Taiwanese slim down with nationwide campaign. Healthy lifestyles: Is a hug, shove, nudge or smack best? 26 February 2013Last updated at 22:30 ET Obesity rates have been rising With all the controversy over the government's NHS reforms, it is easy to forget the system is changing in terms of tackling unhealthy lifestyles too.
From 1 April, alongside the creation of a whole new structure in the health service, local government will be given responsibility for public health. That means from encouraging people to give up smoking to drinking and eating less, it will be the job of councils to help us alter our unhealthy habits. The move marks a return of public health to the local government fold - nearly 40 years after it was taken away. In the meantime, the nation has got more obese and alcohol consumption has soared. Big Tobacco lawyers target food industry. Hunter gatherer clue to obesity. 26 July 2012Last updated at 01:00 GMT By Helen Briggs BBC News The Hadza live a hunter gatherer existence that has changed little in 10,000 years The idea that exercise is more important than diet in the fight against obesity has been contradicted by new research.
A study of the Hadza tribe, who still exist as hunter gatherers, suggests the amount of calories we need is a fixed human characteristic. This suggests Westerners are growing obese through over-eating rather than having inactive lifestyles, say scientists. One in 10 people will be obese by 2015. And, nearly one in three of the worldwide population is expected to be overweight, according to figures from the World Health Organization. The Western lifestyle is thought to be largely to blame for the obesity "epidemic". Continue reading the main story.
'Lack of evidence' that popular sports products work. 18 July 2012Last updated at 21:23 ET Puma shoes carried Jamaica's Usain Bolt to Olympic Gold in the 100-metre sprint in Beijing in 2008 Consumers could be wasting their money on sports drinks, protein shakes and high-end trainers, according to a new joint investigation by BBC Panorama and the British Medical Journal.
Inactivity 'killing as many as smoking' Viewpoint: Childhood obesity and passive parenting. 6 June 2012Last updated at 10:53 ET By Rod Dreher Senior editor, The American Conservative The reason American children are so fat has less to do with the sort of television they watch and more to do with their parents' choices.
Is it just me or does it seem un-American for Mickey Mouse of all, er, people, to swear off junk food because Michelle Obama, the naggiest first lady since that busybody Eleanor Roosevelt, asked him to? Sorry, but I have been in touch with my inner libertarian since New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced plans to ban the sale of giant sodas, thereby making New York the only city where you can buy a 40-ounce (1.2l) vat of malt liquor, but not a 40-ounce tub of Coca-Cola. Nevertheless, as the father of three small children I welcome Disney's move, though do not forget last year's report that Disney has quietly begun marketing to newborns and, yes, preborns.
Cancer fear and denial 'is killing thousands' 6 March 2012Last updated at 03:37 By Michelle Roberts Health reporter, BBC News Delaying diagnosis can lead to poorer outcomes Thousands of people in the UK are dying unnecessarily because they are too scared to mention early symptoms of cancer to their doctor, say experts.
Fewer premature births after smoking ban in Scotland. 6 March 2012Last updated at 22:01 By Michelle Roberts Health reporter, BBC News Exposure to tobacco smoke has been linked to lower birthweights and early deliveries Since Scotland introduced a ban on smoking in public places in 2006 there has been a 10% drop in the country's premature birth rate, say researchers.
They believe this is a smoke-free benefit that can be chalked up alongside others, like reductions in heart disease and childhood asthma. Tobacco smoke has been linked to poor foetal growth and placenta problems. South Asian children 'less active' than peers. 3 November 2011Last updated at 10:21 By Gurvinder Aujla BBC Asian Network Pupils at Frederick Bird School understand the importance of staying active.
South Asian children are less physically active than other children according to findings of research being carried out for the British Heart Foundation. Asian children are more likely to spend their evenings studying, playing computer games or watching TV than playing outdoors or doing sports. Fruit and veg 'cut stroke risk' Eating more than the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day can cut risk of stroke, a study says.
