25 November, 2019

80 percent of adolescents worldwide are not physically active: WHO

More than 80 percent of adolescents worldwide are not physically active, including 85 percent girls and 78 percent boys, putting their health at risk by not doing regular exercise and spending too much time on screen, according to a new study from World Health Organization (WHO).

The study, published in the journal The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, based on data reported by 1.6 million 11 to 17-year-old students – found that across all 146 countries studied between 2001-2016, girls were less active than boys in all. According to the WHO, levels of insufficient physical activity in adolescents continue to be extremely high, compromising their current and future health.

“Urgent policy action to increase physical activity is needed now, particularly to promote and retain girls’ participation in physical activity,” said study author Dr Regina Guthold, WHO. Most countries in the study (73 percent, 107 of 146) saw this gender gap widen between 2001-2016. The study also found that Bangladesh and India had the lowest rates of physical inactivity for boys and girls.

For the findings, the researchers estimated how many 11 to 17-year-olds do not meet this recommendation by analysing data collected through school-based surveys on physical activity levels. The assessment included all types of physical activity, such as time spent in active play, recreation and sports, active domestic chores, walking and cycling or other types of active transportation, physical education and planned exercise.

Physical activity trends show slight improvement for boys, none for girls

The study found that the greatest decreases in boys being insufficiently active were Bangladesh — from 73 percent to 63 percent, Singapore (78 percent to 70 percent), Thailand (78 percent to 70 percent), Benin (79 percent to 71 percent), Ireland (71 percent to 64 percent), and the US (71 percent to 64 percent).

However, among girls, changes were small, ranging from a two percentage-point decrease in Singapore (85 per cent to 83 percent) to a one percentage-point increase in Afghanistan (87 per cent to 88 percent).

Source: www.thehealthsite.com                 25.11.2019

If you want to be strong learn how to fight alone

18 November, 2019

Keto diet may help you fight the flu : Study

This diet regimen activates a subset of T cells in the lungs not previously associated with the immune system’s response to influenza, enhancing mucus production from airway cells that can effectively trap the virus, said the study published in the journal Science Immunology.

“This was a totally unexpected finding,” said co-senior author Akiko Iwasaki, Professor at Yale University in the US.

The researchers found that mice fed a ketogenic diet were better able to combat the flu virus than mice fed food high in carbohydrates.

Specifically, the researchers found that the ketogenic diet triggered the release of gamma delta T cells, immune system cells that produce mucus in the cell linings of the lung — while the high-carbohydrate diet did not.

When mice were bred without the gene that codes for gamma delta T cells, the ketogenic diet provided no protection against the influenza virus.

“This study shows that the way the body burns fat to produce ketone bodies from the food we eat can fuel the immune system to fight flu infection,” said co-senior author Visha Deep Dixit, Professor at Yale University.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

18.11.2019

Success is where preparation and opportunity meet

11 November, 2019

Vitamin D may not help you fight inflammation

Researchers have found that Vitamin D and marine omega-3 fatty acids — also known as fish oil — are not effective at reducing systemic inflammation. The study, published in the journal Clinical Chemistry, is an analysis of the Vitamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL) by investigators at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the UK.

“People commonly think that these supplements can prevent inflammatory diseases, but when a patient asks their doctor, ‘Should I take this supplement?’

“Doctors often don’t know what to advise because there haven’t been large scale clinical trials. VITAL provides a large dataset to address these questions,” said author Karen Costenbader. The VITAL study is a random, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in which researchers tested the effects of supplements of vitamin D (2000 IU/day), omega 3s (1 gm/day) or both.

For this analysis, they tested levels of three known biomarkers of inflammation at the start of the trial and after one year of taking supplements or a placebo. The authors analysed biomarkers for only a subgroup of the original trial’s population — approximately 1,500 of the over 25,000 participants. They were interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor-receptor 2, and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP).

The team found that neither supplement reduced the biomarkers at one year. Surprisingly, among those taking the vitamin D supplement, instead of decreasing, IL-6 levels rose by 8.2 per cent. The researchers reported that among participants who had lower fish intake at the start of the trial, hsCRP levels did decline for those taking the omega-3 supplement.

“We see that people whose fish intake was low at baseline had a reduction in one of the biomarkers of inflammation,” said Costenbader.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

11.11.2019

If opportunity does not knock, build a door

Nov 4, 2019

Low blood oxygen increases the chances of premature deaths in children

The study, published in Lancet’s EclinicalMedicine journal, shows that low blood oxygen is common not only in pneumonia, but also in many other conditions.

“Low blood oxygen is particularly common in newborn infants, especially those who are premature or have very difficult births,” said Hamish Graham from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Australia.

For the study, Graham worked with colleagues in Nigeria to record the blood oxygen levels of more than 23,000 children admitted to 12 medium-sized hospitals.

“Your blood oxygen level is the amount of oxygen carried by red blood cells from the lungs to the rest of the body — low blood oxygen damages cells and can lead to death,” Graham said.

