People who sleep fewer than six hours a night -- or more than nine -- are more likely to be obese, according to a new government study that is one of the largest to show a link between irregular sleep and big bellies. The study also linked light sleepers to higher smoking rates, less physical activity and more alcohol use. The research adds weight to a stream of studies that have found obesity and other health problems in those who don't get proper shuteye, said Dr. Ron Kramer, a Colorado physician and a spokesman for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

New investigations into obesity may identify people with an inherited risk of weight gain, explain why crash diets often fail and address a danger period in childhood that leads to obesity in adult life. Sifting through the genetic codes of 77,000 people, a British-led international team say they have found culprit variants in DNA near a gene already fingered in the molecular ballet that causes obesity. The gene, called MC4R, orchestrates appetite and energy expenditure.

Several countries have used fi nancial incentives to encourage people to adopt healthier lifestyles with encouraging results. Now this approach has been suggested in a number of UK policy documents. But what is the evidence that it works? : a report.

Andy Redfern, co-founder of the website Ethical Superstore.com, has no illusions about consumers who claim to be green. "We had a rush last year on solar iPod charges . . . and most of them were going to Glastonbury," he says. Even if people who buy things with an environmentally friendly claim do so for selfish purposes, there is no doubt that people are buying more of them.

A NATIONAL campaign to combat obesity by using sports equipment to reward children who exercise for at least an hour a day will be discussed this week when state and federal education ministers meet in Melbourne. Under the plan, which is being introduced in the ACT this year, all schools would be invited to participate in a 10-week competition, with equipment given to children who successfully meet the challenge.

In India, thirty-five million people have diabetes—a number expected to more than double by 2025, disproportionately affecting working-age people. The economic impact of this increase could be devastating to India’s emerging economy. In this paper we discuss drivers of the epidemic, analyze current policies and practices in India, and conclude with recommendations, focusing on multisectoral and international collaboration. We see these recommendations as providing a blueprint for addressing diabetes in India by illuminating opportunities and barriers for policymakers and others.

The government of South Australia is planning to ban junk food advertising in children's viewing times. The province's Health Minister John Hill says the government will implement a voluntary ban

real flab: Researchers in the US have found that artificial sweeteners are more fattening than sugar as the consumption of the low-calorie substitutes makes it harder for people to control their

Low-level developmental lead exposure is linked to cognitive and neurological disorders in children. However, the long-term effects of gestational lead exposure (GLE) have received little attention. The goal of the research was to establish a murine model of human equivalent GLE and to determine dose

In this study, the authors attempted to find out whether excess weight in childhood was associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) in adulthood among a large cohort of persons born in Denmark between 1930 and 1976.

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