People who ate three to five cut the risk by 11% compared with those eating fewer than three, The Lancet reported. It was 26% lower for people who ate more than five servings, University of London researchers found in the study of data on more than 257,500 people. The Department of Health says five or more daily portions cuts risk of heart disease, cancer and other problems. Stroke is the third leading cause of death and the most common cause of disability in most developed countries. The researchers pooled data from eight studies from Europe, Japan and the US. Green leafy veg 'may cut diabetes risk' 20 August 2010Last updated at 00:46 By Emma Wilkinson Health reporter, BBC News Green leafy veg, rather than a healthy diet in general, were linked to benefits A diet rich in green leafy vegetables may reduce the risk of developing diabetes, UK research says.
In an analysis of six studies into fruit and vegetable intake, only food including spinach and cabbage was found to have a significant positive effect. A portion and a half a day was found to cut type 2 diabetes risk by 14%, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) reports. Five-a-day has little impact on cancer, study finds. Eating more fruit and vegetables has only a modest effect on protecting against cancer, a study into the link between diet and disease has found.
The study of 500,000 Europeans joins a growing body of evidence undermining the high hopes that pushing "five-a-day" might slash Western cancer rates. The international team of researchers estimates only around 2.5% of cancers could be averted by increasing intake. Five-a-day of fruit and vegetables 'saves lives' 16 December 2010Last updated at 00:02 By Helen Briggs Health reporter, BBC News Fruit: We don't eat enough Around 33,000 lives a year could be saved if everyone in the UK followed dietary guidelines, research suggests.
Eating five portions of fruit and veg a day has the biggest effect, say experts at Oxford University. Only a third of Britons consume enough fruit and veg, with the worst results in Scotland and Northern Ireland. English-style diet 'could save 4,000' in rest of UK. 3 November 2011Last updated at 02:14 By Helen Briggs Health editor, BBC News website Should there be a junk food tax? Eating like the English could save 4,000 lives a year in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, a study claims. People in England eat more fruit and vegetables and less salt and fat, reducing heart disease and some cancers, say Oxford University experts. A tax on fatty and salty foods and subsidies on fruit and vegetables could help close the diet divide, they add. The British Heart Foundation says the study shows inequalities in the nations that must be addressed by authorities. Death rates for heart disease and cancer are higher in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland than in England, according to official figures.
Continue reading the main story. Minimum alcohol pricing: Analysis. 1 November 2011Last updated at 11:31 By Branwen Jeffreys Health correspondent, BBC News. Link between inactivity and obesity queried. 8 July 2010Last updated at 17:03 By Adam Brimelow Health Correspondent, BBC News Child obesity levels have been rising for decades Researchers have challenged the assumption that a lack of exercise causes children to put on weight.
An 11-year study of more than 200 children in Plymouth suggests the effect is the other way around - that getting fatter makes them inactive. The paper, published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, concludes that programmes to tackle obesity may need to focus more on food than exercise. However, some other experts have questioned the findings. The paper says there is no disputing the association between physical activity and body fat. Continue reading the main story. Dieting 'keeps diabetes at bay' A period of careful eating and regular exercise can stave off diabetes for a decade, a study suggests. US researchers followed up nearly 3,000 overweight people who had taken part in a three year diabetes prevention programme.
The group had initially been divided into three - assigned either to a diet and exercise programme, the diabetes drug metformin or a placebo. The Lancet report notes it was the dieters who reaped the most benefit. All three groups were given access to ongoing lifestyle coaching once the initial three year trial had ended. That trial, carried out by the US-based Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group, had shown a diet aimed at achieving 7% weight loss, combined with half an hour of exercise five days a week, reduced the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 58% compared with the placebo group.
The group on metformin, a drug which has been used to treat the condition since the 1950s, saw their risk decline by nearly a third. Personal responsibility health agenda 'welcomed' Professor claims weight loss TV shows are counterproductive. Can cash incentives encourage better health choices? Cycle schemes 'need evaluation', say researchers. Many women 'unaware they have a weight problem' Healthy lifestyle role 'for all society'
Why we need a 'nudge' in the right direction. Eat more nuts and fruit to 'help weight loss' Nudge not enough to change lifestyles - peers. Why a nudge is not enough to change behaviour.