Welcome to another week of talkhealth’s news round-up. This week, we will be looking at news around a new drug that could help cure male baldness, how delays in cancer treatment are having a huge impact on patients, and new movements in the world of diet and exercise. Take a look at each of these topics in more detail below.
Male baldness
Going bald can have a huge emotional and mental impact on an individual. For many men across the country baldness is a concern and worry, so recent research around a potential new cure is very promising.
Researchers have found that a drug originally intended to treat osteoporosis could unlock the cure to baldness. The drug contains a compound which targets a key protein responsible for slowing down hair growth and plays a role in baldness.
While more research needs to be done, this is a step in the right direction for the very real issue of male baldness. In addition to this, there is also a recent article which delves into why there is a stigma around male baldness in the first place, citing societal pressures as one of the main causes.
If you are affected by hair loss we want to hear your experiences. Take part in our latest survey and you could be in with the chance of winning a bundle of hair goodies.
Delays in cancer treatment
New official figures have found that many cancer patients are being put at risk due to delays in starting cancer treatment. Any patient suspected of having cancer should begin treatment within 62 days, however the report shows that nowhere has achieved this target for more than two years.
As a result of this 1 in 6 patients is now waiting much longer than they should to begin treatment. Identifying and beginning cancer procedures as early as possible has been proven to increase chances of successful treatment.
Alongside this, new research has found that rather than growing aggressively, cancer can slow down and speed up its growth. This often means that cancer can lay dormant before accelerating its development. It’s clear that more work needs to be done to help identify and treat cancer at the earliest possible stage to avoid a dormant stage before it grows aggressively.
If you want to find out more about cancer, take a look at our blog section around the subject.
Diet and exercise
Amongst the diet news this week, Sadiq Khan, the Major of London, has outlined proposals to ban all junk food adverts present on the London underground. Khan has stated that this is in an effort to tackle “ticking time bomb” of childhood obesity in the city. With childhood obesity in the city, and the UK in general, on the rise this forms part of a massive reform on junk food. Only last month, new sugar taxation on fizzy drinks was introduced in an effort to curb the problem of obesity in the country.
Another scheme which is well underway is the Daily Mile project. This school-based initiative aims to get younger children active during their school day. Adopted by over 3,600 schools worldwide, researchers have found that the scheme has been extremely beneficial to students taking part – highlighting the key role exercise plays in a healthy lifestyle.
If you want to find out more about diet and exercise, take a look at our talkweight section of the website, which includes further advice and articles.
There we have it for this week’s news round-up. If you want to continue the conversation on any of the topics covered here, head to our forums.
The post This week in health – 11/05/2018 appeared first on talkhealth Blog.