A room without books…
“A room without books is like a body without a soul.” Marcus Tullius Cicero Reading books is good for our health. Particularly our mental health. Alongside improving literacy, knowledge about the world around us, emotional intelligence and providing relaxation, studies suggest...
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Gallery
We are trying something new on the ‘Cost of Living’ blog. Every other week we will be running a gallery of things we have seen, watched or read that are in some way related to health. Let us know what...
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Alcoholism Abandoned: what now for Scotland’s low income problem drinkers?
‘Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God’ Corinthians 6:10 Alcoholism is situated in a very particular place in relation to public opinion, health and social services and research. Though it is...
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Obesity: Who are you calling diseased?
In Britain and elsewhere the so-called ‘obesity crisis’ is regularly headline news. Media coverage focuses on the health risks associated with higher BMIs and the financial implications of this for the National Health Service (NHS). People are encouraged to act...
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Veganuary: Meat Matters
On the limits of Veganuary and the Climate Emergency The popularity of Veganuary continues to grow. Around a quarter of a million people trying out a plant-based diet for the first few weeks of January in 2019 and even more...
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Why no talk of an inequality emergency?
We hear much talk now of a climate emergency. As I was revising a talk I frequently give on ‘global health in an unequal world’, I realised that there is no talk of an inequality emergency, either globally or close...
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Conservative plan for the NHS – but does it add up?
In his first 100 days as prime minister, Boris Johnson made several pledges and confirmed those of the former PM Theresa May to support the NHS. Many of these feature in the Conservative Party manifesto, even though they have been...
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Capitalist Creep on Campus
The largest, quietest privatisation in UK history – it’s why we’re striking For the next week and a half, many UK university lecturers will be on strike again, but who outside of academia really cares? After all, university academics have great jobs....
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The ‘Appliance of Science’?
The topsy-turvy world of the NHS’s relationship with minority groups and their non-standard care requirements When the NHS was last in expansion and a ‘transformation’ was underway, one of the guiding principles was called “World Class Commissioning“. It was the...
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Election 2019
“McGovern made some stupid mistakes, but in context they seem almost frivolous compared to the things Richard Nixon does every day of his life, on purpose, as a matter of policy and a perfect expression of everything he stands for....
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Are cities bad for our mental health?
Are cities bad for our mental health? The question of cities and mental health was once a key topic for sociologists and psychiatrists. In the 1930s, sociologists Faris and Dunham argued that the prevalence of schizophrenia in Chicago was caused,...
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Gallery