Not loving it? Young people who know TV fast-food adverts best are TWICE as likely to be obese

Young people who watch television fast-food adverts are at risk of becoming obese - and the effect 'goes deeper' than simply making them recognise brands such as KFC's Colonel.

A test of 3,342 young people aged 15-23 'challenged' them to recognise fast-food brands from television adverts where the branding such as MacDonalds' golden arches and KFC's logo had been digitally erased.

Those who recognised many ‘de-branded’ adverts were more than twice as likely to be obese as those who recognised just a few.

Those who recognised many ¿de-branded¿ adverts were more than twice as likely to be obese as those who recognised just a few

Do you recognise this clown? A study found a strong association between familiarity with fast-food restaurant TV advertising and obesity in a group of young Americans

The results were were based on a survey of 3,342 young people aged 15 to 23 from across the US.

Lead researcher Dr Auden McClure, from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Centre in New Hampshire, US, said: ‘We know that children and adolescents are highly exposed to fast-food restaurant advertising, particularly on television. 

'This study links obesity in young people to familiarity with this advertising, suggesting that youth who are aware of and receptive to televised fast-food marketing may be at risk for health consequences.’

A similar association was not found for familiarity with televised alcohol averts.

Dr McClure added: ‘After accounting for overall TV time, TV ad familiarity was still linked with obesity suggesting that this finding is not simply due to increased sedentary time or an effect of TV programming.’

Participants were asked questions about their weight, social background, diet and viewing habits, and how often they ate TV snacks or fast-food restaurant meals.

They were also shown 20 still images taken from TV ads for leading fast-food restaurants that were broadcast during the year before the survey.

The images were digitally edited to remove anything that might identify the brand. 

The Colonel: Those who recognised many ¿de-branded¿ adverts were more than twice as likely to be obese as those who recognised just a few

Individuals were asked if they remembered seeing an ad, if they liked it, and if they could name the restaurant. 

They were also shown 20 similar ads for alcoholic drinks.

High or low scores were awarded according to how good their recognition was.

A total of 15.7% of participants were overweight, and 13.6% were clinically obese, with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or more.

Of those who were obese, 17% recognised many adverts, and had higher scores. In contrast 8.3% of obese youths recognised just a few ads and had lower scores.

For each one point score increase, participants were 3% more likely to be obese.

The findings are being presented today at the Paediatric Academic Societies' annual meeting in Boston, US.

However, eating more often at the fast-food restaurants depicted in the ads was not associated with obesity.

‘The relation between fast-food marketing and obesity is not simply that it prompts more quick-serve restaurant visits,’ said co-author Professor James Sargent, also from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Centre.

‘Individuals who are more familiar with these ads may have food consumption patterns that include many types of high-calorie food brands, or they may be especially sensitive to visual cues to eat while watching TV. More research is necessary to determine how fast-food ad familiarity is linked to obesity.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2137186/Adverts-fast-food-make-children-fat-Kids-recognise-chicken-hamburger-TWICE-likely-obese.html#ixzz1tX5AoKW6

FDA approves drug to treat and prevent the Plague as the government scrambles to stockpile treatment for the deadly disease

US regulators have approved use of a powerful Johnson & Johnson antibiotic to treat plague, an extremely rare, sometimes-deadly bacterial infection.

The Food and Drug Administration also approved Levaquin, known generically as levofloxacin, to reduce risk of people getting plague after exposure to the bacteria that cause it. 

Called Yersinia pestis, the bacteria are considered a potential bioterrorism agent.

Rare but deadly: There are less than 2,000 cases of the plague reported worldwide every year, but the government sought a new treatment in case it is used for terrorism

Approved: Levaquin is a powerful antibiotic that was developed to treat respiratory infections

Because of the potential for the plague to be used in a biological weapon, the government approached Johnson & Johnson and asked that the company pursue federal approval, the Newark Star-Ledger reported. 

The case was especially rare because it never underwent a clinical trial of human plague patients. Instead, it was tested on African green monkeys. 

