Health

By Kristen Rogers, CNN (CNN) — At most places Melissa Valliant goes when dining out, she carries in her backpack a set of reusable flatware — prepared to refuse the disposable utensils she says are part of the plastic pollution crisis that’s inextricably linked with the climate crisis. Plastic is made from chemicals derived from

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — Unsupervised use of psilocybin, or “magic mushrooms,” has accelerated among all age groups in the United States, but especially among adolescents and people 30 and older, a new study found. “The prevalence of psilocybin use in 2023 rose dramatically over the prior five years since states began liberalizing policy

By Katherine Dillinger, CNN (CNN) — A new report on cancer in the US shows a steady decline in overall deaths from 2001 through 2022. The rate of diagnoses among men fell from 2001 through 2013 and then stabilized through 2021 but these incidence rates among women increased slightly every year between 2003 and 2021.

By Neha Mukherjee, CNN (CNN) — When Dr. Christina Johns, a pediatric emergency medicine physician, thinks about her time working at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, one case always comes rushing back: Two-year-old. Gunshot wound. Chest. ETA five minutes. The child was rushed to the emergency department after being accidentally shot by an older sibling

By Riane Lumer, CNN (CNN) — For many parents, the idea of having “the talk” with their kids may be daunting, making them feel embarrassed or squeamish. But many parents are conflating the classic growing-up talk about sex with another crucial conversation they should be having, new research suggests. The talk in question should happen

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — Sunday is 420 day, when lovers of marijuana get together to celebrate their fondness for weed. Yet research shows that regular users of marijuana are at risk for serious conditions, including strokes, heart attacks, cardiac arrhythmias, heart failure and myocarditis, which is an inflammation of the heart muscle. Now,

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN (CNN) — Alison Singer has a few people she’d like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to meet. Singer’s brother and daughter are two of the millions living with autism in the United States, and part of a much larger community that has very publicly expressed feeling hurt and disrespected by the US

By Taylor Nicioli, CNN (CNN) — “Everybody’s working for the weekend,” according to Canadian rock band Loverboy. If you work a traditional five-day workweek, you might relate to that feeling. But if someone is in a constant loop of dreading Monday through Friday and only looking forward to days off, it might not be the

By Sarah Owermohle, CNN (CNN) — US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary suggested in a new interview that autism is caused by a range of environmental and dietary exposures, echoing some comments made by US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. but stopping short of referencing vaccines. “I think

By Neha Mukherjee, CNN (CNN) — Half of states in the US are now reporting measles cases, with the national total surpassing 800 cases so far this year, according to a CNN tally. Most of the cases are concentrated in a multistate outbreak involving Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and possibly Kansas that reached 709 cases

By Shannon Carpenter, CNN (CNN) — In one 48-hour period this winter the garbage disposal went out, the dishwasher stopped working, one of my kids left the garage door open overnight, and two pipes burst. Sometimes these singular problems multiply like rabbits, and I lay awake at night going over budgets and worrying about finances.

By Dana Santas, CNN (CNN) — If you’ve been hitting the gym regularly and feeling stronger — but also stiffer and more slouched — you may be overlooking key elements that create balance in your workouts. Despite good intentions, many people unknowingly reinforce poor posture with their strength-training workouts, leading to tight muscles, restricted mobility

By Kristen Rogers, CNN (CNN) — You may be able to lower your risk for developing heart rhythm abnormalities by speeding up your walking pace. That’s according to a large new study published Tuesday in the journal Heart, which found average or brisk walking paces were associated with 35% and 43% lower risks of all

By Neha Mukherjee, CNN (CNN) — Measles cases have surpassed 650 in an ongoing multistate outbreak, but federal funding cuts could threaten the response. “I think that we are scraping to find the resources and personnel needed to provide support to Texas and other jurisdictions,” Dr. David Sugerman, a senior scientist at the US Centers

By Jen Christensen, CNN (CNN) — Drugmaker Eli Lilly said Thursday that an experimental pill form of popular GLP-1 medications helped people with type 2 diabetes lose an average of nearly 8% of their body weight after 40 weeks and lowered their A1C levels. Lilly, which makes the injectable drugs Zepbound to treat obesity and

By Meg Tirrell, CNN (CNN) — When President Donald Trump named Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his choice to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services, one group of health researchers was cautiously optimistic that their cause would finally have a champion at the highest levels of government: those focused on food and

By Brenda Goodman, CNN (CNN) — The US Centers and Disease Control and Prevention is considering recommending annual Covid-19 shots to those who are older or who have compromised immune function, rather than the current blanket recommendation for everyone 6 months of age and older. The change would more closely align the US with guidance

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN (CNN) — In his first news conference as secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Wednesday that rising rates of autism prevalence in the US reflect a “preventable” crisis-level epidemic that has been caused by an environmental toxin. Advocates for people with autism

By Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt, CNN (CNN) — Lately I find myself feeling stuck in a chronic state of stress, constantly worrying about my work, my kids’ futures and yes, the health of my retirement portfolio. Sound familiar? I didn’t always worry so much, but life has a funny way of piling on the pressures as

By Katia Hetter, CNN (CNN) — Although the two-dose shingles vaccine may force you to lay low for a day or two after getting the shot, it’s over 90% effective against this painful disease and its complications. Now it turns out the shingles vaccine may have an added benefit: reducing the risk of dementia, according

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN (CNN) — A new study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the autism diagnosis rate has increased among US children, continuing a long-term trend that experts have largely attributed to better understanding of and screening for the condition. About 1 in every 31 children was diagnosed