O man NWN/NWN2 such good games.
I loved building characters in NWN and NWN2, and I loved the engine in NWN2, but I was utterly disappointed with the actual content and writing. (SoU & HotU wasn't bad though) but I grew up on Baldur's Gate, so when it comes to solid writing, dialogues, banter, and romance options, I got completely spoiled.
The real shame is that someone went to the trouble of completely rebuilding the original Baldur's Gate as a mod for the NWN2 engine, but for some inane reason they decided that they couldn't be bothered with difficulty balance and throw Ogre Mages at you while you're still at level 1 on normal difficulty. I've got the Enhanced Editions for Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, but there are still a bunch of mods that haven't been completely converted to be compatible with them.
ya i never played eather of the Baldur's gate games (i know im a bad nerd). I have been meaning to get the enhanced versions.
@xxann5 - trying to go back to the 2.5ed rule sets, limited multiclassing/dual classing, and fixed stat system is really harsh when you've gotten used to 3rd edition and higher.
actually , i tought the first mail we were supposed to receive is the order confirmation for shoes size (i think that was proposed long ago).
You can expect than many purchaser have kisd and since the years are adding up, the shoes size is probably not the same than at order time.
@giroudf - honestly, I doubt it'll be that large of an issue, but yes, you're supposed to have a chance to confirm your shoe and harness size in the email, probably the same one that confirms how you want shipping handled.
I understand your frustration. Currently we have two containers on the way to Austin (arriving this week), and more to be shipped this month. Our production is ongoing, but our pace is currently slower than we expected given that we found it necessary to fully inspect each unit in Austin. We are hesitant to give any more time estimates, given our poor (and embarrassing) track record of achieving those. However, we are producing and delivering units to Kickstarter backers, and we will slowly but steadily work through our large backlog. Over time, our assembly line will become more stable, eliminating the need for the extra inspection in Austin and increasing our throughput. We will keep you posted along the way. I certainly apologize for the incredibly long wait time. Thank you for your support.
This is why I have such faith in Virtuix as a company! Y'all respond quick and do an amazing job of answering what the client base is asking ! I couldn't be more pleased with that response thank you so much Jan!!
I know due to regulations or such you likely can't tell us BUT by chance is there anyway the community can get a rough or close estimate of how many units have actually left the Austin distribution center bound for their owners homes? Also those 2 containers that are on the way to the Austin center this week would those happen to be part of the first or second batch sent from the production center?
-Keep up the AWESOME work!
Thank you for your kind words. Those two containers arriving in Austin this week are the first complete containers shipped from China (note that transport time is 4-6 weeks). However, we already shipped out ~30 Omni units in the past few weeks that were part of our PVT batch. Containers will continue to arrive on a rolling basis going forward. At some point, hopefully later this year, containers will no longer come to Austin first, and units will be delivered directly to customers. Hope this helps clarify our current status!
so when are the emails going to be going out informing U.S. backers of shipping?
They are suppose to be giving all US backers what our place in line is as well as what batch/eta we are suppose to be here soon once they start to finish up the refund process.
Fingers crossed this progress continues as indicated for our USA orders. The whole refund Insanity with the international buyers has flooded these forums and left a lot of pre-order customers concerned. I am optimistically skeptical at this stage. It's been like 3 or 4 years since I place my pre-order.
I have not gotten my letter anyway.
So far I've seen 3 or 4 people say they have their Omni and the highest kickstarter backer number was #40 also the only person ive seen admit their number, as the others that got their Omnis haven't said what their kickstarted backer number was least not that I've seen. Been trying to pin down about where we are in the line so far.
Correct, we are talking kickstart backer numbers not order numbers. Cheezwiz was kickstarter #40 and he got his so we know the line is at least at 41+ it just gives a rough idea until Virtuix releases the line order as they promised in the last newsletter.
Not knowing the US and non US the numbers only give us a rough idea. Once we know the US only numbers we will know where in line we truely stand but that is only if they tell us the most recent shipped so we know how where the line currently is at haha.
I am backer #109 and I just received an email that my Omni shipped yesterday.
250something. Shipped on Wednesday. Supposed to arrive tomorrow.
Oh man that's awesome!! How do you not know your. Backer number?
Wait how did backer 250 get shipped before backer 109???
Oh maybe delay in shipping from waiting on payment or something? So you got your shipped email today last Wednesday?
Here is how the process happened for me.
Jan 11: Received an email asking me to confirm my order and address. I responded that evening.
Jan 13: Received an email with shipping amounts. The shipping amount to Michigan was $250 for the Omni (with shoes and harness) and $20 for a Boom which is shipped separately. The email included a link to a location for entering a credit card number to pay for shipping. I entered the credit card info right away and the card was charged the same day. I then received a confirmation email that my order is complete.
Jan 25: Received an email indicating that the Boom has shipped via FedEx. Delivery is scheduled for 1/28.
Jan 26: Received an email that the Omni is on its way via DHL (freight). DHL tracking indicated that the order was picked up on Wednesday 1/25 and is scheduled to be delivered ro a distribution center in Detroit on 1/27. I understand that once it reaches the distribution center, they will contact me to schedule final delivery to my home.
My Omni did ship on Wednesday, so there is no indication that they are shipping out of order. It just appears that they shipped quite a few on Wednesday, which is very good news.
You can get your backer number by signing into Kickstarter and selecting your "Backed Projects" list. Then select the Omni project and it will display your pledge page. Scroll to the bottom and you will see your backer number.
Congrats, everyone getting there shipping info! very exciting.
I'm 1600. Not expecting it anytime soon.
We are shipping in batches and must wait for payment before we have DHL pick them up to ship out.
@travis1409 Though you may have a higher backer number, the wait may not be as long as you think. We are no longer shipping to international backers (giving refunds instead) and US backers must have entered their coupon code into our system, which not all have at this time.


text:
Google and Privacy redux
| 11 Comments
Following on from my posts Who will google Google?, That was the week that was, and Watching your every move, come two articles from John Collins in today's Irish Times (sub req'd), as well as some important developments by Google.
In Google classed as 'hostile to privacy', John writes:
How much information Google collects on its users and what it does with that information has once again become a burning topic for internet users.
(Disclosure: he quotes me at the end of the article. Don't read that far). And in Blogspot, he writes:
Since Privacy International singled out Google for being involved in "comprehensive consumer surveillance and entrenched hostility to privacy", Matt Cutts's blog has been receiving lots of traffic. … Cutts posted "Why I disagree with Privacy International" and promptly became the top story on popular news aggregator Techmeme, as well as racking up more than 100 comments.
Since the publication of its report, Privacy International has made various claims, and has called on the major Internet companies to meet with the organization in July in San Francisco to achieve an Accord "that will provide customers with consistent and strengthened privacy protections, and to give companies a greater understanding of the key challenges". In the meantime, Google has responded to the Article 29 Working Party's letter (discussed and linked here):
After considering the Working Party's concerns, we are announcing a new policy: to anonymize our search server logs after 18 months, rather than the previously-established period of 18 to 24 months. We believe that we can still address our legitimate interests in security, innovation and anti-fraud efforts with this shorter period. However, we must point out that future data retention laws may obligate us to raise the retention period to 24 months. We also firmly reject any suggestions that we could meet our legitimate interests in security, innovation and anti-fraud efforts with any retention period shorter than 18 months. … As we build new products and services, we look forward to continuing our discussion with the Article 29 Working Party and with privacy stakeholders around the world. Our common goal is to improve privacy protections for our users.
The full text of Google's letter is here (pdf), and it is plainly a step in the right direction. However, OUT-LAW (republished in the Register) has questioned whether Google can rely on the data retention justification:
However, a senior European data protection official told OUT-LAW today that Google cannot rely on that law as justification for its retention.
"The Data Retention Directive applies only to providers of publicly available electronic communications services or of public communication networks and not to search engine systems," said Philippos Mitletton. Mitletton works for the European Commission's Data Protection Unit, which itself is represented on the Article 29 Working Party, the committee of Europe's data protection authorities.
"Accordingly, Google is not subject to this Directive as far as it concerns the search engine part of its applications and has no obligations thereof," he said.
Oh dear. Admittedly, Google can still rely on security concerns (as explained by their Global Privacy Counsel Peter Fleischer on his own blog). But that can bring them only so far in retaining personal data. Moreover, limiting the amount of time online companies hold data about us is only one element of the necessary response. We (those who generate or are the subjects of the data being storted) should be able to have greater control over what the online companies hold. Moreover, if these companies do not themselves move towards establishing an ombudsman (see suggestions to this effect here and here) or other equivalent office, then thought will have to be given to developing a strong independent privacy czar who can oversee such companies and assert and protect the privacy of those who generated or are the subject of the data those companies are storing. Finally, there should in principle be a relatively simple meachanism by which we can opt out of any such storage, and an ombudsman or indepdent czar will be necessary to ensure that such opt outs are respected.
data retention, Media and Communications, Privacy
| Tags: Google
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11 Reply to "Google and Privacy redux"
Great post Eoin. Much better than mine. But now my head is beginning to hurt. The article 29 working party said in their letter of the 16th May to Google that.."server logs…can..be considered personal data in the meaning of Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC. For that reason their collection and storage must respect data protection rules."
