Too much of sugar fuelling global obesity

Posted on: 03 Feb 2012

Washington : Sugar is fuelling a global obesity pandemic, contributing to 35 million deaths annually from diabetes, heart disease and cancer, warn scientists.

Global sugar consumption has tripled over the past 50 years and its intake should be curtailed, like alcohol and tobacco, to protect the public from the deleterious effects of obesity, they said.

These health hazards largely mirror the effects of drinking too much alcohol, which is the distillation of sugar, point out study co-authors Robert Lustig, Laura Schmidt and Claire Brindis, from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

This would help explain why 40 percent of people with metabolic syndrome -- the key metabolic changes that lead to diabetes, heart disease and cancer -- are not clinically obese, according to the journal Nature.

The study co-authors argue that sugar's potential for abuse, coupled with its toxicity and pervasiveness in the western diet make it a primary culprit of this worldwide health crisis.

Significantly, diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer now pose a greater health burden globally than infectious diseases, they said, according to a university statement.

'As long as the public thinks that sugar is just empty calories, we have no chance in solving this,' said Lustig, professor of paediatrics, at the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital.

'There are good calories and bad calories, just as there are good fats and bad fats, good amino acids and bad amino acids, good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates, but sugar is toxic beyond its calories,' Lustig said.

Too much of sugar fuelling global obesity

Posted on: 03 Feb 2012

Washington : Sugar is fuelling a global obesity pandemic, contributing to 35 million deaths annually from diabetes, heart disease and cancer, warn scientists.

Global sugar consumption has tripled over the past 50 years and its intake should be curtailed, like alcohol and tobacco, to protect the public from the deleterious effects of obesity, they said.

These health hazards largely mirror the effects of drinking too much alcohol, which is the distillation of sugar, point out study co-authors Robert Lustig, Laura Schmidt and Claire Brindis, from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

This would help explain why 40 percent of people with metabolic syndrome -- the key metabolic changes that lead to diabetes, heart disease and cancer -- are not clinically obese, according to the journal Nature.

The study co-authors argue that sugar's potential for abuse, coupled with its toxicity and pervasiveness in the western diet make it a primary culprit of this worldwide health crisis.

Significantly, diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer now pose a greater health burden globally than infectious diseases, they said, according to a university statement.

'As long as the public thinks that sugar is just empty calories, we have no chance in solving this,' said Lustig, professor of paediatrics, at the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital.

'There are good calories and bad calories, just as there are good fats and bad fats, good amino acids and bad amino acids, good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates, but sugar is toxic beyond its calories,' Lustig said.

Long way to go to ensure probity in public life: Manmohan

PTI

SHARE  ·   PRINT   ·   T+  

PTIPrime Minister Manmohan Singh addresses the annual conference of Chief Secretaries of States and UTs, in New Delhi on Friday.

RELATED

PHOTOS

NEWS

Looting of MGNREGS funds amounts to crime against the poor, says Sonia

TOPICS

crime, law and justicecorruption & bribery
laws
politics

Amid continued attack on the government over corruption, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday acknowledged that the efforts to ensure transparency, accountability and probity in public life would take a long time.

Addressing a conference of Chief Secretaries in New Delhi, Dr. Singh cited a number of initiatives taken by the government to rid the country of corruption and said these had moved “substantially forward” over the last one year.

“But, we still have a long way to go in our efforts for ensuring transparency, accountability and probity in public life,” he said.

To achieve these goals, he said, the Centre and states needed to work together.

The statement assumes significance as it comes amidst persistent attack on the government over corruption. The government on Thursday faced huge embarrassment when the Supreme Court cancelled all the 122 licences for 2G spectrum allocated in 2008 as these were held illegal.

Dr. Singh recalled that last year, while addressing the conference, he had emphasised the need for a systemic response that reduced opportunities for corruption in public life and had stated that his government was committed to taking all legal and administrative measures to curb the menace.

“I had also said that we should make full use of advances in modern technology to improve the delivery of our public services system. We have moved substantially forward in these areas in the last one year,” he said.

The Prime Minister cited the Citizen’s Charter and the Electronic Delivery of Services bills introduced in Parliament last year as examples.

Noting that “unfortunately, the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bills could not be passed in the last session of Parliament”, Dr. Singh said he does hope that the government “would soon be able to enact a strong Lokpal law”.

The Prime Minister also referred to the government’s plan to frame a law for regulating public procurement, implementing national e-governance plan and providing Aadhar numbers.

