Nancy Shute

Children tend to become less physically active as they move into their teenage years. But less than half of those ages 12 to 15 are meeting even minimal standards for aerobic fitness, the CDC reports.

Nobody wants to spend their final years unable to walk, but that sad fate afflicts many people as they age. A little exercise helps a lot, especially if people can do it in social groups.

Diabetes increases a person's risk of cardiovascular disease, but for women that risk is 40 percent higher, a study finds. Just why that's happening is a mystery.

More than two-thirds of women who had a double mastectomy after a cancer diagnosis didn't have the high risk that could be reduced by the surgery, a study finds.

Who doesn't like a contest, especially if it lets you prove that you're smarter than your peers? When doctors played a game that tests their knowledge, patients' blood pressure control improved.

Almost half the states have passed laws easing access to marijuana for medical or recreational use. But most Americans have reservations, especially when it comes to access by young people.

Suicide is a major cause of death, and there's no evidence that screening everybody will reduce the toll, a federal panel says. But doctors, family and friends can help, researchers say.

People are rarely offered medication to help them stop drinking. But there are drugs that work, and they don't make you sick. Instead they target the underlying mechanisms of addiction.

Cervical cancer screening often isn't recommended for women after age 65, but that may be when they're most vulnerable, a study finds. African-American women face a particularly high risk.

Half of all surgery in the U.S. is performed on people over 65, yet many have health conditions that make it riskier. It turns out that the frailer people are, the less likely they are tol survive.