The Middlepause by Marina Benjamin and In My Own Times by Jane Miller – review
What does it mean to be middle-aged? Is 50 over the hill? An honest facing up to loss and sadness is an important theme in these valuable studies
Antibiotic-free meat to hit the shelves
Don’t want to eat pork pumped full of penicillin? Look for a smiling pig’s face on your next packet of bacon
Leading doctors urge two-week absence before workers need to see GP
Requiring a sick note after one week takes time away from patients who may need appointments more, doctors say
How Brexit could damage our health
We would lose drug research and health service funding as well as free treatment in Europe, and we’d have no external arbiters of food, air and water quality. This is dangerous
How to teach … body image
Students face a world full of unhealthy images and pressure about how they look. Here’s how you can help them cope
Older people are under threat from loneliness
Feeling isolated is not only soul destryong, it’s also a risk factor for early death. By Katharine Whitehorn
Should parents ever comment on their daughter’s weight?
It’s natural for parents to be concerned for their child’s health, but could regular remarks about size and diet lead to an increased risk of problems in the future?
A Walk in the Park by Travis Elborough review – what makes a park a park?
William Boyd gives his definition of a park, and praises a wonderful book, full of learning and enthusiasm, that insists we need to cherish and protect these ‘people’s institutions’
Spooky! Messages from the beyond or just coincidence?
We’ve all heard eyebrow-raising tales – so what’s really going on?
Leading public health bodies call for decriminalisation of drugs
Report from Royal Society for Public Health and Faculty of Public Health says misuse of drugs should be a health issue, not a criminal one