Online news websites add to social stigma of obesity

 A study has found that online news websites add to the social stigma of obesity.
A new research on obesity from Yale University has suggested that online news outlets stigmatise obese people by excessive use of their negative images in ill-fitting clothes or eating fast food, just to consolidate their stories about obesity.
The researchers looked at 429 news stories about obesity, along with their accompanying photos, published on five major news websites.
Of the photos depicting overweight or obese people, the study found, 72 percent portrayed them "in a negative, stigmatising manner".
There were six criteria used to determine whether a given image was negative or stigmatising, including being shown without a head (59 percent of overweight/obese people).
Being shown from the side or rear angle (40 percent), only showing the abdomen or lower body (52 percent), and being shown without clothes or bare midriff (12 percent).
Other criteria were poorly fitting clothes (6 percent), being shown eating or drinking (8 percent), and being engaged in a sedentary activity (5 percent).
While the researchers did not investigate whether photos accompanying news stories about thin people were treated the same way, another research by Benjamin Radford, deputy editor of the science magazine `Skeptical Inquirer', found that approximately 80 percent of the photos of thin people should also be considered negative or stigmatising.
According to him, the images of thin people are used in the same degrading manner as those of obese individuals.
"Obese people are highly stigmatised in our society in important domains of living, including education, employment, and health care," Discovery News quoted the study as noting.

Diabetics have three to five times higher risk of developing tuberculosis

A recent study has found that diabetics have a three to five times higher risk of developing tuberculosis (TB) than those without the disease.
Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) analyzed 233 patients with TB living in Texas and Mexico along the border to confirm the findings.
"With the increase in diabetes patients in TB-endemic areas, our findings highlight the re-emerging impact of diabetes mellitus, known as type 2, on TB control in regions of the world where both diseases are prevalent," said Blanca Restrepo, associate professor of epidemiology at The University of Texas School of Public Health.
The research suggested that diabetes depresses the immune response, which in turn facilitates infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and/or progression to symptomatic disease.
"This research confirms results from several other studies showing an increased risk of TB in people with diabetes and means that it is important that clinicians actively seek to diagnose diabetes in people with TB, and vice versa," said Knut Lonnroth, medical officer in the Stop TB Department at the World Health Organization.
According to Restrepo, a combined diagnosis of TB and diabetes is becoming more evident in the Hispanic population, but this may also be the case in American Indians and African-Americans.

Frequent moderate alcohol drinking linked to lower risk of fatty liver disease

A large study of men in Japan has shown that the frequency of moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a lower risk of fatty liver disease.
But there was some suggestion of an increase in fatty liver disease with higher volume of alcohol consumed per day.
Moderate drinkers had lower levels of obesity than did non-drinkers, and both obesity and metabolic abnormalities were positively associated with fatty liver disease.
These findings support the results of a number of other recent studies showing that moderate drinking does not increase the risk of this common type of liver disease; instead, it is associated with a lower risk of its occurrence.
"These results suggest that lifestyle modifications aimed at fighting central obesity and metabolic abnormalities should be the most important recommendations for the management of fatty liver," the authors said.
"In addition, it seems unlikely that the risk of fatty liver can be reduced by the discontinuation and/or reduction of alcohol consumption alone," they stated. (ANI)

Best diet secret- Day long fruit salad meals with fruit snacks

 Want to loose weight in a healthy way? Just eat various varieties of fruits daily.

Co-authors Dian Griesel, and Tom Griesel, of the new book, ‘TurboCharged: Accelerate Your Fat Burning Metabolism, Get Lean Fast and Leave Diet and Exercise Rules in the Dust’ (BSH, 2011) proposed a significant amount of fruit in the diet. They even recommended that sometimes days of just fruit.

“Fruits which are so commonly restricted in most “weight-loss” diets and lacking in most everyday diets are essential for optimal health along with plenty of fresh vegetables, nuts, seeds, and animal proteins like meat, fish, eggs and cheese,” said Griesels.

“The plethora of benefits delivered by fruit will continue to be proven in scientific studies.”

