Nearly a quarter of the U.S. population -- approximately 77 million people – is drinking water from systems reporting violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act in 2015, according to a report issued recently by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

The question of whether obesity should be classified a ‘disease’ – a question which has sparked controversy for decades – was answered with a “yes” recently by the World Obesity Federation (WOF).

Children and teens exposed to high levels of traffic-related air pollution have evidence of a specific type of DNA damage called telomere shortening, reports a study in the May Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

The failure to deal with interpersonal conflicts among the people tasked with taking care of patients adversely affects patient safety and quality of care, according to a new study by VitalSmarts. More than 1,200 physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals were asked about personnel problems in their organizations. The results, says VitalSmarts VP of Research David Maxfield, show that silence about slackers, timid supervisors, toxic peers and arrogant doctors is the real problem.

A new American Cancer Society study concludes that sugar-sweetened beverages have become more affordable in nearly every corner of the globe, and are likely to become even more affordable and more widely consumed. The study appears in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease, and concludes that without policy action to raise prices, global efforts to address the obesity epidemic will be hampered.

Voters in Santa Fe, New Mexico have defeated a measure that would have levied a 2-cents-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. The revenues raised by the tax would have gone toward making pre-kindergarten education available to approximately 1,000 children and funded nearly 200 jobs in early education.

With this month being a time to raise awareness about what you need to do to protect your hearing, the CDC has rolled out a new website with detailed information about how to prevent hearing loss.

The USDA’s decision to “relax” guidelines for healthier school lunches established under an initiative by Former First Lady Michelle Obama is getting sharp criticism from public health experts and policy makers.

Since 2003, the Alliance for Biking and Walking has produced the Benchmarking Report that tracks data across the U.S. to promote data collection and availability, measure progress and evaluate results, and support efforts to increase bicycling and walking. This year, partners from across various sectors worked together to build a website out of the Bicycling and Walking in the United States: 2016 Benchmarking Report to bring a comprehensive exploration of the intersections between transportation, health, economics, equity, government funding and advocacy efforts online.

The legal battle over New York City’s rules requiring menu warning labels for foods with high levels of sodium has ended after the restaurant industry failed to appeal to the state’s highest court.