Tuesday, September 01, 2009 LONDON: A new study has said that apple-shaped women with a waist bigger than 88cm are at increased risk of developing asthma - even if they have a normal body weight. It is well-known that being overweight raises the risk of asthma but the new study, by the Northern California Cancer Centre at Berkeley, suggests that the amount of weight women carry around the abdomen might be particularly important.For the study, the researchers analysed data on 88,304 female teachers and school administrators. They found that overweight women were 40 percent more likely to have asthma than women of a normal weight. Asthma was more than twice as likely in obese women, and more than three times as likely in extremely obese women than in those of normal body weight. The researchers also found that women of normal body weight, but with a waist circumference of more than 88cm were also at increased risk - around a third higher than those with a smaller waist. Body mass index (BMI) has been widely used as a standard measure of obesity. However, some scientists argue that waist circumference may be a more useful measure because it more closely reflects levels of visceral fat deposits found around the body's organs. Visceral fat is metabolically different from other types of fat found in the body, and may have different - and more profound - effects on health. "Visceral fat is metabolically more active - it can produce compounds that may cause inflammation. Inflammation may then be related to asthma," the BBC quoted author Julie Von Behren as saying. The study appears in the journal Thorax.
BEIRUT: Thousands of people converged Saturday on central Beirut to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafiq Hariri.Waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader, men, women and children gathered under sunny skies in Martyr's Square where members of the parliamentary majority were to address the crowd. The rally comes as final preparations are underway in The Hague for the launch of the international tribunal set up to bring Hariri's killers to justice. It also comes as the country prepares for legislative elections in June that will pit Western-backed political parties against a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.Hariri died in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 others. The assassination was widely blamed on then Lebanese power-broker Syria, which has denied any involvement. The attack on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since t...
Comments