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases worked with Johnson & Johnson to study whether Levaquin could treat the plague. 

The drug had been approved to fight off severe upper respiratory infections and Anthrax. 

However, federal officials wanted FDA approval for the plague so they could begin administering it in case of an outbreak, the newspaper reports.

More...

• Breakthrough in search for alien life as scientists manufacture DNA-like molecule which can transmit genetic material
• Gay couple had two children from 'different racial backgrounds in mix-up at IVF clinic'

It is already a part of the federal drugs and vaccines stockpile.

Plague mainly occurs in animals. People can get it from bites from infected fleas or contact with infected animals or humans. About 1,000 to 2,000 human cases occur worldwide each year.

The FDA approved Levaquin for plague after tests on African green monkeys infected with the bacteria in a lab found 94 percent of the monkeys given Levaquin survived. 

This painting by Michel Serre depicts the plague in Marseilles in 1721. In the 14th century, the plague killed up to 200 million people

A variation of the plague was responsible the Black Death, which wiped out up to 200 million people in Europe and parts of Asia. 

Experts say it wiped out as much as one quarter of the world's population and 30 to 60 percent of Europeans. 

The disease was carried and spread by rats aboard ships.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2137172/FDA-approves-Levaquin-treat-Plague.html#ixzz1tX4Cry4r

I AM ALICIA SIVERSTONE, I AM A VEGETARIAM

		Alicia Silverstone’s Sexy Veggie PSA
		Sexy Hollywood star Alicia Silverstone bares all in PETA’s first-ever naked veggie testimonial PSA. Watch Alicia’s sexy video, directed by acclaimed director Dave Meyers, whose credits include videos for Britney Spears, OutKast, and Dave Mathews Band.
Like most people, I wasn’t always a vegetarian, but I’ve always loved animals. If you ever have a chance to meet a cow, pig, turkey, or goat, you will see that they are just as cute and funny as your dogs and cats and that they, too, want to live and feel love. They don’t like pain. Now when I see a steak, it makes me feel sad and sick because right away, I see my dog or the amazing cows I met at a sanctuary. I’ve been vegan for 10 years, and it’s the single-most important and helpful decision I have ever made. Physically, the effect has been amazing. Once I went vegan, I lost the weight I wanted to lose, my nails were stronger, and my skin was glowing. I feel great, and I look better now than I did 11 years ago.  Being vegan truly is the secret to my life’s joy and peace. I feel physically and spiritually better than I could have ever imagined knowing that I am doing everything I can to reduce animal suffering with simple lifestyle choices like being vegan, never wearing any products made from animals (like wool and leather), and buying only from companies that NEVER test their products or ingredients on animals.  Join me—won’t you? It is easy—check out my favorite recipes and cruelty-free cosmetics and fashions, and watch my PSA! Together, we can make the world a more peaceful place for animals.

Thousands of men suffer needlessly as prostate cancer surgery is often 'a waste of time'

Thousands of men are undergoing debilitating surgery for prostate cancer which may be needless, claim scientists.

They say that in many cases the tumours are growing so slowly they do not need to be treated.

A major study has shown that survival rates of men who had surgery were hardly any higher than patients whose doctors essentially did nothing.

Cancer: A survey by Everyman shows seventy-three per cent of men didn't know the top three risk factors for prostate cancer, despite it being the most common cancer in men

At present men diagnosed with the illness are offered surgery to remove the prostate gland, known as a ‘radical prostatectomy’.  

The operation often has distressing side effects and more than half of men are left impotent and one in ten incontinent.

 

More...

• Treatment to help rebuild scar tissue in heart attack victims could be ready within next ten years
• 'No evidence' that mobile phones damage your health, unless you use them while driving

Now early results from the Prostate Intervention Versus Observation Trial (PIVOT) suggest that in many cases surgery is pointless.

The study began in 1994 involving 731 men with prostate cancer whose average age was 68. 

They were monitored over the next 12 years and some had surgery while others underwent ‘watchful waiting’ which means their doctors did not treat them.

