Latest news with #LeedsBeckett
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Some children at obesity clinics have BMI of 50
A disproportionate number of children referred to NHS excess weight clinics in England are from the most deprived areas, and a significant number are neurodivergent or have other health conditions, a study has have a body mass index (BMI) over 50, with 40 deemed to be severely 4,800 under-18s have been referred to the clinics since they were set up in 2021, according to research carried out by Leeds Beckett, Sheffield Hallam, Leeds and Bristol universities and presented at the European Congress on clinics provide mental health support and care for other underlying conditions, as well as dietary advice. Specialist excess weight clinics treat severely obese children in England aged 2-17, who are flagged as needing help by their GP or another clinics are run by multi-disciplinary teams including paediatricians, psychologists and dieticians. The new research, which looked at 32 of the clinics, found that over 40% of the children attending them lived in the most deprived on data from more than 3,000 child patients, many had other health conditions:24% had autism23% a learning disability30% had liver diseasea significant proportion had another health complication"Living with excess weight can cause problems affecting every organ system," said Professor Simon Kenny, national clinical director at NHS England."We also know that children living with health problems can have poorer school attendance, which can affect their future employment and life opportunities. "The NHS won't just sit by and let children and young people become ill adults." Some of the specialist clinics are using digital technology for weight loss support. For example, children can use 'smart scales' at home which do not show their weight. The data is connected to a mobile app to show the trend without the numbers. Only clinicians are able to see the data and provide feedback to the another paper presented to the European Congress on Obesity, presented by Dr Annika Janson from Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden, researchers said giving weight loss jabs to children could be effective. She said that trials of the drugs in children aged 12 and over had shown a loss of 5-16% of body weight after a year, but added it was "difficult to isolate the effect of adding GLP-1 drugs to the plethora of treatments that are already available". The medicines regulator NICE has not approved weight loss drugs for routine use by children in England, although they can be provided by specialists if there is urgent clinical need. What does BMI mean? Body mass index (BMI) is widely used as a simple way of finding out whether a person is a healthy weight for their adults:a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is considered to be a healthy weighta BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered to be overweighta BMI over 30 is considered to be obeseBut it's not accurate for everyone because it can't tell the difference between fat and muscle, and doesn't take into account ethnic waist circumference may be a better to calculate your child's BMI
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Found 11,500-Year-Old Tools That Reveal an Incredible Human Adventure
Researchers discovered tools dating as far back as 11,500 years. The tools could be evidence of the earliest human settlement in Scotland. Nomads likely crossed into the Isle of Skye via Doggerland—an area that is now covered by the North Sea. Humans love convenience, and that's a love as old as time (well, maybe that's a stretch). The oldest tools discovered thus far date back to our early ancestors, around 2.6 million years ago. While these tools were rudimentary (often unaltered sticks and rocks found on the ground), they played a key part in the broader story of human evolution. Not only were they helpful to the early humans who used them back then, but early tools like these also serve as valuable clues for scientists today. Case in point, a research team just found tools on the Isle of Skye which shed light on Scotland's oldest inhabitants. Researchers dated these new-found Scottish tools back to between 11,500 and 11,000 years ago, during what is called the Late Upper Paleolithic. The 'Upper' part of the Paleolithic Period is a subdivision marked by the development of more advanced tools. The discoveries mean the west coast of Scotland now represents the largest concentration of evidence proving the early presence of people in the area, according to a press release. The team consisted of researchers from universities of Leeds, Sheffield, Leeds Beckett, and Flinders in Australia. Together, they worked to reconstruct the landscape and changing sea levels of the time. They determined that nomads likely crossed into Skye when much of western Scotland was buried under ice after the Younger Dryas—a sudden cooling period that froze much of the Northern Hemisphere. Researchers theorize that the pioneers crossed via Doggerland, which is now covered by the North Sea. According to Karen Hardy, leader of the team, the nomads' journey to the Isle of Skye was the 'ultimate adventure story.' She explained in the release that as they followed animal herds northward and entered Scotland, the landscape changed to one that was icy and treacherous. 