchers in the USA measured foetal responses to a guided meditation designed to induce maternal relaxation during the 32nd week of pregnancy.

Drinking during pregnancy has adverse behavioural consequences for the offspring.

Smoking during pregnancy adversely affects the reproductive systems of male foetuses, according to Scottish scientists.

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health in the US have found that men with increased body mass index (BMI) are significantly more likely to be infertile than normal-weight men.

Researchers at Duke University think they have finally found out what the human appendix is for.

Women can significantly cut their risk of having a heart attack by eating healthily, drinking moderately, staying physically active, maintaining a healthy weight and not smoking.