news 2017

Over 50s with fewer than 20 teeth at higher risk of musculoskeletal frailty New research by scientists at King's College London has found that tooth loss may contribute to musculoskeletal frailty in the over 50s, with those with fewer than 20 teeth being at greatest risk. Published in Geriatrics & Gerontology International on 11 December, the research led by Dr Wael Sabbah, from King's College London Dental Institute, examined the overall health of 9,338 Americans aged 50 years and older.

Adolescents' non-alcoholic drinks preferences are strongly influenced by their own individual circumstances and lifestyle choices, but not by their families and home environment, according to a new UCL study. The study, published in Scientific Reports and funded by the Medical Research Council, is the first paper to establish the relative importance of genetic and environmental influences on liking for a range of common non-alcoholic beverages, in a large population-based sample of older adolescent twins.

The first study to compare ancient and living female bones shows that women from early agricultural eras had stronger arms than the rowers of Cambridge University's famously competitive boat club. Researchers say the findings suggest a "hidden history" of gruelling manual labour performed by women that stretched across millennia.

For the first time researchers have quantified the number of cancers likely to be caused by diabetes and high body mass index (BMI) worldwide. The study , led by Imperial College London, found that nearly six per cent of new worldwide cancer cases in 2012 were caused by the combined effects of diabetes and being overweight (BMI of over 25 kg/m2) or obese (BMI of over 30 kg/m2).

A new simple test that helps predicts which people with type 2 diabetes will benefit most from weight loss surgery has been developed by a UCL-led team. The study, published today in Diabetic Medicine , also reports that keeping the weight off after bariatric surgery is more important than which type of weight loss operation was done.

'Genome editing is not the answer to world poverty, because food shortage isn't the problem' says a group of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) surveyed by the University of Nottingham. This is one of three main findings in a report from the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University, which looks at NGO's scepticism of genome editing technology.

Ancient peoples began to systematically affect evolution of crops up to 30,000 years ago - ten millennia before experts previously thought, says new University of Warwick research Rice, wheat and barley were used so much that their evolution was affected - beginning the process that eventually turned them from wild to domesticated - as long ago as the last Ice Age Einkorn found to be on the evolutionary trajectory to domestication up to 30,000 y

A study by researchers at King's College London has found that children who skip breakfast regularly may not be consuming the daily amounts of key nutrients for growth and development that are recommended by the UK government. Children who ate breakfast every day were deemed to have overall superior nutritional profiles compared to those who didn't.

Carrying extra weight could raise your risk of heart attack by more than a quarter, even if you are otherwise healthy. Researchers have found that being overweight or obese increases a person's risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) by up to 28 per cent compared to those with a healthy bodyweight, even if they have healthy blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

Behavioural and cognitive scientists at the Universities of Cambridge and Bristol have been awarded a prestigious Wellcome Collaborative Award in Science. This will investigate ways to 'nudge' people towards healthier behaviour - to reduce their food and alcohol consumption and to stop smoking - in order to improve health across the population.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in Europe and the second most frequently diagnosed cancer in men worldwide. A new study led by researchers in the Nuffield Department of Population Health Cancer Epidemiology Unit (CEU) investigated the associations of height and obesity with prostate cancer by different tumour characteristics and death from prostate cancer and found that taller men and men with more fat are at greater risk of high grade prostate cancer and death from prostate cancer.

People who drink around three cups of coffee a day may live longer than non-coffee drinkers, a landmark study has found. The findings come from the largest study of its kind, in which scientists analysed data from more than half a million people across 10 European countries, including the UK, to explore the effect of coffee consumption on risk of mortality.

High maternal sugar intake during pregnancy may increase the risk of allergy and allergic asthma in the offspring, according to an early study led by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) involving University of Bristol researchers and almost 9,000 mother-child pairs. While some research has reported an association between a high consumption of sugar-containing beverages and asthma in children, the relation between maternal sugar intake during pregnancy and allergy and asthma in the offspring has been little studied.

High maternal sugar intake during pregnancy may increase the risk of allergy and allergic asthma in the offspring, according to an early study led by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) involving almost 9,000 mother-child pairs. While some research has reported an association between a high consumption of sugar-containing beverages and asthma in children, the relation between maternal sugar intake during pregnancy and allergy and asthma in the offspring has been little studied.

A UCL-led study of over 12,000 young children in the UK has revealed that 11-year-olds who had TVs in their bedroomâ'at ageâ'7 had a significantly higher body mass (BMI) and fat mass (FMI) and were more likely to be overweight compared to children who did not have a bedroom TV. Girls who had a TV in their bedroom at age 7 were at an approximately 30% higher risk of being overweight at age 11 compared to children who did not have a TV in their bedroom, and for boys the risk was increased by about 20%.

When it comes to health claims around the food we eat, it's worth taking a closer look at the science behind the headlines, say Eirini Trichia and Professor Nita Forouhi from the MRC Epidemiology Unit, writing for The Conversation. A new study, published recently in the European Journal of Epidemiology , appeared to give dairy products a clean bill of health.

Eating a high-fat, high-sugar diet when pregnant 'programs' both mother and child for potential health complications later in life by disrupting metabolic processes within the mother's body, researchers have found. We know that obesity during pregnancy is a risk factor for health complications for mother and baby both during and after pregnancy.

Subsidising healthy foods by up to 10 per cent would do more to shift the eating habits of overweight and obese people than a tax on unhealthy products, and could be cost effective in the long-run, according to the findings of a new study published by economists at the University. Based on the current numbers of obese people in the UK, the authors estimate that a 10 per cent healthy food subsidy over the course of a lifetime and across the population could save as much as £7.2 billion in the long-run.

People who suffer long-term stress may also be more prone to obesity, according to research by scientists at UCL which involved examining hair samples for levels of cortisol, a hormone which regulates the body's response to stress. The paper, published in the journal Obesity , showed that exposure to higher levels of cortisol over several months is associated with people being more heavily, and more persistently, overweight.

Child obesity '35-40%' inherited from parents, study finds Around 35-40 per cent of a child's BMI - how fat or thin they are - is inherited from their parents, a new study has found. For the most obese children, the proportion rises to 55-60 per cent, suggesting that more than half of their tendency towards obesity is determined by genetics and family environment.