Public Health Clinic

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• Salt, fat and sugar jump to the front of food labels
• Alcohol consumption leads to abdominal obesity
• Poor relationship with the mother, the greater the child obesity
• The skin takes color from the first seconds of the sun

Salt, fat and sugar jump to the front of food labels Posted: 01 Feb 2012 07:04 AM PST Two years of negotiations have been Ministers of Health of the EU to arrive, finally, to the approval of a new rule that will force the food industry to elaborate on the labels of foods and drinks sugar content, salt and fat clear and legible. The regulation aims to combat obesity by giving consumers the information necessary to opt for a healthy diet. It serves well the demands of scientific societies, including the Spanish Food Safety Agency (AESAN), but after many discussions in the text is something ‘decaffeinated’, as it leaves the alcohol free and leaves room for maneuver to each country to organize the label at will, provided it meets minimum requirements. The standard, which is now sent to the Parliament for processing and are not expected to come fully into force until 2013, has enjoyed the support of all countries except Italy . “This is a very important step after all the discussions we have had since 2008,” recognizes ELMUNDO.es Roberto Sabrido, president of the AESAN. Specifically, the rule requires details on the package the contents ofenergy, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, with specific reference to sugars, proteins and salt per 100 ml or 100 g, but may also be indicated as a percentage of the amount recommended daily allowance. The information must be legible in a font size of 1.2 mm at least, a Spanish-proposal, although exceptions for small packs. Also, you can add additional information voluntarily on issues such as cholesterol or fiber.They must also appear on the label allergenic substances (such as peanuts, milk, mustard or fish), which until now only applied to prepackaged foods. Issues that fall outside However it has opted for a uniform label for all member states, but each left free to decide how to put the information. One aspect that does not convince Sabrido he thinks “it would be better to reach a joint label and a harmonized system would avoid consumer confusion.” Neither law applies to wine, beer, liquor and flavored alcoholic beverages.They serve well the demands of countries like Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Greece, Bulgaria, Austria, Cyprus and Romania, which from the start of negotiations requested that the wine is out of the norm.However, the Commission shall report within five years to assess whether or not to include wine. Also exempt unpackaged foods , unless the Member State concerned decides otherwise. The new regulation introduces the obligation to indicate on the label the origin of meat other than beef , for which he had called this requirement, a point that Spain and other countries-Germany, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands, also noted their disagreement because there has been no prior impact assessment to determine the economic effects and the effect of the measure in the market. “Mandatory labeling seems discriminatory, since it does not use the same criteria as for the rest of products for those who did made an impact assessment,” said Roberto Sabrido. In three years, Brussels must submit a report evaluating the ability to bind also to indicate the place of origin in other products (milk, milk used as an ingredient, meat used as an ingredient, unprocessed foods or products made with one ingredient

Alcohol consumption leads to abdominal obesity Posted: 01 Feb 2012 01:58 AM PST The continuous intake of alcohol is associated with abdominal obesity, which in turn implies greater risk of death in adults , according to the findings of a study reported by the Department of Information and Science News (SINC). The results of the study, published in the ‘European Journal of Clinical Nutrition , suggest that alcohol consumption throughout life produces abdominal adiposity with increased waist circumference. Moreover, in men, causing general obesity with increased body mass index (BMI). The research, conducted over nine years, collected a sample of 258,177 individuals between 25 and 70, from France, Italy, Greece, Holland, Germany, Sweden, Norway, United Kingdom and Spain. “It is the only study to date that examines alcohol consumption in a large sample of adults from different European regions and examines the role oflong exposure to alcohol in general and abdominal obesity , “said one of its authors, María Dolores Chirlaque, a researcher at the Ministry of Health of the Region of Murcia, according to Europa Press. However, the study shows that the largest increases in waist circumference observed in high alcohol consumption , so that moderate consumption discouraged. “It now remains to consider whether the abandonment of the use of alcohol, or a low intake of this, reverse abdominal obesity and how long , “said Chirlaque, another of the researchers, who belongs to the Center for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology Network and Public Health (CIBERESP). Beer, wine worse than The study also analyzed the effects had beer and wine in the formation of fat. This revealed that the intake of the first consumption of wine. In addition, the investigation revealed that men who consume more beer at greatest risk (75%) than wine (25%). In this way, men who consumed more than three glasses of beer increased (50%) your chances of having abdominal obesity. For their part, women who drink a daily glass or two along life have a slightly higher risk of developing abdominal obesity than those who fail to consume half a glass. With respect to wine, women who drink three or more vessels are more likely (60%) of developing abdominal overweight than those who do not reach half a glass. While in men, this risk is 28 percent.

