Programme Launched in England Aimed at Preventing Type 2 Diabetes

The government has announced the first phase of a new evidence based NHS diabetes prevention programme, which will target up to 10 000 patients at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The programme, a joint initiative between NHS England, Public Health England, and the charity Diabetes UK, aims to significantly reduce the number of people—estimated… Read More

Type 2 Diabetes: The Relationship of HbA1c Variablility

Research Paper Title Relationship of HbA1c Variability, Absolute Changes in HbA1c, and All-cause Mortality in Type 2 Diabetes: A Danish Population-based Prospective Observational Study. Objective & Design The researcher assessed the relationship of mortality with glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) variability and with absolute change in HbA1c. A population-based prospective observational study with a median follow-up time of… Read More

What’s the Link between Blood Sugar, Blood Pressure & Blood Cholesterol?

Raised blood sugar, blood pressure (BP) and blood cholesterol are risk factors often clustered together. However, two new studies from Asia try to disentangle their interactions. In the Chinese population, blood glucose level within prediabetic range is significantly associated with elevated risks for diabetes mellitus after multi-variable adjustment, but only when it is concurrent with… Read More

Saunas Don’t Just Make You Sweat, They May Also Help Your Heart.

Background Sauna bathing is a health habit associated with better haemodynamic function; however, the association of sauna bathing with cardiovascular and all-cause mortality is not known. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of frequency and duration of sauna bathing with the risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD), fatal coronary heart disease… Read More

Motherhood, Obesity & the Elusive Fat Gene

Profile Edward Archer is a physiologist and obesity theorist at the Nutrition and Obesity Research Centre, University of Alabama at Birmingham. This essay, written by Archer, is based on his paper “The childhood obesity epidemic as a result of nongenetic evolution” (Mayo Clinic Proceedings, vol 90, p 77). Article How can skinny people still exist? If we live in an environment that promotes obesity- filled with… Read More

The Daily Trip to the Gym Won’t Cancel Out the Adverse Effects of Sitting at your Desk All Day!

Research Paper Title Sitting Time and All-cause Mortality Risk in 222 497 Australian Adults. Background Prolonged sitting is considered detrimental to health, but evidence regarding the independent relationship of total sitting time with all-cause mortality is limited. This study aimed to determine the independent relationship of sitting time with all-cause mortality. Method The researchers linked… Read More

Childhood Weight: Nature or Nurture?

A study comparing the weight of biological and adopted children to that of their parents has found that lifestyles, rather than genes, are primarily responsible for the children being overweight (). The researchers, from the Centre for Economic Performance at the School of Economics and Political Science, concluded that policies to influence parents’ lifestyles could… Read More