Tag: obesity

• Saturday, January 30th 2016 - 11:11 UTC

  WHO backs British campaign for a 'sugar tax' on sweet drinks

  

  In a new report on rising childhood obesity, the World Health Organization (WHO) has backed the British campaign for a “sugar tax” on sweet drinks. There is “strong evidence” that a sugar tax will work alongside two other measures to tackle childhood obesity: a ban on the sale of unhealthy food by schools, and a crackdown on the marketing of junk food to children, the report states.

• Sunday, June 1st 2014 - 13:54 UTC

  Obesity and overweight breaks scales in all countries: 30% of world population

  

  Almost 30% of the world’s population, 2.1 billion people, is considered obese or overweight, researchers said, while rates among children have increased by a whopping 47% in the last 33 years.

• Monday, May 19th 2014 - 21:00 UTC

  WHO's Dr. Chan targets childhood obesity: “our children are getting fatter”

  

  World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan voiced deep concern about the increase worldwide of childhood obesity, with numbers climbing fastest in developing countries. “As the 2014 World Health Statistics report bluntly states, ‘Our children are getting fatter,’” she said during her opening speech to the Health Assembly on Monday in Geneva.

• Wednesday, February 5th 2014 - 22:53 UTC

  UK obesity costs NHS £5.1 billion per year but overall the figure is closer to £ 16bn

  

  Obesity costs the United Kingdom National Health Service, NHS £5.1 billion per year, according to latest estimates. But National Audit Office (NAO) figures suggest obesity is not solely a burden on the NHS.

• Tuesday, July 16th 2013 - 03:55 UTC

  Closer to discovering how genetic flaws increase obesity risks

  

  The mystery of a genetic flaw which greatly increases the risk of obesity in one in six people has been solved by an international group of scientists. A version of an obesity gene, called FTO, had been linked to a bigger belly, but the reason why was uncertain.

• Tuesday, June 19th 2012 - 23:44 UTC

  Coca Cola confronts NY Mayor Bloomberg: denies responsibility for US obesity epidemics

  

  Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent insists his company is not responsible for the rise in US obesity despite New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's recent moves to limit the consumption of sugary drinks.

• Sunday, February 5th 2012 - 08:02 UTC

  Added sugar and sweeteners are “health risks as serious as alcohol and tobacco”

  

  US experts have argued that sugars and sweeteners added to foods pose such a serious health risk that they should be controlled in the same way that alcohol and tobacco are, according to commentary in the journal Nature.

• Saturday, January 14th 2012 - 06:01 UTC

  Link between eating processed meat and pancreatic cancer in Swedish research

  

  A link between eating processed meat, such as bacon or sausages, and pancreatic cancer has been suggested by researchers in Sweden. They said eating an extra 50g of processed meat, approximately one sausage, every day would increase a person's risk by 19%.

• Sunday, November 27th 2011 - 00:53 UTC

  UK has more obese women than any other European country: 23.9%

  

  The UK has more obese women than any other country in Europe, according to European Union figures. Data agency Eurostat which looked at 19 countries, found nearly a quarter of UK women - 23.9% - were recorded as being obese in the year 2008 to 2009.
  Just over 22% of UK men were classed as obese, coming second only to Malta.

• Monday, September 5th 2011 - 01:16 UTC

  Brazilian university students fined for promoting a “rodeo of fat girls”

  

  Two Brazilian university students who organized a “rodeo of fat ladies” in the social network under the name of Orkut will have to donate 20 minimum salaries (approximately 6.650 dollars) to organizations that combat chemical dependencies and gender violence.