“Our study found that one in four newborns and one in 10 children in hospitals had low blood oxygen, and these children were eight times more likely to die than those with normal blood oxygen,” Graham added.

The researchers hope the findings would encourage policy makers and healthcare workers in low and middle income countries to increase the use of oxygen measuring tools and oxygen therapy.

“Our modellings suggest that better use of oxygen monitoring and therapy in the 12 highest mortality countries in the world could prevent up to 148,000 child pneumonia deaths annually,” Graham said.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

04.11.2019

Be a good person but don’t waste time to prove it

30 October, 2019

Mothers and newborns in India are healthier now: Study

Community-based health programmes in parts of India, Ethiopia and Nigeria have been successful in improving health care for mothers and newborns, but inequities still exist, says a new study. The study was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ). According to the researchers, underlying inequities in these rural settings mean that more work is needed to reach the poorest families, who bear the greatest burden of maternal and newborn mortality.

“Our findings have both an optimistic and a pessimistic interpretation, in that families from all socio-economic status groups benefited, but inequities have also persisted,” said Indian-origin researcher Tanya Marchant from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the UK.

To assess the impact of community-based health interventions linked to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, an international team of researchers looked at eight essential maternal and newborn health indicators in rural India, Ethiopia and Nigeria, representing more than 22 million people.

Indicators included antenatal and postnatal care, births in health care facilities, hygienic umbilical cord care, breastfeeding initiation and more. The researchers found some improvements. For example, more women in Ethiopia and Uttar Pradesh, India, had access to maternity care in 2015 than in 2012.

In Gombe, Nigeria, socioeconomic issues as well as the Boko Haram terror threat prevented most women from receiving adequate care, although some positive family behaviour, such as hygienic cord care, showed marked improvement.

Despite this progress, it was striking that in all three settings the number of newborns receiving early postnatal care did not improve.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

30.10.2019

A little progress each day adds up to big results

26 October, 2019

Obesity causes diabetes in women : Study

Obesity poses a higher risk of type 2 diabetes in women, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and chronic kidney disease in men, said a new study from the University of Oxford. “The study shows just how harmful carrying excess weight can be to human health, and that women and men may experience different diseases as a result,” said the study’s first author Jenny Censin.

To identify additional causes of death made worse by obesity, researchers performed an analysis that explores cause-and-effect relationships using genetic data and three measures of obesity from 228,466 women and 195,041 men in the UK Biobank.

Their analysis showed that obesity contributes to a laundry list of health problems including coronary artery disease, type 1 and 2 diabetes, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, chronic liver disease and kidney failure.

While obesity causes type 2 diabetes in both women and men, women experienced a higher risk of type 2 diabetes as compared to men, while men faced a greater risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and chronic kidney disease.

“Given the compelling evidence of harm that arises as a consequence of obesity across a broad range of diseases that result in death, our findings highlight the critical need for public health measures to stem the tide of obesity,” said researcher Michael Holmes, who supervised the work together with researcher Cecilia Lindgren.

Overall, the study found that obesity causes or contributes to the majority of the leading causes of death worldwide that are not linked to the infectious diseases.

The impact of obesity, however, manifests differently in men and women.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

26.10.2019

Your best teacher is your last mistake

14 October, 2019

Indians prefer physical well being over mental: Survey

A majority of Indians, at 75 percent, are preoccupied about their physical wellbeing, over mental wellbeing at 62 percent, a survey by global market research agency Ipsos has found.

The survey, conducted to coincide with the World Mental Health Day, found 64 percent Indians believe that is equally important to have both, physical and mental health.

Indians want a clear shift in the handling and perception of mental illness. As many as 64 percent Indians want the stigma attached with mental health issues to go and they would prefer if it was treated like any other illness. Further, 74 per cent Indians exhort adoption of a more tolerant attitude towards those with mental illness in the society.

The survey also shows a more positive and empathetic change coming about towards those with signs of mental health conditions with 64 percent urban Indians believe seeing a mental health specialist or therapist, as a sign of strength.

“Indians are recognising that being healthy and well is a combination of both, physical and mental wellbeing and both work in tandem. Also mental health issues are like any other illness and it is alright to see a doctor for alleviating symptoms,” says Monica Gangwani, Executive Director & Country Service Line Leader, Healthcare, Ipsos India.

The Ipsos survey found that views around mental health somewhat disjointed and devoid of clear consensus. About half of Indians polled (52 percent), disagree that increased spending on mental health services is a waste of money. However, 27 percent think it is a wasteful expenditure, while 17 percent were neutral, 3 percent were undecided and 1 percent refused to tender opinion.

As many as 39 percent Indians reject exclusion of someone from public office, on the grounds of mental health history, while 32 percent agree on exclusion, 25 percent were neutral, 3 percent undecided and 1 percent refused an opinion.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

14.10.2019

A negative mind will never give you a positive life