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Social media, screen time bigger risks to kids than substance use, inactivity: Doctors Manitoba
5 minute read Monday, May. 25, 2026Social media and excessive screen time pose a bigger health risk to youth than substance use and inactivity, say Manitoba doctors, who are throwing their support behind a ban proposed by the province.
“As physicians, we are increasingly seeing the impact of excessive social media and screen time on mental health, sleep and healthy development in children and youth,” Dr. Alon Altman, the new president of Doctors Manitoba, said Monday in an online news conference.
“There is growing evidence about these impacts.”
Members surveyed by the provincial physicians’ advocacy organization ranked social media and excessive screen time as the biggest risk to kids’ health. More than 240 family physicians, pediatricians, psychiatrists and other specialties responded to the survey that ran from April 30 to May 15. More than 90 per cent indicated support for restricting access to social media and AI chatbots for children and youth.
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Health
It’s time to start simplifying for success
5 minute read Saturday, May. 23, 2026You’re tired in a way coffee doesn’t fix anymore. Your energy isn’t what it once was. Your clothes don’t fit right. You weren’t always like this — you used to chase your kids around the yard without thinking about it. You used to put on a swimsuit without a care in the world. You used to eat a burger and drink a beer on a Friday and wake up Saturday feeling fine.
What gives? Nothing seems to work anymore. It’s not for lack of trying. You did keto for six weeks until you cracked at a birthday party. You tried intermittent fasting until your 2 p.m. headache became a personality trait every co-worker saw coming. You bought a Peloton that became a sweater dryer. You did those circuit workouts at the place down the street until your back tweaked. You consulted the clinic that promised a peptide and supplement cocktail would fix it all. Spoiler: It didn’t. The pantry has a graveyard of half-empty protein tubs. The drawer has six supplement bottles you weren’t consistently taking. The closet has a pair of jeans you keep “just in case.”
Here’s the part nobody wants to say out loud: The reason none of it stuck isn’t because you lack discipline or your metabolism is broken. It’s because none of those plans were built for a person living your current reality.
Keto works for some people for a while. Fasting works for some people for a while. The reason they didn’t work for you is you have client dinners. You have your kid’s birthday cake. You have the lake in July and the kitchen at midnight after a long Tuesday.
Health
Hep A outbreak in province’s North makes its way to Winnipeg, officials scrambling to vaccinate people at high risk
3 minute read Preview Friday, May. 8, 2026Health
The Latest: 3 passengers from virus-hit cruise ship evacuated to the Netherlands
11 minute read Wednesday, May. 6, 2026PRAIA, Cape Verde (AP) — Three cruise ship passengers with suspected hantavirus infections being flown to the Netherlands for treatment Wednesday. Three people have died, and the World Health Organization says there are eight cases.
About 150 passengers are isolating aboard the Dutch ship at the center of the outbreak. The MV Hondius is near the Cape Verde islands off West Africa, waiting to sail to Spain’s Canary Islands. Officials say those on board show no symptoms.
Hantavirus is a rare, rodent-borne illness that usually spreads when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings. The Argentine government’s leading hypothesis is that a Dutch couple contracted the virus during a bird-watching outing at a garbage dump before boarding, according to two officials.
The WHO says the risk to the global population from this outbreak is low, with the organization’s top epidemic expert telling AP, “This is not the next COVID.”
Health
3 patients are being evacuated to Europe from cruise ship with hantavirus outbreak
6 minute read Wednesday, May. 6, 2026PRAIA, Cape Verde (AP) — Two patients with hantavirus and one suspected of being infected were being evacuated from a cruise ship to the Netherlands on Wednesday, the U.N. health agency said. The vessel at the center of a deadly outbreak remained off Cape Verde with nearly 150 people on board waiting to head to Spain’s Canary Islands.
Associated Press footage showed health workers in protective gear heading to the ship for the evacuation that included the ship's British doctor, who Spain's health ministry said had been in “serious condition” but has improved. An air ambulance later departed.
Three people have died, and one body remained on the ship, the World Health Organization said. Of the eight cases recorded, five were confirmed by laboratory testing.
Hantavirus usually spreads by inhaling contaminated rodent droppings and can spread person-to-person, though that is rare, according to the WHO, whose top epidemic expert said the risk to the public is low.
Health
The real ‘cure-all’ for weight control? Commitment
7 minute read Saturday, Mar. 28, 2026Let this sink in — $108,000.
That’s what GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy could cost you over 25-30 years. If you’re prescribed Ozempic “off label” for weight loss (same drug, just for diabetic treatment) it will cost you less.
But let’s do the math: Wegovy runs roughly $400-$570 per month in Canada. No provincial drug plan covers it for weight loss. Multiply that out over a few decades, and you’re looking at well over $100,000, out of pocket, over the course of your life.
I’m not anti-medication. GLP-1 drugs are genuinely impressive, and I coach people who use them effectively. But “impressive” and “magic injection” are two very different things. Before you or someone you care about commits to a drug for life, you deserve to understand what the research actually says.
Opinion
Endometriosis painful, lack of research shameful
7 minute read Preview Tuesday, Mar. 17, 2026Health
Family of woman who died after 11-hour wait in ER calls for inquiry
5 minute read Preview Monday, Feb. 23, 2026Health
Manitoba to screen infants for defect that causes sight, hearing problems
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026Health
Province warns of measles exposure at Jets game as cases surge
3 minute read Preview Friday, Feb. 13, 2026Health
Focus on your body, not the scale
8 minute read Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026Every year, right around the time Winnipeg finally starts to flirt with spring, I get some version of the same message:
“Mitch, I need to lose 25 pounds by summer. Let’s go.”
It always arrives with urgency, like fat loss operates on panic. And I get it. People want to feel better in their clothes. They want energy back. They want the belly to shrink. They want to head into warm weather with some confidence.
But there’s a problem with most weight-loss plans, and it’s not a lack of motivation.
Health
Funding shortfall undermines Canada’s ability to track diseases threatening wildlife, human health
8 minute read Preview Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026Health
Considering options and community after prostate cancer diagnosis
7 minute read Preview Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025Books
Body’s signals to brain worth heeding for health
4 minute read Preview Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025LOAD MORE HEALTH ARTICLES