You can add obesity and its related health risks to the long list of threats posed by climate change, researchers report.

In a new review, researchers from Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia outlined the association between climate change and obesity.

As global temperatures increase, people may become less physically active and less able to burn excess fat, putting them at incr...

Urban dwellers around the globe are sweating through three times as many "extreme heat" days as their counterparts did in the 1980s, a new study suggests.

The study is the latest to chart humans' growing exposure to dangerously high temperatures. Experts said it looked at what's happening in finer detail than previous research has -- and it suggests that exposure to extreme heat is more w...

Climate change is the "single biggest health threat facing humanity," and governments must "act with urgency" to tackle the crisis, a World Health Organization (WHO) special report warns.

In advance of a United Nation's climate change summit in early November, groups representing 45 million nurses, doctors and health professionals worldwide signed an open letter urging action on the clima...

Scientists in Japan have discovered yet another tick-borne virus that can make people sick.

The Yezo virus is transmitted by tick bites, and triggers fever and a reduction in blood platelets and white blood cells.

"At least seven people have been infected with this new virus in Japan since 2014, but, so far, no deaths have been confirmed," said Keita Matsuno, a virologist at Hokkaid...

You might think that wildfires in the western United States would only affect folks in places like Colorado, California or Oregon.

But a new study estimates that three-quarters of smoke-related deaths and visits to the emergency room for asthma in the United States happen east of the Rocky Mount...

The rings of stately pines on the coasts of North and South Carolina offer telling long-term evidence of climate change and a chilling forecast for the future.

The upshot: The last 300 years have gotten wetter and wetter, making hurricanes ever more dangerous.

"Our findings suggest that the maximum amount of rainfall from these storms is increasing and is likely going to continue to...

More than 50% of American children have detectable blood lead levels, a new study reveals. And young children who live in places with lots of pre-1950s housing and low incomes have the greatest risk.

"Public health authorities have worked commendably to reduce lead exposure for decades, and yet, substantial risk remains," said study co-author Dr. Harvey Kaufman, head of health trends rese...

Nuclear war would trigger worldwide climate change and take a dire toll on food production and human health, according to scientists who studied different scenarios using a modern climate model.

"Although we suspected that ozone would be destroyed after nuclear war and that would result in enhanced ultraviolet light at the Earth's surface, if there was too much smoke, it would block out t...

When COVID-19 restrictions forced you indoors, it brought birds back to North America, new research shows.

Across the United States and Canada, birders documented an 80% increase among most of the 82 species they recorded since the start of pandemic restrictions last year.

Some species (26%) increased in response to drops in certain types of human activity, while decreasing in resp...

In a move to combat global warming, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Thursday that it will restrict U.S. production and use of hydrofluorocarbons by 85% over the next 15 years.

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are potent greenhouse gases often used in refrigerators and air conditioners, and they are vastly more powerful than carbon dioxide. These gases can leak into the a...

Living within a few blocks of a shooting increases the risk that a child will end up visiting the emergency department for mental health-related problems, researchers say.

The new study found significant increases in mental health-related ER visits in the two weeks after a neighborhood shooting, especially among kids who lived closest to it and those exposed to multiple shootings.

"...

Liver cancer is on the rise in rural America, but on a downswing in cities, new research shows.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of liver cancer and the fastest-growing cause of cancer deaths in the United States. It's rising at an annual rate of nearly 6% in rural areas, approaching rates seen in cities, the study authors found.

"Considering that one in five A...

It's not just athletes on the field who suffer when outdoor temperatures get too high. Members of college and high school marching bands are at increased risk of heat-related illness, too, researchers warn.

"They go out there, and they often wear these really heavy wool uniforms," said lead author Andrew Grundstein of the University of Georgia. "They practice many times for hours and hour...

Twenty years on, responders to the World Trade Center attacks in New York City are showing increased risks of certain cancers, two new studies confirm.

Researchers found higher-than-average rates of prostate cancer among firefighters, medics and other workers who toiled at the disaster site on and after Sept. 11, 2001.

And compared with firefighters from other major U.S. cities...

Workers, take heed: Your place of work can help bring on or exacerbate asthma, a new study suggests.

Common workplace triggers include poor ventilation and moldy air conditioning systems, cleaning products and even the toner used in printers, the researchers said. Employees with asthma caused by the office environment often quit, the researchers said, especially if employers don't do anyt...

Wildfires are killing people around the world -- even those with limited exposure to wildfire-related pollution, an international team of researchers reports.

The new research revealed that short-term exposure to wildfire-related fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the air is i...

It's more than just an annoyance: Long-term exposure to traffic and train noise may increase the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, Danish researchers report.

The study authors said that more than 1,200 of Denmark's nearly 8,500 cases of dementia in 2017 may have resulted from exposure to noise, which means that reducing traffic noise might help prevent the thinking, memory and beh...

An editorial written jointly by the editors of more than 230 medical journals worldwide has a grim warning for humanity: Climate change is making people sick -- and it's going to get worse.