So who is right?
Is there a difference between Data Protection and Data Retention and if so what? Also it seem strange that the working party focused only on server logs and not the user database which can have even more personal information.
I would imagine that my ISP holds more information about my online activities that Google does. Can the Irish authorities say get access to my ISP logs which hold both my web traffic and search history under the 2005 Act.? Or does it just cover email and phone communications?
As i said in my post, I would like companies like search engines and ISP's who have access to people's traffic data to report on the number of requests that they receive, from whom they receive them and the number that they comply with.
Modestly, Liam didn't link to his post: Google's response on Privacy to EU Data Protection Working Party, in which he makes a number of perceptive comments about Google's letter to the Article 29 Working Party, some of which are echoed in his message above.
Liam: thanks for the excellent response. Lots to chew on there, but I'll take one point now if you don't mind. There is a difference between data protection and data retention. Data protection law is all about the rights of data subjects (you, me and everybody) to have acccess to and to correct data stored about us by other people (have a look at the Data Protection Commissioner's website about this). This is a Good Thing, and we need more of it. In fact, because Google have lots of personal data, they are subject to data protection obligations, to allow us access to the data, and to correct it; that's the effect of the quote in your first paragraph. That is a Good Thing, though of course it doesn't go far enough.
Data retention, on the other hand, is all about imposing on data ISPs etc an obligation to retain data about us, and allow law enforcement access to it, for a very long time (have a look at EPIC's page about this). This is Not a Good Thing, and we need less of it, or none at all. Google's claim is that their data retention obligations require them to keep the data. OUT-LAW's analysis is that this is not necessarily correct.
Does this help?
Thanks Eoin. I suspect we'll have more conversations around this particular issue.
frooby says:
This explains all
http://searchengineland.com/070612-041042.php#comment-2852
HI frooby,
Thanks for the link. That comment, the post to which that is a comment, and other posts on the site, are all very helpful indeed.
Eoin.
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There is a vast difference between DR and DP Liam. The fundamental difference is the shield given under the Data Retention Enforcement Directive (DRED) gives safe-harbour from normal Data Protection rules.
There are vast differences in the timescales that EU Member states require telco's to store data. Many member states have Retention regimes and Legal Interception (LI) regimes built into Law since the inception of incumbent telco's or at beginning of market liberalisation in the EU 13/25/27 states from about 1997.
Ireland P&T Act 1983 mandated 6 years retention of traffic data, which changed in 1993 to 3 years under the P&T amendment Act. (P&T being Posts and Telegraphs), relevant section are Ss. 98 and 13 of '93 [from memory].
There was a basic problem with this, in that the acts only applied to An Bord Telecom Eireann (BTE) or the Limited Company we know today as eircom. As new entrants arrived in Ireland the minister disproportionately directed Statutory Instruments making certain (but not all) new entrant telco's also retain data for the same duration.
In 2003 during the Swedish and Irish presidencies of the EU, France, Sweden, UK and Ireland sponsored a Council Decision to bring forward a Data Retention Enforcement Directive (DRED). The Irish motivation being the tragedy that was Omagh and with Madrid and London soon following on the DRED grew legs. In early 2006 the Directive was voted upon and Ireland and Slovenia rejected [voted against] the EU Pillar placement of the Directive in Pillar 1 (EC) rather Pillar 3 (PJCC), this matter is being litigated by the Irish Govt under the Dept of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
DRED goes much further that the requirements to retain telco 'traffic data' including [with member state scope] such items as SMS data, dynamic record retention, server logs and dial-up ISP data.
To exemplify the problems of DR. Ireland's Counter Terrorism Act 2005 (S.63 & 64) mandates DR for 3 years etc. Italy is a period of 2 which can be extended by a judge to 4 years in duration depending on the issue.
So taking the Omagh bomb that was detonated with a prepaid GSM telephone so I am not that sure that the DRED or a flavour thereof is a bad thing once the rules/law by which retained data is recovered are strict.
Interference with Privacy Rights might be justified where required on the grounds of the protection of the constitutional rights of others, the common good and public order and morality.
I attended a conference in Brussels with DG Information Society and Justice on this and the participants displayed in mathematical terms the amound of tape and storage devices required to maintain such data [at worst] and it was quiet funny to see the figures. One might have asked whether one should buy shares in EDS or another data storage company.
Sorry for hogging your comments section Eoin.
PS: There is also a criminal sanction section in the DRED which will require special treatment I assume given our constitutional shield to EU criminal sanctions etc.
Frank Pasquale has an excellent post on this on Concurring Opinions: Google Street View: All the World's a Stage
More on the security justification for Google's retention of data: Peter Fleischer told OUT-LAW Radio that the retention of search engine query data is a security matter and not one for Europe's data protection officials.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Of Monsters
and Men
The band's 2011 debut album "My Head Is an Animal", reached the No.1 position in Australia, Iceland, Ireland and the US Rock and Alternative charts, while peaking at No. 6 on the US Billboard 200 album chart, No. 3 in the UK, and Top 20 of most European charts and in Canada. Its' lead single "Little Talks" was an international success – OH looked after the band's live shows and touring, as their popularity soared in the US and Canada.


Please note, however, that special privacy protections apply to HIV/AIDS related information, alcohol and substance abuse treatment information, mental health information and genetic information, which are not set forth in this Notice. These protections will be described in separate notices. To request copies of these notices, please contact the person listed in Section V.
We reserve the right to change the terms of this notice and our privacy policies at any time. Any changes will apply to the PHI we already have. Before we make an important change to our policies, we will promptly change this notice and post a new notice. You can also request a copy of this notice at any time from the contact person listed in Section V, by calling our office, at your next visit, or you can view a copy of the notice on our Web site here.
We use and disclose health information for many different reasons. For some of these uses or disclosures, we need your prior consent or specific authorization. Below we describe the different categories of our uses and disclosures and give you some examples of each category.During your intake, prior to receiving any health care services, you will be asked to sign a statement permitting Avery Lane and its medical staff to release your health information for purposes of Treatment, Payment and Health Care Operations. A description of each of these uses is described as follows.
1. For treatment. We may disclose your PHI to physicians, nurses, medical students, and other health care personnel who provide you with health care services or are involved in your care. For example, if you're being treated for a knee injury, we may disclose your PHI to the physical therapy department in order to coordinate your care.
2. To obtain payment for treatment. We may use and disclose your PHI in order to bill and collect payment for the treatment and services provided to you. For example, we may provide portions of your PHI to our billing department and your health plan to get paid for the health care services we provided to you. We may also provide your PHI to our business associates, such as billing companies, claims processing companies and others that process our health care claims or provide services on our behalf, or provide services directly to you.
3. For health care operations. We may disclose your PHI in order to operate our health care delivery system. For example, we may use your PHI in order to evaluate the quality of health care services that you received or to evaluate the performance of the health care professionals who provided health care services to you. We may also provide your PHI to our accountants, attorneys, consultants and other in order to make sure we're complying with the laws that affect us. To the extent we are required to disclose your PHI to contractors, agents and other business associates who need the information in order to assist us with obtaining payment or carrying our out business operations, we will have a written contract to ensure that our business associate also protects the privacy of your PHI.
1. When a disclosure is required by federal, state or local law, judicial or administrative proceedings or law enforcement. For example, we make disclosures when a law requires that we report information to government agencies and law enforcement personnel about victims of abuse, neglect or domestic violence; when dealing with gunshot and other wounds; or when ordered in a judicial or administrative proceeding.
2. For public health activities. For example, we report information about births, deaths and various diseases to governmental official in charge of collecting that information.
3. Victims of Abuse, Neglect or Domestic Violence. We may release your PHI to a public health authority that is authorized to receive reports of abuse, neglect or domestic violence. For example, we may report your information to government officials if we reasonably believe that you have been a victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence. We will may every effort to obtain your permission before releasing this information, but in some cases we may be required or authorized to act without your permission.
4. For health oversight activities. For example, we will provide information to assist the government when it conducts an investigation or inspection of a health care provider or organization.
5. Emergency Situations. We may use or disclose your PHI if you need emergency treatment, but we are unable to obtain your consent. If this happens, we will try to obtain your consent as soon as we reasonably can after we treat you.
6. Communication Barriers. We may use or disclose your PHI if we are unable to obtain your consent because of substantial communication barriers, and we believe you would want us to treat you if we could communicate with you.
7. Product Monitoring, Repair and Recall. We may disclose your information to a person or company that is required by the Food and Drug Administration to: (1) report or track product defects or problems; (2) repair, replace or recall defective or dangerous products; or (3) monitor the performance of a product after it has been approved for use by the general public.
8. Lawsuits and Disputes. We may disclose your PHI if we are ordered to do so by a court or administrative tribunal that is handling a lawsuit or other dispute.
• If necessary to report a crime that occurred on our property; or• If necessary to report a crime discovered during an off-site medical emergency (for example, by emergency medical technicians at the scene of a crime).
10. Military and Veterans. If you are in the Armed Forces, we may disclose your PHI to appropriate military command authorities for activities they deem necessary to carry out their military mission. We may also release health information about foreign military personnel to the appropriate foreign military authority.
