FED:CheckUp medical column for February 11

AAP General News (Australia)
02-11-2011
FED:CheckUp medical column for February 11

By Danny Rose, Medical Writer

SYDNEY, Feb 11 AAP - A weekly round-up of news affecting your health.



LABEL IT, DON'T TAX US

Australians favour more local production of fresh produce over bans or taxes when it
comes to combating obesity and improving the diet.

A poll of 500 adult Victorians found 95 per cent supported "clear country-of-origin"

labelling, while 90 per cent want government policies that "encourage farmers markets"

or lead to more "production of fruit and vegetables in Australia to be consumed locally".

In contrast, support for a ban on junk food ads during childrens' TV programs was 78
per cent while a majority (52 per cent) supported a ban on TV junk food ads altogether.

Least supported was a ban on all imports of fresh foods from overseas (48 per cent
in agreement), allowing nature strips to be used to grow fruit and vegetables (42 per
cent) and imposing a junk food tax to fund healthy eating campaigns (36 per cent).

The study was by Professor Tony Worsley from Deakin University.



ZERO SUGAR TRAP

It says "diet" on the label but that does not always mean a health benefit, according
to research into soft drink and stroke.

A US study tracked the diet soda intake, and incidence of stroke, of more than 2,500
people over almost 10 years.

Ruling out other factors, those who drank the soda every day had a 61 per cent increased
risk of vascular events - including ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke - than those who drank
none.

"It would suggest that diet soda may not be the optimal substitute for sugar-sweetened
beverages for protection against vascular outcomes," said Hannah Gardener, lead researcher
and epidemiologist at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

The research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2011.



BEAUTY SLEEP

A British study has emphasised the importance of a good night's sleep, as to routinely
miss out increases a person's risk of serious long-term health problems.

Professor Francesco Cappuccio, from the University of Warwick Medical School, reviewed
sleep pattern and health data from more than 470,000 people from eight countries including
Japan, USA and UK.

"If you sleep less than six hours per night and have disturbed sleep you stand a 48
per cent greater chance of developing or dying from heart disease and a 15 per cent greater
chance of developing or dying of a stroke," Prof Cappuccio concluded.

"The trend for late nights and early mornings is actually a ticking time bomb for our health."

Chronic short sleep results in hormones and chemicals linked to high blood pressure
and cholesterol, diabetes and obesity.

The research was published in the European Heart Journal.



... AND ANOTHER REASON

Add colon cancer to the list of health woes which can be caused by poor sleep, according
to a study to be published in journal Cancer.

Researchers from Ohio's University Hospitals Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve
University School of Medicine, found people who averaged less than six hours of sleep
had an almost 50 per cent increased risk of colorectal adenomas compared with those who
slept at least seven hours nightly.

Adenomas are a precursor to cancer tumours and, if untreated, they can turn malignant.

"A short amount of sleep can now be viewed as a new risk factor for the development
of the development of colon cancer," said principal investigator Dr Li Li.

The reason is not known though it may stem from a reduced production of melatonin,
a hormone that has been linked to DNA repair.



GREY MATTERS

Older smokers may be on the fast-track to cognitive decline.

A study conducted at The University of Western Australia found older smokers damage
their grey matter, and lose cognitive function, at a greater rate than their non-smoking
peers.

Researchers tracked 332 people aged 68 and over, including those who smoked more than
five cigarettes a day, for two years.

It also showed it was never too late to quit.

"One finding that is really important from a health point of view is that chronic smokers
who quit during the study lost less brain cells and retained better intellectual function
than those who continued to smoke," said Professor Osvaldo Almeida.



THE CRUELLEST BUSINESS?

An Editorial published this week in the Lancet criticised the tobacco industry for
expanding its "morally repugnant" business into developing countries.

Last week saw Imperial Tobacco report increases in sales of cigarettes to Africa, the
Middle East and Asia Pacific, resulting in sharp rise in its share price.

The editorial describes the "selling, addicting and killing" mode of these companies
as "surely the most cruel and corrupt business model human beings could have invented".

Tobacco companies view the industry as "recession resistant ... it is also morally
repugnant", the editorial states.



AAP dr/dep

KEYWORD: CHECKUP

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