Local National and International National News Stories
At last, a time in life when it's good to be fat: Over 70s told tubbiness is better for their health
Last updated at 8:08 AM on 15th February 2010
If you've spent years trying different diets to no avail, here is news that may cheer you up.
Contrary to popular wisdom, the key to a long life may be to put on a few pounds.
Pensioners who are slightly overweight live longer than those of a normal 'healthy' weight, a controversial study has found.
Eat up: Scientists found chubby pensioners lived longer. (Posed by models)
In the largest project of its kind, Australian researchers tracked the health and habits of more than 9,000 over-70s for ten years.
The men and women were divided into categories based on their Body Mass Index, in which weight and height are used to calculate whether someone is obese.
A BMI below 18.5 is regarded as 'underweight', above 25 is ' overweight' and above 30 is 'obese'.
Over the course of the study, more than 2,000 of the participants died.
But, contrary to the much-publicised message that you have to be slim to be healthy, those who were overweight survived the longest.
And those of normal weight fared no better than obese individuals.
Researcher Professor Leon Flicker, of the University of Western Australia-said it was unclear why being comfortably plump was good in old age.
He said: 'We can only hypothesise. But it may be that, as we age, the presence of nutritional and metabolic reserves, that is fat, are advantageous.
'If you develop an illness, a little more reserve gives you a greater chance to recover from that illness.'
It is also possible that concern about the health of the overweight means problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes are more likely to be spotted and treated.
But over-70s can't completely let things go. The study, reported in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, also backed up advice about the benefits of exercise.
And Dr Joanne Manson, an expert in preventative medicine, said that being overweight raised the risk of a host of health problems, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer.
She said: 'There is a difference between survival and quality of life.'
Health cuts to fund free social care
PLANS to offer free social care to thousands of people in the Westcountry will be funded by major cuts to scientific research budgets and public health promotions, the Government admitted last night.Campaigners have welcomed the commitment to help more people stay in their own homes, instead of being moved to a residential care home.Concern has been raised about how the £670 million-a-year scheme would be funded. The Tories claim 52,000 people in Devon and 25,000 in Cornwall will lose benefits, including the attendance allowance and the Disability Living Allowance.One in five people in the Westcountry is over 65, well above the national average of 16 per cent. Councils and health officials in the region have long warned the ageing population is a healthcare "time bomb".The Audit Commission also claimed some local authorities were failing to prepare for the impact of a fast-ageing population.alth cuts to fund free social carePLANS to offer free social care to thousands of people in the Westcountry will be funded by major cuts to scientific research budgets and public health promotions, the Government admitted last night.Campaigners have welcomed the commitment26/11/2009 10:00
Boy awarded £3.2m compensation
Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 10:00
A TEENAGER who faces a lifetime of disability after developing septicaemia in hospital as a baby has been awarded compensation worth £3.2 million.
Toby Dicks was born at Torbay Hospital, Torquay, in June 1995 without apparent complications.
When he was readmitted some months later because he had trouble taking in nourishment, an infection of his intravenous feeding line led to seizures and cerebral palsy.
Now 14 and living with his parents, Dawn and Steve, of Spencer Road, Foxhole, Paignton, Toby needs full-time care.
After an 80 per cent liability settlement in Toby's favour last year, Mr Justice Tugendhat yesterday approved agreed damages against South Devon Healthcare NHS Trust.
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) Guide to Alzheimer's Disease.
At times, people who are there for those who have Alzheimer's may feel that they do not know how to care for someone with Alzheimer's Disease (AD). The feeling is common among caregivers for persons with AD because every day has the potential to bring new forms of challenges. Through efforts to learn about AD, people can understand and cope with the challenges that arise. The Guide presented by the National Institute on Aging helps with the learning process. Stages of Alzheimer's Disease
There are three main stages to Alzheimer's disease. Mild, sometimes referred to as, 'early-stage,' moderate, and severe, sometimes called, 'late-stage.' An understanding of these stages can help people providing care for persons with AD to plan ahead. What follows is a description of each of these stages.
Mild Alzheimer's Disease: Persons with Mild AD often experience some form of memory loss and minor changes in their personality. They might have trouble remembering recent events, or the names of things or of people who are familiar. Persons with mild AD might not be able to balance their checkbook, or solve simple math problems. They may also begin to slowly lose their ability to organize and plan, such as making a grocery list, or finding things in a store.