11. Inmates and Correctional Institutions. If you are an inmate or you are detained by a law enforcement officer, we may disclose your PHI to the prison officers or law enforcement officers if necessary to provide you with health care, or to maintain safety, security and good order at the place where you are confined. This includes sharing information that is necessary to protect the health and safety of other inmates or persons involved in supervising or transporting inmates.
12. Coroners, Medical Examiners and Funeral Directors. In the unfortunate event of your death, we may disclose your PHI to a coroner or medical examiner. This may be necessary, for example, to determine the cause of death. We may also release this information to funeral directors as necessary to carry out their duties.
13. For purposes of organ donation. We may notify organ procurement organizations to assist them in organ, eye or tissue donation and transplants.
14. For research purposes. In most cases, we will ask for your written authorization before using your PHI for research purposes. However, in certain, limited, circumstances, we may use and disclose your PHI without consent or authorization if we obtain approval through a special process to ensure that such research poses little risk to your privacy. In any case, we would never allow researchers to use or name or identity publicly. We may also release your health information without your written authorization to people who are preparing for a future research project, so long as no personally identifiable information leave our facility.
15. To avoid harm. In order to avoid a serious threat to the health or safety of a person or the public, we may provide PHI to law enforcement personnel or persons able to prevent or lessen such harm.
16. For specific government functions. We may disclose PHI of military personnel and veterans in certain situations. And we may disclose PHI for national security purposes, such as protecting the president of the United States or conducting intelligence operations.
17. For workers' compensation purposes. We may provide PHI in order to comply with workers' compensation laws.
18. Appointment reminders and health-related benefits or services. We may use PHI to provide appointment reminders or give you information about treatment alternatives or other health care services or benefits we offer and/or provide.
19. Fundraising activities. We may use PHI to raise funds for our organization. The money raised through these activities is used to expand and support the health care services and educational programs we provide to the community. If you do not wish to be contacted as part of our fundraising efforts, please contact the person listed in section V below.
20. Deidentified Information. We may also disclosure your PHI if it has been deidentified or unable for anyone to connect back to you. This might occur if you are participating in a research project.
21. Incidental Disclosures. While we will take reasonable steps to safeguard the privacy of your PHI, certain disclosures of your PHI may occur during, or as an unavoidable result of our otherwise permissible uses or disclosures of your health information. For example, during the course of a treatment session, other patients in the treatment area may see, or overhear discussion of, your PHI.
C. Two Uses and Disclosures Require You to Have the Opportunity to Object.
1. Patient directories. We may include your name, location in our facility, general condition and religious affiliation, in our patient directory for use by clergy and visitors who ask for you by name, unless you object in whole or in part. The opportunity to consent may be obtained retroactively in emergency situations.
2. Disclosures to family, friends or others. We may provide your PHI to a family member, friend or other person that you indicate is involved in your care or the payment for your health care, unless you object in whole or part. The opportunity to consent may be obtained retroactively in emergency situations.
A. All Other Uses and Disclosures Require Your Prior Written Authorization. In any other situation not described in section IIA, B and C above, we will ask for your written authorization before using or disclosing any of your PHI. If you choose to sign an authorization to disclose your PHI, you can later revoke that authorization in writing to stop any future uses and disclosures (to the extent that we have not taken any actions relying on the authorization).
A. The Right to Request Limits on Uses and Disclosures of Your PHI. You have the right to ask that we limit how we use and disclose your PHI. We will consider your request, but are not legally required to accept it. If we accept your request, we will put any limits in writing and abide by them except in emergency situations. You may not limit the uses and disclosures that we are legally required or allowed to make.
B. The Right to Choose How We Send PHI to You. You have the right to ask that we send information to you at an alternate address or by alternate means. We must agree to your request so long as we can easily provide it to the location and in the format you request.
C. The Right to See and Get Copies of Your PHI.In most cases, you have the right to look at or get copies of your PHI that we have, but you must make the request in writing. If we don't have your PHI but we know who does, we will tell you how to get it. We will respond to you within 30 days after receiving your written request. In certain situations, we may deny your request. If we do, we will tell you, in writing, our reasons for the denial and explain your right to have the denial reviewed.
If you request copies of your PHI, we will charge you a fee for each page. Instead of providing the PHI you requested, we may provide you with a summary or explanation of the PHI as long as you agree to that and to the associated cost in advance.
D. The Right to Get a List of the Disclosures We Have Made. You have the right to get a list of instances in which we have disclosed your PHI. The list will not include uses or disclosures that you have already been informed of, such as those made for treatment, payment or health care operations, directly to you, to your family, or in our facility directory. The list also won't include uses and disclosures made for national security purposes, to corrections or law enforcement personnel.
Your request must state a time period for the disclosures you want us to include. We will respond within 60 days of receiving your request. The list we will give you will include disclosures made in the last six years unless you request a shorter time. The list will include the date of the disclosure, to whom PHI was disclosed (including their address, if known), a description of the information disclosed and the reason for the disclosure. We will provide the list to you at no charge, but if you make more than one request in the same calendar year, we will charge you for each additional request.
E. The Right to Correct or Update Your PHI. If you believe that there is a mistake in your PHI or that a piece of important information is missing, you have the right to request that we correct the existing information or add the missing information. You must provide the request and your reason for the request in writing. We will respond within 60 days of receiving your request. We may deny your request in writing if the PHI is (i) correct and complete, (ii) not created by us, (iii) not allowed to be disclosed, or (iv) not part of our records. Our written denial will state the reasons for the denial and explain your right to file a written statement of disagreement with the denial. If you don't file one, you have the right to request that your request and our denial be attached to all future disclosures of you PHI. If we approve your request, we will make the change to your PHI, tell you that we have done it and tell others that need to know about the change to your PHI.


text:
Raising awareness about immune disorder
By Jan Garrison
Photo Credit Camilo Morales
PANDAS often misdiagnosed
PANDAS Syndrome is a relatively recent medical discovery that affects children's immune system. It is a neuropsychiatric disorder associated with streptococcal infections. The problem for many children is they are often misdiagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder or ADHD.
That is why Lucas Carroll '18 (Grand Beach, Michigan) is trying to raise awareness about the disorder. He has a younger cousin who spent years seeing eight doctors before being successfully diagnosed. In the interim, she was given the standard treatment options for ADHD or autism, which only made matters worse.
Now (photo, from left) Carroll, Rockwell Nierenberg '18 (Carefree, Arizona) and George Cruickshank '18 (Anchorage, Alaska) are organizing a PANDAS awareness bike ride around Lake Maxinkuckee over Alumni Reunion Weekend. The event will be Saturday, May 19, at 10 a.m.. This is not a fundraiser, they said, but rather an opportunity to make more people aware of this disorder which wasn't described in medical journals until 1990.
While Culver Academies students cannot ride, the event is open to the public. People will be required to sign a standard waiver to participate. The ride will start at the Naval Building at 10 a.m. The group has a limited number of bikes available for visiting alumni. Members of the faculty and staff will be joining the ride. Those wishing to reserve one should email Cruickshank.
PANDAS is an acronym for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal infections. In working on this service project, Carroll said PANDAS is believed to be caused by an autoimmune response to a strep infection. The strep molecules hide in the child's immune system by mimicking normal cells. After being discovered, the immune system produces antibodies to attack the foreign cells, but they also accidently attack healthy cells as well. This causes OCD, tics, separation anxiety, and other systems.
But, since the disorder is so new and somewhat rare – it affects only one in 200 children – many parents are unaware of the disorder, he added. This is why PANDAS is misdiagnosed and medicated incorrectly, which just exacerbates the child's condition.
One sign that a child may have PANDAS is how often he/she has a strep throat. If a child has a case of strep six, seven, or eight times over a relatively brief period, that could be a warning signal, Carroll said.
The disorder is usually found in children ages three through nine, but the age range can vary on either side, he added.
Carroll, Nierenberg, and Cruickshank are hoping people participating in the bike ride will remember the disorder. By making more people aware of PANDAS "we can ensure that parents are able to recognize the signs of the disorder," Carroll said. That will, in turn, help children with the disorder receive the right diagnosis and proper treatment.
For more information, go to the PANDAS Network.
Posted in Alumni Culver Academies Events In The News Leadership Parents Student Life
Jan Garrison joined the Communications Department in December 2000. He serves as the editor for the Culver news blog, contributes to the Culver Alumni Magazine, and shoots photos. He and his wife Crissie have three children: Cameron '10, Morgan '11, and Keely '15.
