The very first thing I do when I wake up in the morning - and the very last thing I do at night - is pick up my phone, press the Twitter app and see what's going on in the world.

The strength of your handshake could indicate the chance of a future heart attack, a major study suggests.

A certain type of vitamin B3 may help reduce the risk of non-melanoma skin cancers by 23 per cent.

Nearly a quarter of our genes change how active they are according to the season, which may explain why people are more prone to illness in winter rather than summer, scientists say.

When researchers recently looked at data on how parents perceive their overweight young children, they learned that 94.9 per cent believe the kids' size to be "just right."

Older women are more likely to take up exercising and stick to it if they are part of a small group guided by a personal trainer.

Fear of gluten and the demonisation of bread is everywhere - with gluten blamed for countless health problems, from bloating and depression to obesity and asthma.

For 12 years, Komal and John Appleby tried desperately to have a baby.

Kerre McIvor writes: The headline in this week's Herald article on prostate cancer survival rates said it all: NZ men dying too soon.

In the face of a soaring global epidemic of type 2 diabetes and obesity, the food industry is at last on the back foot.

A California woman was shocked to discover that she is expecting her first child in just a few weeks, after her boyfriend unexpectedly felt their baby kick for the first time.

Workers around the globe have been finding it harder to juggle the demands of work and the rest of life in the past five years, a new report shows.

Over the course of her more than 20 years studying how people eat, Traci Mann has found that willpower doesn't work quite like we imagine it will.

Obese children are far less likely to finish school than peers of normal weight, according to European research that also highlights body image problems in kids as young as six.

Kiwi and UK scientists challenge the notion that people with autism generally see visual motion poorly, and explore the causes of sensory overloads experienced by some sufferers.

Alcoholic drinks should all carry calorie counts according to a leading UK public health doctor writing in the BMJ, because of their contribution to obesity.

If you're still wondering whether to pour yourself a glass of coconut water right now, forget it. There's a new post-workout rehydrator on the scene: artichoke water.

Anyone who has ever been nastily teased or bullied in the playground will remember how it made them feel.

Bruce Jenner identifies as a woman. “I have always been confused by my gender identity,” he told interviewer Diane Sawyer on US TV.

The common habit of grinding the teeth - bruxism - while asleep can have wide-ranging health consequences.

Most women get them. Some men get them. Few people welcome them. Rodney Sinclair explains stretch marks.

Global events such as climate change and an international trade have caused a number of dangerous parasites to emerge in countries where they haven't been found before.

A fungus found on caterpillars could be used to relieve pain in osteoarthritis sufferers, according to British researchers.

New Zealanders are happier than their rivals from across the ditch, according to a new report released today.

We got a diverse group of real women to tell us about their own experiences with pregnancy and childbirth.

Why would people who were not immediately or directly affected by big events have such a long-lasting sense of knowing exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news? These recollections are called flashbulb memories.

Excessive sugar and carbohydrates are behind the obesity crisis rather than physical inactivity, claim three experts in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Botox, or Botulinum neurotoxin type-A, is most commonly known for its cosmetic use as a smoother of wrinkles.

Asthma could be cured within five years after scientists discovered what causes the condition and how to switch it off.

Balding in men is so common it doesn’t raise an eyebrow. But when a woman starts to lose hair, it can be extremely distressing. Will she end up bald, too?