Pfizer has recalled 14 lots of its birth control pills Lo/Ovral-28, and 14 lots of the generic version Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol, because of a packaging error that could cause the daily regimen for these oral contraceptives to be incorrect, leaving women at risk for unintended pregnancy.

Under a new settlement agreement in California, the maker of Brazilian Blowout products is required to warn consumers and hair stylists that two of its popular hair-straightening products emit formaldehyde gas.

Many hospitals have succeeded in reducing the number of babies who are delivered early without a medical reason, according to a report from the Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit watchdog organization that collects quality and safety data from hospitals on behalf of employers. In 2010 only 30 percent of hospitals that report data to Leapfrog maintained an early elective delivery rate of 5 percent or less, which experts feel is a reasonable target for hospitals. That figure improved to 39 percent of reporting hospitals in 2011.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported today that obesity rates in the U.S. have peaked. However, the latest figures released by the federal health agency show the epidemic of overweight Americans is far from over.

If you’re like most Americans, you’re probably exercising less now that the days have gotten shorter. A new Gallup poll released earlier this month found that the percentage of U.S. adults who exercise for at least 30 minutes a day three or more days a week reached its low in November, to just under 50 percent. But our recent survey of 42,918 Consumer Reports subscribers found that treadmills and ellipticals were the favorite home exercise machines, in part because they allowed users to keep exercising even when the weather was bad.

Taking vitamin D with calcium supplements reduces fracture risk, especially for institutionalized seniors, but whether the sunshine vitamin prevents cancer is uncertain, according to a systematic review of the medical research published earlier this week in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Well-known birth control pills such as Yaz and Yasmin need stronger warnings about the risk of blood clots, an FDA advisory committee reportedly recommended last week. This comes on the heels of the agency’s recently released analysis showing the drugs pose a greater risk of clots compared to older birth control pills. The FDA acknowledged that other studies have not found such an increase. With all the controversy, where does this leave women who take Yaz and related oral contraceptives?

I knew it was more than a tragic coincidence when two of my friends, middle-aged men without the usual risk factors of tobacco and alcohol use, developed late stage (IV) tongue cancer, reportedly the identical condition with which actor Michael Douglas was diagnosed last year. Cancers of the mouth and throat are growing so quickly that experts in the medical and scientific community are calling this an “epidemic,” for which middle aged men appear most at risk.

Many older Americans undergo routine cancer screening tests even though guidelines recommend against them, according to a study published online this week by the Archives of Internal Medicine.

That question is more complicated than it seems, according to a new study in the British Medical Journal. It considered not just the potential benefits of routine breast-cancer screening, but the risks, too.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a recall warning for specific lots of Kotex tampons contaminated with a bacterium that could cause vaginal infections and other health risks.

A couple of years ago when I took my teenage son to the dermatologist, we asked the doctor to set the record straight on a number of acne myths: Did too much chocolate make it worse? (Possibly…) Could popping pimples cause scarring? (Possibly…) And was Proactiv worth the cost? (Absolutely not!) He said a topical treatment with any over-the-counter benzoyl peroxide product was an equally good and far less expensive choice, and that it would be great if someone would set the record straight for gullible parents and teens.

This week’s news on cancer screening—this time on cervical cancer—isn’t nearly as controversial as last week’s, on prostate cancer, though many women might be surprised to learn that they don’t need to start screening until age 21 and might be able to stop after they turn 65.

Taking folic acid supplements from four weeks before conception to eight weeks afterward may substantially reduce the risk of a rare but severe delay in language development in offspring at age 3, according to a study of women in Norway, where everyday foods are not routinely fortified with folic acid, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Middle-aged women with restless legs syndrome are prone to high blood pressure, according to a large study this week in the journal Hypertension.