A recent medical study has confirmed what has always been suspected

Tall, strapping and statuesque, Shivalli M. Chouhan, 34, doesn't look fat, but she insists she is. "It's not my self-image. It's what others tell me," smiles the civil servant with the Indian Defence Accounts Service. It's what her teacher had said long back when she was chosen for a television dance show in school. It's what some of her batchmates had whispered when she won those beauty contests in college and university. Resentful of the constant pressure of other people's unending desire for her to be thin she decided to excel in everything else but looks.

This may come as a surprise, but a report from a scientific firm based in Washington, has revealed that obese people are contributing up to 45 per cent to global warming. Undeniably, planet earth is witnessing a major climate change in the world. And if you think it's only greenhouse gases doing the damage, think again. The scientific evidence which recently emerged, stated that obesity and global warming are linked. Could it be true or is it just one more way of making overweight people feel guilty?

a recent study has found that children residing in areas with more trees are less likely to suffer from asthma. Trees may prevent asthma because they bring about a difference in the local air

Australia's childhood obesity epidemic has been exaggerated and is only increasing in lower-income families. New research has called into question whether the millions of dollars being allocated for prevention programs should be better targeted, a News Ltd newspaper reports. The research questions whether money should be targeted at the highest-risk groups, rather than focused on the general population. The findings are based on measurements taken from thousands of Australian children in 2000 and 2006 in two nationally representative samples.

Bitter-Sweet: According to World Health Organization figures, more than 32 million Indians suffer from diabetes (Pic By Subhabrata Das)

Nearly half of the workforce in Indian industries, especially in urban areas, is overweight, and 27% suffer from hypertension. These revelations came across in a study conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to gauge workplace health problems. The survey showed that 27% of the workforce suffered from hypertension, 10.1% suffer from diabetes and 47% were overweight.

Of the many issues that will be discussed at the 61st World Health Assembly in Geneva this month, prevention and control of non-communicable diseases is what the food industry will be following closely. Its future, and growth plan, will depend on the outcome of the deliberations in Geneva.