Liver Health
Fatty liver affects one in three Australian adults, mostly unnoticed
It is the most common liver condition in the country and it rarely causes symptoms. What the term means, who is more likely to have it and how it is found.
Weight Loss
A realistic 2–4 kg a month once the load comes off
Why diets stall when the liver is carrying a load it cannot clear, and the liver drops readers are switching to.
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Heart Health
Blood pressure: the number most people miss
Three in four adults with a high reading in the national survey had not reported the condition. What the two numbers mean and how to measure them well.
Metabolism
Does metabolism really slow down in your 40s?
The largest study of human energy use found a level stretch from 20 to 60. The slowdown comes later, and it is gentler than most people expect.
Weight Loss
Why losing weight gets harder after 45
Same meals, same walk, different result. What changes in muscle, daily movement, sleep and fat storage through midlife.
Joints & Mobility
Osteoarthritis is not just wear and tear: why movement helps
Australian guidelines put exercise and weight management ahead of scans and surgery for sore knees and hips. Here is the reasoning.
Liver Health
Reading your liver function test: ALT, AST, GGT and the rest
A reader's guide to the six lines of the liver panel on an Australian pathology report, and why one mildly raised result is often simply repeated.
Browse by topic
Weight Loss
What changes with weight in midlife, and what the evidence says helps.
8 articles
Liver Health
Your liver, the tests that track it and the everyday habits that matter.
8 articles
Metabolism
Energy, blood sugar and blood fats, explained without the jargon.
3 articles
Heart Health
Blood pressure, heart checks and looking after your heart.
3 articles
Joints & Mobility
Joints, backs and bones: staying strong and moving well.
3 articles
Weight Loss
All weight loss articles
Weight Loss
It's just your age - the half-sentence that costs women years
After the change the middle arrives and the scales barely move. Why that is the clue, and the one check that almost never gets ordered.
Weight Loss
It's just a beer gut, they say. Nobody asks what's sitting behind it
For blokes who have heard it for years - and what usually sits right behind the belt that nobody checks.
Weight Loss
Drink less beer, they said - what the same blood test was showing about the liver
For men who cut the beer and the prawns and still got the next flare - and the number on the same pathology sheet nobody mentioned.
Liver Health
All liver health articles
Liver Health
It's just your age - the half-sentence that costs women years
After the change the middle arrives and the scales barely move. Why that is the clue, and the one check that almost never gets ordered.
Liver Health
It's just a beer gut, they say. Nobody asks what's sitting behind it
For blokes who have heard it for years - and what usually sits right behind the belt that nobody checks.
Liver Health
Drink less beer, they said - what the same blood test was showing about the liver
For men who cut the beer and the prawns and still got the next flare - and the number on the same pathology sheet nobody mentioned.
Metabolism
All metabolism articles
Metabolism
Does metabolism really slow down in your 40s?
The largest study of human energy use found a level stretch from 20 to 60. The slowdown comes later, and it is gentler than most people expect.
Metabolism
Cholesterol numbers explained: how to read a lipid panel
Far more Australians have high cholesterol on a blood test than say they have it. What the four numbers mean, and why GPs look at overall risk.
Metabolism
Prediabetes: what the result means and how it is found
Blood glucose that is raised but below the diabetes range usually comes with no symptoms. Here is how it is tested in Australia and what the guidance says.
Heart Health
All heart health articles
Heart Health
Blood pressure: the number most people miss
Three in four adults with a high reading in the national survey had not reported the condition. What the two numbers mean and how to measure them well.
Heart Health
The 20-minute heart check Medicare covers from 45
A Heart Health Check with your GP estimates your chance of a heart attack or stroke in the next five years. Here is who qualifies and how to book.
Heart Health
Stress, anxiety and your heart: what is known
Anxiety is common in midlife and its symptoms can resemble heart trouble. What the evidence says, and why chest pain is always treated as urgent.
Joints & Mobility
All joints & mobility articles
Joints & Mobility
Osteoarthritis is not just wear and tear: why movement helps
Australian guidelines put exercise and weight management ahead of scans and surgery for sore knees and hips. Here is the reasoning.
Joints & Mobility
Back pain: why the advice is to keep moving
Most episodes of low back pain settle within weeks, and Australian guidance now favours gentle activity over bed rest and early scans.
Joints & Mobility
Bone density after 50: what to know before a fracture
Bones thin quietly with age and after menopause. A guide to who should ask a GP about a scan, what Medicare covers and what helps day to day.
How we write
Every article on Wattle & Well is built from published Australian sources such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics, healthdirect and the national health foundations. We link to each source so you can read it yourself. Read our editorial policy.