The results – presented at a meeting of the European Association of Urology – show that on average the men undergoing surgery were just 3 per cent more likely to have survived than the ‘watchful waiting’ group.  

However surgery was found to increase the survival chances of men with the most serious forms of prostate cancer, the European Association of Urology was told.

Study author Dr Timothy Wilt, of the University of Minnesota, concluded that surgery did not ‘significantly reduce prostate cancer mortality’. 

Around 37,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in Britain every year and another 10,000 die.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2137135/Thousands-men-suffer-needlessly-prostate-cancer-surgery-waste-time.html#ixzz1tUCCZibr

Help! Painful cystitis is destroying my sex life

My partner of a year is the sexiest man I’ve ever dated and I thank my lucky stars I’ve met him after 18 years in an emotionally abusive relationship. 

We have an amazing love life, but there’s one big problem: I keep getting cystitis. My doctor says you can be vulnerable to it when you’re menopausal (I’m 51) and has given me antibiotics, but I don’t want to keep downing drugs. 

I know it has something to do with the vigorous sex life I enjoy, but my partner doesn’t seem to get the message to be more gentle. What should I do?

Downside of passionate sex: A reader is struggling with repeat bouts of cystitis (posed by model)

Ouch! It makes me cross my legs with sympathy just to read your letter.

It doesn’t help that there are so many triggers for the condition and a raft of differing advice. I have never found, for example, that cranberry juice (or capsules) help me, whereas drinking lots of water with a little sodium bicarbonate does seem to improve things.

 

More...

• How Poirot can save your marriage: A new book has 100 ingenious tips to revamp your relationship

Apart from that, there are certain times in life when you’re more likely to develop cystitis, as you now know. Pregnancy and menopause both heighten the risk of urinary tract infections (UTIs) because of fluctuating hormone levels.

You can also be more susceptible close to your period. Then there’s what the medics call ‘honeymoon cystitis’, which you contract simply as a result of lots of passionate sex at the start of a relationship. You currently have two top risk factors, plus an over-zealous lover, hence the frequent recurrence.

The first thing you need to do is to minimise all the triggers that raise your risk of a repeat infection. Get plenty of sleep, avoid alcohol and coffee, drink plenty of water, be extra vigilant about personal hygiene and try to pass urine after every sexual encounter. 

Remember that any form of contraception that involves spermicides heightens your chances of cystitis, as do certain lubricants (try to use organic ones). Antibiotics are effective, but you can become resistant to them with repeated use and they also often wipe out your ‘good bacteria’ leading to yeast infections.

However, it seems your main risk factor here is your partner’s energetic approach to sex. You say he’s not getting the message to be more gentle, but I wonder how you’re delivering it. The fact you were in an 18-year, emotionally abusive relationship suggests you are accustomed to relegating your own needs to second best.

It also raises the question of whether you would rather cling to the man you love — whatever his flaws — than risk rocking the boat.

As anyone who’s had cystitis knows, it’s a delicate issue asking your partner to moderate the way he makes love to you. You don’t want to restrict his enthusiasm or make him so paranoid he treats you like a glass ornament. And you, in particular, are so happy to have found a man who is properly passionate about you that you don’t dare tell him the scale of the problem.

The truth is you’re going to have to stop acting like a dumbstruck teenager; it’s time to be more forceful. Tell him a bad UTI makes you feel like you’re passing razor blades, because that’s the truth of it — that’ll make him sit up!

You need to act as a team, identifying what is most likely to trigger the condition and avoiding those things when you feel vulnerable.

Swap the obvious causes for something else that pushes his buttons.

The thing to bear in mind is that your situation isn’t unusual, so don’t be a martyr — all healthy sexual partnerships hinge on the pleasure of both participants.

And if your man really cares for you, he won’t value his erotic pleasure above yours

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2136981/ROWAN-PELLINGS-SEX-ADVICE-Help-Painful-cystitis-destroying-sex-life.html#ixzz1tUAGzmJl

     

Alicia Silverstone Defends Pre-Chewing Food for Son Bear, 10 Months

Alicia Silverstone and son Bear Blu Jarecki at Coachella Music Festival on April 21, 2012.Credit: WENN.com

Whether or not her fans agree, Alicia Silverstone doesn't regret feeding her son baby-bird style.

