Health | WPN World People News

More than half the world’s population is at risk from diseases such as malaria, dengue, leishmaniasis, Lyme disease, schistosomiasis, and yellow fever, carried by mosquitoes, flies, ticks, water snails and other vectors. Every year, more than one billion people are infected and more than one million die from vector-borne diseases.

Obesity, rather than diet, causes changes in the colon that may lead to colorectal cancer, according to a study in mice by the National Institutes of Health. The finding bolsters the recommendation that calorie control and frequent exercise are not only key to a healthy lifestyle, but a strategy to lower the risk for colon cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States.

U.S. President Barack Obama says 7.1 million Americans have signed up for health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare.

Plaque buildup in the arteries that nourish the heart, a condition called coronary atherosclerosis, narrows the arteries and increases the risk of heart attack.

Safer and cleaner road transport is critical for achieving health and development goals around the world, according to a new report that --for the first time--assesses the global health loss from the combined impact of road injuries and pollution that can be attributed to motorized transport.