Health

Increased use of social media and digital interactions are affecting the mental health of more young girls in India than boys, according to an expert.  Late childhood and adolescence are the age groups when personality starts developing and gradually solidifying before getting further established in the early 20s. Dr. Rakesh K Chadda, HoD, Psychiatry, Amrita Hospital, Faridabad said advances in technology are making adolescents and young adults aged between 15-25, vulnerable to developing mental health challenges. He blamed it on “the rise of information technology, particularly the increased use of social media and digital interactions” for the negative impact on health, especially mental well-being. It is because the overuse of technology has diminished physical activity and exercise...

Increasing heat wave conditions due to climate change may be detrimental to the health of people with diabetes -- about 537 million adults worldwide, according to a study. A team of endocrinologists and researchers from the University of Oxford, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and Queen Mary University of London argued that as climate change is increasing seasonal temperatures and causing more frequent heat waves, understanding their effects, especially on diabetics, has become more crucial than ever. Hormones play a role in nearly all biological functions -- controlling processes such as conservation of body water, sweating, and heat generation from cell metabolism -- yet the influence of environmental factors on hormone release and action is not well characterised...

Indian wrestler and Paris Olympics 2024 finalist Vinesh Phogat has reportedly been disqualified by the IOC from playing her final match against US wrestler Sarah Hildebrandt after it was found that she was 100 gm overweight in her 50 kilos category. The decision has left many Indians disappointed as it would have been India’s first chance at getting a gold or silver in this Olympics. Unfortunately, the dream seems unachievable, and worse for Phogat who has dealt with a lot in the last one year. In one of the most notable protests in Indian sports history, she along with other wrestlers Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia organised a protest against the Wrestling Federation of India’s president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and coaches for allegedly sexually harassing female wrestlers for years. Th...

Is your brain in a dilemma wondering if you should go for exercise or instead have those tasty extra fries? A study released by Swiss researchers on Tuesday may finally provide your answer.  Until now, science has had no idea what happens in our brain when we make this decision. Researchers at ETH Zurich have uncovered a key factor in the brain`s decision-making process when it comes to this particular decision. Scientists discovered that the chemical messenger orexin and its neurons may be transferable to humans, explaining why some resist temptations and maintain regular physical activity. Researchers found that mice with a blocked orexin system preferred a milkshake over exercise, while those with an intact orexin system spent more time on the running wheel and less time at the milks...

New findings show that all plants contain essential amino acids, countering the common but mistaken belief that plants lack one or more amino acids, giving them major health advantages over animal-based proteins, a belief that has long been held but has been finally demolished. “Plant-based proteins are associated with reduced mortality compared with animal proteins,” says Dr. Neal Barnard, adjunct professor of medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C. A major Harvard University study showed that when plant-based proteins are consumed instead of protein from beef, poultry, fish, dairy products, or eggs, mortality is reduced, as far as statistics are concerned. Long-term, high protein-high meat diets may cause bone and calcium...

Human miscarriages could finally be decoded by their mammalian counterparts, horses, shows a new study.  A study of horses, which share significant similarities with humans in chromosomes and pregnancies, revealed that 42 per cent of miscarriages and spontaneous abortions in the first two months of pregnancy were due to complications from an extra set of chromosomes, a condition called triploidy. “Over that embryonic period (up to eight weeks from conception), triploidy had rarely been reported in mammals outside of women,” said Mandi de Mestre, professor of equine medicine at Cornell University. “The study tells us that over the first six weeks of gestation, this will likely be the primary cause of pregnancy loss following natural conception,” said De Mestre who is the corresponding au...

Doctors at a private hospital in Hyderabad have successfully operated on a woman and son, suffering from aortic aneurysms. In what is claimed to be extremely rare case, the woman inherited the heart condition from her mother and the same was passed on to both her sons. Although such conditions can occur due to genetic factors, the occurrence of the extremely rare Marfan Syndrome is even rarer, affecting only 0.19 people per 100,000. Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon Vishal V. Khante said mother and son were successfully treated with surgery at Kamineni Hospital, where the doctors replaced the aneurysmal aorta with an artificial one, saving their lives. According to doctors, this family is significantly tall and faces various issues. Their bones and ligaments are weak, and they have pro...

Employers must provide better support to breastfeeding mothers who return to work, said health experts on Monday, as part of the ongoing World Breastfeeding Week. World Breastfeeding Week is held in the first week of August every year, supported by WHO and UNICEF. The theme for 2024 is Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding Support for All. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby`s life. Breastfeeding plays a significant role in promoting a child`s health due to its many benefits for both the baby and the mother. Breast milk provides the perfect balance of nutrients essential for the growth and development of the baby. It is easier to digest and offers emotional security. Babies who are breastfed tend to have higher IQs and be...

Childhood obesity is one of the leading and steadily increasing health concerns, experts said on Sunday.  With a large segment of the population falling in the younger age group, childhood obesity is a growing concern that could lead to significant health problems in adulthood. Addressing the rising issue of childhood obesity in India, experts emphasise the long-term health risks associated with it and the need for early intervention. Initiatives like school-based education and healthy meal programs are crucial in managing and preventing obesity. Lifestyle changes remain the primary tool so that adulthood risks can be managed, with bariatric surgery remaining an option for more serious/specific cases. "Childhood obesity is a significant problem in our country, given our large young popu...

Losing just an hour of sleep at night may be harmful to health and lead to problems with memory and focus, according to an expert. The human body requires an optimum sleep duration of 7-8 hours per night. But when people do not get adequate sleep, “it results in various problems, such as poor attention, focus, concentration and memory,” said Dr Sudhir Kumar from Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, in a post on X. “Losing just one hour of sleep could take up to four days of time to recover,” he added. He noted that poor sleep also increases the risk of headaches, anxiety and stress. People deprived of sleep are more likely to make “poor decisions, and have driving errors, leading to more vehicle crashes”. In addition, “sleep deprivation is associated with higher risk of diabetes...