"I can understand that it would make some people feel uncomfortable, possibly, because it's new to them," the mother of son Bear Blu, 10 months, told Entertainment Tonight on Friday. "But I do want to let you know that this has been going on for thousands of years -- still going on all over the place -- and it's natural."

PHOTOS: Quirkiest baby names ever

Back in March, The 35-year-old actress posted a video on her website, The Kind Life, in which she pre-chewed food and had Bear eat it directly out of her mouth. The video sparked a huge controversy on the Web over whether or not the practice -- premastication, or pre-chewing solid food for an infant -- was hygienic.

Silverstone defended herself to ET: "It's a part of the weaning process, so while I'm still breast-feeding it's just a way to introduce him to food when he doesn't have teeth… and he can't chew."

PHOTOS: Stars share their labor stories

Bear Blu, born May 5, 2011, is the first child for the Clueless star and her husband, Christopher Jareki.

"My kid is healthy. My kid's the happiest baby ever. He didn't have teeth and he would choke," she explained. " And, basically, how it started was simply that Bear -- when he was about 5 months old -- I'd be eating and he would come at me with his little mouth open and be on my mouth trying to get the food out of my mouth."

PHOTOS: Bear Blu and other babies born in 2011

Alicia also added that it's "neat" her son actually wants to eat his vegetables and that she has "no r

The health-conscious, vegan actress adds, “I don’t regret posting the video, but I didn’t expect it to do what it did. … I’ve had nothing but great feedback.”

Fatigue after breast cancer overestimated

Few women who were treated for breast cancer feel persistent fatigue a year later, an Australian study suggests.

Disabling fatigue is common after many cancer treatments, with some studies estimating up to half of women feeling that way for months after treatment ends.

Researchers in Australia set out to test how common cancer-related fatigue actually is among women with early-stage breast cancer who had surgery along with treatment such as radiation or chemotherapy.
Breast cancer survivor Hastine Reese, 50, said exercising helped lift her mood after treatment. (David Goldman/Associated Press)
"The good news is that the vast majority of women who have undergone cancer treatment either never experience ongoing debilitating fatigue in the weeks and months after treatment ends or if they do, it passes relatively quickly," said Professor David Goldstein of the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

Cancer-related fatigue is common but people can be reassured that in most cases, it is not debilitating in the long-term, he added in a release.

For the study in April's issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Goldstein and his colleagues followed 218 women for five years.

Tumour size a factor

The breast cancer patients were observed and questioned every three months for a year after treatment and then again at five years.

The researchers used a strict definition of confirmed fatigue that ruled out causes such as anemia or thyroid disease.

Investigators recorded both physical and psychological aspects, such as pain, sleep and mood.

An oncologist and in most cases a psychiatrist reviewed the persistent cases of fatigue.

Large tumour size was the only predictor of persistent cancer-related fatigue, the researchers said.

Exercise benefits

The rate for cancer-related fatigue fell steadily from 31 per cent at the end of treatment to 11 per cent at six months and six per cent at one year.

The small minority of women who experience ongoing fatigue need to be identified early so resources can directed to them, the study's authors concluded.

Exercise may be a key way of helping more cancer survivors to manage, they suggested.

New guidelines released this week by the American Cancer Society urge doctors to talk to cancer patients about eating right, exercising and slimming down if needed.

Hastine Reese, a breast cancer survivor, said she began to exercise because her husband pushed her to. Besides being good for her health, he thought it might help pull her out of the depression that followed her diagnosis and double-mastectomy.

"When you're first diagnosed with cancer, you go into a dark place," said Reese, as she finished a one-hour exercise class this week at DeKalb Medical Center in Decatur, Ga.

Exercise has helped her mood. "I'm coming into the light, and it's getting brighter and brighter," she said.

The study was funded by the Susan G. Komen Foundation and Ramaciotti Foundation.