31 March, 2018

Making neighbourhoods more walkable can prevent childhood obesity

Do we need to consider health risks when designing urban spaces? Yes, according to a study. Making neighbourhoods more walkable can have a positive impact on kids’ waistline and BMI (body mass index). Those are the findings of a Montreal research team led by INRS professor Tracie A. Barnett.

According to the results of the study, urban design is a factor in the development of childhood obesity. The study suggests that infrastructure designed to encourage walking can help reduce childhood obesity.

Pedestrian-friendly amenities, such as pedestrian crossing lights, wider sidewalks, and signs to help pedestrians cross the road, are thought to have a greater impact in high-density neighbourhoods. Such features can also encourage children to ride bicycles, play outside, and engage in similar activities, all of which help them burn off energy.

The research team analyzed and compared data collected two years apart among children in Montreal with a family history of obesity and who lived at the same address for the duration of the follow-up.

The study has been published in the journal Preventive Medicine.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

31.03.2018

You are strong when you know your weakness; you are wise when you learn from your mistakes…

28 March, 2018

Stopping exercise may up depressive symptoms: study

Stopping exercise suddenly can result in increased depressive symptoms, according to a study.

Julie Morgan, a Ph.D. student at the University of Adelaide in Australia, reviewed the results of earlier studies that examined the effects of stopping exercise in regularly active adults. "Adequate physical activity and exercise are important for both physical and mental health," said Morgan, who published the review in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Current public health guidelines recommend being active on most if not all days of the week, researchers said.

At least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week is recommended to maintain health and prevent depression, or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise for added health benefits, they said. "An extensive body of clinical evidence shows that regular exercise can reduce and treat depression," said Morgan. "However, there is limited research into what happens with depressive symptoms when exercise is stopped," she said.

Morgan reviewed studies that investigated the cessation of exercise in 152 adults. They had each undertaken at least 30 minutes of exercise, three times a week, for a minimum of three months. "In some cases, ceasing this amount of exercise-induced significant increases in depressive symptoms after just three days," said Bernhard Baune, a professor at the University of Adelaide.

"Other studies showed that people's depressive symptoms increased after the first one or two weeks, which is still quite soon after stopping their exercise," said Baune.

Source: www.deccanherald.com

28.03.2018

Just do what must be done. This may not be happiness but it is greatness

George Bernard Shaw

26 March, 2018

A new antibiotic on the doc to fight antibiotic resistance

A new antibiotic which is capable of killing superbugs and has been successfully used to treat an infection could lead to the first new class of antibiotic drug in 30 years, says a team of Indian-origin scientists. In the study, published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, scientists successfully created a simplified, synthesised form of “teixobactin” — a natural antibiotic capable of killing superbugs, discovered by US scientists in soil samples in 2015.

Teixobactin was also heralded as a “gamechanger” in the battle against antibiotic-resistant pathogens such as MRSA and VRE. The team at University of Lincoln in the UK developed a library of synthetic versions of teixobactin by replacing key amino acids at specific points in the antibiotic’s structure to make it easier to recreate. After these simplified synthetic versions were shown to be highly potent against superbug-causing bacteria in vitro or test tube experiments, researchers from the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI) then used one of the synthetic versions to successfully treat a bacterial infection in mice.

‘Translating our success with these simplified synthetic versions from test tubes to real cases is a quantum jump in the development of new antibiotics and brings us closer to realizing the therapeutic potential of simplified teixobactins,’ said Ishwar Singh, the Lincoln’s School of Pharmacy.

Besides clearing the infection, the synthesised teixobactin also minimised the infection’s severity, which was not the case for the clinically-used antibiotic, moxifloxacin, used as a control study, the findings showed. ‘Our preliminary studies suggest that the modified peptide decreases the bacterial burden as well as disease severity, thus potentially enhancing the therapeutic utility,’ said Lakshminarayanan Rajamani from SERI

‘A significant amount of work remains in the development of teixobactin as a therapeutic antibiotic for human use — we are probably around six to ten years off a drug that doctors can prescribe to patients — but this is a real step in the right direction and now opens the door for improving our in vivo analogues,’ Singh explained.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

26.03.2018

Honesty is a very expensive gift….so don’t expect it from cheap people….

