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Diet Vs surgery: fighting the nation’s obesity epidemic

February 27th, 2012 0 comments

One in every 30 people in the UK is now classed as morbidly obese, and the NHS budget is starting to feel the strain.

Obese people cost the NHS billions every year in surgical procedures (hip replacements and knee replacements), as well as expensive medication for weight related conditions such as diabetes and cancer. If obesity figures continue to rise, it is expected that by 2050 the NHS will be spending nearly £50 billion every year solely on obese people.

There are a number of ways to deal with Britain’s obesity epidemic. Currently, hospitals are opting for certain preventative measures. For instance, certain NHS trusts are offering morbidly obese individuals surgical procedures such as gastric bands to help them lose weight before the onset of heart disease or joint degeneration.

Although there are always risks involved with surgery, surgeon Roger Ackroyd believes the benefits far outweigh the risks: “If we can invest...

Tags: Gastric Band Hypnotherapy

157,000 children ‘start smoking’ every year, say Cancer Research

February 23rd, 2012 0 comments

According to figures from the charity Cancer Research, 157,000 11 to 15 year olds are taking up smoking every year – that is enough children to fill over five thousand classrooms.

Cancer Research have said that these figures further highlight the current scale of the UK’s tobacco problem, and drive home the importance of taking action to discourage children from starting to smoke.

The same study also revealed that around one million under 15-year olds have tried out smoking at least once – which according to research makes them more likely to take up smoking during the next few years than children who have not experimented with tobacco.

Previous research carried out on 12-year-old smokers in 2009 revealed that during that particular year, 1 per cent were smoking regularly, 2 per cent occasionally and 2 per cent said they used to smoke.

One year down the line in 2010, it was calculated that among the same age group of children (aged 13),...

Tags: Smoking

“It’s sometimes light, it’s sometimes dark, that’s the passage of time as far as I’m concerned now”

February 20th, 2012 0 comments

How do you cope with unemployment?

The BBC recently met with a young man named Ben Gillet to discuss how he deals with his unemployment, and how he lives every day in a constant state of pessimism.

25-year-old Ben Gillet of Wootton Bassett hasn’t held down a job for four years. He tells BBC reporter Sima Kotecha that his confidence is ‘nil’. He describes how everyday is spent playing video games and drinking tea, and that one uneventful day merges right into another.

His work experience is lacking, with a CV consisting only of short stints in factories and restaurants, alongside low-grade A levels in IT and sciences.

Kotecha describes the young man’s flat as small and dingy with stacks of dirty plates in the kitchen – and his character as downbeat and lacking in confidence.

Gillet insists his situation was not born from laziness: “I did a work placement once with a small husband and wife-led...

Tags: Low Self Confidence, Low Self-Esteem

Drinking the dry-bar

February 16th, 2012 0 comments

Kate Middleton certainly has the Midas touch at the moment, so after paying a visit to a dry-bar in Liverpool on Tuesday could ‘drinking the bar dry’ be a thing of the past?

On Tuesday, the Duchess of Cambridge marked valentines day by paying a visit to Alder Hey Children’s hospital and an Action on Addiction project – a non-alcoholic bar for recovering alcoholics in Liverpool.

The Brink is a dry-bar in Liverpool that has been set up with recovering alcoholics in mind. The bar is a multi-functional venue that boasts an alcohol free bar and restaurant as well as a performance space – all designed with the intention of encouraging groups and individuals to join each other’s conversations.

Kate, who is now a patron for the charity Action on Addiction, stopped off at The Brink to sample the alcohol free drinks menu. Whilst there, she...

Tags: Alcohol Abuse

Record-breaking 15.5lb baby born in China

February 13th, 2012 0 comments

15.5lb Chun Chun was born in a 20-minute long caesarean section last Saturday. The baby is currently the biggest newborn in China.

The baby’s mother, Wang Yujuan, 29, said: “I clearly felt that my body was more clumsy than when I had been pregnant with my daughter. My belly was bigger than it was then.”

A study conducted last year suggested that a baby’s birth weight is heavily determined by both genetics, and the weight of the mother during pregnancy. They found that the more weight the mother put on during pregnancy, the heavier the baby.

Hypnotherapy can be used by mothers to reduce stress and anxiety during pregnancy, reduce the pain and length of labour, and speed up the recovery process after birth.

Some studies have shown that pregnant mothers who undergo hypnotherapy are more likely to give birth to relaxed, well-behaved babies.

To find out more about how hypnotherapy can help, please visit our

Tags: Childbirth

Considering a top-up? – The government urge regular drinkers to think twice

February 9th, 2012 0 comments

‘I’ll just have a drop more’, or ‘we might as well finish that bottle’, are the famous last words of many a regular drinker – but what are the potential perils of turning that one glass into two?

According to the government, drinking “just a little more than they should” could put individuals at an increased risk of developing serious illnesses such as heart disease, stroke and even cancer.

In an attempt to try and make people think twice before pouring out that extra half glass of wine or topping up their beer, a TV advertising campaign is being introduced to reinforce the health risks of exceeding daily limits – even by a small amount.

The Change4Life campaign warns that frequently drinking two pints of beer or two glasses of wine per day can triple the risk of mouth cancer as well as doubling the risk of high blood pressure.

In...

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Tags: Alcohol Abuse

Addiction: nature or nurture?

February 6th, 2012 0 comments

A new study has found that certain inherited brain abnormalities can make some people more prone to addiction than others.

The study, conducted by the University of Cambridge and published in the journal ‘Science’, used scans from 50 cocaine addicts and their non-addict siblings to look for differences in brain functioning.

Scientists found that abnormalities found in the drug addicts were mirrored in their non-addict siblings. The findings suggest that a propensity for addiction could be inherited, but the formation of addiction itself could be behavioural.

Dr Paul Keedwell, a consultant psychiatrist at Cardiff University, told the BBC: “Addiction, like most psychiatric disorders, is the product of nature and nurture. we need to follow up people over time to quantify the relative risk of nature versus nurture.”

If two siblings are hardwired for addiction, how can it be that only one goes on to develop one? Dr...

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‘Secret smokers’ are on the rise

February 2nd, 2012 0 comments

A poll carried out on behalf of the Co-operative Pharmacy has revealed a climb in the number of smokers who attempt to hide their habit from loved ones.

The poll of 2,000 individuals conducted by One Poll has found that since the public smoking ban was introduced, 57 per cent of smoking respondents admitted to trying to keep their habit under wraps.

Of that 57 per cent, 21 per cent said they tried to hide their smoking from their other half, and 19.6% said that they tried to hide the habit from their offspring.

Other notable findings from the study included one-third of smoking respondents saying they had smoked less since the ban was introduced, four-fifths said they wanted to give up, and one in eight said that they had convinced themselves that they had quit – despite having the occasionally cigarette.

Clinical service manager at the Co-operative Pharmecy, Fiona Caplan-Dean, said: ‘The smoking ban in public places has had...

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Tags: Smoking

Recent news

Diet Vs surgery: fighting the nation’s obesity epidemic

157,000 children ‘start smoking’ every year, say Cancer Research

“It’s sometimes light, it’s sometimes dark, that’s the passage of time as far as I’m concerned now”

Drinking the dry-bar

Record-breaking 15.5lb baby born in China

Considering a top-up? – The government urge regular drinkers to think twice

Addiction: nature or nurture?

‘Secret smokers’ are on the rise

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