By Mya Blake

A study by the Canadian Institute for Health Information finds that in Canada the amount of priority surgeries went up by 42 thousand from 2005 to 2006

A new study finds that Canadians received mor surgery in priority areas from 2005 to 2006 than years previous. The study was conducted by the Canadian Institute for Health Information and shows that from 2005 to 2006, an additional 42 thousand surgeries were performed.

Priority areas that saw an increase in the amount of surgical procedures included hip and knee replacements, cataracts, cardiac revascularization and cancer.

The study finds that a significant increase in hip and knee replacement and cataract surgeries are responsible for the vast increase of overall priority surgeries.

By Laura Watson

US pregnancy statistics have been released that show that the rate of teen mothers is on the decline and the rate of new mothers over the age of 30 is on the way up

Teen pregnancy is at an all time low according to statistics from the annual US Summary of Vital Statistics. Furthermore, the rate of mothers over 30 giving birth is at an all time high, as well as the amount of babies born via Caesarean deliveries.

"These are the three most remarkable findings," said Brady Hamilton, lead author of the report and a statistician with the National Center for Health Statistics. "The rate of teen births fell to 40.4 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19. That's the lowest rate ever recorded in 65 years for which we have consistent data. It's quite impressive."

By Dennis Landrey

Health experts in Britain are accusing doctors of not spotting eating disorders in patients that they treat

Doctors are failing to spot eating disorders, according to a British health expert. In a country with more than 1 million people living with an eating disorder, many believe that this number is actually considerably higher but due to the inability of doctors to properly diagnose them, many go without any form of treatment.

"People with an eating disorder do actually visit their GP as often as anyone else," stated Susan Ringwood, chief executive of the Eating Disorders Association.

"But the least likely thing for them to say is 'Doctor, I think I might have an eating disorder'.

"They are in the doctor's surgery, but they are not going to say it.

By Luther Brady

Seasonal Affective Disorder is a form of depression that can be very serious

Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD, is a condition that is referred too as a type of depression. It is usually brought on by the changing of seasons, and according to the American Academy of Family Physicians maybe related to the changing of the amount of daylight from season to season.

Symptims of SAD include; depression, fatigue, craving for starchy foods and weight gain as the changing of seasons approaches.

Winter depression is the most common type of SAD however there is also a lesser known summer depression that generally begins in late spring or early in the summer season.

The American Psychiatric Association, has stated that SAD can be as serious as any form of mental depression, with women, and young adults at the greatest risk of developing SAD.

By Sarah Morgan

A study has linked air pollution to an increased risk of heart disease in older women

According to a new study, pollution is bad for women's heart health. The study was government funded, and showed that older women who are exposed to air pollutants have an increased risk of heart disease.

Back in September, the Environmental Protection Agency, released new guidelines pertaining to the amount of pollution that one could safely be exposed to without the risk of harm, but many believe that their restrictions are not tight enough.

"There was a lot of evidence previously suggesting that the long-term standard should be lower, and this is adding one more study to that evidence," said Douglas Dockery, a pollution specialist at the Harvard School of Public Health.

By Laura Watson

A US survey of more than 9300 Americans has found that binge eating is the most prevalent eating disorder outranking anorexia and bulimia

Binge eating is the number one eating disorder in the United States according to a new survey conducted by researchers at Harvard Medical School. Anorexia or bulimia, one would think would be more prevalent eating disorders, however the recent released survey states otherwise.

According to the survey, 3.5% of women and 2% of men are binge eaters, a condition in which a person eats far passed the point of being full more than 2 times a week.

The researchers surveyed 9300 people from across the United States in which the participants were asked a series of questions relating to their eating habits.

By Dennis Landrey

More than 160 thousand turkeys are being slaughtered in Britain after a turkey farm in Holton reported cases of the dreaded Bird flu virus

Britain is slaughtering 160 thousand turkeys amidst a mini outbreak of the dreaded H5N1 Bird flu virus. The outbreak was discovered on a farm in Holton in eastern England, and has resulted in turkeys being gassed and incinerated in an attempt to hault the spreading of the virus.

Bernard Matthews is Europe's largest turkey producer, and runs the farm where the outbreak was detected. The mass killing of the turkeys started on Saturday and is set to be completed later today.

British officials state, that approximately 2500 turkeys have died on the farm from the viral flu, prompting an immediate quarantine of the property.

By Mya Blake

4 US hospitals are set to conduct a massive study to determine the affectiveness of obesity surgery on obese children

More and more US kids are having obesity surgery than ever before. In 2004, only 350 kids had some sort of obesity surgery, but due to the growing rate of the obesity factor, combined with the advancements in medical technology, America is seeing a steady rise in the number of kids that go under the knife to lose weight.

A massive study is set to launch this spring, in which 4 US hospitals plan to determine how children would respond to a wide aray of medical procedures aimed at making them lose weight. Obese adults have been turning to stomach surgery as a way to lose weight, and now US doctors want to find out if kids can do the same safely and affectively.

By Luther Brady

Presidential candidate John Edwards wants to raise taxes for wealthy Americans to help pay for expanded health care coverage

Presidential candidate John Edwards has stated that to pay for extended health care coverage, he will raise taxes especially for wealthy Americans. His health care plan, is estimated to cost over 90 billion dollars, and according to Edwards is not possible to implement unless there is some sort of revenue source.

"We'll have to raise taxes. The only way you can pay for a healthcare plan that cost anywhere from $90 to $120 billion is there has to be a revenue source."

"We ask employers to play a bigger role, which means they either have to have coverage or they have to buy into what we're calling health markets."