“All this builds upon our earlier initiatives such as the Right to Information Act, the Judicial Accountability Bill and the Whistle Blowers Bill. But, we still have a long way to go in our efforts for ensuring transparency, accountability and probity in public life,” he said.

Keywords: anti-corruption laws, Lokpal, Lokayuktas, UPA-II, Manmohan Singh government, RTI Act

Long way to go to ensure probity in public life: Manmohan

PTI

SHARE  ·   PRINT   ·   T+  

PTIPrime Minister Manmohan Singh addresses the annual conference of Chief Secretaries of States and UTs, in New Delhi on Friday.

RELATED

PHOTOS

NEWS

Looting of MGNREGS funds amounts to crime against the poor, says Sonia

TOPICS

crime, law and justicecorruption & bribery
laws
politics

Amid continued attack on the government over corruption, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday acknowledged that the efforts to ensure transparency, accountability and probity in public life would take a long time.

Addressing a conference of Chief Secretaries in New Delhi, Dr. Singh cited a number of initiatives taken by the government to rid the country of corruption and said these had moved “substantially forward” over the last one year.

“But, we still have a long way to go in our efforts for ensuring transparency, accountability and probity in public life,” he said.

To achieve these goals, he said, the Centre and states needed to work together.

The statement assumes significance as it comes amidst persistent attack on the government over corruption. The government on Thursday faced huge embarrassment when the Supreme Court cancelled all the 122 licences for 2G spectrum allocated in 2008 as these were held illegal.

Dr. Singh recalled that last year, while addressing the conference, he had emphasised the need for a systemic response that reduced opportunities for corruption in public life and had stated that his government was committed to taking all legal and administrative measures to curb the menace.

“I had also said that we should make full use of advances in modern technology to improve the delivery of our public services system. We have moved substantially forward in these areas in the last one year,” he said.

The Prime Minister cited the Citizen’s Charter and the Electronic Delivery of Services bills introduced in Parliament last year as examples.

Noting that “unfortunately, the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bills could not be passed in the last session of Parliament”, Dr. Singh said he does hope that the government “would soon be able to enact a strong Lokpal law”.

The Prime Minister also referred to the government’s plan to frame a law for regulating public procurement, implementing national e-governance plan and providing Aadhar numbers.

“All this builds upon our earlier initiatives such as the Right to Information Act, the Judicial Accountability Bill and the Whistle Blowers Bill. But, we still have a long way to go in our efforts for ensuring transparency, accountability and probity in public life,” he said.

Keywords: anti-corruption laws, Lokpal, Lokayuktas, UPA-II, Manmohan Singh government, RTI Act

13 die in drone strike in Pakistan

Posted on: 01 Feb 2012

Islamabad: At least 13 people, including six foreigners, were killed Wednesday in a US drone attack in northwest Pakistan, a media report said.

The US drone fired three missiles at a militants' hideout in Darand Shekhan area of upper Orakzai agency, a militancy-hit tribal area where Pakistan army has been battling local and foreign Taliban militants for the past four months, Xinhua reported citing a TV report.

The media report said six foreigners were among the dead.

In a separate attack early Wednesday, Pakistan army killed 13 militants and destroyed five hideouts in the same area. Some media reports said that this operation was carried out by a combination of Pakistani jets and US drones.

On Tuesday, 10 soldiers were killed and 32 injured in a check post attack by militants in neighbouring Kurram Agency.

Wednesday morning's drone strike came just a day after Foreign Office spokesperson Abdul Basit stated that drone attacks were unacceptable to the Pakistani government.

This is the fourth strike of its kind in northwestern tribal area of Pakistan and the first of its kind in Orakzai agency since the beginning of 2012.

13 die in drone strike in Pakistan

Posted on: 01 Feb 2012

Islamabad: At least 13 people, including six foreigners, were killed Wednesday in a US drone attack in northwest Pakistan, a media report said.

The US drone fired three missiles at a militants' hideout in Darand Shekhan area of upper Orakzai agency, a militancy-hit tribal area where Pakistan army has been battling local and foreign Taliban militants for the past four months, Xinhua reported citing a TV report.

The media report said six foreigners were among the dead.

In a separate attack early Wednesday, Pakistan army killed 13 militants and destroyed five hideouts in the same area. Some media reports said that this operation was carried out by a combination of Pakistani jets and US drones.

On Tuesday, 10 soldiers were killed and 32 injured in a check post attack by militants in neighbouring Kurram Agency.

Wednesday morning's drone strike came just a day after Foreign Office spokesperson Abdul Basit stated that drone attacks were unacceptable to the Pakistani government.

