About The Study: In this comparative effectiveness study, reducing music volume in group fitness classes did not lead to meaningful reductions in perceived exertion and may reduce the risk of noise-induced hearing loss. These findings support implementing safer sound practices in fitness environments and underscore the need for increased awareness and education on hearing protection.

Results of an analysis of health survey data from more than 560,000 U.S. college students concludes that depression symptoms have steadily increased over the past 15 years, particularly among women, minorities and students experiencing financial stress. 

About one in 20 infants worldwide is subjected to physical abuse by a caregiver in their first two years of life, according to the first review to bring together anonymous reports from caregivers about behaviours like spanking, slapping, shaking and hitting. Researchers from the University of British Columbia and Memorial University of Newfoundland reviewed 20 studies that together encompassed reports on more than 220,000 infants and caregivers across several countries. When caregivers were asked privately and anonymously, 4.8 per cent reported at least one act of physical aggression toward an infant under 24 months. Anonymous surveys let caregivers disclose behaviour that never reaches a clinic, police service or social worker. Such behaviours can have lasting effects on a child’s learning, behaviour and mental health. Evidence has linked these actions with harm and with a higher chance of more severe violence in the future. Understanding how common these kinds of behaviours are could help health systems, policymakers and families focus on prevention, getting support to parents before a bad moment turns into injury.

Restrictive abortion policies are associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms among women, according to a new 25-year study conducted at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. The equivalent of approximately four additional restrictive laws was linked to a 7 percent increase in depressive symptoms among women. The study findings contribute to the small but growing body of literature documenting potential adverse mental health consequences of restrictive abortion legislation. 

A comprehensive new systematic review published in The Journal of Nutrition provides the latest evidence that large-scale food fortification is a highly cost-effective intervention for reducing global malnutrition.

Teens who frequently lash out at others may face lasting physical health consequences later in life, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. The study found that aggressive behavior in early adolescence is linked to faster biological aging and higher body mass index (BMI) by age 30.

In a new study published in Nutrients, Tufts researchers determined that lifestyles during precollege years are often maintained into adulthood. The study found that, broadly speaking, people with the lowest initial level of healthfulness who maintained those behaviors into their adulthood years gained the most weight while those who maintained their healthy behaviors into adulthood gained the least weight on average.