Sports N Health

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Tuesday that the obesity epidemic of America is proving to be as stubborn as those maddening love handles, and shows no sign of reversing course.

“It’s good that we didn’t see increases. On the other hand, we didn’t see any decreases in any group,” said CDC researcher Cynthia Ogden.

CDC researchers reported more than 78 million adults and almost 13 million children aged 2-19 were obese in 2009-10.

The results were released online in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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People who ate high-calorie diets all gained about the same amount of fat, according to a recently concluded research. It was also revealed that those whose diets were low in protein gained less weight overall than people on high- and moderate-protein diets but this was more because the low-protein group also lost muscle.

“Huge swings in protein intake do not result in huge swings in body fat gain,” said Dr. James Levine, who studies obesity at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota but wasn’t involved in the new study. “It really is the calories that count.”

Dr. George Bray from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana concluded, “If you over-eat extra calories, no matter what the composition of the diet is, you’ll put down more fat.”

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The expansion of Pfizer Inc’s blockbuster Prevnar vaccine for use in adults 50 and older to fight pneumonia, meningitis, and other diseases caused by pneumococcus bacteria has been approved by health regulators in the United States.

Prevnar 13 is designed to fight 13 forms of a bacterium known as Streptococcus pneumoniae, or pneumococcus. It belongs to a new generation of pneumococcal vaccines known as conjugates that may trigger a stronger and longer-lasting immune response.

“Pneumococcal disease is a substantial cause of illness and death,” said Dr. Karen Midthun, director of FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “Today’s approval provides an additional vaccine for preventing pneumococcal pneumonia and invasive disease in this age group.”

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The United Nations said in a report that the AIDS epidemic is leveling off and the number of people newly infected with the virus that causes it has remained unchanged since 2007.

The report from UNAIDS, the joint United Nations program on HIV and AIDS, revealed that there were 2.7 million new HIV infections last year, approximately the same figure as in the three previous years.

From news.yahoo.com:

At the end of last year, there were about 34 million people with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. While that is a slight rise from previous years, experts say that’s due to people surviving longer. Last year, there were 1.8 million AIDS-related deaths, down from 1.9 million in 2009.

The outbreak continues to hit hardest in southern Africa. But while the number of new infections there has fallen by more than 26 percent since the peak in 1997, the virus is surging elsewhere.

In eastern Europe and central Asia, there has been a 250 percent jump in the number of people infected with HIV in the past decade, due largely to the spread among injecting drug users. In North America and western Europe, the outbreak “remains stubbornly steady,” according to the report.

“It’s looking promising, but the numbers are still at a scary level,” said Sophie Harman, a global health expert at City University in London. She was not connected to the UNAIDS report.

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On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice said that drug maker Merck will pay $950 million to resolve investigations into its marketing of the painkiller Vioxx.

Merck will pay $321.6 million in criminal fines and $628.4 million as a civil settlement agreement, the agency said.

From news.yahoo.com:

Merck stopped selling Vioxx in 2004 after evidence showed the drug doubled the risk of heart attack and stroke. In 2007, the company paid $4.85 billion to settle around 50,000 Vioxx-related lawsuits.

The Justice Department said the settlement resolves allegations that Merck made false, unproven, or misleading statements about Vioxx’s safety to increase sales and made false statements to Medicaid agencies about its safety.

Merck said the settlement does not constitute an admission of any liability or wrongdoing, and it said the government acknowledged that there was no basis to conclude that Merck’s upper-level management was involved in the violations.

Merck will also plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge that it marketed Vioxx as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis before getting U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.

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The Archaeology Institute of Mexico downplays theories that the ancient Mayas predicted some sort of apocalypse would occur in the year 2012.

On Thursday, the institute acknowledged that a second reference to the date exists on a carved fragment found at a southern Mexico ruin site.

From news.yahoo.com:

Most experts had cited only one surviving reference to the date in Mayan glyphs, a stone tablet from the Tortuguero site in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco.

But the National Institute of Anthropology and History said in a statement that there is in fact another apparent reference to the date at the nearby Comalcalco ruin. The inscription is on the carved or molded face of a brick. Comalcalco is unusual among Mayan temples in that it was constructed of bricks.

