ICYMI: Your Body On Fear And Why Being President Is A Health Hazard

ICYMI Health features what we're reading this week.

This week, we read up on political health hazards, including holding office and living in fear of terrorism. 

One piece highlighted new research about the connection between poor health and terrorism-related fear (big surprise: being stressed out is bad for your heart). And a lighthearted essay focused on the health-perspective pros and cons of being president. On the plus side: prominent public figures have great access to top-notch health care. On the minus side: elected officials tend to die almost three years earlier than their election-losing counterparts.

Read on and tell us in the comments: What did you read and love this week?

1. Being President Is A Hazard To Your Health -- Washington Post

Elected officials die 2.7 years earlier than runner ups, but does that health disparity apply to U.S. presidents, too? 

"I say you don’t have anything to fear from this study; you’re part of the one-tenth of the top one percent of the wealthiest, most highly-educated people who have access to the best health care," Olshansky said. "You’ll do just fine."

2. War Is Destroying Yemen's Medical System When The Country Needs It Most

A nine-month war in Yemen has devastated or destroyed more than 99 of the country's already fragile health facilities, including hospitals and clinics. 

Bombings are a daily reality for Yemenis, even inside hospitals.

3. Flint's Kids May Suffer Lead Poisoning Effects For Decades -- The Huffington Post

 

A water source switch left the tap water in Flint, Michigan, contaminated with lead -- putting the city in the throes of a major public health crisis.

"We know lead and we know the life-altering, multigenerational impact of lead," Hanna-Attisha said. "If you detect lead in a child, there’s a public health, environmental problem."

4. The Fear Of Terrorism Is Dangerous At A Biological Level -- Science Of Us 

In a new study, people who feared terrorism the most were also likely to have poorer cardiovascular health.

People in the survey suffered real, physical damage because of their anxiety over terrorism, even though none of them had ever actually witnessed an act of terrorism themselves.

5. Why Victims Of Sexual Abuse Are More Likely To Be Obese -- The Atlantic

For some victims of sexual abuse, emotional trauma can manifest as binge eating and obesity in adulthood.

Women said they felt more physically imposing when they were bigger. They felt their size helped ward off sexual advances from men. 

6. What Do Young Children Learn From Pets? -- Pacific Standard

Kids with pets were more likely to say that animals had biological properties than kids without animals in their lives.

It’s not like they are dealing with the biological end of things -- feeding, grooming, cleaning, making sure the animal has peed and pooped. And yet they did show a better understanding of biological concepts.

 

Also on HuffPost:

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