24 March, 2018

One-third women in rural India unaware of breast cancer: Study

While early detection is the key for successful breast cancer treatment, one in three women in rural India had not even heard of the deadly disease, finds a research led by a doctoral student of Indian-origin.

Breast cancer is the most common of the types of cancer occurring in India, followed by lung cancer and cervical cancer.  The findings showed that as many as 90 percent of the women in rural areas are unaware of the possibility of self-examination of their own breasts.

A delay of more than three months in seeking care was observed in almost half of the women. The delay in diagnosis and treatment was for more than twelve weeks in 23 percent of the patients.

"Early detection may be crucial for successful breast cancer treatment. Therefore, it's important to influence women's awareness of the symptoms and their attitudes towards treatment," said doctoral student Nitin Gangane in a statement released by the Umea University in Sweden.

"It's urgent to have a national breast cancer programme in India, while at the local level, we need to raise awareness among women about breast cancer," Gangane said. The team performed two studies including over 1,000 women in the mainly rural-dominated district of Wardha in the state of Maharashtra in central India.

Hardly any women in the studies self-examined their breasts. Every third woman had not even heard of breast cancer.  On the other hand, most of the women showed a great deal of interest in learning more.

"Illiteracy, ignorance, poverty, and superstition regretfully lead to many women delaying their contact with the health care system too long," Gangane said.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

24.03.2018

Time is the coin of your life. You spend it. Do not allow others to spend it for you

Carl Sandburg

23 March, 2018

Anxiety may trigger smartphone addiction: study

People who are less emotionally stable and suffer from anxiety are more likely to be addicted to their smartphones, according to a study. Researchers from the University of Derby and Nottingham Trent University in the UK conducted an online study with 640 smartphone users, aged 13-69, to find out the association between smartphone use and personality traits.

They found that people who struggle with their mental health are more likely to intensively use their smartphone as a form of therapy. The less conscientious the individuals are, the more likely they are to be addicted to their phones, researchers said. The study also revealed that as anxiety levels increase in an individual, the more they use their smartphone. With 4.23 billion smartphones being used around the world, smartphone use has become a necessity in the lives of many individuals," said Zaheer Hussain, a lecturer at the University of Derby.

The study found that anxiety correlated with problematic smartphone use, supporting past research that has found anxiety to be associated with problematic smartphone use. The study also found that people who are closed off or less open with their emotions are more likely to have problems with smartphone use. Emotional stability is characterised by being stable and emotionally resilient and in our study, we found being less emotionally stable was associated with problematic smartphone behaviour," said Hussain.

This is because people may be experiencing problems in their lives such as stress, anxiety, depression, family problems, so in that state they are emotionally unstable, meaning they may seek respite in very excessive smartphone use. This is worrying," he said. 

Source: www.deccanherald.com

23.03.2018

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see

Mark Twain

22 March, 2018

Study associates poor dental health to diabetes risk

Are you taking good care of your dental health? If yes, then you are at decreased risk of developing diabetes. A new study has warned that those who have poor dental hygiene are more prone to the disease. The study suggests that dental examination may provide a way to identify the risk of developing the disease.

Lead author Raynald Samoa from the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California said, "We found a progressive positive relationship between worsening glucose tolerance and the number of missing teeth."

For the study, researchers reviewed the records of 9,670 adults with 20 years of age and above who were examined by dentists during the 2009-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

They analysed their reported body mass index (BMI) and glucose tolerance states by fasting plasma glucose, two-hour post-challenge plasma glucose, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), established diabetes and whether the condition was treated with oral agents or insulin.

The researchers recorded the numbers of missing teeth due to caries, or cavities, and periodontal disease for individual patients. They also determined the relationship between glucose tolerance and dental condition by considering age, gender, racial and ethnic group, family history of diabetes, smoking status, alcohol consumption, education and poverty index.