“Some have proposed it as another reference to 2012, but I remain rather unconvinced,” David Stuart, a specialist in Mayan epigraphy at the University of Texas at Austin, said.

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A part of the Titagarh Group, Kolkata-based Sourenee Leaves Pvt Ltd (SLPL), is planning to sell packaged Darjeeling teas in foreign markets like Europe and the US, as also in Canada, from next year.

The company has been selling organic tea in bulk since 2009 through tea auctions and private sales.

From in.news.yahoo.com:

‘The company has now embarked on expanding the sphere of activity from the traditional bulk sales with the launching of smaller unit packaged teas in cartons with leaf teas and tea bags to reach out directly to the consumers of quality Darjeeling teas. Right now we are making a foray into package teas in the domestic market,’ said Vinita Bajoria, a member of the promoter Titagarh Group, here Monday.

Bajoria said the company was likely to sell packaged teas to the consumers in the foreign markets from next year.

‘We are targeting next year to foray into tea tourism. We are planning to set up a hotel at the Sourenee Tea Estate (situated in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district). We are waiting for the tourism department’s clearance,’ Bajoria added.

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According to a new study, the percentage of Americans of “normal weight” has slightly increased in the past year, but overweight and obese people still command a solid majority.

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index survey found that 36.6 percent of Americans were of normal weight in the third quarter of 2011, compared with 35.6 percent a year ago.

From news.yahoo.com:

The survey found 35.8 percent of Americans to be overweight, compared with 36.0 percent a year ago, and 25.8 percent obese, down from 26.6 percent last year.

The study said it was not clear what caused the change, but said it could be due to the tough economy, with cash-strapped Americans choosing to eat in rather than eating at high-calorie restaurants.

A downward trend in obesity rates could also mean a drop in U.S. healthcare costs, the study said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated medical costs associated with obesity were $147 billion in 2008.

“Although the majority of Americans are still overweight or obese, it is an encouraging sign that obesity rates are trending downward in the U.S.,” the study said.

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Decision of the National Football League (NFL) to test for human growth hormone has been applauded by anti-doping crusaders.

It is believed that the NFL’s decision will put pressure on other North American professional leagues to step up their drug-testing efforts.

From Reuters.com:

While the NFL provided few details about their testing procedures, the decision to start testing was regarded as a major breakthrough given that North American sports have traditionally been reluctant to embrace doping tests and impose punishments.

Last year, Major League Baseball (MLB) implemented random blood testing for HGH in the minor leagues, but has yet to introduce it at the major league level.

Tougher drug-testing was also on the agenda in the ongoing talks between the National Basketball Association (NBA) and their players association over a new collective bargaining agreement while the National Hockey League (NHL) has had meetings with WADA about beefing up its testing, which will also be part of its next contract negotiations.

“The NFL collective agreement that allows for HGH testing of their players is a positive development in the fight against doping in sport,” WADA director general David Howman told Reuters.

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When it comes to road safety promotion, there could be nothing better than inspiration coming in the form of knowledge. Access these vehicle safety quotations to find out more!

Remember the street car cannot turn out. -Charles M. Hayes

I feel like I am diagonally parked in a parallel universe. -Author Unknown

You can’t see anything from a car; you’ve got to get out of the goddamn contraption and walk, better yet crawl, on hands and knees, over the sandstone and through the thornbrush and cactus.  When traces of blood begin to mark your trail, you’ll see something, maybe. -Edward Abbey

Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety. -William Shakespeare

For safety is not a gadget but a state of mind. -Eleanor Everet

Safety doesn’t happen by accident. -Author Unknown

“Safety First” is “Safety Always.” -Charles M. Hayes

Better a thousand times careful than once dead. -Proverb

Precaution is better than cure. -Edward Coke

Safety is a cheap and effective insurance policy. -Author Unknown

Who can hope to be safe? who sufficiently cautious?

Guard himself as he may, every moment’s an ambush. -Horace

Safety means first aid to the uninjured. -Author Unknown

Accidents, and particularly street and highway accidents, do not happen – they are caused. -Ernest Greenwood

Prepare and prevent, don’t repair and repent. -Author Unknown

Chance takers are accident makers. -Author Unknown

Hug your kids at home, but belt them in the car. -Author Unknown

It’s better to crash into a nap than to nap into a crash. -Author Unknown

Luck runs out but safety is good for life. -Author Unknown

There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else. -James Thurber

Accidents hurt – safety doesn’t. -Author Unknown

Working safely may get old, but so do those who practice it. -Author Unknown

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A study has found that enjoying a cold beer during the heat wave could make people more attractive to mosquitoes.