As reported by CNN, the same global warming that's causing extreme weather events has had a number of negative impacts on human health during the past two decades, the journal editors said. A...

Hotter weather driven by climate change is bad news for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a new study warns.

Researchers say warming trends could worsen COPD symptoms, such as shortness of breath, wheezing or coughing. Millions of people have COPD, a combination of emphysema and chronic bronchitis that is often tied to smoking.

"The climate emergency is prov...

Algeria recently became the last country in the world to halt sales of highly toxic leaded gasoline, the U.N. Environment Agency (UNEP) said Monday.

The agency said that marked the "official end" of the use of the fuel that's been linked to a wide range of human health problems, the Associated Press reported.

"The successful enforcement of the ban on leaded petrol is a huge...

The greener your neighborhood, the lower your risk of heart disease.

That's the takeaway from a new study, which reported that adding to a neighborhood's green space can have a big payoff for public health.

"For the cost of one emergency room visit for a heart attack, trees could be planted in a neighborhood with 100 residents and potentially prevent ten heart diseases," said study ...

Leaky sewer pipes are to blame for large amounts of human medicines getting into rivers, lakes and other bodies of water, a new study reveals.

Researchers found that tens of thousands of doses of drugs get into Chesapeake Bay in Maryland every year due to seeping sewer pipes.

"Pharmaceuticals enter freshwaters through multiple pathways, including effluent from wastewater treatment a...

The Biden Administration said Wednesday that a widely used pesticide will be banned because it's been linked to neurological damage in children.

The new rule to block the use of chlorpyrifos on food will take effect in six months, the Environmental Protection Agency said.

"Today [the] EPA is taking an overdue step to protect public health," EPA head Michael Regan said in an agency ...

While breathing in secondhand smoke is known to harm kids' lungs, new research suggests that children whose parents smoked are also more prone to developing rheumatoid arthritis later in life.

"Our findings give more depth and gravity to the negative health consequences of smoking in relation to [rheumatoid arthritis], one of the most common autoimmune diseases," said lead author Dr. Kazu...

The wildfire smoke now smothering wide portions of the United States isn't just stinging eyes and tightening chests -- it also might be contributing to the current surge of severe COVID-19 cases.

Data from three Western states subject to frequent wildfires shows that COVID-19 cases and deaths increase with the amount of smoke pollution in the air, according to a new study.

As wildfi...

Smoke from wildfires burning along the West Coast is choking the entire United States, reminding everyone of the hazards of climate change.

But that haze isn't just stinging your eyes and choking your breath -- it poses a direct threat to your health, experts say.

Wildfire smoke has been shown to increase risk of heart attacks and strokes, as well as lung ailments like asthma, Ameri...

It's long been know that polluted can damage the heart and lungs, but new research finds that it's bad for your brain, too.

A long-term study by a Seattle team linked exposure to higher levels of fine particulate air pollution to an increased risk of dementia.

"We found that an increase of 1 microgram per cubic meter of exposure corresponded to a 16% greater hazard of all-cause dem...

Air pollution could cause sinus misery, new research suggests.

Specifically, tiny particulate air pollution (known as PM2.5) could contribute to chronic rhinosinusitis, a condition in which the sinuses get infected or irritated, become swollen, are severely congested and secrete mucus into the throat for 12 weeks or more.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study to report that lon...

Sun protection is essential as you enjoy the outdoors this summer, a skin expert stresses.

"Skin cancer is the most common cancer in humans so it's important that we do what we can to protect ourselves," Dr. Ida Orengo, a professor of dermatology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said in a school news release.

Here are some of her tips:

• Wear a sunscreen with SPF ...

If you thought the air was cleaner at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, you weren't imagining it. But clean skies were less evident in poorer areas of the United States, a new study finds.

COVID-19 pandemic-related lockdowns reduced overall levels of nitrogen dioxide air pollution in many U.S. cities. However, levels remained higher in poorer, minority neighborhoods than in richer, whi...

Breathing in smoke from wildfires may significantly increase the spread of COVID-19, researchers say.

The warning, from a new study of links between smoke-caused air pollution and SARS-CoV-2 infections, comes as firefighters battle 80 large wildfires in the western United States. The largest -- 300 miles south of Portland, Ore. -- covers over 500 square miles.

For this study, resear...

Extreme heat strikes poor and minority neighborhoods in U.S. cities harder than those that are wealthier and mainly white, a new study finds.

"The distribution of excess urban heat varies within cities, and as a result, communities do not share a city's extreme heat burden equally," said study co-author Jennifer Burney. She's chair of global climate policy and research at the University o...

Can childhood lead exposure affect personality into adulthood?

Yes, a big multi-decade study suggests.

The finding stems from an analysis of data on atmospheric lead levels across the United States and 37 European nations since 1960. Lead levels were stacked up against responses to a personality survey of roughly 1.5 million men and women.

The result: Americans raised in areas...

Lawsuits claiming that the widely used bug killer chlorpyrifos caused brain damage in children were filed Monday in California.

