General Health and Well-Being

A new study gives more support that media images of women have an effect how we view ourselves. “If the image is appearance-focused and sends a clear message about a woman’s body as an object, then it’s going to affect women.” “I think we need to consider how we’re using media images as a culture to share the values we think are important, and the effect that has on our well-being”.

According to a paper published in Child Development “90% of girls reported experiencing sexual harassment at least once” and “cultural factors may control whether they perceive sexism as an environmental problem or as evidence of their own shortcoming“.

Are you curious about how that may affect women’s ability to be successful as adults? According to new research Psychological Science “being put in a low-power role may impair a person’s basic cognitive functioning and thus, their ability to get ahead“.

Pregnancy and Young Children

Preeclampsia is the biggest cause of maternal and new born deaths and affects around 5% of all pregnancies. The gene COMT (catechol-O-methyltransferase) has recently been found to be involved with the development of preeclampsia.

Women who breastfeed for more than a year halve their risk of rheumatoid arthritis.

Breast Cancer Research

More evidence backing up vitamin D levels and cancer prevention. In the upcoming issue of The Breast Journal research will be presented showing that “This is the first study, to our knowledge, to show that higher serum levels of vitamin D are associated with reduced incidence rates of breast cancer worldwide”.

Other breast cancer research news:

Physical activity more likely to prevent breast cancer in certain groups

Molecular ‘clock’ could predict risk for developing breast cancer

UT Southwestern researcher: Supplemental breast ultrasound boosts cancer detection

Study suggests blood test can help improve treatment outcomes for breast cancer patients