Emmy nominations 2023: 'Succession' and 'The Last of Us' are poised to win big
HBO absolutely dominated the nominations for the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, which were announced July
2023-07-13 01:21
'Barbie' is turning London pink
The promotional tour for Greta Gerwig's Barbie, easily the most anticipated film of the year,
2023-07-13 00:53
The World Is Losing the Battle to Wipe Out Hunger by End of Decade
The world risks losing its battle to end hunger by the end of the decade, despite signs that
2023-07-13 00:48
Prue Leith says the state must ‘sometimes’ step in to tackle child obesity
Prue Leith has said that the state “sometimes” needs to step in to deal with child obesity, after a report claimed that every UK government in the last 30 years has feared being labelled a “nanny state”. The Great British Bake Off judge said politicians must make a “really massive effort” to address issues that contribute to obesity and give people practical lessons and skills. Speaking at a hearing of The Times Health Commission, she said: “Sometimes the state has to be a nanny. We don’t mind the fact that the nanny state insists we go to school to learn maths. “So the nanny state who has to pay enormous sums of money to rectify the problem of obesity has every right to want the nation to learn to like good food and to learn about nutrition.” The Times Health Commission is a year-long inquiry set up to consider the future of health and social care in England. Leith continued at the hearing: “The long and short of getting people to eat healthy food is that if they don’t like it, they won’t do it. Even if they do it for a week they won’t do it for longer. So the only way to tackle it, I think is to get them to like it.” The South African chef cited cooking lessons as an effective way of helping people to learn how to eat healthier. “I think government after government have played around with this at the edges, there has been a little bit of enthusiasm and then it’s dropped again. It just has to be a really massive effort,” she added. Leith also believed there not “any point in lecturing everybody” about nutrition and said: “The poorest person in the country knows that vegetables are better for them than chocolate bars. But the knowledge isn’t enough. “So people who just say, ‘education, education’, yes, education is important. But the main thing is physical. Getting to like it,” she said. Leith’s comments come after the Institute for Government (IfG) published a report in April that claimed “fear of ‘nanny statism’” has resulted in politicians being “afraid of interfering in people’s choices, especially their diets”. Dr Dolly Theis, an expert in obesity policy at the University of Cambridge, told the Guardian: “Some governments have done much more than others. But the IfG is right that a general desire to avoid accusations of nanny statism, a lack of understanding about the issue, and a lack of political prioritisation have all contributed to this chronic policy failure.” This week, the government said in a new report that the link between the “higher consumption of ultra-processed foods and adverse health outcomes are concerning”, but did not recommend that a new labelling system be put in place to inform consumers of the risks. The report stopped short in spite of MPs suggesting in parliament that health warnings should be considered on packaging for “highly addictive” ultra-processed foods. In a previous statement, the Department for Health and Social Care said: “We are taking firm action to help people live healthier lives, including introducing restrictions on where unhealthy food is placed in supermarkets, calorie labelling on menus, and we work closely with industry to make it easier for people to make healthy food choices. “Trials of new obesity treatments and technologies are being backed by £20m of government funding, and we will introduce restrictions banning adverts on TV for foods and drinks high in fat, salt or sugar before 9pm, as well as paid-for adverts online.” Read More Nigella says extravagant dinner parties are a thing of the past – I wish she was wrong From Queen Camilla to Mary Berry: Who is in the Royal Box on the 10th day of Wimbledon? What are pani puri? The much-loved Indian street snack known by different names across the country Jennette McCurdy says her mother would ‘measure her thighs’ when she was 11 Children say ‘I’m bored’ 7 times a week – 7 ways to prevent it What are weight loss injections and what’s the controversy?
2023-07-13 00:23
Taiwanese Pop Star Jay Chou’s Mom to Pocket $54 Million With Coffee IPO
Taiwanese pop superstar Jay Chou’s mother is about to become very rich from her son’s image. On Thursday,
2023-07-13 00:16
10 Terrifyingly Huge Birds You Should Know
The biggest birds on Earth stand taller than the average human and have the attitude to match. Here are 10 intimidating-looking species from around the world.
