BODY WATCH : Words to Live By : Consumer health magazines may not be academic masterpieces, but they do offer an array of medical advice and information.
In today’s rapidly changing and overwhelming potpourri of health news, where do you turn for good coverage? One place is consumer health magazines. They’re not JAMA or the New England Journal of Medicine--and don’t expect New Yorker-quality writing. Still, they are great ways to get an overview of up-to-date health news. Here are our top eight picks.
Health
Number of issues a year: 7 Established: 1987 Circulation: 900,000 Cover price: $2.95 The Harper’s of health mags, this smart, classy and sophisticated magazine out of San Francisco is appealing both in looks and content. Formerly called Hippocrates and In Health, it’s well-styled and visually clean. Last year, it received an editorial excellence award from Folio plus two coveted National Magazine awards.
Departments include: short takes, travel, comics and Vital Signs--reports from around the nation on such topics as regret and spinach, backed by an appendix of references.
Recent features: “Lyme Disease--A Bogus Epidemic?” and “The Lost Art of Ginny Ruffner,” a fascinating tale of a glass sculptor whose brain was damaged in a car accident.
American Health
Number of issues a year: 10 Established: 1982 Circulation: 800,000 Cover price: $1.95 Now owned by Reader’s Digest, this jampacked, newsy and practical magazine with a sense of humor and a medical edge gives lots of bang for your buck. The layout and graphics are a bit busy, but you’ll be hard-pressed to walk away without learning something.
Given high marks for accuracy about nutrition by the American Council on Science and Health, this magazine has lots of medical updates and clip-out resource boxes.
Departments include: How It Works (diagrams and explanations of body parts) and the oft-poignant Picture of Health (as in Siberian schoolchildren being zapped with ultraviolet light to combat sunless winters).
Recent features: “Burnout” (emotional exhaustion) and “You Don’t Have to Be a Klutz” (12-step recovery program for the coordination-impaired).
Rodale’s Healthy Woman
Number of issues a year: 2 Established: 1993 Circulation: 200,000 Cover price: $2.95 The newest player in the market is this upbeat publication that so far lives up to its cover line of “real advice, real issues, real life.”
Departments include: the predictable topics of fat and exercise. But the overall mix of features includes intelligent advice on topics such as protecting privacy and ensuring accuracy of medical records. There are also humorous first-person stories, recipes and shorts on topics like dealing with an angry dog.
Recent features: “Can Prozac Ruin Your Sex Life?” (yes) and “Before the Change,” a story about perimenopausal symptoms and what to do about them.
Downside: Because of its infrequency (it’s biannual), HW is hard to find, but editors hope it will go quarterly by next year. Next issue: This month.
Men’s Health
Number of issues a year: 10 Established: 1988 Circulation: 1.3 million Cover price: $3.50 This magazine, from Rodale Press, took the entire industry by storm when it debuted as the first men’s health mag. It was named by Capell’s Circulation Report as the fastest-growing magazine of any kind in 1993 and 1994.
Each issue sports a cover of a hunky man--usually doing some form of exercise--and cover lines focus even more than women’s health mags on fitness, fat and sex. But despite such features as “10 Grooming Gaffes to Avoid” and “Lose Your Love Handles,” going inside is more than just entering a sweaty locker room.
Departments include: New Products (rock-climbing shoes and bicycle wheels) and Health Bulletin, a roundup of late-breaking medical news.
Recent features: “Shrink to Fit,” a first-person account of going to a psychotherapist, complete with good advice for choosing one and a guide to various types. “Get What You Want in Bed” is actually about shedding inhibition and fears.
Prevention
Number of issues a year: 12 Established: 1950 Circulation: 3.25 million Cover price: $1.95 This digest-sized mag, another from Rodale Press, is the nation’s largest and oldest health publication. It’s not as classy or well-written as the publisher’s newer health mags (most of its sales are at the checkout), but it still does a good job.
Departments include: Medical Care News (cartilage transplants) and Your Healthy Pet (cat retroviruses).
Recent features: “Break the Weight-Loss Barrier” and “Stop Back Pain Without Surgery.”
Your Health
Number of issues a year: 26 Established: 1962 Circulation: 70,000 Cover price: $1.95 Now positioned to compete for Prevention’s readers, this magazine has gone through several incarnations and is today a digest both in size and content, with lots of reprints from magazines and newspapers. It’s increasingly focused on natural health while presenting medical news and updates.
Departments include: Health Notes (financial lengths people go to for pets) and Medical Bulletin (health updates).
Recent features: “Do You Believe in Angels: Amazing Cases of ‘Miracle’ Healing” and “80+ Natural Home Remedies,” grandmothers’ cures for everything from backaches to yeast infections.
Longevity
Number of issues a year: 12 Established: 1988 Circulation: 350,000 Cover price: $2.99 Published by General Media, which also publishes Penthouse, this attractive glossy focuses more on beauty and looks than on hard-hitting medical news.
Departments include: Health Style Setters (read why “The Nanny” star Fran Drescher isn’t afraid to gain weight) and Men’s Health and Fitness (the bald truth about hair replacement).
Recent features: “Health Heroes,” a story about the health woes of the rich and famous (Mike Wallace’s depression) and the public good that came from them. “Spa Specifics” gives 61 “body-shaping, pound-paring, stress-beating, health-pampering” retreats.
Natural Health
Number of issues a year: 6 Established: 1971 Circulation: 275,000 Cover price: $4 Started by Michio Kushi, a macrobiotic guru who’s no longer connected with the magazine, this good-looking mag was formerly called East West and then East West Journal. Today it focuses on alternative remedies such as prayer, forgiveness and touch.
Departments include: home remedies, recipes, book reviews and fax surveys (how do you feel about dessert?).
Recent features: “Sole Searching” (reflexology) and “Listen Up! What Your Body Is Trying to Tell You,” a story about how hidden feelings affect your health. Or, learn how to cure ill rooms with feng shui, the ancient Chinese art of furniture placement for “smoother energy, better relationships and inspired health.” (Donald Trump uses it.)