Obesity rates are set to skyrocket, with one in six children and adolescents worldwide forecast to be obese by 2050, according to a new study. But with significant increases predicted within the next five years, the researchers stress urgent action now could turn the tide on the public health crisis.
Read more …A third of children worldwide forecast to be obese or overweight by 2050
A 'chasm of misunderstanding and miscommunication' is often experienced between clinicians and patients, leading to autoimmune diseases such as lupus and vasculitis being wrongly diagnosed as psychiatric or psychosomatic conditions, with a profound and lasting impact on patients, researchers have found. A study involving over 3,000 participants -- both patients and clinicians -- found that these misdiagnoses (sometimes termed 'in your head' by patients) were often associated with long term impacts on patients' physical health and wellbeing and damaged trust in healthcare services.
Read more …Chronic diseases misdiagnosed as psychosomatic can lead to long term damage to physical and mental...
Gut microbes that were thought to feed exclusively on dietary fiber also get fed sugar from our guts, from which they produce short-chain fatty acids that are crucial to many body functions. The discovery of this symbiotic relationship also points the way to developing novel therapeutics.
Read more …We feed gut microbes sugar, they make a compound we need