LGA warns of drowning risk for bathers following heat health alert - Local Government Association

Bridgetown, Barbados, 5 October 2026 (PAHO/WHO) – Representatives from countries and territories across the Caribbean came together in Barbados to strengthen national and regional action to prevent drowning and build safer, more resilient communities. The Caribbean Community Drowning Prevention Workshop, held from 1–5 October 2026, brought together practitioners, programme administrators, academics and representatives of government agencies and civil society organizations involved in drowning prevention across the region. The workshop was hosted by the Royal Life Saving Society Commonwealth (RLSS) and co-hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) as well as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Drowning remains an important public health concern. Approximately 17,000 people died from drowning in the Region of the Americas in 2021, representing a mortality rate of 1.6 per 100,000 population. Drowning also remains the seventh leading cause of death among children aged 5 to 14 years in the Region.

A large study involving approximately 7,500 people suggests that eating a healthy diet may help slow biological aging, and there is no single eating plan that stands above all others. Scientists at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) investigated 10 different dietary patterns, including the Mediterranean, Nordic, plant-based, and DASH diets. The DASH diet was specifically developed to help reduce blood pressure. Every dietary pattern examined was associated with slower biological aging, as measured by chemical changes in DNA that reflect the body's aging process. The findings were first identified using data from DZNE's Rhineland Study and then independently confirmed in another population. The research was published in Nature Communications.

A simple selfie could hold surprising clues to your overall health and longevity, especially among people with cancer.

Could a blood test reveal what food questionnaires miss? Researchers examined 67 blood metabolites to investigate how dietary habits and the body's metabolic responses relate to long-term survival. Study: A metabolomic signature of the Mediterranean diet predicts mortality in 4 independent cohorts. Image Credit: Spalnic / Shutterstock