The researchers found a progressive increase in the number of patients with missing teeth as glucose tolerance declined, from 45.57 percent in the group with normal glucose tolerance (NGT), to 67.61 percent in the group with abnormal glucose tolerance (AGT), to 82.87 percent in the group with diabetes mellitus (DM).

The differences in the average number of missing teeth among the three glucose tolerance groups were significant: 2.26 in the NGT group, 4.41 in the AGT group and 6.80 in those with DM, the researchers noted.

Source:www.zeenews.india.com/health

22.03.2018

Be sure to taste your words before you spit them out

21 March, 2018

Twitter India steps in to bridge blood donation gap

Aiming to create more awareness and bridge the demand-supply gap for blood units in India, Twitter India on Tuesday launched a new social initiative called #BloodMatters.

According to a report by the World Health Organisation, only nine million blood units are available annually in India, against a demand of 12 million units.

Blood Donors India (@BloodDonorsIN), a voluntary blood donation helpline on Twitter, is the first partner for the Twitter initiative. Though this initiative, Twitter said it seeks to work with more blood donation helplines like @BloodDonorsIN, blood banks, and health institutions across the country to connect and reach a larger audience.

With this initiative, people can request for blood donation simply with a tweet to @BloodDonorsIN with their location hashtag, blood type, mobile contact and Twitter handle. People interested to help can follow @BloodDonorsIN and respond or retweet requests for help.

Responding to the initiative in a tweet, Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda said: “I am happy to see Twitter take up this cause to strengthen the overall health and well-being of the country with the #BloodMatters initiative. This will play a powerful role in mobilizing resources and strengthening the blood donation drive in India.”

Twitter will be supporting the implementation of an automated response solution to scale the operations of @BloodDonorsIN, currently run by a group of volunteers. Twitter said it will also amplify the real-time communication efforts of the handle with verification, promotion on Twitter, and use Twitter Lite to connect the helpline with people across the entire country, from the metros to rural India.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

21.03.2018

Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something

20 March, 2018

People would pay to maintain positive image on social media: Study

How far would you go to portray a positive image on social media? A study suggests that many people are prepared to pay to "filter out"unfavorable information about themselves. Participants took part in a cooperative situation with an anonymous person, earning real money during the experiment.

They could be "good" and cooperate a lot, which was costly or be less cooperative, which costs less. They then found out that information about how much they actually cooperated could be published online along with their name, but that they could avoid this publication if they paid to censor the information.

It turned out that those who cooperated less valued the censorship highest which meant that information about this group's actions tended to be filtered out. "That the image people share of themselves is 'softened' on the internet is perhaps not that surprising. What is new is that this is shown under experimental control and that the will to 'filter out' is so strong that one is prepared to pay for it," said Hakan Holm from Lund University in Sweden.

Before the cooperative situation was presented, a group of subjects had to take a "selfie" while other subjects did not. One question was the effect of a selfie on the willingness to share sensitive information. "The selfie can be said to increase visibility, and by combining this with the information about subjects' cooperation, we found that it increased their valuation of censorship. This was especially true for those who cooperated little," says Holm. Another effect that surprised the researchers was that the likelihood to cooperate, for subjects who reported that they often took selfies, was greatly influenced by the selfie-taking.

For the frequent selfie-takers who took a selfie before the cooperative situation, cooperation was significantly lower than those who did not take a selfie. "One interpretation is that among some groups, a selfie can initiate a temporary selfish mindset that crowds out other motives such as the willingness to cooperate with others," Holm said.

Source: www.deccanherald.com

20.03.2018

That man is success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much

Robert Louis Stevenson

19 March, 2018

Danger ALERT: Commercial sindoor can put you at risk of these 8 health conditions!

Putting sindoor or vermilion by Indian women holds a great significance in Indian society. As it symbolizes a woman’s marital status, this auspicious tradition is being carried on since ages. According to Hindu mythology, sindoor must be applied by a married woman for her husband’s good health and longevity. But, is there anything more to this tradition? As is often the case, traditions root themselves in logic, and it appears that even the seemingly neutral sindoor can affect a woman's health.