Tom said, “As fruits are always lumped into the ‘carb’ category they get a very unfair rap and are too often eliminated from diets. This is convenient for manufacturers, but detrimental to our health and well being. A piece of fruit provides lots of nutrition, easy take-along packaging and natural water.”

“It may take awhile for fruit to regain its rightful position as a healthy, popular food, but its nutrition value cannot be denied,” said Dian.

“Our advice: Take control of your own health. Start eating fruit salad for breakfast, lunch and dinner along with fruit snacks in between! This simple step will help elevate moods, spirits, improve key biomarkers and certainly elevate absorbable nutrient intake,” added Dian.

Fathers-to-be suffer from pregnancy pain too

A quarter of expectant fathers have claimed that they too go through their own nine-month ''pregnancy symptoms' like mothers-to-be.

According to the Pampers study, modern men have become so closely involved with their partner's pregnancy that 23 per cent report emotional and physical changes often associated with women.

The research found they become more emotional, "weepy", and suffer mood swings, nausea and even phantom pregnancy pains.

Fathers-to-be involved in the study also reported cravings for bizarre food combinations.

Experts said, "The strange phenomenon is due to the emotional upheaval men also go through during their partners pregnancy and more of them attending antenatal classes and scans."

"Many fathers-to-be are overwhelmed by the prospect of becoming a father and need support and reassurance during their partner's pregnancy," the Daily Mail quoted Professor Mary Steen, who works as a consultant for Pampers, as saying.

"The expectant mother will always be the main focus during any pregnancy but it is important to recognise how pregnancy can affect the expectant dad," Steen added.

Mushrooms could help fight prostate cancer

Mushroom used in Asia for medicinal purposes vanquished prostate tumour successfully in mice during early trials.

"Polysaccharopeptide (PSP), a compound extracted from the "turkey tail" mushroom, was found to target prostate cancer stem cells and suppress their formation in mice," says a new study conducted by senior research fellow Patrick Ling.

Ling, from the Institute for Biomedical Health and Innovation (IHBI) at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) added that the results could be an important step towards fighting a disease that kills 3,000 Australian men a year, reports the journal Public Library of Science ONE.

"What we wanted to demonstrate was whether that compound could stop the development of prostate tumours in the first place," said Ling, according to a Queensland statement.

"In the past, other inhibitors tested in research trials have been shown to be up to 70 per cent effective, but we're seeing 100 per cent of this tumour prevented from developing with PSP. Importantly, we did not see any side effects from the treatment."

Ling said, "Conventional therapies were only effective in targeting certain cancer cells, not cancer stem cells, which initiated cancer and caused the disease to progress."

During the research trial, in collaboration with the University of Hong Kong and Provital Pty Ltd, transgenic mice that developed prostate tumours were fed PSP for 20 weeks.

Ling said, "No tumours were found in any of the mice fed PSP, whereas mice not given the treatment developed prostate tumours". He said, "The research suggested that PSP treatment could completely inhibit prostate tumour formation." 

Childhood Cancer Therapies Tied to Gastrointestinal Issues

Children who are successfully treated for cancer are at greater risk of developing mild to severe gastrointestinal problems down the road, a new study finds.

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco analyzed the self-reported gastrointestinal (GI) problems of 14,358 patients who survived at least five years following treatment for cancers such as lymphoma, leukemia, brain tumors or bone tumors.

More than 40 percent experienced some type of GI problem -- including ulcers, esophageal disease, indigestion, polyps, chronic diarrhea, colitis, gallstones and jaundice -- within two decades of their treatment, the investigators found.

Moreover, people diagnosed with cancer at an older age and who had to undergo more rigorous therapy (chemotherapy, radiation, surgery) were more likely to experience long-term GI issues, according to the study in the May issue of Gastroenterology.

About one in 500 young adults in the United States is a survivor of childhood cancer, the study authors noted in a UCSF news release.

"While physicians continue to learn about the long-term consequences of pediatric cancer and its therapy, it is essential that we provide comprehensive follow-up care that appropriately addresses the complications cancer survivors may experience," lead study author Dr. Robert Goldsby, pediatric cancer specialist at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital and director of the UCSF Survivors of Childhood Cancer Program, said in the news release.

"These are serious issues that can have a real impact on a person's quality of life,"