Wellness Wednesday

Is middle-aged weight gain inevitable? Not necessarily. It turns out, the factors that do contribute to additional pounds are within our control.

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the country in children, another virus is making kids sick in unusually large numbers: respiratory syncytial virus, better known as RSV. On Wellness Wednesday we look at what’s behind the surge of RSV.

The number of prescriptions for ivermectin, a drug typically used to treat parasitic worms that have repeatedly failed in clinical trials to treat COVID-19 has soared. We look at what’s driving the demand for the drug and the associated risks.

This week on Wellness Wednesday, we round up the latest COVID vaccine news, look at individual dietary choices that can add time to your life and cases of lung cancer in nonsmokers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a strong recommendation that those who are pregnant or breastfeeding get vaccinated against COVID-19. On Wellness Wednesday, we look at the risks of the vaccine and the virus to pregnant women.

This week is Black Men’s Health Week in Columbus: a week dedicated to education and awareness of health inequities affecting African American men. On Wellness Wednesday we discuss efforts to close the wellness gap for Black men in central Ohio.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed course Tuesday, advising that fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors if they live in areas with a significant or high spread of COVID-19. We look at the reason behind the CDC’s reversal, breakout infections and more.

Black women who frequently use lye-based hair straightening products long term may be at an increased risk of developing breast cancer, according to researchers at Boston University. We discuss the challenges and urgent need to address racial disparities in breast cancer.

The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force recently recommended that colorectal cancer screenings should begin at age 45. An at-home screening test provides a convenient and far less invasive alternative. Today on Wellness Wednesday we discuss take-home colon cancer tests.

Data shows routine childhood vaccinations fell sharply in the first months of the coronavirus pandemic although rates began to rebound last summer. We explore the warning from pediatricians about making sure children are up-to-date on their shots.