Walking helps Kimberly Kilgour and her mother, Arlena, improve their overall physical and mental health. Kilgour's mother had a stroke in 2010.

Kimberly Kilgour, 52, has a busy schedule as a preacher's wife, mother and full-time manager in the Immunology Unit at the Georgia Public Health Laboratory (GPHL). In 2010, Kilgour's schedule became even busier when her mother, Arlena, 76, had a stroke and moved in with her daughter after extensive rehabilitation.

She tried to juggle the demands of home, work and church -- all at the expense of her health.

Kilgour's first reality check was during a 2011 visit to her doctor after a colonoscopy. The follow-up results were great but she was bothered by her weight gain.

Students at Mableton Elementary School in Cobb County learned about the chemicals used to make cigarettes on Kick Butts Day in 2012.

Saying no to tobacco saves lives, no matter what tools and tactics tobacco companies use to get people hooked on their products. That's the message kids will hear on Kick Butts Day, a national observance encouraging kids and teens to speak out about the dangers of smoking and the methods of tobacco companies.

Sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Kick Butts Day falls this year on March 20, and groups in Georgia will join others across the U.S. who are hosting events to raise awareness of the problem of tobacco use in their communities, encourage youth to stay tobacco-free and to urge elected officials to take action to protect youth from tobacco and secondhand smoke.

DPH's Tuberculosis Program staff.

March 24 is World Tuberculosis Day and the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) will join the National Tuberculosis Controllers Association and others March 23 for the seventh annual Tuberculosis Awareness Walk to raise awareness of the disease. 

It's a cruel incongruity, but spring is typically the season when suicide rates spike. Data from the National Center for Health Statistics show routine rises in suicide rates in the U.S. anywhere from March to June nearly every year since 1999.

Carol Koplan, adjunct assistant professor at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health, said scientists have speculated for years on a number of causes, everything from the biological effects of sunshine to the psychology of loneliness.