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Obesity now accounts for more cases of four common cancers than smoking
A leading UK cancer charity has warned that obesity now causes more cases of four common cancers than smoking. According to Cancer Research UK, bowel, kidney, ovarian and liver cancers are more likely to be caused by being overweight than by smoking tobacco. The warning is particularly concerning as obese people outnumber smokers by two to one in the UK, which means millions of people are at risk of developing any of these cancers simply because they are overweight. Despite the fact that smoking remains the number one preventable cause of cancer in the UK and causes more cases of cancer than being overweight each year (54,300 vs. 22,800), for the four cancers previously mentioned, obesity causes more. However, Cancer Research UK's latest billboard campaign highlighting the risks associated with being overweight has been accused of fat-shaming. And it's not the first time the charity has been picked up for this either. Nevertheless, the charity remains adamant that outlining the risks of being overweight when it comes to cancer is an important step. Speaking about the Cancer Research UK warning, the British Medical Association said: "While we are very much aware of the health risks associated with smoking, less effort has been thrown behind tackling obesity, which is now a major cause of cancer."
cancer risk factors
Children whose parents divorce are more likely to be fat
Children whose parents divorce are more likely to get fat than their peers whose parents stay together, new research has revealed. According to the study by researchers from the London School of Economics and Political Science, children whose parents divorce before they are six are particularly impacted. For the study, the researchers analysed data collected by the UK Millennium Cohort Study on 7,574 children born between 2000 and 2002. Of the children involved, 1,573 (around one in five) had witnessed their parents divorce by the time they were 11. These kids gained more weight in the 24-month period following their parents' divorce than their peers whose parents remained together. Furthermore, the kids whose parents had divorced were also more likely to become overweight or obese within 36 months of their parents separating. The authors of the paper say their findings underline how much of an impact a divorce can have on children and that parental separation is "a process with potentially long-lasting consequences". As a result, the authors are calling for more health help and support to be given to families going through a break-up. The paper also offers some reasons why children put on weight following a divorce, namely: There's often less money in separated households for fresh fruit and vegetables Parents having to work longer hours, so there's less time to prepare nutritious food There's often less money for extra-curricular activities, including sport Parents with less time and energy to promote healthy eating habits in their children Emotional problems leading to parents overfeeding their children and kids eating too much sugary and fatty food
overweight children
Can weighing yourself every day prevent weight gain?
With more than 37% of American adults living with obesity, and more than 32% overweight, any strategies for curbing weight gain should be closely examined to see if they could help the situation. Now, new research suggests that weighing ourselves every day could effectively prevent weight gain – especially over the usually over-indulgent holiday period. Published in the journal Obesity, the research was led by Jamie Cooper, Ph.D., associate professor at the University of Georgia in Athens. For the study, Cooper and colleagues recruited 111 adults aged between 18 and 65. Each participant was told to try and maintain their starting weight during the holiday season, but wasn't given any advice on how to do this. Instead, the participants were all told to weigh themselves – some daily and others less frequently. At the end of the 14-week trial, the participants who weighed themselves every day either maintained their starting weight or actually lost weight. In contrast, the participants who did not weigh themselves every day all gained weight. The researchers suggest that by weighing themselves every day and being able to exercise more/eat less to combat small weight increases, those participants were able to maintain their starting weight or lose weight. Speaking about the findings of the research, Study co-author Michelle vanDellen, said: "People are really sensitive to discrepancies or differences between their current selves and their standard or goal. When they see that discrepancy, it tends to lead to behavioural change. Daily self-weighing ends up doing that for people in a really clear way."
weight loss tactics
Being just slightly overweight doubles risk of type 2 diabetes - study
A major study has found that the UK has a big obesity problem, and that there are severe health implications for people who are even just a little overweight. According to the research, which was funded by healthcare firm Novo Nordisk, individuals with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30-35 were 70% more likely to develop heart failure than their healthy weight peers (18.5-25 BMI). Furthermore, the study of 2.8 million adults also showed that people who were even slightly overweight were twice as likely to develop Type 2 diabetes. The study, which is due to be presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Glasgow, also revealed: The risk of Type 2 diabetes for people with a BMI of 35-40 was almost nine times higher People with severe obesity (BMI of 40-45) were 12 times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes People with severe obesity also had triple the risk of heart failure, high blood pressure, and dyslipidaemia (elevated levels of total or low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels, or low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol) A BMI of 40-45 was also linked with a 50% higher risk of dying prematurely from any cause Speaking about the findings of the study, Public Health England said "sustained action" was needed to tackle obesity.
diabetes risk factors
No sedentary screen time for under twos, WHO says
For busy parents, occupying their children with a tablet or cell phone for short periods throughout the day provides some much-needed relaxation time. But while it's often been said that young children shouldn't spend too much time with their faces glued to screens, a little here and there doesn't hurt, right? Well, actually, it might… That's because the World Health Organization (WHO) has recently issued new guidelines that state children under two should have zero sedentary screen time (that includes TVs, tablets and video games). The limit for two- to four-year-olds, the WHO says, should be an hour a day, and less is always better. In light of the new WHO advice, UK health ministers have said they will not amend their own guidelines, which currently advise no screen time before bedtime, but do not set maximum time limits. The new WHO guidelines are designed to tackle the practice of giving young children screens for entertainment purposes e.g. handing them a cell phone or sitting them down in front of a TV. The reason for this is to combat childhood inactivity, which can lead to obesity-related ill health and is a leading risk factor for global mortality.
sedentary screen time
childhood inactivity
Study finds eating later in the day promotes obesity
As obesity rates across the world continue to rise, understanding exactly why we put on weight has never been more important. That's why the findings of a new study, which looked at whether there is an association between when we eat and how much weight we gain, could be very significant. Presenting their findings at the ENDO 2019 conference, which took place in New Orleans, the scientists from the University of Colorado in Denver said there is a link between eating later in the day and having a higher BMI, as well as more body fat. For the study, 31 adults who were either overweight or obese and had an average age of 36 years were closely monitored to assess their sleep, levels of activity, and diet. Interestingly, the study also showed that the participants who ate later in the day still had an average of 7 hours sleep each night, suggesting that lack of sleep may not promote obesity after all. Speaking about the findings of the study, Dr. Adnin Zaman, lead author, said "These findings support our overall study, which will look at whether restricting the eating window to earlier on in the day will lower obesity risk."
Losing weight can reverse type-2 diabetes, study suggests
Following a low-calorie diet – even for just a few months – can arrest type-2 diabetes for at least two years, new research suggests. The findings of the study highlight that type-2 diabetes might not necessarily be the life sentence we previously thought. Nearly 300 people with type-2 diabetes in Scotland and Tyneside (in the UK) participated in the study. Half were given standard diabetes care, while the other half were put on a structured weight management programme. After 12 months, 46% of those on the low-calorie programme had successfully reversed their type-2 diabetes. In comparison, just 4% of the study participants given the standard treatment had gone into remission. Two years later, 36% of the study participants on the structured weight management programme were still in remission. "People with type 2 diabetes and healthcare professionals have told us their top research priority is: 'Can the condition be reversed or cured?' We can now say, with respect to reversal, that yes it can. Now we must focus on helping people maintain their weight loss and stay in remission for life," said Prof Mike Lean from Glasgow University, who led the study with Taylor. Type-2 diabetes causes blood sugar levels to rise and can lead to serious complications such as amputations, visual problems and heart disease. It is thought that one in 16 adults in the UK is currently living with type-2 diabetes, a condition that is fuelled by obesity. [Related reading: Why being overweight increases your risk of cancer]
type-2 diabetes
Less sitting, more moving tied to longer life
People who have sedentary jobs could significantly boost their lifespans by taking short, regular movement breaks, a new study has found. It's no secret that individuals who spend a lot of time sitting down are more likely to develop certain adverse health conditions, such as diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases, as well as having increased risk of osteoporosis, depression, anxiety, colon cancer and high blood pressure. However, just a small amount of exercise, the study suggests, could lower the risk of early death. According to the research – the findings of which are published in the Annals of Internal Medicine – individuals who sat for less than 30 minutes at a time had the lowest risk of early death. For example, workers who had a movement break (involving some low-intensity exercise) every 30 minutes had a 17% lower risk of death than their counterparts who did not have any breaks. Moreover, individuals who broke up periods of sitting every 30 minutes with moderate- to high-intensity exercise lowered their risk of early death by 35%. Speaking about the findings of the research, Keith Diaz, an assistant professor of behavioural medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City and study lead, said: "If you have a job or lifestyle that involves a lot of sitting, you can lower your risk of early death by moving more often, for as long as you want and as your ability allows — whether that means taking an hour-long high-intensity spin class or choosing lower-intensity activities, like walking."
sedentary lifestyles
exercise benefits
Regular weigh-ins, simple tips help avoid Christmas weight gain
Christmas Day is less than two weeks away and that means many of us will soon be gorging ourselves on all sorts of culinary delights. It's a reality that will see a lot of people piling on the pounds this month ahead of the inevitable January fitness drive. But what if there was a simple way to limit the impact of Christmas feasting on our waistlines? A new study by the Universities of Birmingham and Loughborough in the UK suggests there is. According to the study involving 272 volunteers, regular home weigh-ins coupled with simple weight-loss tips can prevent people from putting on weight over the festive period. For the study, the volunteers were divided into two groups. One group weighed themselves regularly and were given dietary advice, including information on how many calories they needed to burn to negate Christmas food. The other group didn't weight themselves and were only given a small amount of healthy lifestyle advice. The group that weighed themselves and had access to the additional information weighed 0.49kg less than the "comparison" group come the end of the study. Study lead author, Frances Mason, of the University of Birmingham's Institute of Applied Health Research, said "People gain a kilo of weight on average annually. Often this weight gain happens at Christmas, and is never fully lost. This could possibly be a factor driving the obesity epidemic." In other words, by simply keeping track of your weight and understanding the impact the foods you are eating are having on your waistline, you stand a better chance of avoiding weight gain at a time of year that's traditionally associated with piling on the pounds. [Related reading: Why being overweight increases your risk of cancer]
Christmas weight gain
Christmas feast
weight gain prevention
Could blocking a single gene be the key to curing obesity?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity is a "global epidemic" that must be tackled if we are to prevent its ill effects. In the United States, nearly 40% of adults and 18.5% of children aged 2 to 19 are obese. Obesity is a major risk factor for type-2 diabetes, heart disease and some types of cancer. That's why finding effective ways to treat the condition is paramount. But now scientists say they are on the verge of creating a pill that could make obesity a thing of the past - without the need for diet and exercise. Sounds too good to be true, right? Nevertheless, the team at Flinders University in South Australia say that they key to curbing obesity could lie in a single gene known as RCAN1. The team found that when RCAN1 was removed in mice and they were then fed a high fat diet, they did not gain weight. In fact, they could eat as much food as they wanted over a prolonged period of time, the researchers say. Damien Keating, Ph.D., professor of molecular and cellular physiology at Flinders, and leader of the research team, said blocking RCAN1 allows the body to transform unhealthy white fat into calorie-burning brown fat. Stunning pictures of the mice used for the trial highlight the difference when RCAN1 was blocked and when it wasn't. The results of the research are published in the journal EMBO Reports.
