August 14, 2026

BMI fails the test as a predictor of disease risk

A study shows waist to hip ratio (WHR) and waist circumference (WC) should be included with BMI when assessing patients with abdominal fat for risk of cardiovascular disease.A new rapid 'lateral flow' test is being trialled in the hope it will provide faster and more accurate results to help detect and treat iron deficiencies.We follow up on our earlier story about the lack of access to medical abortion services for women in rural and remote areas.Guest/sDr Michael Blaha, Professor of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for Cardiovascular DiseaseEmily Eriksson, Senior Research Officer in immunology and infectious diseases, Walter and Eliza Hall InstituteDr Rod Martin, President, Australian College of Rural and Remote MedicineReferencesJACC: Risk Reclassification Beyond BMI by Waist Circumference and Waist-to-Hip Ratio Across 9 Cardiovascular Outcomes: Results From the Cross-Cohort CollaborationBMJ: Longitudinal trends and characteristics of medication abortion provision in Australian general practice: a national open-cohort study using Medicine Insight, 2014 to 2021Nature: First poo transplant to treat food allergy in people has ‘exciting’ resultsEli Lilly CEO still wants deal to bring Mounjaro to Australia under PBSTrump signs order to reduce childhood vaccines and break up MMR shots

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