Past research has shown that the pesticide harms the brains of fetuses and children, the Associated Press reported.

Chlorpyrifos is approved for use on more than 80 crops, but was banned for household use in 2001. The U.S. Environmental Protection ...

Climate change has already become deadly enough to cause 5 million extra deaths worldwide each year, researchers report.

"This is the first study to get a global overview of mortality due to non-optimal temperature conditions between 2000 and 2019, the hottest period since the pre-industrial era," said study co-leader Yuming Guo, a professor at Monash University in Australia.

The fi...

Could trees be the key to a cool summer in the city?

Yes, claims new research that calculated just how much greenery can bring temperatures down.

"We've long known that the shade of trees and buildings can provide cooling," said study co-author Jean-Michel Guldmann. He is a professor emeritus of city and regional planning at Ohio State University, in Columbus.

"But now we can...

As the pandemic eases and children flock to playgrounds this summer, parents need to make sure their kids are safe, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) says.

"After a challenging school year and months of being socially distanced and kept apart from their friends, children are eager to get outside and play," said AAOS spokesperson Dr. Rachel Goldstein. She is a pediatric o...

Pollen is tough enough for allergy sufferers, but a new study suggests it also helps spread the new coronavirus and other airborne germs.

Researchers had noticed a connection between COVID-19 infection rates and pollen concentrations on the National Allergy Map of the United States.

That led them to create a computer model of all the pollen-producing parts of a willow tree. They the...

The good news: Levels of lead in the air that Londoners breathe are far lower today than they were in the 1980s, when leaded gas was an automotive staple.

The bad news: Decades-old lead particles still pollute the city's air, a stubborn and potentially hazardous leftover of a now banned product. The findings might have implications for the health of city dwellers globally.

In the ...

A leading medical group is offering testing guidelines for children with autistic behaviors.

The American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Environmental Health emphasized that certain measurements to test for exposure to chemicals are not helpful to guide treatment. The council pointed out that just because a chemical is found in the body doesn't mean it will cause harm.

The counc...

Exposure to mold both in and out of the home may worsen breathlessness and other symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), new research suggests.

More than 16 million Americans have COPD, according to the American Lung Association. COPD is an umbrella term for chronic lung diseases such as bronchitis and emphysema, which literally take your breath away. COPD flares can be...

In normal times, a sunny day can lift your mood while a stormy one can darken it, but new British research shows that weather had little effect on people's spirits during the pandemic.

"We know that lockdown restrictions, and the resulting impact on social life and the economy, are linked to at least two major negative public health consequences -- a reduction in physical exercise, both i...

Children may have an increased risk of obesity if their mothers were exposed to high levels of air pollution during pregnancy, researchers say.

In a new study, 123 Hispanic mother-infant pairs were enrolled in an ongoing trial in the Los Angeles region. Before pregnancy, about one-third of the mothers were normal weight, one-third were overweight and one-third were obese.

The resear...

Human-caused global warming is responsible for more than one-third of heat-related deaths worldwide, but the proportion is much higher in certain countries, a new study finds.

Researchers analyzed data gathered between 1991 and 2018 from 732 locations in 43 countries. They concluded that 37% of all heat-related deaths in recent summer periods were attributable to the warming of the planet...

Breathing in tiny particles of air pollution over a long period of time may put your sense of smell at risk, a new study suggests.

Researchers found the risk for loss of smell - a condition called anosmia - was nearly doubled among people with lengthy exposure to this type of air pollution, known as particulate matter.

"It's curious that the entire group who had lost their sense of ...

A native South American population that lives a pre-industrial lifestyle may have a slower rate of brain aging than the typical Westerner, a new study finds.

The study focused on the Tsimane population, whose roughly 16,000 members dwell in a remote part of the Bolivian Amazon. They live by farming, hunting, gathering and fishing - a lifestyle devoid of processed food, couch time and stre...

Rising temperatures caused by climate change could trigger a worldwide increase in stillbirths, researchers warn.

The team at the University of Queensland in Australia analyzed 12 studies on the subject. They found that exposure to extremely high temperatures throughout pregnancy appeared to increase risk of stillbirth, particularly late in pregnancy.

"Overall, risk of stillbirth ap...

Sitting or strolling in a park offered precious respite for many Americans during the pandemic, and new research shows city parks don't fuel the spread of COVID-19.

Researchers looked at how people used parks in Philadelphia and New York City during the pandemic and found no connection between being in a park and catching COVID-19.

"Despite early speculation that parks could become...

If you live in the path of hurricanes , the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging you to be prepared.

Deaths from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, fires and electric shock are common during severe weather events, according to the CPSC.

Hurricane season in North America runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has ...

Sixty-seven percent of inmates in California prisons who were offered a COVID-19 vaccine have accepted at least one dose, a Stanford University study found.

"This is one of the largest state prison systems in the country, and if it can achieve high vaccination coverage among its incarcerated population, then the federal and other state prisons systems can and should do the same for the mo...