This is the fourth strike of its kind in northwestern tribal area of Pakistan and the first of its kind in Orakzai agency since the beginning of 2012.

Masks, hand washing can smother flu spread

Posted on: 02 Feb 2012

Washington : Masks and hand washing can practically slash the spread of flu-like symptoms, new reseach has demonstrated.

The study found up to a 75 percent reduction in flu-like illness over the study period with hand hygiene and surgical masks, said Allison Aiello, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

The results from both years of study found no significant reduction in symptoms in mask use alone, which suggests masks and hand hygiene should be used together, Aiello said, the journal Public Library of Science ONE reports.

At the beginning of a pandemic, vaccines probably won't be available immediately so one of the first lines of defence to stop the spread of illness will be non-drug interventions like hand hygiene and face masks, according to a Michigan statement.

'This means masks and hand hygiene may be a good measure for preventing transmissions in crowded living quarters,' said Aiello.

The study was the first of its kind and received international exposure. The researchers recruited more than 1,000 students in the University's residence halls.

The students were assigned to groups who wore masks, wore masks and practiced hand hygiene, or did neither. They were monitored for the presence of flu symptoms or the flu.

Aiello and Arnold Monto, professor of epidemiology, are co-principal investigators of the study.

Masks, hand washing can smother flu spread

Posted on: 02 Feb 2012

Washington : Masks and hand washing can practically slash the spread of flu-like symptoms, new reseach has demonstrated.

The study found up to a 75 percent reduction in flu-like illness over the study period with hand hygiene and surgical masks, said Allison Aiello, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

The results from both years of study found no significant reduction in symptoms in mask use alone, which suggests masks and hand hygiene should be used together, Aiello said, the journal Public Library of Science ONE reports.

At the beginning of a pandemic, vaccines probably won't be available immediately so one of the first lines of defence to stop the spread of illness will be non-drug interventions like hand hygiene and face masks, according to a Michigan statement.

'This means masks and hand hygiene may be a good measure for preventing transmissions in crowded living quarters,' said Aiello.

The study was the first of its kind and received international exposure. The researchers recruited more than 1,000 students in the University's residence halls.

The students were assigned to groups who wore masks, wore masks and practiced hand hygiene, or did neither. They were monitored for the presence of flu symptoms or the flu.

Aiello and Arnold Monto, professor of epidemiology, are co-principal investigators of the study.

24 mn generations for mice to grow to elephant size

Posted on: 01 Feb 2012

Sydney: It would take at least 24 million generations for a mouse-sized creature to evolve into something as big as an elephant.

Conversely, it would require only 100,000 generations for very large creatures to regress into dwarfs, says the first ever computation of large scale evolution mammals.

The computation, led by Alistair Evans of Monash University, describes increases and decreases in mammal size following the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports.

Evans, evolutionary biologist from Monash School of Biological Sciences, led a team of 20 biologists and palaeontologists which made the discovery.

Evans said the study was unique because most previous work had focused on micro-evolution, the small changes that occur within a species, according to a Monash statement.

'Instead we concentrated on large-scale changes in body size,' said Evans. The paper looked at 28 different groups of mammals, including elephants, primates and whales, from various continents and ocean basins over the past 70 million years.

'The huge difference in rates for getting smaller and getting bigger is really astounding - we certainly never expected it could happen so fast,' Evans said.

'When you do get smaller, you need less food and can reproduce faster, which are real advantages on small islands,' Evans said.

24 mn generations for mice to grow to elephant size

Posted on: 01 Feb 2012

Sydney: It would take at least 24 million generations for a mouse-sized creature to evolve into something as big as an elephant.

Conversely, it would require only 100,000 generations for very large creatures to regress into dwarfs, says the first ever computation of large scale evolution mammals.

The computation, led by Alistair Evans of Monash University, describes increases and decreases in mammal size following the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports.

Evans, evolutionary biologist from Monash School of Biological Sciences, led a team of 20 biologists and palaeontologists which made the discovery.

Evans said the study was unique because most previous work had focused on micro-evolution, the small changes that occur within a species, according to a Monash statement.

'Instead we concentrated on large-scale changes in body size,' said Evans. The paper looked at 28 different groups of mammals, including elephants, primates and whales, from various continents and ocean basins over the past 70 million years.

'The huge difference in rates for getting smaller and getting bigger is really astounding - we certainly never expected it could happen so fast,' Evans said.

'When you do get smaller, you need less food and can reproduce faster, which are real advantages on small islands,' Evans said.