2023-07-12 23:27
Flights Are Getting Cheaper as Summer Travel Season Ramps Up
The cost of a plane ticket plunged in the early days of the summer travel season, continuing a
2023-07-12 23:25
Jennette McCurdy says her mother would ‘measure her thighs’ and ‘weigh her daily’ when she was 11
Jennette McCurdy has detailed how her mother encouraged her to engage in disordered eating when she was 11 years old. The former Nickelodeon star, 31, previously said that her mother, Debra McCurdy, “explicitly” told her how to eat in a way that would delay puberty so that she could continue to land child roles and therefore support her family financially. In a new interview with Louis Theroux on his podcast, The Louis Theroux Podcast, the iCarly actor opened up about exactly what her mother would do to promote disordered eating. “We partnered up to count our calories, she weighed me daily, she measured my thighs with a measuring tape, she taught me what diuretics were and we read calorie books together,” she recalled. McCurdy said that, to her 11-year-old self, it “felt amazing” to be “partners in crime” with her mother, and Debra told her that it was a “secret we shouldn’t tell anyone”. “I thought that was great because it was like a secret code language, nobody else knows what we’re doing, we could nod to each other and know that we were in this together, and nobody would be part of this.” However, Debra’s tactics to keep her daughter’s calories under control led to an “arduous relationship with food” for McCurdy. McCurdy explained that she began acting when she was six years old and began booking more significant roles when she was 11. She recalled playing characters that were younger than her actual age because she looked younger, and how her mother “made it clear that that was really helpful because casting directors like to cast older kids to play younger roles”. The actor said that one day, she felt a “lump” on her chest area and went to her mother out of fear that it was cancer. Debra has been diagnosed with breast cancer when McCurdy was two years old and later recovered. “I always had this fear of cancer recurring for her, cancer for me… it was just a constant fear,” she explained. “She reached her hand up my shirt, felt the lump and said, ‘Oh, Netty, no, you don’t have cancer, you’re just getting boobies.’ “That was truly as horrifying to me because it meant growing up and it had always been really clear to me that my mum did not want me to grow up. Not just for acting, but it also felt like her worth was tied up in me being young. With me being young, she had something to do, she felt good, me growing up kind of felt like her loss of purpose.” McCurdy asked Debra what she could do to “stop” her breasts from growing, which is when she introduced her daughter to calorie restriction. Speaking about her mother’s own eating disorder, which she had had “for years”, McCurdy recalled that Debra began restricting her food intake at the age of 14 by eating “one donut a day”. “The idea that this was abuse, that this was unhealthy, I couldn’t go anywhere near the reality of it,” she said. “I kept clinging to, ‘Oh, mum’s doing this because it’s what’s best for me, it’s what’s best for my career, she clearly wants what’s good for me,’ and I think a part of her believed that she wanted me to have a better life than she had, but I don’t think she ever stopped to consider what that actually meant, what does that look like, what does my daughter want. “She just assumed that her dreams must be everyone’s dreams, because of narcissism, I guess.” In her 2022 memoir, I’m Glad My Mother Died, McCurdy opened up about the abusive childhood she endured at the hands of Debra, who died in 2013 after her breast cancer returned. During her interview with Theroux, she also revealed that her mother would shower her until she was “17 or 18” and would give her “breast and vaginal exams”. “She would give me breast or vaginal exams in the shower and said that she was checking for lumps – she was just checking for cancer,” she recalled. But when McCurdy voiced how “uncomfortable” the experiences were, her mother became “hysterical”. McCurdy grew up in California with Debra, her father Mark McCurdy, and her three older brothers, Dustin, Marcus and Scott. Her best-selling memoir led to a two-book deal with Penguin Random House’s Ballantine Books label. For anyone struggling with the issues raised in this piece, eating disorder charity Beat’s helpline is available 365 days a year on 0808 801 0677. NCFED offers information, resources and counselling for those suffering from eating disorders, as well as their support networks. Visit eating-disorders.org.uk or call 0845 838 2040. Read More Nigella says extravagant dinner parties are a thing of the past – I wish she was wrong From Queen Camilla to Mary Berry: Who is in the Royal Box on the 10th day of Wimbledon? Kevin Costner ‘ordered to pay estranged wife $129k in monthly child support’, double his offer Children say ‘I’m bored’ 7 times a week – 7 ways to prevent it What are weight loss injections and what’s the controversy? What is group B strep? Charity says pregnant women ‘in the dark’
2023-07-12 22:59
With 735 million people hungry, UN says world is 'off track' to meet its 2030 goal
By Leah Douglas About 735 million people worldwide faced chronic hunger in 2022, a figure much higher than
2023-07-12 22:53
Barbie and Bumble's new feature showers people with compliments
Want to have the best day ever?! Bumble and Barbie are teaming up to help.
