The booming popularity of the weight-loss drug semaglutide has prompted increasing concerns about potential side effects from taking Ozempic or Wegovy. But a new study rules out one possible problem — using semaglutide does not increase a person’s risk of depression or suicide, researchers report. Semaglutide did not increase the risk of depression, suicidal thoughts…  read on >  read on >

Folks taking weight-loss drugs like Wegovy or Zepbound might think they’ve found a shortcut to better health. But they still need to eat a high-quality diet if they want to maintain their well-being while they shed pounds, says a doctor with the University of Texas Southwestern. “One common misconception about these medications is that they’re…  read on >  read on >

A new, tougher rule on the sale of tobacco products will require retailers to check the IDs of any buyers under the age of 30, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday. The final rule, which will go into effect Sept. 30, also restricts tobacco vending machine sales to spaces that are limited to people…  read on >  read on >

More than half of people around the world aren’t getting enough micronutrients essential to human health, including calcium, iron and vitamins C and E, a new study says. These deficiencies are contributing to global malnutrition, as well as health problems like blindness, increased vulnerability to infections, and pregnancy complications, researchers said in The Lancet Global…  read on >  read on >

Climate change will increase people’s risk of salmonella poisoning from contaminated food, a new study warns. Increased humidity will make it more likely that leafy greens like lettuce will suffer from bacterial diseases, such as leaf spot, researchers reported Aug. 29 in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. In turn, those bacterial diseases can help…  read on >  read on >

Breastfeeding helps women shed those extra pounds of “pregnancy weight,” a new study finds, and the effect is even more pronounced for moms who were overweight before their pregnancy. Among women who exclusively breastfed their baby during its first year, women who were normal weight prior to pregnancy lost weight, but still retained about three…  read on >  read on >

Good sleep is important for the health of overweight men and women, a new study shows. Heavy-set people who stay awake too late tend to have a higher risk of metabolic syndrome — a cluster of conditions that increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke and other chronic health problems. “Our research shows that…  read on >  read on >