Poor relationship with the mother, the greater the child obesity Posted: 31 Jan 2012 07:57 PM PST The care and attention that dispenses a mother to baby during its first months of life can have a significant influence on their development. This fact, already known by experts, has just added a new factor: infants who have had less close relationship with his mother are more likely to be obese in adolescence. This was just shown a new statistical study that followed more than 900 children from their first three months of life, when dealing with their mothers was subjected to repeated examinations, up to 15 years of age.At adolescence, children who showed a worse relationship with their mothers had significantly higher rates of obesity , even discounting other factors like education or income levels. The study’s authors, led by Sarah Anderson of Ohio State University (USA) measured the quality of the relationship between mother and baby by two parameters: maternal sensitivity and attachment security. The first was established from the interaction in game situations that were recorded on video. The second assessed the children’s reactions in the presence or absence of their mothers, in controlled laboratory conditions. Both were assessed positively the mother’s ability to recognize the mood and needs of the child’s tendency to explore this environment without fear, knowing it would be well cared for and watched by his mother. Both parameters were measured repeatedly as children grew older, at 15, 24 and 36 months of age. Levels of concern When they turned 15, she noted that more than one quarter of children with low scores in these interactions with the mother showed worrying levels of obesity. In contrast, only 13% of those who were best served by the evidence presented this same problem. Scientists point out that the quality of the relationship between mother and baby are a known factor in the regulation of emotions, neuronal development and stress response during the growth of children. In addition, stress management is related to abnormalities in physiological systems upon which the energy balance , which can lead to obesity. “There is a overlap in the brain between the areas that govern the stress and energy balance,” says Anderson, according to Reuters. “This stress response may be related to obesity through the regulation of appetite,” adds the researcher. Nutrition experts remind, however, that the main factors of obesity are already known: poor diet, sedentary lifestyle or lack of sleep. Thus, Anderson acknowledges that “blame the parents will not solve the problem.”

The skin takes color from the first seconds of the sun Posted: 31 Jan 2012 01:52 PM PST The skin responds to the effects of solar radiation much faster than previously thought, so much so that a moment of intense enough light to trigger certain processes of pigmentation. This was just shown a laboratory experiment with human cells that produce melanin, ie, the chemical tan. This early response may have a defensive function against subsequent cell damage and DNA caused by increased exposure to solar radiation, as postulated by the researchers who discovered this effect. After a few seconds under the sun’s radiation, causing the skin color, but also damage that can cause melanoma-specific receptors are activated to initiate the production of melanin, as observed in cultured skin cells. Until now, scientists believed that tanning was a much slower process . The cause of this early reaction of the skin are UVA (untravioleta-A), which compose 95% of solar radiation that reaches our planet. The remaining 5% corresponds to UVB radiation. The authors of the study, published in Current Biology, they believe that production of melanin is activated immediately as a defensive measure against the sunlight. “As soon as you become the sun, your skin shows signs of having been exposed to ultraviolet radiation,” says researcher Elena Oancea, principal signatory of the report from Brown University (USA). Melanin production starts within a few hours after receiving the light, but before this work was thought to take days. Protective function The problem is that after a few days, ultraviolet radiation has damaged the DNA (due to UVB rays) and caused oxidative damage in cells (due to UVA). The first reaction has been observed now have the function of protecting the skin from further damage such as postulated by the authors, while acknowledging that still have no “definitive proof”. “We knew that high doses of UVA rays cause large amounts of oxygen and inflammation. Our results show that a smaller amount of UVA rays , for a few seconds in bright sunlight activates a specific receptor and induces the production of melanin, “summarizes Oancea to ELMUNDO.es. If this first reaction to UVA is “protective” as the researchers believe the finding could have implications for the development of future solar creams and lotions. What in any case means that UVA rays are less dangerous than it has been warning about. “This tells us not to use sunscreen,” insists Oancea. Manufacture of sunscreen However, even after confirmation of the hypothesis, cream makers might consider in future the newly discovered effect: “The ratio of anti-UVA components and anti-UVB would be important. Block only the response we have discovered anti-UVA protective sensitize your skin to UVB and cause more damage that can cause cancer, “researcher argues. “The time for chemical degradation of anti-UVA and anti-UVB may also be important because it can result in a similar situation when only skin is protected against UVA,” says Oancea. Research has revealed also that in the early synthesis of melanin is involved a receptor called rhodopsin , which is also found in the retina and helps the eye to catch the light. Is the first time observed other functions of rhodopsin, apart from the visuals

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