obesity cure
RCAN1
Why being overweight increases your risk of cancer
We are often told that being overweight increases our risk of cancer. In fact, in the UK, obesity is the biggest preventable cause of cancer after smoking, according to Cancer Research UK. But why does being overweight increase a person's likelihood of developing cancer? A group of scientists say they now know. The team from Trinity College Dublin say the reason overweight people are at greater risk of developing cancer is because a certain cell in the body that's used to destroy cancer gets clogged with fat and stops working as a result. Publishing their findings in the Nature Immunology journal, the team said they were able to show that the body's natural cancer-fighting cells get clogged by fat. They are hopeful that new drug treatments can be developed that will reverse the effects and restore the cancer-killing ability of said cells. Until then, though, the best advice remains to stay a healthy weight, stop smoking and cut down on alcohol. Speaking about the findings of the research, Dr Leo Carlin, from the Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute, said: "Although we know that obesity increases the risk of 13 different types of cancer, we still don't fully understand the mechanisms underlying the link. "This study reveals how fat molecules prevent immune cells from properly positioning their tumour-killing machinery, and provides new avenues to investigate treatments." [Related reading: Major study finds eating processed meat raises risk of breast cancer]
Obesity set to overtake smoking as number one preventable cause of cancer in UK women, charity warns
By 2043, obesity will surpass smoking to be the biggest preventable cause of cancer in UK women. That's one of the shocking new predictions to come out of a report by Cancer Research UK. At present, around 7% of cancers in women are linked to being overweight and obese, while 12% are said to be caused by smoking. But as the number of individuals who smoke continues to fall and obesity rates continue to rise, the UK cancer charity believes that gap will completely disappear over the next 25 years (assuming current trends continue). In fact, by 2035, the percentage of cancers caused by smoking and by carrying excess weight will almost be equal (25,000 cancer cases each year related to smoking vs. 23,000 related to being overweight). However, after just another eight years (by 2043), being overweight and obese is likely to be linked to even more cases of cancer in women than smoking. Interestingly, the cancer charity says that obesity will not overtake smoking as the leading cause of cancer in men until some time later. The reason for this, though, is simply because more men than women smoke. While obesity is more prevalent among men too, it is thought to be a greater catalyst in women for developing cancer. Professor Linda Bauld, Cancer Research UK's prevention expert, said the UK government must act now to stem the tide of obesity-related cancers. "That's why we are raising awareness of the link between cancer and obesity and calling for measures to protect children, like a ban on junk food adverts before 9pm and for restrictions on price promotions of 'less healthy' products," she said. Smoking-related cancers include: acute myeloid leukaemia lung bladder bowel cervical pancreatic stomach Obesity-related cancers include: bowel gall bladder kidney liver breast ovarian thyroid
cancer in women
smoking-related cancers
obesity-related cancers
Most yoghurts contain more sugar than cola, study finds
We recently wrote about how foods packed with good bacteria provide no benefits. Now, new research is dragging yoghurts under the spotlight because of the amount of sugar many contain. In fact, according to the research led by Leeds University in the UK, some yoghurts contain more sugar per 100g than cola. Publishing their findings in the journal BMJ Open, the team of researchers said that even organic yoghurts often contain way too much sugar. The only yoghurts, they said, that can be considered low in sugar are natural and Greek-style. For the research, the team analysed 900 different yoghurts on sale in supermarkets in the UK. Perhaps unsurprisingly, yoghurt deserts were found to contain the most sugar (an average of 16.4g per 100g). More surprising, though, are the findings relating to organic yoghurts. That's because many people see them as a healthy option, not knowing they contain so much sugar. The UK government are trying to reduce the amount of sugar consumed by the public and yoghurts are one of the areas they want to see addressed. This new research underlines why. To be classed as 'low sugar' a product needs to contain no more than 5g of sugar per 100g. Just 9% of the yoghurts studied were found to be below this threshold. Dr Bernadette Moore, lead researcher of the study, said: "I think people, including parents, will be surprised to know just how much sugar there is in yoghurt. "My advice would be to buy natural yoghurt and mix in your own fruit."
high-sugar foods
obesity risks
Serving food on smaller plates doesn't fool hungry people - study
If you're trying desperately to lose weight, you'll know that diets are difficult. But did you also know that the old trick of using a smaller plate when you eat to reduce portion sizes also (apparently) doesn't work? That's the finding of a new study that analysed how tricking the brain with a smaller plate doesn't work when someone is hungry. According to the study by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), "plate size doesn't matter as much as we think it does" – especially when people are food deprived. For the study, the results of which were published in the peer-reviewed journal Appetite, the researchers set to out to see if people could identify pizza portion sizes when they were placed on plates of differing sizes. They found that people who had not eaten for at least three hours prior to the test were more likely to identify the pizza portions on both smaller and larger plates than their counterparts who were not hungry. Interestingly, this only happened when applied to food, with both groups similarly inaccurate when asked to compare the size of black circles placed within different sized circles. The researchers say this shows that hunger plays a role in heightening the analytical abilities of individuals. "Over the last decade, restaurants and other food businesses have been using progressively smaller dishes to conform to the perceptual bias that it will reduce food consumption," says Dr. Ganel, head of the Laboratory for Visual Perception and Action in BGU's Department of Psychology. "This study debunks that notion. When people are hungry, especially when dieting, they are less likely to be fooled by the plate size, more likely to realize they are eating less and more prone to overeating later."
dietary health
Environment not genes responsible for emotional eating in children
Some of us turn to food for comfort when we are feeling emotional or stressed. Likewise, some of us cut back on food when we are feeling upset. But they are habits that could be influencing our children too. That's because new research by University College London has found that children who eat more or less when stressed or upset have learnt the behaviour rather than inherited it, suggesting home environments are the primary cause of emotional eating. Parental acts such as giving children their favourite food when they are feeling upset have been highlighted as potential reasons for the habits forming. But UK-based eating disorder charity Beat says parents shouldn't be blamed for their children's eating issues. "Eating disorders are complex mental illnesses and never have one sole cause," the charity said. The study, which was published in the journal Pediatric Obesity, analysed 398 four-year-old British twins. Half came from families with obese parents and half from parents with a healthy weight. The parents were asked questions about their children's eating habits, including their tendencies to emotionally eat. The researchers compared the questionnaire data relating to eating disorders between identical and non-identical twins and found very little difference between the two, which suggests environment plays a bigger role than genes.
Healthy but obese women still at increased risk of CVD
Have you ever encountered someone who calls themself 'fat but fit'? It's not uncommon to meet people who are clearly overweight, yet not perturbed by their situation because they consider themselves to be fit and healthy. However, a large study conducted in America has found that women who are overweight or obese but otherwise healthy are still at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). For the study, researchers from the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke tracked the health of some 90,257 women in the US over a 30-year period. They found that women who were overweight or obese, but had none of the typical cardiovascular risk factors, such as high blood pressure, excess cholesterol and diabetes, were 20% and 39% more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than their normal weight and metabolically healthy peers. Speaking about the findings of the study, Prof Matthias Schulze, who led it, said: "Our large cohort study confirms that metabolically healthy obesity is not a harmless condition, and even women who remain free of metabolic diseases for decades face an increased risk of cardiovascular events." The study also found women who were of normal weight, but metabolically unhealthy, were over two-times more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than their peers of the same weight who were metabolically healthy. Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, added: "This large scale study confirms that obesity, even if unaccompanied by other warning signs, increases risk of cardiovascular disease in women."
fat but fit
UK soft drink sugar tax takes effect
From Friday, drinks manufacturers in the UK will have to pay a levy on the high-sugar drinks they sell, following the implementation of the ground-breaking sugar tax in the country. While ministers and campaigners say the tax is already driving positive results, with many manufacturers cutting the amount of sugar in their drinks ahead of the change, others say it's still too early to tell. Indeed, while Fanta, Ribena and Lucozade have cut the sugar content of their drinks, Coca-Cola hasn't. The UK joins a small handful of countries, including France, Mexico and Norway, which have introduced similar taxes in an attempt to reduce sugar consumption. Manufacturers will need to pay the levy – equivalent to 24p per litre - on any of their drinks that contain more than 8g per 100ml. It is not yet known whether the costs will be passed on to consumers in the form of price increases. Drinks containing 5-8g of sugar per 100ml will be subject to a lower rate of tax of 18p per litre. Pure fruit juices that do not contain any added sugar will be exempt, as are drinks with high milk content (due to the beneficial calcium they contain). The new tax is expected to raise around £240 million a year, which will be invested in schools sports and breakfast clubs.