IS IT JUST A TRADITION? So, now the question is: Is putting sindoor just a tradition or does it hold a scientific purpose too? Scholars say that the red colour of vermilion is a symbol of female energy. This is just not a ritual but a practice to stimulate good health.

THE HEALTH BENEFITS: As vermilion is made up of turmeric and lime, it helps in easing stress and strain. This also keeps your brain active and alert.

WHAT YOU SHOULD BE AWARE OF: Traditionally, vermilion was made up of turmeric, lime and other herbal ingredients which were actually good for health. But nowadays, it can be prepared with red lead and mercury, which are harmful to the body. Hence, if you choose to apply sindoor, be sure of what you it is made up of.

IT MAY CAUSE SKIN ALLERGY AND RASHES: The chemicals used to prepare red colour powder can cause hair loss, skin rash and itching. Also, it should be noted that mercury sulphite content can be responsible for causing skin cancer.

EFFECTS ON KIDNEY AND BRAIN: You may not know it but if vermilion is consumed or inhaled, it can cause food poisoning and could impact the brain too.

OTHER HEALTH HAZARDS: The harmful chemicals in vermilion such as powder crude lead, artificial dyes, other synthetic dyes, mercury sulfite and rhodamine B dye can lead to hereditary disorder, dandruff issues and itching. Some manufacturers even use lead tetroxide for its distinctive red colour and this is extremely dangerous for health.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

19.03.2018

Don’t be serious, be sincere

17 March, 2018

'Indians loosing sleep over technology'

Indians are missing a good sleep due to distractions by technology but would also not mind prioritising exercise over a deep slumber, shows a survey. According to a global survey by Philips, 32 percent Indian adults report technology as a major sleep distractor while 19 percent see overlapping of work hours with normal sleep time (shift work sleep disorder) as a key barrier to sleep.

It said 66 percent of Indians feel exercise is the top factor impacting health and well-being more than sleep. The survey noted that 45 prioritize Indians take up meditation to initiate and maintain good sleep while 24 percent adults opt for specialized bedding. The survey found that although sleep disorder awareness is rising globally, good sleep is still not a priority for Indians.

"Indians report technology as a major sleep distractor; prioritise exercise over sleep," the survey said.

Globally, insomnia afflicted 26 percent and snoring kept awake 21 percent of the respondents. Worrying (58 percent) and technology distractions (26 percent) were other major impediments to good sleep. Most popular interventions for a good sleep include soothing music, which was used by 36 percent, followed by the institution of a set bedtime/wake-up schedule by 32 percent, among others. The survey, which covers 15,000 adults from 13 countries, noted that globally 77 percent have tried to improve their sleep.

The countries include the US, UK, Germany, Poland, France, India, China, among others. Bad sleep is impacting global adults in form of tiredness (46 percent), irritable behaviour (41 percent), lack of motivation (39 percent) and lack of concentration (39 percent). "While sleeping well is essential for good health, more than 100 million people suffer from sleep apnea globally. More than 80 percent of these people remain undiagnosed and 30 percent finds it difficult to initiate and maintain sleep," said the survey 'Better Sleep, Better Health'.

Source: www.deccanherald.com

17.03.2018

Don’t waste words on people who deserve your silence

15 March, 2018

Smokers are at a greater risk of hearing loss

Smokers are at a greater risk of hearing loss, according to a study. The research was conducted on over 50,000 participants over a span of eight years. Researchers analyzed data from annual health checkups, which included audio testing performed by a technician and a health-related lifestyle questionnaire completed by each participant.

They examined the effects of smoking status (current, former, and never smokers), the number of cigarettes smoked per day, and the duration of smoking cessation on the extent of hearing loss.

Even after adjusting for factors including occupational noise exposure, researchers noted a 1.2 to 1.6 increased risk of hearing loss among current smokers compared with never smokers.

While the association between smoking and high-frequency hearing loss was stronger than that of low-frequency hearing loss, the risk of both high- and low-frequency hearing loss increased with cigarette consumption. The increased risk of hearing loss decreased within 5 years after quitting smoking.

