Dave’s Blog

Can cutting 50 calories a day really solve the obesity crisis?

Posted: 1st Jul, 2025 by Dave Lee

Over the past few days, there has been extensive media coverage regarding the Government’s new food standards that businesses and supermarkets will be mandated to follow. I found particularly intriguing the assertion that a modest reduction of just 50 calories per day could potentially lift 2 million adults and 340,000 children out of obesity. Additionally, […]

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Dubious health advertisements on social media

Posted: 19th Jun, 2025 by Dave Lee

This week, Times Radio featured a thought-provoking discussion between its presenter and the author of a recent Which? article, focusing on the widespread problem of dubious and sometimes outright fraudulent health advertisements on social media. The Which? investigation, which concentrated on Facebook and Instagram, sheds light on just how pervasive these misleading adverts have become. […]

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Understanding, breaking, and forming habits

Posted: 3rd Jun, 2025 by Dave Lee

Habits are an integral part of our daily lives, shaping our routines and influencing our overall well-being. From the mundane act of brushing our teeth to more complex behaviours like smoking or procrastination, habits can be both beneficial and detrimental. While conventional wisdom has long suggested that it takes precisely 21 days to change a […]

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Understanding muscle and joint action during exercise

Posted: 21st May, 2025 by Dave Lee

One topic that often confuses students is muscle and joint action during exercise. In textbooks and manuals, the terms concentric and eccentric are typically explained in isolation, without applying this information to a broader context. While this approach may help students memorise definitions for exams, it does not necessarily aid their understanding or ability to […]

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Understanding anatomical terminology: Suffixes

Posted: 23rd Apr, 2025 by Dave Lee

Anatomical terminology forms the foundation of medical language, utilising a systematic combination of prefixes, root words, and suffixes to create precise and descriptive terms. This standardised approach to medical terminology enables us to communicate effectively about the human body and its conditions. We looked at prefixes and root words in detail previously, today we will […]

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Anatomical ‘root words’

Posted: 19th Mar, 2025 by Dave Lee

Understanding the construction of medical terminology can be much simpler when you recognise that a few key root words appear over and over again. Anatomical terminology is built using related prefixes and suffixes that work in tandem with root words to convey precise meanings. By understanding how these word parts interact, you can decode complex […]

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Understanding the three planes and axes of the human body

Posted: 21st Jan, 2025 by Dave Lee

The concepts of planes and axes in the human body are fundamental tools used to describe movement, anatomy, and positioning. However, they often leave students feeling confused. Over the years, I have noticed that diagrams showing a person sliced into sections by imaginary squares or pierced by lines rarely clarify the topic (see for yourself […]

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Muscle etymology: How do muscles get their names?

Posted: 19th Nov, 2024 by Dave Lee

This article may not appeal to everyone. However, if you have ever struggled to memorise the correct anatomical names for muscles, it may be beneficial to you. I have adapted an old handout I provided to students – understanding the origins of muscle names can significantly simplify the learning process. The terminology used to name […]

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