The study revealed that mosquitoes are 15 per cent more likely to fly towards humans after they have consumed a pint or two.

From Dailymail.co.uk:

Researchers believe the pests are attracted to odour and breath changes caused by alcohol.

They added that mosquitoes could have learnt to associate the beer odour with an increased lack of defensiveness against bites from boozy drinkers.

The team, led by scientists at the IRD Research Centre in Montpellier, France, hope their findings will be used to help prevent malaria.

The disease is spread by mosquitoes and kills 780,000 people worldwide every year.

They tested their theory on 2,500 Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes in Burkino Faso, West Africa.

The scientists concluded that mosquitoes not only get attracted to humans after beer but their stimulation to fly up into either traps also increased.

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When it comes to keeping things in control, power megaphones are trusted by members of the law enforcement, evacuation agencies, and fire fighting departments across the world. Let us access the benefits of power megaphones and how they can be purchased at affordable pricing.

A power mega phone is a communication device that helps law enforcement and other authorities to control crowd unrest or inform the crowd about the possible dangers ahead of them and the route to protect life and property.

One of the best things about these megaphones is that they are highly portable and second to none when it comes to communicating a message to the targeted audience in a loud yet clear voice. This is one of the primary reasons why even event management companies and tour operators use power megaphones to grab attention of the targeted audience at social gatherings and on-the-tour operations. These communication devices are also popular at exhibitions and non-traditional presentations.

If you want to buy power megaphones, you can just visit the Internet to find online businesses dealing in power megaphones and similar equipments. The best thing about buying mega phones online is affordability and variety of choices. With just a few clicks, you can select a power megaphone and pay for it by using safe and secured payment options such as PayPal. However, it is highly recommended that you choose only a reputed online business so that you can always be assured of complete value for money and the quality aspect.

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A top doctor has warned that the official advice given to sun-bathers to use factor 15 sunscreen is insufficient.

Dr Ike Iheanacho, editor of the influential Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB) said people should slap on factor 30 to prevent sunburn and the risk of skin cancer.

From Dailymail.co.uk:

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) published guidance in January saying people should wear broad spectrum (UVA and UVB) sunscreens with a minimum factor 15 sun protection (SPF).

However, this level of SPF is too low and not based on how people actually use sun creams, says an editorial in the DTB.

Not enough: A top doctor has warned that Factor 15 sunscream may not prevent sunburn or the risk of skin cancer

It adds: ‘Factor 15 offers all-day protection only if it is applied thickly, at a thickness of 2mg/cm2 used by manufacturers as the standard test for SPF.

‘In reality, people using sunscreens  typically apply much less than this and get no more than half, at best, of the protection  indicated by the labelled SPF,’ says Dr  Iheanacho’s editorial.

Professor Mike Kelly, director of the centre for public health excellence at NICE, said: ‘We felt it was important, in producing this guidance, to maintain a balance –  recognising on the one hand the very real dangers of skin cancer, but also remembering on the other hand that we should not extrapolate from research carried out in much hotter, sunnier climates than our own.’

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Experts have disclosed that the earthquake that struck Japan on Friday was so powerful that it actually moved the whole planet by 25cm.

The 9.0 magnitude of Japanese earthquake was so powerful that it shifted the axis around which the Earth rotates, according to Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology.

From Dailymail.co.uk:

The shift to the Earth’s tilt will have profound, if subtle effects on the length of the day and the passage of the seasons.

Like a figure skater drawing in her arms during a pirouette, the speed of the planet’s rotation will change as the globe’s mass has been redistributed.

But Canadian geologists say that the ‘very, very tiny’ changes won’t be seen for centuries.

‘Ten inches [25cm] sounds like quite a lot when you hold a ruler in front of you. But if you think of it in terms of the earth as a whole, it’s absolutely tiny; it’s minute,’ University of Toronto professor Andrew Miall told Postmedia News.

The main island of Japan has been shifted 2.4 metres by the force of the disaster, as per the U.S. Geological Survey.

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