'A good example of the volatility they would have encountered can be found in Glen Roy,' Hardy said in the press release, 'where the world-famous Parallel Roads provide physical testament to the huge landscape changes and cataclysmic floods that they would have encountered, as they travelled across Scotland.' Once in Scotland, the pioneers had to adapt to live among the melting glaciers, oceans, and mountains—conditions that were shockingly different from their former homelands in the northwestern Great European Plains. Hardy believes the settlers strategically chose where to base themselves to best access coastal and riverine resources. They also began to value ochre—a pigment that was important to ancient cultures. Although the exact terrains the nomads crossed can no longer be visited, they can be imagined at places like Sconcer, a township on the same island where the tools were discovered. Needless to say, these findings were crucial in advancing knowledge of ancient Scotland. 'This is a hugely significant discovery which offers a new perspective on the earliest human occupation yet known, of north-west Scotland,' Hardy said. You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
The Herald Scotland
28-04-2025
- Science
- The Herald Scotland
Evidence of one of Scotland's earliest human populations uncovered
The stones have been dated to a period known as the Late Upper Palaeolithic (LUP) from around 11,500 to 11,000 years ago. The wider context of them is yet to be analysed in detail, but were found in sites discovered by Karen Hardy, professor of Prehistoric Archaeology at the university and local archaeologist Martin Wildgoose. Their discovery means the west coast now represents the largest concentration of evidence for these early human populations anywhere in Scotland and show how they ventured much further north than previously believed. The discoveries have been announced in a paper entitled 'At the far end of everything: A likely Ahrensburgian presence in the far north of the Isle of Skye, Scotland'. Professor Karen Hardy said: 'This is a hugely significant discovery which offers a new perspective on the earliest human occupation yet known, of north-west Scotland.' The team included people from the universities of Leeds, Sheffield, Leeds Beckett and Flinders in Australia and they worked together to reconstruct the local landscape and changing sea levels. The period is immediately after the Younger Dryas, also known as the Loch Lomond Stadial, when much of the west of Scotland was buried under ice. Groups of nomadic hunter-gathers who were most likely of the Ahrensburgian culture and from Northern Europe, crossed an area now covered by the North Sea known as Doggerland and established themselves on Skye. Professor Hardy added: 'The journey made by these pioneering people who left their lowland territories in mainland Europe to travel northwards into the unknown, is the ultimate adventure story. 'As they journeyed northwards, most likely following animal herds, they eventually reached Scotland, where the western landscape was dramatically changing as glaciers melted and the land rebounded as it recovered from the weight of the ice. 'A good example of the volatility they would have encountered can be found in Glen Roy, where the world-famous Parallel Roads provide physical testament to the huge landscape changes and cataclysmic floods that they would have encountered, as they travelled across Scotland.' Read More When they reached Skye, it is believed they crafted tools from stone found locally and deliberately and strategically chose where to base themselves to have good access to coastal and riverine resources as well as natural materials like Ochre which was highly valued. The paper concludes by saying: 'While the number of Ahrensburgian findspots is low, they are spread widely across Scotland, including from the islands of Tiree, Orkney and Islay, that also imply significant sea journeys, suggesting a larger population than the number of finds might imply. 'To date, all Late Upper Palaeolithic (LUP) sites in Scotland have been discovered by chance, and there is insufficient evidence to address further questions regarding their adaptations and lifestyles. 'By reconstructing the geographical limitations imposed by ice sheet evolution, changes in Relative Sea Level (RSL) and river courses, it may be possible to focus on other likely locations – both onshore and offshore – and begin to uncover more evidence.' The paper adds: 'Recovering evidence for a LUP presence in Scotland presents challenges unmatched in continental Europe. However, despite being distant from its central area, the evidence from Skye reflects an Ahrensburgian presence at the extreme north- west continental limit, extending their distribution. 'The people who made these artefacts originated in the mainland of northwest Europe, crossed Doggerland into what is now Britain, and eventually reached the far north of the Isle of Skye. Here, they adapted to live in a fragmented, fluctuating, and volatile environment amid melting glaciers, mountains, and oceans – vastly different from the low-lying environments of their homelands on the northwestern edge of the Great European Plain.'