soft drinks levy
Some blueberry muffins have more than a day's worth of sugar
Are you partial to blueberry muffins? If you are, did you ever stop and think that just one could contain more than your entire recommended daily sugar allowance? According to an analysis in January by Action on Sugar and the Obesity Health Alliance, a single blueberry muffin can contain as much as eight teaspoons of sugar. The recommended daily intake for adults in the UK is just seven and it's even less for children. The analysis highlights just how easy it is for people to exceed the recommended daily intake without even knowing it. For the analysis, Action on Sugar and the Obesity Health Alliance looked at 28 different muffins sold in a variety of locations, such as train stations and supermarkets. It found that 61% contained at least six teaspoons of sugar. Furthermore, muffins purchased at train station retailers had 19% more sugar per portion and were 32% bigger than those found in supermarkets. Caroline Cerny, from the Obesity Health Alliance, said: "We may think grabbing a blueberry muffin is a reasonably healthy option for a snack on the go compared to other cakes or a chocolate bar - yet the figures suggest otherwise. "There is huge variation in both the size of muffins and the sugar content, and with limited nutrition labelling, it's all too easy to eat a huge amount of sugar in just one serving."
sugary foods
Public Health England tells Britain to 'go on a diet'
As part of a new obesity drive, Public Health England is telling people in the UK to "get on a diet" and wants to cut portion sizes of some of the nation's most popular foods. Pizzas, ready meals, takeaways and processed meat will all be targeted as part of the initiative to cut calorie consumption by 20% by 2024. In addition, the government agency has called on the food industry to start using healthier ingredients and encourage people to choose lower calorie foods. The drive to eat healthier will not only improve the health of the nation, but also reduce the burden on the NHS associated with obesity-related illnesses. Public Health England says the cost per year of obesity to the NHS is £6 billion. Combined with the sugar reduction programme that came into effect last year and the sugary drinks levy which comes into force next month, this new initiative will also help reduce the number of calories consumed by children in the UK. Talking about the new steps, Public Heath England chief executive Duncan Selbie said: "Britain needs to go on a diet. Children and adults routinely eat too many calories, and it's why so many are overweight or obese." Food manufacturers, supermarkets, takeaways and fast-food outlets have all been told they need to reduce the calories in the foods such as crisps and savoury snacks, cooking sauces and dressings, ready meals and takeaways, and food-to-go like sandwiches. If these companies do not listen to PHE, the agency said it would be willing to ask the government to legislate. Guidelines suggest that women eat no more than 2,000 calories a day, while men should limit themselves to 2,500.
obesity in the UK
Diabetes is actually five diseases, not two
Diabetes has long been split into two types: type 1 and type 2. But new research suggests it could actually be five different diseases and treatment could be tailored to tackle each form. Researchers in Sweden and Finland say the more complicated diabetes picture they've uncovered could lead to a new era of personalised medicine being ushered in. Affecting approximately one in 11 people around the world, diabetes doesn't just play havoc with blood sugar levels, but also increases the risk of stroke, blindness, heart attack, kidney failure and limb amputation. Type 1 diabetes, which affects around 10% of sufferers in the UK, is a disease of the immune system that attacks the body's insulin factories, leading to there being a shortage of the hormone to control blood sugar levels. Type 2 diabetes, on the other hand, is associated with poor lifestyle choices and obesity, which affect the way in which insulin works. For the study, the researchers analysed blood samples from 14,775 patients. They found that people could be separated into five distinct diabetes clusters. Talking to the BBC, Prof Leif Groop, one of the researchers, said: "This is extremely important, we're taking a real step towards precision medicine. "In the ideal scenario, this is applied at diagnosis and we target treatment better."
'Apple shape' women at greater risk of heart attack than their 'pear shape' peers
New research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association shows that waist-to-hip ratio is a better heart attack predictor than body mass index (BMI), with so-called "apple shape" women at greater risk than their male counterparts. According to the research from the George Institute for Global Health, waist-to-hip ratio is an 18% better heart attack predictor than BMI in women and 6% in men. However, the research also found that BMI was linked to heart disease risk in both sexes. For the research, the team from the George Institute in Oxford interviewed nearly 500,000 UK adults aged 40 to 69. They found women who had bigger waists relative to their hips are at more risk of heart attacks than men with similar body shapes. Speaking about the findings of the research, Ashleigh Doggett, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "Considering the large amount of UK participants, this is a very interesting study which highlights that obesity remains a risk factor for heart attacks in both men and women. "Interestingly, it suggests that those of us who are 'apple' as opposed to 'pear' shape, especially women, may be at higher risk of a heart attack." The researchers say their findings suggest the differences in the way men and women store fat may affect their risk of heart disease. While more research is needed, these findings do support the notion that being "apple shape" (having proportionally more fat around the abdomen) is more hazardous for your health than being "pear shape" (having proportionally more fat stored around the hips. The full findings of the research can be found in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
apple shape
heart attack risk factors
UK millennials on course to be 'fattest generation', says leading cancer charity
By the time they reach middle age, seven in 10 UK millennials (people born between the early 1980s and mid-90s) will be too fat, health experts say. In fact, millennials are on course to be the fattest generation ever since records began. In comparison, only about half of the so-called "baby boomer" generation (those born just after the Second World War) were fat at middle age. It's a worrying revelation, especially as being fat as an adult is linked to an increased risk of developing 13 different types of cancer, according to Cancer Research UK who conducted the research. The charity said only 15% of the UK population are aware that being fat puts them at increased risk of breast, bowel and kidney cancer. Even more sobering is the fact Britain is now the most obese country in Western Europe and its obesity rates are rising faster than any other developed nation. In 1993, obesity prevalence was 15%, but that figure had almost doubled risen to 27% in 2015. Professor Linda Bauld from Cancer Research UK said: "Extra body fat doesn't just sit there; it sends messages around the body that can cause damage to cells. "This damage can build up over time and increase the risk of cancer in the same way that damage from smoking causes cancer."
Indulgent grandparents could be damaging their grandchildren's health
It's natural for grandparents to dote on their grandchildren and give them sweet treats whenever they see them. But new research suggests this and other influences could have a negative impact on their grandchildren's health. For the research, the team from the University of Glasgow analysed 56 different studies which included data from 18 countries, including the UK, US, China and Japan. They focused on the influence of grandparents who were significant in their grandchildren's lives, but who weren't necessarily primary caregivers. Three areas of influence were considered: diet and weight, physical activity and smoking. When it came to their grandchildren's diet and weight, grandparents were found to have an adverse impact, with many studies highlighting how they feed their grandchildren high-sugar or high-fat foods - often in the guise of a treat. The researchers also found that grandchildren were perceived to get too little exercise while under the supervision of their grandparents. However, this did depend on whether the grandparents were physically active themselves or not. Furthermore, smoking around grandchildren became an area of conflict between parents and grandparents, with the latter often smoking while their grandchildren were present, even though they had been asked not to. Talking about the findings of the study, lead researcher Dr Stephanie Chambers said: "While the results of this review are clear that behaviour such as exposure to smoking and regularly treating children increases cancer risks as children grow into adulthood, it is also clear from the evidence that these risks are unintentional. "Given that many parents now rely on grandparents for care, the mixed messages about health that children might be getting is perhaps an important discussion that needs to be had."
passive smoking
exercise in children
grandparents' influence
Super-sized chocolate bars to be banned in UK hospitals
We recently reported that childhood obesity rates are 10 times higher today than they were in 1975. This worrying trend is only set to continue unless more is done to tackle obesity in children. So-called "sugar taxes" on soft drinks in various countries around the world and France's decision to ban unlimited fizzy drinks in restaurants, fast food-chains, schools and holiday camps, are definitely steps in the right direction. Now, hospitals in England have laid out plans to ban the sale of any sweets or chocolate that contain more than 250 calories. Going forward, super-sized chocolate bars will become a thing of the past in hospital vending machines and canteens. In addition, pre-packed sandwiches with more than 450 calories and/or 5g of saturated fat per 100g will also be banned. Hospitals will be given a cash boost to help them facilitate the changes. The decision to ban fattening and sugary food products in hospitals is actually win-win for the National Health Service (NHS). These foods are major contributors to obesity and many other conditions/diseases, such as preventable diabetes, tooth decay, heart disease and cancer – all of which put enormous strain on the health service. Public Health England says hospitals have an "important role" in tackling obesity and not just dealing with the consequences.
