The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- TV time tied to diabetes, death
- Body found at home of acting PNG Prime Minister
- FACTBOX - The world's most dangerous countries for women
| TV time tied to diabetes, death Posted: 14 Jun 2011 09:57 PM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - People who spend more hours in front of the television are at greater risk of dying, or developing diabetes and heart disease, with even two hours of television a day having a marked effect, according to a U.S. study. Every day, U.S. residents spend an average of 5 hours watching television, while Australians and some Europeans log 3.5 to 4 hours a day, said researchers led by Frank Hu, at the Harvard School of Public Health.
"The message is simple. Cutting back on TV watching is an important way to reduce sedentary behaviors and decrease risk of diabetes and heart disease," Hu said. People who sit in front of the television are not only exercising less, they are likely eating unhealthy foods, he added. "The combination of a sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy diet and obesity creates a 'perfect breeding ground' for type 2 diabetes and heart disease." This is not the first study to associate TV time with ill effects. Many studies have found a strong link to obesity, and one 2007 report found that more TV time was associated with higher blood pressure in obese children. Another study that same year found that overweight children who watch food advertisements tend to double their food intake. For the new study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Hu and his team reviewed 8 studies examining the link between television time and diseases, that in total followed more than 200,000 people, for an average of 7 to 10 years. Hu and his colleagues found that for every two hours of daily television that people watched, their risk of diabetes increased by 20 percent, while their risk of heart disease rose by 15 percent. Each two hours of television per day increased the risk of dying by 13 percent. Based on those results, Hu and his team estimated that, among a group of 100,000 people, reducing daily television time by 2 hours could prevent 176 new cases of diabetes, 38 cases of fatal cardiovascular disease, and 104 premature deaths -- every year. All of the studies in the analysis made sure that participants didn't have a chronic disease, because people who were generally less well might be more likely both to watch many hours of TV and to experience diabetes, heart disease or premature death. But Hu and his team cautioned that it's possible some people had undetected forms of disease at the start of the studies, influencing the findings. The study cannot prove that TV watching alone raises the disease risk, nor can it identify what about TV watching might have an impact. "It's true that people who watch a lot of TV differ from those who watch less, especially in terms of diet and physical activity levels," Hu said. He added that people who watch a lot of television are more likely to eat junk food. But unhealthy diet and inactivity are also consequences of prolonged television watching, so they explain some of the adverse effects of the sedentary behavior. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/4HWZ7 (Reporting by Alison McCook at Reuters Health, editing by Elaine Lies) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. | ||
| Body found at home of acting PNG Prime Minister Posted: 14 Jun 2011 09:57 PM PDT CANBERRA (Reuters) - Papua New Guinea police are investigating the murder of woman at the home of the country's acting prime minister, compounding an uncertain future for the Pacific nation under an ailing leader. Sam Abal, acting leader while Prime Minister Michael Somare recovers from heart surgery in Singapore, said he was not at the home in the capital Port Moresby when the body was found. Police Commissioner Anthony Wagambie said on Wednesday police were searching for Abal's son Teo to question him. Police have described their inquiries as a murder investigation. Papua New Guinea, which shares the island of New Guinea with Indonesia, is rich in resources and site of a $15 billion LNG project, led by Exxon Mobil Somare, its founding leader in 1975, has led the country for half of its time as an independent nation. His prolonged illness has prompted jostling for his position and local media say his family has urged Somare, 75, to retire. Last week Abal sacked leadership rival, Foreign Minister Don Poyle, and Resources Minister William Duma from the cabinet. In a statement reported by PNG media, Abal said he had contacted police about the woman's death at his home. "All family members living with me are immediate suspects and are subject to investigation and questioning by police," he said, pledging to cooperate with the investigation. Wagambie said a witness had seen Teo Abal and the woman walking in the garden of the Port Moresby home, and then heard a woman's scream from the garden. Wagambie confirmed the acting prime minister was not at home at the time of the incident. "The acting prime minister was away for the long weekend when the incident occurred," Wagambie said in a statement obtained by Reuters. (Reporting by James Grubel; Editing by Ron Popeski) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. | ||
| FACTBOX - The world's most dangerous countries for women Posted: 14 Jun 2011 09:27 PM PDT LONDON (TrustLaw) - Afghanistan, Congo and Pakistan are the world's most dangerous countries for women due to a barrage of threats ranging from violence and rape to dismal healthcare and "honour killngs", a Thomson Reuters Foundation expert poll showed on Wednesday. India and Somalia ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, in the global perceptions survey by TrustLaw (www.trust.org/trustlaw), the Foundation's legal news service.
TrustLaw asked 213 gender experts from five continents to rank countries by overall perceptions of danger as well as by six risks: health threats, sexual violence, non-sexual violence, cultural or religious factors, lack of access to resources and trafficking. For info-graphics, slideshows, more stories and analysis visit http://dangerpoll.trust.org For more on women's rights worldwide visit http://www.trust.org/trustlaw/womens-rights For news on humanitarian issues visit http://www.alertnet.org Following are key facts on each of the five countries, ranked in order of danger. 1. AFGHANISTAN Beleaguered by insurgency, corruption and dire poverty, Afghanistan ranked as most dangerous to women overall and came out worst in three of the poll's key risk categories: health, non-sexual violence and economic discrimination. * Women in Afghanistan have a one in 11 chance of dying in childbirth. * Some 87 pct of women are illiterate. * 70-80 pct of girls and women face forced marriages. 2. CONGO Still reeling from a 1998-2003 war and accompanying humanitarian disaster that killed 5.4 million, Democratic Republic of Congo ranked second due mainly to staggering levels of sexual violence. * About 1,150 women are raped every day, or some 420,000 a year, according to a recent report in the American Journal of Public Health. * The Congolese Women's Campaign Against Sexual Violence puts the number of rapes at 40 women a day. * 57 pct of pregnant women are anaemic. 3. PAKISTAN Those polled cited cultural, tribal and religious practices harmful to women, including acid attacks, child and forced marriage and punishment or retribution by stoning or other physical abuse. * More than 1,000 women and girls are victims of "honour killings" every year, according to Pakistan's Human Rights Commission. * 90 pct of women in Pakistan face domestic violence. 4. INDIA Female foeticide, child marriage and high levels of trafficking and domestic servitude make the world's largest democracy the fourth most dangerous place for women, the poll showed. * 100 million people, mostly women and girls, are involved in trafficking in one way or another, according to former Indian Home Secretay Madhukar Gupta. * Up to 50 million girls are "missing" over the past century due to female infanticide and foeticide. * 44.5 pct of girls are married before the age of 18. 5. SOMALIA One of the poorest, most violent and lawless countries, Somalia ranked fifth due to a catalogue of dangers including high maternal mortality, rape, female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage. * 95 pct of women face FGM, mostly between the ages of 4 and 11. * Only 9 pct of women give birth at a health facility. * Only 7.5 pct of parliament seats are held by women. Sources: AlertNet (http://www.trust.org/alertnet), U.N. agencies, IRIN News, American Journal of Public Health, World Bank, Gender Index, Human Rights Watch, International Center for Research on Women. (Editing by Sonya Hepinstall) (For more on the poll, including info-graphics, pictures and analysis, visit http://dangerpoll.trust.org) (For more news on women's legal rights visit TrustLaw Women http://www.trust.org/trustlaw/womens-rights) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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