Moderate Alzheimer's Disease: Persons with Moderate AD experience confusion and memory loss that is more obvious. They have increasing trouble with planning, organizing, and following instructions. Persons with moderate AD might require assistance with getting dressed and could experience issues with incontinence. They may have trouble recognizing family members or friends, and might not know what day or year it is, or where they are. Persons with moderate AD could also start to wander, lacking judgment, and should not be left alone. They could become restless, repeating certain movements, and experience difficulties with sleeping. Changes in the person's personality may become more serious; they might make threats, curse, hit, kick, scream, bite, grab things, or accuse others of stealing items.
Severe Alzheimer's Disease: Severe AD is the final stage of the disease, ending in the death of the person. Persons with severe AD many times require the assistance of others with all of their daily needs. They might not be able to either sit up or walk without assistance. The person may be unable to speak, and many times is unable to recognize family members. Persons with severe AD might also experience difficulty with swallowing and refuse to eat.
There are some different ways family members, friends, caregivers and others can learn more about Alzheimer's disease. These ways include:
* Try to find a support group for caregivers.
* Use search engines to find more information.
* Go to educational programs and workshops on AD.
* Talk with a doctor or other health care provider about AD.
* Ask your doctor to refer you to someone who specializes in AD.
* Talk about AD with friends and family to get advice and support.
* Check out books, CDs, DVDs, or videos on AD from the library.
* Ask your doctor or AD specialist about good sources of information.
* Visit websites on AD such as www.nia.nih.gov/Alzheimers or www.alz.org.
* The Alzheimer's Association (www.alz.org) is a good resource to help find support groups.
The NIA's Guide on Alzheimer's Disease
The Guide on Alzheimer's Disease, presented through the National Institute on Aging website, is for family members and others. Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is an illness that causes changes in a person's brain, causing people to lose the ability to think, remember, and use proper judgment. Persons with AD might have difficulties with providing care for themselves, or performing basic tasks such as bathing, dressing, or preparing meals. As time progresses the disease worsens, requiring persons who care for people with AD to provide more assistance.
Taking care of a person with AD can lead to positive feelings due to the facts that the person providing care is providing both comfort and love. At other times, providing care may seem overwhelming. The person providing care might witness changes in the person with AD that are difficult to understand, with every day presenting new challenges. Caregivers can find themselves dealing with problem behaviors, or simply attempting to get through the day. Caregivers can find that they do not even realize how much they have taken on because changes can happen slowly, as well as over an extended period of time.
The Guide on Alzheimer's Disease can help people providing care for those they care about with AD to learn and cope with challenges and changes. The Guide informs caregivers on a variety of subjects, such as how to:
* Plan for the future.
* Take care of yourself.
* Learn more about AD.
* Get help with caregiving.
* Cope with late-stage AD.
* Help family and friends understand AD.
* Learn how to cope with these changes.
* Understand how AD changes a person.
* Make your home safe for the person with AD.
* Choose a full-time care facility for the person with AD if needed.
* Manage everyday activities like eating, bathing, dressing, and grooming.
* Learn about common behavior and medical problems of people with AD and some medicines that may help.
* Find out about helpful resources, such as websites, support groups, government agencies, and adult day care programs.
The NIA's Guide on Alzheimer's Disease contains a wealth of information; people reading it should not feel obliged to read it all at once. The Guide is available online through the NIA website, and contains sections that can be referred to as needed. The Guide contains a Table of Contents, a Medicine Chart, and a, 'Words to Know,' section as well. The Words to Know section contains definitions of medical words and how to say them.
Blind People Have Superior Memory Skills
Blind people are whizzes at remembering things in the right order, scientists now find. In the absence of vision, the world is experienced as sequences, explained neurobiologist Ehud Zohary of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. For instance, to identify otherwise indistinguishable objects, such as different brands of yogurt that vary only in their labeling, the blind typically place objects in arrangements of their own making and give mental tags for each of them, such as “the second item on the left.” Zohary and his colleagues reasoned that since the blind constantly use memory strategies to remember things are, that “practice makes perfect,” giving the blind superior memory skills for other tasks. The scientists tested 19 congenitally blind and 19 sighted people in two memory tasks. In the first, the volunteers heard a list of 20 words and had to recall them. In the second, they had to remember not just the words, but their order in the list as well. Blind volunteers recalled 20 to 35 percent more words than sighted ones did, indicating a better memory overall. Their greatest advantage, however, was the ability to remember roughly twice as many more words in sequences according to the right order, findings detailed online June 21 in the journal Current Biology. “Normally 20 to 30 percent of the brain is basically devoted to vision. With the congenitally blind, you have this brain area, the visual cortex, not getting its natural input,” Zohary told LiveScience. “We had shown that congenitally blind people appeared to be using the visual cortex for other needs, and now we may be seeing part of how this area is getting used for other functions, to maybe be more involved in memory and language processes.”
