New and Updated Topics

Updated Interactive Health Tools

• Is Your Weight Increasing Your Health Risks?: This interactive tool has undergone new medical review and was found to be accurate and up-to-date.
• Should I Consider Surgery for My Low Back Problem?: The introduction to this tool now has an expanded of list of problems that should cause a person to talk to a doctor, rather than using the tool. These are: fever for two or more days; a serious injury, accident, or fall; or a history of spinal stenosis or cancer. The tool also notes that in most cases a person with back pain does not have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test until he or she has had symptoms for at least 4 weeks, and usually surgery is not considered until after the MRI.
• What Is Your Target Heart Rate?: We have revised this interactive health tool with a new formula to calculate your target heart rate. The tool now uses the Karvonen formula, which is based on your resting heart rate, age, and activity level, to calculate a target heart rate.

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