# Other Health News 26th January 2010



## Northerner (Jan 26, 2010)

*As another weight-loss drug is withdrawn over health fears, are diet pills too good to be true?*
Overweight and suffering from Type 2 diabetes, Robert Johnson, 47, was an obvious candidate for weight loss treatment. With a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 47 - at just over 6ft, he weighed 25st - he was officially morbidly obese. The civil servant was desperate to get healthy. 'I've battled against weight all my life,' he says. 'Diets, a drug to stop fat absorption, a drug to block appetite, I've tried everything. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...hdrawn-health-fears-diet-pills-good-true.html

*Who REALLY needs more sleep - men or women? One of Britain's leading sleep experts says he has the answer*
Competitive tiredness is a sport familiar to most couples. Men and women frequently disagree about who gets the most sleep, who finds it the least exhausting to tend to a crying child in the night and who has the most energy left for chores. Indeed, Arianna Huffington, a leading U.S. commentator, has declared women's sleep 'the next feminist issue', arguing their lack of sleep affects their judgment, creativity and ability to realise their full potential. But do women really need more sleep than men? 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...itains-leading-sleep-experts-says-answer.html

*AstraZeneca 'suppressed' drug test data  *

The marketing team sued over a drug's alleged side effects tried to suppress key data, an ex-employee has claimed. Seroquel's former UK medical adviser told the BBC he was pressured to approve promotional material which said weight gain was not an issue. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8478924.stm

*Blood pressure harm from smoke 'may explain cot death'  *

It's thought a third of cot deaths could be avoided by quitting smoking 

Smoke exposure during pregnancy damages a baby's blood pressure control, which may explain why such babies' risk of cot death is higher, say experts. Maternal smoking remains one of the biggest risk factors for cot death. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8478690.stm

*FIGHTING FAT IN THE 21ST CENTURY  *

REMEMBER waking up on New Year?s Day and saying 2010 was the year you would eat less, exercise more and lose that extra weight for good? Even though the dark days of January are still with us, for many our good intentions already feel like distant memories. The gym is an expensive novelty that has worn off and the sub-zero temperatures have made calorie-laden comfort foods more enticing than a low-fat salad.

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/154089/Fighting-fat-in-the-21st-century

*Calorie counts on menus could be 20% out*

How accurate are the calories listed on fast food menus? In the UK, caterers and food manufacturers are allowed a 20 per cent margin of error so a burger labelled as 500 calories could contain 600 calories and still be acceptable to trading standards officers. Research from Tufts University in America shows that the food industry appears to be nudging towards this upper margin of error. Analysis of 29 restaurant dishes found that they contained on average 18 per cent more calories than listed, with seven having a whopping 50 per cent more. This was American research but many fast food restaurant chains have outlets in Britain so the situation could be similar here. Take the calories provided on menus and food products as a guide rather than gospel.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/expert_advice/article6998691.ece


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