More irony and confusion!
We can’t help but wish that mainstream media outlets would ditch the daily (or is it hourly?) "health" section from their offerings, presenting only really significant developments from the world of medical research — once a month, say. The "all-recent-studies-all the time" approach could be slotted into specialized publications or programs catering to those who are either obsessively interested, or have a particular reason for wanting to follow blow-by-blow research findings, important or trivial, for a particular health condition.
This would save a few trees (or a few electrons), while sparing the general reader.
On the heels of the "coffee bad, coffee good, coffee bad" coverage that we’ve recently been subjected to, here comes yet another health story to tease us with what seems contradictory or ironic, and thus "new". This one reports on a study claiming that heart attack survival may be greater for obese patients. Of course, the researchers are careful to note that obesity promotes conditions that lead to heart problems in the first place, and notes that this initial study will have to be followed up by more research (as usual). So we have a headline, a fleeting sense of irony … but of what practical use is this "information" to the general reader?
Of course, the objective of wall-to-wall health reporting is not so much to be of practical use as it is to keep us obsessed with the subject of health all the time, and thus primed for the next Viagra, Nicorette, weight reduction drug or whatever else the Pharma-entertainment has in store.
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