2023-07-12 22:45
What are weight loss injections and what’s the controversy?
With new research emerging, more questions have been raised about weight-loss injections, how they work, and the risks involved. Here are some of your questions answered. What are weight loss injections? Championed by some celebrities, including Elon Musk, weight loss injections were originally created to treat people with type 2 diabetes and other weight-related health issues. They are a type of prescription-based medical treatment that interferes with your metabolism, regulates your appetite and as a result encourages weight loss. The drugs belong to a class of medications known as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, or GLP-1 RAs, which mimic the GLP-1 hormone, released in the gut after eating some food. The only FDA-approved stomach injections to help with weight management are semaglutide — sold under the brand names Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus — and liraglutide — sold under Saxenda. But others are in development. Helen Knight, programme director of the Centre for Health Technology Evaluation at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) said: “We know that management of overweight and obesity is one of the biggest challenges our health service is facing with nearly two-thirds of adults either overweight or obese. It is a lifelong condition that needs medical intervention, has psychological and physical effects, and can affect the quality of life. “But in recent years Nice has been able to recommend a new line of pharmaceutical treatments which have shown that those people using them, alongside changes to their diet and exercise, have been able to reduce their weight.” How do they work? According to Nice’s independent appraisal committee, drugs like semaglutide should only be prescribed to patients as an alternative for weight management — alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity in adults. They should also have a BMI of at least 35.0 kg/m2 (this is medically classified as obese), and especially, to people with a BMI of 30.0 kg/m2 to 34.9 kg/m2, have non-diabetic hyperglycaemia (blood sugar that is above normal but below those needed to diagnose diabetes) or are at high risk of other weight-related conditions such as strokes and heart attacks, due to other factors such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Using semaglutide as an example, a typical dose for weight loss is 2.4 milligrams, administered weekly as under-the-skin self-injections. How are they going to be rolled out? Nice formally recommended liraglutide, orlistat and semaglutide as medicines suitable to use for weight loss earlier this year. And with such drugs also available through online pharmacies by private prescription, a growing number of people have tried the jabs. If they are prescribed alongside a reduced-calorie diet, increased physical activity, and behavioural support, after a year, people taking them can lose up to 15% of their body weight, with results visible within the first month, according to the Nice clinical trials. Some weight loss injections are available on the NHS, but they are only prescribed under certain circumstances. Following an announcement of a £40 million two-year pilot on June 7, the government have said more people living with obesity will have access to the newest and most effective obesity drugs to help cut NHS waiting lists. What are the possible side effects? Europe’s drug regulator The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is investigating whether patients using some weight loss and obesity jabs are at risk of suicidal thoughts and thoughts of self-harm, which highlights some of the controversy surrounding the phenomenon. The EMA safety committee said it is looking at cases among people who use a semaglutide or liraglutide-containing medicine for weight loss – where “signals” were raised by the Icelandic Medicines Agency. “A signal is information on a new or known adverse event that is potentially caused by a medicine and that warrants further investigation,” the EMA said. “The case reports included two cases of suicidal thoughts, one following the use of Saxenda and one after Ozempic. One additional case reported thoughts of self-injury with Saxenda. “The semaglutide-containing medicine Wegovy and the liraglutide-containing medicine Saxenda are authorised for weight loss, together with diet and physical activity. “Suicidal behaviour is not currently listed as a side-effect in the EU product information of these medicines.” If you have a history of medullary thyroid cancer, gallbladder disease, or even pancreatitis, you should avoid taking weight loss injections like semaglutide. People who do take the prescription drug for weight loss sometimes experience dizziness, fatigue, and gastrointestinal issues — the most common side effects among patients — such as diarrhoea, constipation and gassiness. They are also at risk of getting headaches and stomach conditions including vomiting, bloating and nausea. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Journalist and author Yomi Adegoke on the real-life consequences of social media What is group B strep? Charity says pregnant women ‘in the dark’ Britney Spears: I worked my ass off to get my memoir written
