Super Bowl Sunday means supersize eating, superlong sitting and superloud yelling. That's a lot of calories plus stress minus exercise. Oh, times alcohol.

I don't know if it's actually the least healthful day of the year, but a lot of research and angst goes into trying to gauge the health risks associated with the big game. One study found that flu deaths rose in the hometowns of teams in the Super Bowl. All those parties with communal dips and nachos were cited. Other research has found varying effects on heart attack rates following the Super Bowl.

Perhaps the most extra of Super Bowl risks can be blamed on avocados. Sunday is likely to be one of the biggest avocado consumption days in the U.S. Some 162 million pounds were consumed during last year's game according to the Hass Avocado Board. And they were all really hard to open, apparently. Gory stabs, lacerations and severed tendons were the result of avid avocadoists trying to slice and pit their quarry with unwieldy knives.

So watch yourself on Sunday. And share your thoughts about how to stay healthy while you enjoy the game. Email me your comments, which may be edited before publication in the newsletter. Please be sure to include your name and location.

– Stefanie Ilgenfritz, Health & Science Bureau Chief, WSJ
Reach me at stefanie.ilgenfritz@wsj.com or Twitter: @stefaniei

The World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak in China a global public health emergency, indicating the outbreak is considered a significant threat beyond China. The agency previously declined to make the declaration after meeting twice last week. Since then, a sixth person in the U.S. tested positive in the first case of human-to-human transmission in the States. The WHO’s director-general can now make recommendations to the international community, though they aren’t legally binding. U.S. health officials emphasized that the overall risk for people in the U.S. remains low.