Childhood obesity rates now 10 times higher than they were in 1975
A new report by Imperial College London in the United Kingdom, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), reveals that obesity in children is 10 times higher today than it was in 1975. Even more startling is the report's prediction that within five years, more children will be obese than underweight. For the research, lead author Prof. Majid Ezzati, of the School of Public Health at ICL, and his team of over 1,000 researchers examined the body mass index (BMI) of almost 130 million people living in 200 countries, including 31.5 million individuals between 5 and 19 years old – making this study the largest of its kind. They found that total childhood obesity rates have risen globally by more than 10-fold in the past forty years. More specifically, in 1975, there were 5 million obese girls. In 2016, this number had risen to 50 million. A similar trend was found for boys, with 6 million obese in 1975 compared to 74 million in 2016. The researchers say that if the trend continues, there will be more obese children in the world than underweight ones by the end of 2020. Commenting on the findings, Prof. Ezzati said: "The trend predicts a generation of children and adolescents growing up obese and also malnourished. We need ways to make healthy, nutritious food more available at home and school, especially in poor families and communities, and regulations and taxes to protect children from unhealthy foods." The findings of the study were published in The Lancet.
obesity in children
obese children
Loneliness, social isolation bigger killers than obesity, finds study
While it's commonly accepted that obesity is a major public health concern in the United States, new research has uncovered two bigger threats to people's lives: loneliness and social isolation. Presenting the findings of their two meta-analyses of studies at the 125th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in Washington, D.C., study co-author Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Brigham Young University (BYU), and colleagues revealed that loneliness and social isolation have the potential to increase people's risk of premature death by as much as 50%. In fact, the researchers found that the risk of premature death associated with loneliness and social isolation was equal to or greater than for obesity. While people often think loneliness and social isolation are the same, there are actually notable differences between them. Social isolation, for example, is defined as a lack of contact with other people. Loneliness, on the other hand, is the feeling that a person is emotionally disconnected from other people. The bottom line being that a person can be in regular contact with other people, but still feel lonely. A 2016 Harris Poll of US adults found that 72% have felt lonely at some point in their lives, while just under a third said they feel lonely at least once a week. Prof. Holt-Lunstad said more needs to be done at a community level to tackle the loneliness epidemic being faced.
premature death
Children with TVs in their bedrooms have an increased risk of obesity
Children who have TVs in their bedrooms are more likely to be overweight than those who don't, according to new research. Published in the International Journal of Obesity, the study by scientists from University College London analysed data from more than 12,000 children in the UK. They found that girls in particular were more likely to put on weight the longer they spent watching TV. The scientists found more than 50% of the children had TVs in their bedrooms at the age of seven. Interestingly, girls who had TVs in their bedrooms at the age of seven were 30% more likely to be overweight by the time they were 11, compared to kids who did not have TVs in their bedrooms. For boys, the risk was slightly less at 20%. While the link between TVs and being overweight isn't fully known, the researchers believe it is due to the children getting less sleep and snacking while they are in front of their TVs. Researcher Dr Anja Heilmann said: "Our study shows there is clear link between having a TV in the bedroom as a young child and being overweight a few years later." The scientists behind the research are now calling for more studies to see if similar patterns exist with laptops and mobile phones.
obesity risk factors
How waist size can predict cancer risk
Men with waists over 40 inches and women with waists over 35 inches are at greater risk of certain cancers, as well as type 2 diabetes. That's the message to come out of a study by scientists at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is an arm of the World Health Organisation. According to Dr Heinz Freisling, the lead author of the study published in the British Journal of Cancer, a person's waist measurement is as good at predicting cancer risk as their body mass index (BMI). His advice is for people to know their waistlines. "You only need to put a tape measure around your belly button. This is easy to do and can give a person an indication of whether their risk for specific cancers is increased or not – for instance pancreas or liver cancer which are known to be related to increased body fatness or obesity," he said. Being overweight or obese is the single biggest preventable cause of cancer after smoking and is linked to 13 types of cancer, including bowel, breast and pancreas. The study combined data from about 43,000 participants who had been followed for an average of 12 years and more than 1,600 people were diagnosed with an obesity-related cancer.
Risk of chronic disease increases with just 14 days of physical inactivity
While the association between a lack of exercise and an increased risk of chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease, is well-established, new research shows that just 14 days of physical inactivity can increase a person's risk such conditions. A study by the University of Liverpool found that young, healthy adults who switched from moderate-to-vigorous activity and then to near-sedentary behaviour for just 14 days experienced metabolic changes that could raise their risk of chronic disease and even premature death. Presenting their findings at the European Congress on Obesity 2017 in Portugal, Study leader Dr. Dan Cuthbertson and colleagues said that reducing physical activity for just 14 days led to a loss of skeletal muscle mass in the participants. However, the reduction of physical activity for 14 days also led to an increase in total body fat. Furthermore, said body fat was most likely to accumulate centrally, which the team notes is a significant risk factor for chronic disease. Current guidelines recommend that adults aged 18-64 undertake at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity every week. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that fewer than 50% of adults meet these exercise recommendations. Are you doing enough exercise each week? Even just small lifestyle changes can make a big difference when it comes to your risk of chronic disease.
People are getting fatter, but fewer than ever are trying to lose weight - study
Despite the fact the number of people who are overweight or obese has risen over the past 30 years, fewer people are actually attempting to shed weight, according to a new study, the findings of which were published in JAMA. Around two thirds of the adult population in the United States are obese or overweight, putting them at increased risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and other chronic diseases. However, new research has found that even though there has been a significant rise in the number of people who are overweight or obese since the 1980s, the percentage of U.S. adults who are trying to lose weight has fallen. For their research, study co-author Dr. Jian Zhang and her colleagues from the Georgia Southern University, analysed the data of 27,350 U.S. adults aged between 20 and 59 years. The analyses revealed that the rates of overweight and obesity increased by 13%, from 53% in 1988-1994 to 66% in 2009-2014. Furthermore, the researchers also found that the percentage of people who attempted to lose weight over the same period actually dropped by 7%, from 56% in 1988-1994 to 49% in 2009-2014. At present, people are deemed to be overweight or obese depending on their body mass index (BMI). A BMI of 25 to under 30 is considered overweight, while a BMI of 30 or above is considered obese. A healthy diet and regular physical activity are proven to help curb weight gain, which is why we should all make a conscientious effort to watch what we eat and exercise more. [Recommended read: BMI Wrongly Labelling People Unhealthy, Finds New Research]
Average life expectancy to exceed 90 by 2030
South Korean women will become the first people in the world to have an average life expectancy above 90, according to a new study published in The Lancet. The study, conducted by Imperial College London and the World Health Organisation, analysed the lifespans of people living in 35 industrialised countries. In each country analysed, the average life expectancy is expected to increase by 2030 and the gap between men and women will start to close in most countries. "As recently as the turn of the century, many researchers believed that life expectancy would never surpass 90 years," said study lead author Majid Ezzati in a journal news release. Ezzati is a professor at Imperial College London's School of Public Health in England. "Our predictions of increasing life spans," he added, "highlight our public health and health care successes. However, it is important that policies to support the growing older population are in place." The biggest issue for governments, say the researchers, will be how they overcome the challenges associated with pensions and care for elderly people. Equality of life, say the researchers, is the secret to South Korea's success, with things like education and nutrition benefitting most people in the country. Furthermore, South Korea is better at dealing with hypertension and has some of the lowest obesity rates in the whole of the world. Surprisingly, Japan, which currently has the longest life expectancy for women, is expected to tumble down the rankings going forward and be overtaken by both South Korea and France. By 2030, the US will have the shortest life expectancy of all the rich countries analysed for the research.
BMI Wrongly Labelling People Unhealthy, Finds New Research
Half of people labelled 'obese' because of their body mass index (BMI) scores are actually healthy, according to new research, bringing into question the validity of the scoring system. Scientists claim the BMI scoring system is wrongly labelling millions of people 'unhealthy' when, in fact, they are actually much healthier than their slimmer counterparts. Dr. A. Janet Tomiyama, an assistant professor in the department of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles, said: "Many people see obesity as a death sentence. But the data shows there are tens of millions of people who are overweight and obese and are perfectly healthy." Scientists say that BMI is being used by healthcare companies to increase premiums in some countries and that the latest findings will be "the final nail in the coffin for BMI." The problem with BMI is that it can give people false hope. For example, a person can have a 'normal' BMI, yet be at risk of disease, highlighting that it is not always an accurate predictor of future health. Prof Tomiyama and her colleagues discovered that more than 54 million Americans are being labelled as "unhealthy," even though they are not. The study - the results of which were published in the International Journal of Obesity - analysed the link between BMI and several health indicators, including blood pressure and glucose, and cholesterol and triglyceride levels. It found nearly half of Americans who are labelled 'overweight' because of their BMIs (34.4 million people) are healthy, as are 19.8 million who are considered 'obese'.
Red Hot Chilli Peppers Linked to Longer Lifespan
Great news for fans of spicy food as research finds a link between eating red hot chilli peppers and a longer lifespan. The study of more than 16,000 people living in the United States found that those who ate red hot chilli peppers - ranging from a single chilli to several chillies every day - had a 13% lower risk of death from all causes compared to individuals who didn't eat them. Study co-authors Mustafa Chopan and Benjamin Littenberg, both from the Robert Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, recently published their findings in the journal PLOS One. While it still hasn't been determined exactly why chilli peppers might extend lifespan, the researchers believe it is likely down to capsaicin, which activities transient receptor potential (TRP) channels. Capsaicin is also where chilli peppers get their distinctive fiery flavour. There are many different types of chilli pepper, all with varying levels of heat. They are the fruits of the Capsicum plant, which belongs to the nightshade family. Capsaicin is also believed to have anti-inflammatory and/or anti-oxidant effects, as well as helping to boost the metabolism, which can help combat obesity. The team says that further study is needed to investigate the benefits of other spices and differential effects of certain chilli pepper sub-types, which "may lead to new insights into the relationships between diet and health, updated dietary recommendations, and the development of new therapies."
