Does semaglutide really contribute to vision loss?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Labels showing calories you burn walking upstairs appear on public steps in Korea causing outrage as people say it will 'trigger eating disorders'
A woman has divided viewers after sharing a calorie counting method she witnessed while in South Korea. London-based Sussanah was in Busan when she noticed that the steps in a public area were marked with the amount of calories a person would lose by climbing each one. For instance, one step read '- 6.15 kcal', and the higher up the steps, the higher the reading of calories lost was. Discussing the method, Sussanah said, 'Can't avoid calorie counting in Korea.' She added in the caption, 'It's hard not to lose weight here #Korea #traveltok.' While the content creator, who goes by @youngsue, considered the tactic to likely be effective, others took a different viewpoint and claimed that the invasive weight loss hack might give rise to health problems. One wrote, 'This would put me in hospital.' A second agreed, writing, 'I'd get an ED [eating disorder] as soon as I arrive.' A third questioned, 'That's insane is it not? Even for cultural differences.' While a fourth said, 'As a person in ED recovery, that would be hell.' However, others took a different stance and thought the method might impact them positively. One wrote, 'That's healthy and encouraging. Love it.' Another added, 'America, take notes.' A third said, 'Maybe my next destination should be Korea.' While viewers debated the Korean method in the TikTok comment section, a similar debate has erupted in the UK in recent times about calorie labels on menus. However, last year, a study suggested that the information has no effect on dietary habits because 'people don't understand what the numbers actually mean'. In April 2022, the government introduced a policy in England that orders the use of calorie labels by all food outlets with more than 250 employees. It was hoped that by providing the number of calories next to each dish, consumers would think twice about what they eat when they visit takeaways, cafes and restaurants to help battle soaring rates of obesity. But the policy has had no significant effect on the number of calories people buy or consume, a study suggested – and it could be because people still don't understand exactly what the numbers mean. Researchers from the University of Liverpool conducted two surveys before and after the implementation of the law to see whether it led to any behaviour changes. They collected data from more than 6,500 people of all ages who had purchased food from more than 300 outlets including pubs, restaurants, cafes, fast food outlets and entertainment venues. Analysis revealed that after the law was implemented, people were more likely to notice and use the calorie labelling system. They were also more likely to accurately estimate the calorie content of their meals. However, there was no significant difference in how many calories were purchased or consumed. On average, people ate around 18 fewer calories after the policy was implemented - the energy equivalent of about nine grapes. Lead researcher Dr Megan Polden said, 'The introduction of mandatory calorie labelling alone was not associated with significant dietary changes in out-of-home food settings.' The findings, published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, revealed that awareness and use of the calorie-labelling system were higher among women, older adults and those who are better-off. People were also more likely to notice calorie labels when ordering from pubs – possibly due to spending more time reviewing the menu. Reasons for their findings could be that a lot of places still don't implement calorie labels on menus and people still don't understand how calories work, the team suggested. Viewers took to the comment section to share their thoughts on the calorie labels - and opinions were mixed 'We know that many businesses have not been providing calorie labelling as recommended and some businesses have not provided any calorie labelling at all, which of course may explain our results,' Professor Eric Robinson, who also worked on the study, said. 'Our results may also indicate that a combination of strategies…such as public education on calorie intake and clearer labelling, could be necessary to support healthier consumer choices.' The study stated that a potential barrier to the use of calorie labelling 'may be a lack of public understanding of the kcal information presented.' Commenting on the findings Professor Amanda Daley, director of the Centre for Lifestyle Medicine and Behaviour at Loughborough University, said: 'One problem with calorie labelling is that it just provides numbers on a page, without any context for the public to understand what the numbers actually mean when they are making decisions about food.' She added that the study was based on self-reported data rather than actual transactions or information about the food consumed, so this is 'important to consider when interpreting the results'. Tom Sanders, Professor emeritus of nutrition and dietetics at King's College London, said: 'The takeaway finding from this study is that on its own mandatory calorie labelling is an ineffective public health measure to prevent obesity. 'This would support the view that calorie labelling alone does not motivate people to change their dietary habits. However, calorie labelling is useful for individuals who are motivated. 'Mandatory nutrition labelling has also helped computer programmes and apps provide accurate and up to date estimates of nutrient intakes using product bar codes which is useful for nutritionists, dietitians and motivated individuals. 'Consequently, it would be a backwards to step to abolish mandatory calorie labelling for the out of the home food sector.'