2023-07-12 22:26
Worker dies in European heatwave as warnings issued to tourists – with temperatures to reach extreme levels
Much of Southern Europe is sweltering under an extreme heatwave pushing temperatures well past 40C – with Italy reporting the death of a street sign painter who collapsed working in the heat. The 44-year-old worker collapsed while on the job in the northern town of Lodi on Tuesday. He was rushed to hospital but doctors were unable to revive him, according to local media. It comes as nations across Southern Europe issued warnings to both residents and tourists, as millions of holidaymakers head off for their holidays on the Mediterranean. Temperatures could spike as high as 45C to 48C in parts of Sicily and Sardinia in Italy and Cordoba and Seville before the week is out. Temperatures are also starting to tick up in Greece, where a heat wave was forecast to reach up to 44C in some parts of the country in the coming days. The heatwave was named "Cerberus" after the three-headed monster dog in Greek mythology which guards the gates of the underworld. Ruben del Campo, of Aemet, the Spanish state meteorological agency, said: “In some points of the south the temperatures will reach 44C on Wednesday. More than 100 weather stations registered temperatures of at least 35C as early as 6am on Wednesday. “In general, in Andalusia, temperatures will be above 40C. The heat will be suffocating in Cordoba and Granada and areas of the Costa del Sol”. He added: “At night temperatures will not fall below 25C in Granada, Almeria, Seville and Las Palmas in the Canary Islands.” Mr Del Campo added that from Thursday temperatures would fall in the Balearic Islands and east of the country but not in the south and west of Spain. Cristina Linares, co-director of climate, health, and urban environment at the Carlos III Institute of Health in Madrid, proposed using libraries, health centres, churches and public transport as air-conditioned places which can be used by the elderly, pregnant women and those with breathing problems as temperatures soar. In Italy, 10 cities were put on high heat alert for older people and other vulnerable populations from Bolzano in the north extending southward to Bologna, Florence and Rome. Ms Linares also warned tourists to avoid heavy drinking in the heat. “People who are not used to living in hot countries should also be warned against heavy drinking of alcohol during heat waves,” she told The Independent. But some appeared happy to disregard that advice. Jack, 13, a British schoolboy who lives in Barcelona, started selling drinks on the beach with friends. “Most people seem to want cold water and beer but I am not allowed to sell beer. We have done well. I made €7,” he said. Many homes in Spain battened down the hatches against the heat, with all windows and shutters closed during the day. In Cádiz, in southern Spain, police used air-conditioning units which were seized in raids on drug factories and installed them in public schools, which are used in summer for children’s camps. If tourists struggle with the scorching heat during the day, trying to get to sleep at night with tropical temperatures over 25C in many parts of Spain will not be easy. Spain’s state-run RTVE television ran a report advising people on the tricks to sleep properly during a heat wave. “Sleep near a window, wear little in the way of clothes, drink as much as you can and if you still cannot sleep put on the air conditioning,” the reporter told viewers. In Greece, authorities banned access to nature reserves and forests to reduce the risk of wildfires, while municipalities were opening air-conditioned areas in public buildings for people to shelter from the heat. The country's agriculture ministry also issued restrictions on the transportation and working hours of animals such as horses and donkeys offering rides in tourist areas during the heat wave. Working animals will not be allowed to work between noon and 5pm on days where temperatures are between 35C to 39C in the shade, while they will not be allowed to work at any time of the day when temperatures exceed that range. Extreme heatwaves contributed to more than 60,000 deaths in Europe in 2022, according to a report issued earlier this week. The study, conducted by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and published in the journal Nature Medicine, estimated that 61,672 deaths were caused by extreme heat in Europe between 30 May and 4 September 2022. The highest temperature in European history was recorded in Syracuse, in Sicily in August 2021 at 48.8C. Read More G7 countries sign joint declaration in support of Ukraine at Nato summit Spain sweats out sultry nights as heat wave bakes southern Europe ‘You belong in Nato’ Rishi Sunak tells Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky Argentina turns its attention to youth divisions in search of a Messi-like player in women's soccer Red Hot Chili Peppers and Ms. Lauryn Hill will headline Global Citizen Festival to fight inequality With player stylists and Gucci collabs, MLB eyes a fresh look with younger fans
2023-07-12 22:24