Dopamine could be to blame for people's reduced motivation to exercise
The New Year is here and for many of you that will mean a new exercise regime designed to get you into shape and improve your overall health. For some people, though, sticking to a disciplined program of physical exercise is one of the hardest resolutions they can make because a lack of motivation gets in the way. But now new research sheds some light on why many people, despite understanding the benefits of regular exercise, find it hard in practice to stay physically active. Researchers from the Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), led by Alexxai V. Kravitz, focused on why obese animals also have a hard time carrying out physical activity. They found that a dysfunction in obese rodents' dopamine systems might help explain why. Mice fed on a high-fat diet started gaining significantly more weight than mice fed on a normal diet. They were also observed to have fewer movements; spend less time moving; and were slower when they did move, compared with the lean mice. Most interesting of all was that the overweight mice's changes in movements did not correlate with body weight gain. Instead, the researchers found that a deficit in striatal D2R explained the obese mice's lack of activity. "In many cases, willpower is invoked as a way to modify behavior. But if we don't understand the underlying physical basis for that behavior, it is difficult to say that willpower alone can solve it," said Kravitz.
France Surgery Partner, La Clinique Turin, Installs New da Vinci Xi Surgical Robot
La Clinique Turin, one of France Surgery's partners, becomes one of the first private establishments in the Paris region to install the new da Vinci Xi surgical robot. Dr. Olivier Dumonceau , a urologist surgeon of the La Clinique Turin in Paris, performed the first prostatectomy procedure in a private center in the Paris region using the new da Vinci Xi robot. This new generation of the da Vinci robotic surgical system allows for even more precise gestures for patient safety and helps obtain better intervention results. Surgeons benefit from improved 3D vision and increased movement accuracy with this new generation of surgical robot. Dr Olivier Dumonceau said: "This new generation of surgical robot marks an additional step of technology for the patient and surgeon. Our gestures are even safer, the patient can benefit from more precise surgery. We are now developing ambulatory robotic surgery for interventions that previously required several days of hospitalisation. Patient recovers faster and can leave the hospital quickly and safely. " Dr. Perrine Goyer, a digestive surgeon at the La Clinique Turin, added: "Robotic surgery offers today opportunities for minimally invasive surgery in new areas such as obesity surgery and digestive cancer for the most complex cases." Dr. Ludovic Friederich, gynecologist surgeon at the La Clinique Turin, said: "With this latest generation of machines, robotic surgery opens new perspectives for the treatment of endometriosis in very short stay with lightened suites. In particular, there is a reduction in postoperative pain." "Our development towards minimally invasive surgery and shorter hospital stays is strategic. The replacement of our previous robot with this new technology is a huge step forward. "The possibilities for interventions are now extended to pathologies as diverse as Prostatectomy, endometriosis or digestive surgery with an even higher level of result. The treatment can be performed on an outpatient basis without compromising the quality," said Stéphane Lievain, director of La Clinique Turin. La Clinique Turin carries out some 25,000 interventions per year. It features: 150 practitioners and offers complete care in surgery, medicine, dialysis and imaging (scanner, MRI and interventional radiology). Main specialties: urology, digestive, maxillofacial surgery, cardiology, ENT, orthopedics, vascular, plastic, gastroenterology, gynecology, nephrology. With a leading technical platform, it has 216 beds and places, 16 operating rooms as well as an intensive care unit in cardiology and a monitoring unit in the heart of Paris. It is regularly quoted in the health charts of the press.
Gastric Surgery Should be Offered Regardless of Weight, Says Leading UK Surgeon
A leading bariatric surgeon in the UK has urged the government to offer gastric surgery to patients regardless of their weight. According to Professor Francesco Rubino, the Chair of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery at Kings College, thousands of type-2 diabetes patients in the UK are missing out on vital weight loss surgery because they do not meet the NHS's guidelines when it comes to weight. That's because, at present, only type-2 diabetes patients who have a BMI of over 30 are currently eligible for bariatric surgery. Rubino says that weight loss surgery is "the closest thing to a cure" and should be used more often. In the UK, there are around 3.6 million people with type-2 diabetes, which costs the NHS up to £10 billion a year to treat. However, approximately 15% of sufferers are "normal weight" and so don't qualify for weight loss surgery under the NHS's current guidelines. "The biggest barrier we have is primarily one of stigma against obesity. The vast majority of the public believes this is a cosmetic intervention and unfortunately many physicians think the same way," said Rubino. Rubino also highlighted that weight loss surgeries, which manipulate the stomach or small intestine, do not just help people lose weight, but actually influence insulin production by altering hormones in the person's gut. "More than 50% of people with type 2 diabetes can enjoy long term remission. Another 30 or 40% enjoy a major improvement," he added.
WHO Backs Tax on Sugary Foods and Drinks
A report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) shows that the global body has added its support to countries that place a "sugar tax" on soft drinks. It's the first time the WHO has thrown its support behind taxation. Previously, it had stopped short, simply advising a lower sugar intake. Several countries, including Mexico and Hungary, already tax added sugar products, and South Africa is introducing a sugar tax next year - the only country in Africa to do so. The WHO said that incidences of obesity, diabetes and tooth decay can be lowered if people lower their consumption of "free sugars". Free sugars are all the different types of sugar people eat, except for the ones found naturally in milk and fruit. Dr Francesco Branca, nutrition director for the WHO, said that people should keep their sugar intake below 10% of their total calorie intake, and below 5% if possible. "Nutritionally, people don't need any sugar in their diet," he said. The WHO report found that raising prices by 20% or more leads to lower consumption and "improved nutrition". It also noted that government subsidies for fruit and vegetables, which inevitably lead to lower prices, can have a positive impact on the amount people consume.
Overweight people's brains look 10 years older than those of lean peers
As people grow older, their brains naturally lose a certain amount of white matter. But new brain scanning research by a team from Cambridge University has found that being overweight exacerbates that loss. Published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, the study revealed that the brains of overweight middle-aged adults appear 10 years older than those of their leaner peers. However, the greater shrinkage in the volume of white matter does not appear to affect cognitive performance. White matter is the part of the brain that transmits information, and is often referred to as "the subway of the brain" because it connects different brain regions together. Obesity has long been linked to a number of health problems, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and some forms of cancer, but research is increasingly showing that it may also have a negative impact on the brain. Indeed, the Cambridge researchers said that the findings from their study show we need to better understand how extra weight affects the brain. The author of the study, Lisa Ronan, from the University of Cambridge, said: "This study raises the possibility that if you are overweight or obese you may be more susceptible to diseases [linked] to age-related decline such as dementia and Alzheimer's."
Britons under-reporting their calorie intakes - study
Rising obesity levels in Britain could be attributed to the fact that may people in the country under-report their daily calorie intakes when quizzed for official surveys. According to research from the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), policymakers who are attempting to curb obesity are being mislead by the British public when it comes to how many calories they are actually consuming on a daily basis. So while decades of surveys seemingly reveal that people are eating less - which should lead to lower levels of obesity - the truth is that people are not being totally honest when asked. The BIT's report, which has been compiled using scientific and economic data, shows that many people are eating up to 3,000 calories a day and not the 2,000 often cited in official surveys. As a result, government statisticians have already said that the way calorie data is collected will change going forward. But why would people deliberately under-report their calorie consumption? The BIT researchers don't believe that people are necessarily under-reporting their calorie consumptions on purpose. Instead, they point to the fact that snacks can difficult to track on a daily basis, which leads people to think they are consuming less calories than they actually are. Here at France Surgery, we have helped many individuals undergo weight loss surgery here in France. If you would like more information about any of our services, don't hesitate to contact us today for a free quotation.
A girl's breast cancer risk may be influenced by her obese father
It's been thought for some time now that a mother's weight and diet during pregnancy has the potential to affect the breast cancer risk of her female offspring. But now new research suggests that obese father's also risk raising their children's chances of breast cancer, due to the way obesity alters the gene expression of sperm. Experts have long agreed that a woman's breast cancer risk is influenced by changes in genes, and approximately 5-10 percent of these gene changes are inherited. According to Sonia de Assis, Ph.D., from the Department of Oncology at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Centre in Washington, D.C., who led the investigative team, said few studies have previously investigated the link between a father's weight and an offspring's breast cancer risk in later life. Presenting their findings in the journal Scientific Reports, de Assis and her colleagues outlined how they had studied how both normal weight male mice and obese male mice influence the breast tissue off their offspring. They found that female pups sired by obese males had delayed breast tissue development, and were more likely to develop breast cancer as a result. They revealed that the obese males' sperm had an altered microRNA (miRNA) signature, which was subsequently found in the breast tissue of their female offspring. The researchers now plan to conduct more studies to see if the same is true in humans.
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