26.1% Indians are overweight; 6.2% obese: NNMS

Rx – Recipere

Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare

“The National Programme for Prevention and Control of Deafness will target over 6% of India’s population with Disabling Hearing Loss. With an annual implementation budget of 35 Crore (5 Million USD), funded fully by the Government of India, the national programme for prevention and control of deafness now covers 595 districts in the country, reaching nearly 80% of the country’s population and is growing every year.”

26.1% Indians are overweight; 6.2% obese: NNMS

A total of 11139 households and 10659 adults completed the survey. The prevalence of tobacco and alcohol use was 32.8% (95% CI: 30.8–35.0) and 15.9% (95% CI: 14.2–17.7) respectively. More than one-third adults were physically inactive [41.3% (95% CI: 39.4–43.3)], majority [98.4% (95% CI: 97.8–98.8)] consumed less than 5 servings of fruits and / or vegetables per day and mean salt intake was 8 g/day (95% CI: 7.8–8.2). Proportion with raised blood pressure and raised blood glucose were 28.5% (95% CI: 27.0–30.1) and 9.3% (95% CI: 8.3–10.5) respectively. 12.8% (95% CI: 11.2–14.5) of adults (40–69 years) had ten-year CVD risk of ≥30% or with existing CVD. NNMS is the first comprehensive fully digitalized national level survey that provides key estimates on NCD risk factors according to the National NCD framework and action plan of India.

Scientists identify more than 140,000 virus species in the human gut

Viruses are the most numerous biological entities on the planet. Now researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) have identified over 140,000 viral species living in the human gut, more than half of which have never been seen before. The number and diversity of the viruses the researchers found was surprisingly high, and the data opens up new research avenues for understanding how viruses living in the gut affect human health.

The human gut is an incredibly biodiverse environment. In addition to bacteria, hundreds of thousands of viruses called bacteriophages, which can infect bacteria, also live there.

Belly fat resistant to every-other-day fasting

Using state-of-the-art instruments, University of Sydney researchers discovered that fat around the stomach, which can accumulate into a ‘protruding tummy’ in humans, was found to go into ‘preservation mode’, adapting over time and becoming more resistant to weight loss. The findings are published today in Cell Reports.

Study reveals details of immune defense guidance system

At the beginning of an immune response, a molecule known to mobilise immune cells into the bloodstream, where they home in on infection sites, rapidly shifts position, a new study shows. Researchers at NYU School of Medicine say this indirectly amplifies the attack on foreign microbes or the body’s own tissues.

High life satisfaction linked to better overall health

New research from UBC finds that higher life satisfaction is associated with better physical, psychological and behavioural health. The research, published recently in The Milbank Quarterly, found that higher life satisfaction is linked to 21 positive health and well-being outcomes.