“With a large sample size, long follow-up period, and objective assessment of hearing loss, our study provides strong evidence that smoking is an independent risk factor of hearing loss,” said the study’s lead author Dr. Huanhuan Hu of Japan’s National Center for Global Health and Medicine.

“These results provide strong evidence to support that smoking is a causal factor for hearing loss and emphasize the need for tobacco control to prevent or delay the development of hearing loss.”

The study has been published in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

15.03.2018

The past is your lesson. The present is your gift. The future is your motivation

13 March, 2018

Having a child may reduce women's life by 11 years, claims study

Being blessed with a child is considered a blessing, but a study has claimed that childbirth may shorten women's life expectancy by as much as 11 years.

The US study, conducted by a team of researchers from the George Mason University, said that women who have given birth have shorter telomeres compared to women who have not given birth. Telomeres are the end caps of DNA on our chromosomes, which help in DNA replication and get shorter over time.

While previous studies have associated the length of telomeres with morbidity and mortality, researchers said that this is the first study to examine links with having children.

The study, published in the journal Human Reproduction, found that telomeres among women who had children were the equivalent of 11 years shorter. This was a larger change than has been reported by other research groups for smoking or obesity.

"We can't tell if having children is related to shortening of telomeres or merely whether women who have children start out with shorter telomeres," said Anna Z Pollack, from George Mason University.

"Additional factors to consider include stress and social support, as well as whether similar findings are seen in men," Pollack said.

The findings are preliminary and should be confirmed with prospective studies, she said.

Source: www.zeenews.india.com/health

13.03.2018

One of the best feelings in the world is knowing your presence and absence both mean something to someone…..

10 March, 2018

Great Recession led to rise in obesity, diabetes: study

The Great Recession of 2008 that severely affected the world economy also resulted in changes to people's health behavior, with a significant increase in the risk of obesity, diabetes and mental health problems, a new study has found. In particular, researchers from City, University of London and King's College London in the UK discovered that the probability of being obese and severely obese increased by 4.1 and 2.4 percentage points respectively.

Similarly, the probability of having diabetes was 1.5 percentage points higher after 2008, with the prevalence of mental health problems increasing by 4 percentage points. They also found that there was a decrease in smoking and drinking, as well as fruit intake. These changes were also seen to impact particularly on women and those less educated, with the authors suggesting that uncertainty and negative expectations generated by the recession rather than unemployment might explain the changes seen.

Researchers looked at data from the Health Survey for England (HSE), a survey taken yearly from about 9,000 English households. They specifically used data on respondents above 16 years of age for the period 2001-2013. In addition to socio-economic characteristics, the HSE includes information on a wide range of healthy lifestyles and health conditions. The results of the study suggest that the start of the recession was associated with worse dietary habits and increased BMI and obesity.

It was also associated with a shift away from risky behaviors, as a decrease in smoking and alcohol consumption was seen.

"Our study confirms the close relationship between health and the economic environment as we found that the 2008 Great Recession led to a decrease in risky behaviours, such as smoking and drinking, but also an increase in the likelihood of obesity, diabetes and mental health problems," said Mireia Jofre-Bonet from City University of London in the UK.

Source: www.deccanherald.com

10.03.2018

SUCCESS is the product of STRUGGLE

9 March, 2018

Climate change impacts women more than men: UN

Women are more likely than men to be affected by climate change, UN figures revealed on Thursday.The figures indicated that 80 percent of people displaced by climate change are women, reports the BBC. Roles as primary caregivers and providers of food and fuel make them more vulnerable when flooding and drought occur. The 2015 Paris Agreement has made specific provision for the empowerment of women, recognising that they are disproportionately impacted.

In central Africa, where up to 90 percent of Lake Chad has disappeared, nomadic indigenous groups are particularly at risk. As the lake’s shoreline recedes, women have to walk much further to collect water. “In the dry season, men go to the towns leaving women to look after the community,” Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, coordinator of the Association of Indigenous Women and People of Chad (AFPAT), told the BBC.

