In today’s culture, there’s no escape from the pressure to achieve an ideal body. As a result, being overweight can cause significant shame or embarrassment – to the point that some people avoid doctor visits. They don’t want to face the scale, much less a lecture about weight loss, according to research in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Sound familiar? Maybe a little too familiar? 

Stress is bad for your health – but you probably know that from experience. (If you’ve somehow skated through this life stress-free, we want to know your secrets.) Stress can keep you up all night and cause diarrhea, headaches, fatigue and more.  

Stress also harms your health in ways you can’t quite see or feel. Some are well known, like high blood pressure. Others may surprise you, like the link between stress and type 2 diabetes. 

Two vaccines used worldwide — only one authorized for emergency use in the U.S.— have come under scrutiny after several cases of rare blood clotting issues. In mid-April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration paused the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the United States. In Europe, where the AstraZeneca vaccine is authorized for use, it has been linked to blood clot issues also. Some European countries are limiting its use to certain age groups and some, like Denmark, have decided to stop use altogether.

Recommended Women's Medical Tests and Screenings by Age

No one likes blood draws, pap smears and colonoscopies. But these tests are key to detecting serious health conditions and determining risk. Some tests you’ll need throughout your lifetime, while others are limited to certain decades of your life. 

Recommended Health Screenings & Medical Tests by Age for Women

When it comes to healthcare, women are extremely important. They make 80 percent of household healthcare decisions. Plus, they’re the caretakers of their children, their partners and often their parents. 

But what we learned from the MDVIP Women’s Health Survey is that many women are in the dark about common health issues and 79 percent said they face barriers that prevent them from taking better care of themselves. 

While heart disease kills more women than all cancers combined, cancer is still scary. Cancers that commonly affect women are breast, lung, endometrial, colorectal, skin, cervical and ovarian, with the most common being breast cancer and the deadliest being lung cancer. 

7 Tips on How to Prevent Cancer

Like heart disease, some cancers are preventable. These lifestyle tips can help lower your risk:

Download our Women's Health infographic.

How to Have a Successful Doctor-Patient Relationship with Your Primary Care Doctor

Many factors contribute to your good health — and one aspect that may not surprise you is having a good rapport with your doctor. Naturally, patients want a primary care physician who can skillfully diagnose and treat their illnesses. But the most successful doctor and patient relationships pair the doctor’s knowledge with collaborative communication, involving a two-way exchange of information.

Many women chalk up menopause to be simply being the end of their monthly cycles. And while this is true, there’s a lot more involved.

For example, most women don’t know that starting their period at a young age can lead to an earlier menopause, according to MDVIP’s Women’s Health Study. The average age of menopause is only 51 – many women experience it in their 40s. Being a smoker or having a chronic illness can speed up the timeline.

Read on to answer your questions about menopause.

Traditionally, women have been concerned about women’s related health issues – breast cancer, reproductive health, urinary tract infections and osteoporosis. These are legitimate concerns that women should address and discuss with their doctors. 

But many women fail to consider other serious conditions like: