http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Researchers from The University of Auckland have announced the results of a recent study showing that overweight and obesity in New Zealand costs the country between NZ$722 million and NZ$849 million a year in health care costs and lost productivity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-obesity.html Overweight and Obesity Tue, 11 Dec 2012 07:37:57 EST news274433868 (Medical Xpress)—Smokers are costing the UK economy £1.4 billion by taking an average of two or three days more sick leave per year than their non-smoking colleagues, a new study has revealed. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-smokers-extra-sick-days-year.html Addiction Thu, 01 Nov 2012 10:24:46 EST news270984267 For people receiving health care for acute and persistent low-back pain, symptoms will improve significantly in the first six weeks, but pain and disability may linger even after one year, states a large study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-pain-weeks-lingering-effects-year.html Health Mon, 14 May 2012 12:00:06 EST news256208797 Moral imagination is an essential faculty for workers who must overcome the stigmas of ethical conflicts and social rejection associated with certain types of jobs, according to a study carried out at the Universidad Carlos III of Madrid. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-moral-key-work-related-stigmas.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:07:01 EST news246546416 Guidelines for clinical management of patients with low back pain (LBP) encourage health care practitioners to advise staying active and returning to work. Despite this, most practitioners believe work factors can cause or exacerbate LBP, and a recommendation for a "short break from work" to allow healing is common. A new study in the December issue of Pain by researchers from the Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London finds that practitioners perceive their role in returning patients to work as limited, and believe that at least some aspects of work are detrimental to patients' recovery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-guidelines-contrary-practitioners-pain.html Health Wed, 14 Dec 2011 09:53:56 EST news243078813 Colleagues who work with runny noses, sore throats and clammy skin are as seasonal as the flu. Yet are sick employees workplace troopers or are they insecure about their jobs? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-presenteeism-word-sick.html Health Thu, 17 Nov 2011 10:27:58 EST news240748065 Preventing heart disease before it starts is a good long-term investment in the nation's health, according to a new policy statement from the American Heart Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-heart-disease-good-investment.html Cardiology Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:46:35 EST news230831180