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
University of Reading creates research unit in Kuwait
The University of Reading has created a research unit in Kuwait as part of a partnership with a major pharmaceutical agreement, signed in June, brings together the university and the Kuwait Pharmaceutical Association with the goal of "advancing pharmaceutical practices in the country".The initial focus of the new unit will be pharmacy practice as well health services new unit will also see student exchanges between Reading and Kuwait. Dr Mamoon Al Deyab, associate professor in pharmacy and health services research at Reading school of pharmacy and director of the new research unit, said: "Our objective is to make everyday pharmacy care safer and better."We want to build pharmacists skills, we want to strengthen the workforce in Kuwait and in Berkshire, we want to test practical ideas in real healthcare settings and when they work we turn them into routine practise."Teams in Reading and Kuwait will work together to run joint studies, shared expertise, we will apply for joint grants together and offer real world project for students and practitioners."Dr Ahmad Taqi, chair of the Kuwait Pharmaceutical Association, said: "We are confident this exciting partnership will help to increase the number of specialised pharmacists in Kuwait, expand our scientific output and support evidence-based studies." You can follow BBC Berkshire and Facebook, X
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Young vape users three times as likely to start smoking, study finds
Young people who vape are three times as likely to start smoking, develop asthma and have poor mental health as those who do not, according to a study that lays bare the health impacts of e-cigarettes. Vaping among young people is consistently linked to later smoking, according to the largest umbrella review of all the evidence on youth vaping, which warns that e-cigarettes could act as a gateway. The researchers found associations with other harmful consequences including asthma, cough, injuries and mental ill health, as well as possible risks of respiratory disease, headaches, poor oral health and substance use. Su Golder, an associate professor in health science at the University of York and an author of the research, said: 'The consistency in the evidence is striking. Across multiple studies, young people who use e-cigarettes are more likely to smoke in the future. These findings support stronger public health measures to protect teens from the risks associated with vaping.' The researchers concluded that although it was not yet possible to definitively say vaping leads children to smoke, precautionary policies to restrict sales and marketing of vapes to young people were needed. Dr Ronny Cheung, of the Royal College of Paediatrics, said the study 'adds to the mounting evidence that youth vaping is a serious threat to health and wellbeing, with strong links to smoking and other harmful behaviours'. Cheung urged the government not to further delay implementing the tobacco and vapes bill, which will limit the flavours, packaging and marketing of vapes. The World Health Organization (WHO) has previously described the rise in children vaping around the world as alarming. Figures compiled by Action on Smoking and Health this year showed that 20% of 11- to 17-year-olds in Great Britain had tried vaping, amounting to an estimated 1.1 million children, triple the levels in 2020. For the new study, which was published in the journal Tobacco Control, researchers examined 56 reviews, most of which suggested that young people who vape are about three times as likely to start smoking as those who do not vape. Asthma was the most common respiratory health condition, with consistent associations of between 20% and 36% increased risk of being diagnosed with the condition, and a 44% risk of worsening symptoms. The researchers acknowledged that the umbrella reviews were of variable quality and that it was difficult to prove a causal relationship since the evidence was mostly observational. They urged further research to better understand whether vapes are genuinely acting as a gateway to smoking. Last month, researchers at the University of Michigan established that a third of UK teenagers who vape will go on to start smoking tobacco, meaning they are as likely to smoke as their peers in the 1970s were. Hazel Cheeseman, the chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, said: 'The rise in teen vaping in recent years is very concerning and needs urgent action from government. Vapes are effective quit aids for adults who smoke and while they are less harmful than smoking, they are not risk free and should not be used by children.' Dr Stephen Burgess, a statistician at the University of Cambridge, said the research showed 'that vaping users are more likely to engage in certain behaviours, but whether vaping is truly a cause of these behaviours is beyond the scope of the data'. He added: 'The associations demonstrated are both extensive in scope and strong in magnitude – it is clear that vaping users are at higher risk of many diseases than non-users. A causal explanation to the findings is both plausible and consistent with the evidence provided but such a finding can only be made conclusively by a randomised trial. Ann McNeill, a professor of tobacco addiction at King's College London, noted that many of the studies on which the researchers drew for the study were 'rated critically low or low quality, meaning authors should be extremely cautious before making any conclusions'. She said there could be other reasons for the consistency of the relationship between vaping and cigarette smoking – for example, a young person having a sensation-seeking or impulsive personality. Other research looking at population-level trends in vaping and smoking had found that as youth vaping increased in a population, smoking reduced, she said. John Dunne, UK Vaping Industry Association director general, said: 'We have seen a lot of research from the scientific community about vaping which does not stand up to scrutiny and this latest study seems to fit the bill. 'We need to stop demonising vaping because until the relative risks of cigarettes and vaping are understood by smokers then 220 people will needlessly die in the UK of smoking-related illnesses every day.' A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'Our health advice is clear, while vapes are less harmful than smoking and can be an effective quit aid for smokers, children and non-smokers should never vape. 'The worrying rise in youth vaping requires attention – that's why we commissioned this research, the largest comprehensive review of the health impacts of youth vaping to date. 'We are taking decisive action through the landmark tobacco and vapes bill and single-use vape ban, which will put an end to the cycle of addiction and stop the next generation getting hooked on nicotine.'
