Five in Six Infants Undernourished, Risk Irreversible Mental and Physical Damage: U.N.

Five in six children under two years old in developing countries are not getting enough of the right kinds of food, putting them at risk of irreversible mental and physical damage, the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF said on Friday. Half of children aged between six and 23 months are not being fed frequently enough, UNICEF said. And a widespread lack of solid foods and variety of ingredients are depriving the same age group of essential nutrients when their growing brains, bones and bodies need them the most, the agency said.…

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Dubai’s Burj Khalifa Lit Up in Pink for Breast Cancer

The facade of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in the Gulf emirate of Dubai, was lit up in pink on thursday to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer. The lights will be turned on for the next two days, and then on the same days in the coming weeks, to mark “Pink October”, an annual breast cancer awareness month, said Burj’s developer, Emaar Properties. Visitors to the tower, which stands at 823 metres (2,700 yards), have been invited to “dress in pink to show their support” for…

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5.5 Lakh Head and Neck Cancer Cases Every Year in India: Experts

Head and neck cancers account for more than 5.5 lakh of the total cancer cases reported in India every year, putting India in the sixth place worldwide, said health experts. Quoting the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the experts said approximately eight lakh cases are diagnosed each year, out of which 5.5 lakh cases are of head and neck cancer. “Primarily a lifestyle-related disease, such cancer is highly preventable. As much as 80 per cent of the causation is attributed to tobacco consumption, while 75 per cent is due…

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50% Rise in Diabetes Deaths Across India Over 11 Years

With a genetic predisposition brought to the fore by changing lifestyles, deaths due to diabetes increased 50 per cent in India between 2005 and 2015, and is now the seventh-most common cause of death in the country, up from 11th rank in 2005, according to data published by the Global Burden of Disease (GBD). Ischemic heart disease continues to be the highest cause of death, followed by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cerebrovascular disease, lower respiratory infection, diarrhoeal diseases and tuberculosis. In 2015, 346,000 people died of diabetes, which caused 3.3…

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World Obesity Day 2016: This Global Killer is on the Rise in the Developing World

More people in the world are obese than underweight, with child and adolescent obesity rising rapidly, particularly in developing nations, the United Nations said ahead of the second annual World Obesity Day on Tuesday. Here are some facts about obesity: – Worldwide obesity has more than doubled since 1980. – In 2014, more than 1.9 billion adults were overweight. Of these over 600 million, or 13 percent of the global population, were obese. – 3.4 million people die each year due to overweight and obesity. – Obesity is on the…

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Late Pregnancies May Increase Risk of Autism in Kids

Parents who reproduce later in life are more likely to have children who develop autism disorders, a study finds. The study, published in the journal Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, suggested that late reproduction was not associated with increased risk for schizophrenia in offspring. The authors used a sample of about 1.7 million people out of which approximately 6.5 per cent were diagnosed with autistic or schizophrenic disorders during this time. Their data included autistic and schizophrenic diagnoses for up to 30 years of age and over 20 potentially confounding…

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