Science Media Centre

As the United Nations High Level Meeting on Noncommunicable diseases (NDCs) concludes, some general resolutions have been agreed to – but public health researchers are deploring a lack of action and accountability from Member States. The meeting was held in New York on the 19th and 20th of September, bringing together UN Member States to [...]

An international study involving New Zealand patients and researchers has shown that a pill containing  a combination of treatments has significant impact on heart disease in at-risk individuals. The international randomized controlled trial tested the efficacy of the ‘polypill’ in reducing risk factors for heart-disease, such as blood pressure and cholesterol. The pill contains a [...]

A UK study has found that, while vitamin D is essential for good bone health, there is no evidence for for claims of some of its other benefits, including combating heart disease and cancer. Vitamin D is made by the body when skin is exposed to UV, and can also be found in some forms [...]

From SkepticsNZ: Some of the links between diet and health outcomes in the 1970s were very tenuous. However these have been translated into ‘fact’ and public health policy in the belief that this was for the greater good. This talk explores some of the fallacies behind the ‘science’. Helen Petousis-Harris is a scientist in molecular [...]

A hard-hitting report from the UK health watchdog group National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) calls on government and the food industry to cut salt and fat from processed foods — a move it says would save tens of thousands of lives a year. The report recommends a public health approach to combat [...]

Scientists have found a link between height and heart disease: the shorter we are, the higher our risk, although the reason for this is unclear. The research, which came from over 52 studies, found that the shortest people were 1.5 times more likely than the tallest to live with a heart disease, die from a [...]

Tim Cronshaw writes in Business Day about recent US research suggesting that processed meat can increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and the reaction from the New Zealand Meat Processors Association, which says the research could mislead kiwis. Kiwis eat less processed meat than those who took part in the study, meaning [...]

University of Otago Christchurch scientists have identified a genetic defect in male patients that nearly doubles the risk of death after heart attack. Men with a variant of the ACE2 gene — already associated with high blood pressure — have a significantly lower survival rates from heart disease, the three-year study has found.  In future, [...]