Obese cardiac patients are less likely to die early than their normal weight counterparts, say researchers.

Pregnant women aged over 40 should be given the option of being induced early to reduce the risks of losing their baby, says a Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists paper.

Inducing these women at 39 weeks instead of the normal 41 could prevent 17 stillbirths in the UK each year, the authors said.

Boys left infertile by childhood cancer treatment may one day be able to produce healthy sperm by using stored stem cells, monkey research suggests.

Chemotherapy and radiotherapy can kill tumours and the cells which make sperm.

The European Commission is not acting quickly enough to protect patients from potential harm from medical implants, a parliamentary committee warns.

Current Europe-wide regulation on medical implants, such as hip replacement joints, is too slow to change, they say.

People can be obese yet physically healthy and fit and at no greater risk of heart disease or cancer than normal weight people, say researchers.

The key is being "metabolically fit", meaning no high blood pressure, cholesterol or raised blood sugar, and exercising, according to experts.

Eating organic food will not make you healthier, according to researchers at Stanford University, although it could cut your exposure to pesticides.

They looked at more than 200 studies of the content and associated health gains of organic and non-organic foods.

Scientists believe they are a step closer in the difficult journey towards developing a male contraceptive pill, after successful studies in mice.

A contraceptive pill for women has been around for decades, but an equivalent for men has proved elusive.

Shift workers are slightly more at risk of having a heart attack or stroke than day workers, research suggests.

An analysis of studies involving more than 2m workers in the British Medical Journal said shift work can disrupt the body clock and have an adverse effect on lifestyle.

The first child to have pioneering surgery to rebuild his windpipe with his own stem cells is doing well and is back in school.

Ciaran Finn-Lynch, who is now 13, had the ground-breaking surgery at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital in 2010.

Severely obese children are putting their heart at danger even while they are still in primary school, according to a Dutch study.

Heart disease is normally associated with middle age, but the early warning signs were detected in children between the ages of two and 12.

Omelettes, meringues and pasta could one-day be back on the menu for some people with egg allergies after they are treated with the very food they are allergic to, say US researchers.

The only option for patients is to completely avoid foods containing egg.

A lack of exercise is now causing as many deaths as smoking across the world, a study suggests.

The report, published in the Lancet to coincide with the build-up to the Olympics, estimates that about a third of adults are not doing enough physical activity, causing 5.3m deaths a year.

More elderly patients should be prescribed drugs to tackle high blood pressure and cholesterol, experts say.

Oxford and Birmingham university researchers said older patients were "largely ignored" after looking at prescribing for nearly 37,000 people.

US health regulators have approved a weight-loss pill for the first time in 13 years.

Belviq, made by Arena Pharmaceutical, can be used by obese or overweight adults with at least one condition.

People who take calcium supplements could be increasing their risk of having a heart attack, according to researchers in Germany.

Calcium is often taken by older people to strengthen bones and prevent fractures.

Dieting in pregnancy is safe for women and does not carry risks for the baby, a review of research has suggested.

The British Medical Journal analysis looked at the findings from 44 previous studies involving more than 7,000 women.

An 83-year-old man has become the oldest person in the UK to donate a kidney while still being alive, the NHS Blood and Transplant service has said.

Nicholas Crace, from Overton in Hampshire, is also the oldest "altruistic" kidney donor - he will never meet the recipient of his organ.

Just one in five Britons eats the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, a poll for World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) suggests.

The Department of Health first launched its five-a-day campaign in 2003.

Being cheerful may protect against heart problems, say US experts.

Happy, optimistic people have a lower risk of heart disease and stroke, a Harvard School of Public Health review of more than 200 studies - reported in

Teenagers can suffer severe sleep deprivation when the clocks change, say researchers at the University of Surrey.

The amount they sleep decreases to less than six hours a night on average the week following the move to British Summer Time.