Bigger and Healthier
Gina Kolata, who demonstrates again and again that the strengths of the NYT lie in its outstanding individual talents not its corporate brand, has a must-read article on long-term improvements in Americans' health and physiques. (Via Tyler Cowen.)
Another trend, unmentioned by Kolata and her sources because it's a bit off the main one, is that medicine can now effectively treat chronic problems like migraines that were once not even worth mentioning to the doctor. Of course, effective treatments also lead us to acknowledge--or complain about--diseases that were once ignored or considered just part of getting older. The frequent complaints about "stress" and the "medicalization of life" are thus signs of progress.