With dry seasons now becoming longer, women are working harder to feed and care for their families without support. “They become more vulnerable… It’s very hard work,” Ibrahim added. In the immediate aftermath of extreme events, emergency shelters can be inadequately equipped to support women, the UN revealed.

The Superdome, in which evacuees were temporarily housed after Hurricane Katrina, did not have enough sanitary products for the women accommodated there.

The UN has highlighted the need for gender-sensitive responses to the impacts of climate change, yet the average representation of women in national and global climate negotiating bodies is below 30 percent.

Another study spanning 20 years noted that catastrophic events lowered women’s life expectancy more than men; more women were being killed, or they were being killed younger. In countries where women had greater socioeconomic power, the difference reduced.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

09.03.2018

No one is born happy but everyone is born with ability to create happiness

8 March, 2018

Young men more likely to die from heart attacks on weekends

With heart-related ailments becoming more and more common among the younger crowd, a new study has suggested that the chances of young men dying of heart attack during the weekend are higher than women. The research comes close on the heels of the untimely demise of Fiorentina captain and Italy international Davide Astori, who died at the age of 31 on March 4, 2018.

Astori was found dead, reportedly of cardiac arrest on Sunday when the players gathered in the dining room for breakfast before the Serie A game against Udinese, which was later suspended. While heart attacks are different from cardiac arrests, the former increases the risk of the latter by a huge margin. The two distinct heart conditions are interlinked.

According to the research from the University of Milan, Italy young men were more susceptible to the "weekend effect", with a 15 percent increased risk of death compared to 11 percent for women.

This may be because patients admitted at weekends may have to wait longer for reperfusion therapy to open occluded arteries and restore blood flow, the researchers said.

"The delay in reperfusion during weekends may be more important in younger patients," added lead author Giovanni Malanchini, from the varsity.

"This is usually their first acute coronary syndrome and they are not receiving aspirin, drugs to lower cholesterol (statins), or drugs to lower blood pressure (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and beta-blockers). This could make them more vulnerable," Malanchini added.

Further, the risk of dying during a weekend admission got progressively greater as age declined.

Source: www.zeenews.india.com

08.03.2018

Look at the clock when you are sitting idle. But never look at the clock when you are working

Bill Gates

7 March, 2018

Eating almonds, walnuts may help fight colon cancer: study

People with colon cancer who regularly eat almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts and cashews are at significantly lower risk of cancer recurrence and mortality than those who do not, a study claims. Researchers at Yale University Cancer Center in the US followed 826 participants in a clinical trial for a median of 6.5 years after they were treated with surgery and chemotherapy. Those who regularly consumed at least two, one-ounce servings of nuts each week demonstrated a 42 percent improvement in disease-free survival and a 57 percent improvement in overall survival.

"Further analysis of this cohort revealed that disease-free survival increased by 46 percent among the subgroup of nut consumers who ate tree nuts rather than peanuts," said Charles S Fuchs, director of Yale Cancer Center. Tree nuts include almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews, and pecans, among others. In contrast, peanuts are actually in the legumes family of foods.

"These findings are in keeping with several other observational studies that indicate that a slew of healthy behaviours, including increased physical activity, keeping a healthy weight, and lower intake of sugar and sweetened beverages, improve colon cancer outcomes," said Temidayo Fadelu, a postdoctoral fellow at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

"The results highlight the importance of emphasizing dietary and lifestyle factors in colon cancer survivorship," said Fadelu, lead author of the study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Many previous studies have reported that nuts, among other health benefits, may help to reduce insulin resistance, a condition in which the body has difficulty processing the insulin hormone.

Insulin resistance leads to unhealthy levels of sugar in the blood and is often a predecessor to type 2 diabetes and related illnesses.

Earlier research among patients with colon cancer has revealed worse outcomes among those with lifestyle factors that heighten insulin resistance, such as obesity, lack of exercise, and a diet with high levels of carbohydrates that quickly raise levels of blood sugar.

Source: www.deccanherald.com            07.03.2018

The distance between your dreams and reality is called action