News

Alcohol in Moderation

Local: Concern over sales of alcohol near food,
Wales Online, 1 March 2011.

SUPERMARKETS are helping to “normalise” alcohol by selling it throughout the store, a charity said today. A report by Alcohol Concern Cymru criticises the growing practice of...

 

Local: Patients denied obesity surgery because they're not fat enough,
Wales Online, 27 February 2011.

HUNDREDS of overweight patients are being refused life-saving obesity operations on the NHS because they aren’t fat enough. Wales on Sunday understands up to 1,000 people...

 

Local: Cardiff Street Pastors to end after community funding cut,
Guardian Cardiff, 25 February 2011.

Cardiff Street Pastors - a voluntary group who patrol the city's streets at night to help those vulnerable to crime - will be no more after vital funds have been cut. We reported...

 

National: Body Mass Index - BMI - 'misses obesity risks',
BBC News, 25 February 2011.

In this week's 'Scrubbing Up', nutrition expert Dr Margaret Ashwell OBE argues that using BMI alone could be missing some patients at risk of the diseases associated with obesity...

 

National: Hospital obesity admissions increase by 30% in a year,
BBC News, 24 February 2011.

The number of people admitted to hospital in England for obesity-related reasons rose by more than 30% last year. But NHS statistics also show the increase in obesity rates...

 

National: Alcohol deaths predicted to rise,
NHS Choices, 21 February 2011.

Experts have warned that "as many as a quarter of a million people will die from alcohol abuse over the next two decades unless the government takes the problem as seriously as it did...

 

National: Thousands are 'at risk of alcohol death' say doctors,
BBC News, 21 February 2011.

Poor alcohol regulation could cost up to 250,000 lives in England and Wales over the next 20 years, doctors warn. Writing in The Lancet, leading liver disease specialists say measures...

 

National: Why is alcohol consumption falling?,
BBC News, 15 February 2011.

Despite new evidence that more people are being treated in hospital for excessive drinking, the overall trend is that we are drinking less as a nation. Why? It's difficult to open a...

 

National: Hospital admissions for alcohol due to rise to 1.5m per year by 2015,
Alcohol Concern, 14 February 2011.

Rates of alcohol-related hospital admissions are due to rise to 1.5m per year by the end of this parliament if the Government does not invest in alcohol services, according to a...

 

National: Charity's concern at alcohol-related hospital admission,
BBC News, 14 February 2011.

The number of people admitted to hospital in the UK because of problem drinking could rise to 1.5 million a year by 2015, a charity says. Alcohol Concern estimates that it will cost...

 

Local: 300 on clinic obesity list,
Wales Online, 10 February 2011.

BLAENAU Gwent is the second- worst obesity hotspot in Britain. The Assembly’s health minister Edwina Hart heard the worrying news on a visit to Ysbyty Aneurin Bevan’s weight...

 

National: Cash incentives for weight loss studied,
NHS Choices, 10 February 2011.

Obese people are "more motivated to shed pounds if they're paid", reported the Daily Mail. However, "the weight might creep back on once the monetary carrot is gone." The story...

 

Local: Lifestyle choices are vital in cutting cancer,
Wales Online, 7 February 2011.

THOUSANDS of cases of Wales’ most common cancers could be prevented by simple changes to people’s lifestyle, it has been claimed. The World Cancer Research Fund...

 

Local: The World Cancer Research Fund has drawn up 10 recommendations, which include the best advice for reducing the risk of cancer,
Wales Online, 7 February 2011.

Be as lean as possible without becoming underweight. Maintaining a healthy weight is one of the most important things you can do to reduce your risk of cancer. Be physically active for...

 

National: Obesity affects one in 10 adults around the world,
BBC News, 4 February 2011.

One in 10 of the world's adults is obese, according to a joint UK-US study published in The Lancet. Imperial College London and Harvard researchers studied body mass index (BMI)...

 

National: Healthy lifestyle 'would prevent 79,000 cancers a year',
Telegraph, 4 February 2011.

Breast and bowel cases could be almost cut in half, with respective reductions of 42 and 43 per cent, the charity has calculated. The changes would involve people taking regular...

 

National: How obesity is reshaping our world,
BBC News, 3 February 2011.

Ambulances are the latest vehicles to face up to one inarguable fact - as a nation, we are getting bigger and that poses a huge design headache. You can't move nowadays for...

 

National: Managers are heavier drinkers than manual workers,
BBC News, 27 January 2011.

People in managerial jobs drink more than their counterparts in manual jobs, official statistics show. The annual Lifestyle Survey, published by the Office for National Statistics reflects...

 

National: New approach to weight loss debated,
NHS Choices, 24 January 2011.

"The Daily Mail says that "staying fat may be better for your health". The newspaper reports that there is evidence that "overweight people live longer than normal" and that they...

 

National: Unhealthy lifestyles linked to UK cancer rates,
NHS Choices, 24 January 2011.

"British women are more likely to develop breast cancer than females from some of the poorer countries in the world, shocking new figures show," reports the Daily Express...

 

National: Alcohol and poor diet linked to UK breast cancer rates,
Telegraph, 24 January 2011.

Analysis of data collected by the respected World Health Organisation shows Britain has higher rates of the potentially fatal disease than the USA, Australia, Germany and Spain...

 

National: How we documented Laura Hall's battle with booze,
BBC News, 24 January 2011.

I'm the executive producer of Laura Hall: My Battle With Booze. We read about Laura, like so many people, when she hit the headlines earlier this year. Newspapers named her the...

 

National: 'My type 2 diabetes was cured after gastric bypass op',
BBC News, 23 January 2011.

Steven Greggains is looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of his HGV. Just a few weeks ago, his licence was under threat because of his type 2 diabetes. He wasn't allowed...

 

National: Newsbeat's 'booze calculator',
BBC Newsbeat, 21 January 2011.

Click on the drinks you bought and the Newsbeat 'booze calculator' will tell you what they've done to your body and your bank account. The calculator uses Adobe Flash technology...

 

Local: Minimum alcohol price levels planned by coalition,
BBC News, 18 January 2011.

Ministers have unveiled plans to set a minimum price for alcohol in England and Wales. They say banning shops and bars from selling drinks for less than the tax paid on them will cut...

 

Local: How can raising the price of alcohol improve health?,
BBC News, 18 January 2011.

Health campaigners say a minimum price for a unit of alcohol should be introduced in the UK to help tackle the nation's rise in problem drinking. The government in England and Wales...

 

Local: Minimum alcohol price levels planned by coalition,
BBC News, 18 January 2011.

Plans for a minimum price for alcohol in England and Wales are to be announced by ministers. Shops and bars will be prevented from selling drinks for less than the tax they pay on them...

 

National: How to get your health back on track,
Wales Online, 12 January 2011.

Like many people, I completely overindulged during the festive period but unlike my friends who have started 2011 determined to get fit and healthy, I’m finding it a real struggle...

 

National: Hidden male victims of domestic abuse,
BBC News, 10 January 2011.

As many as four percent of men have been victims of domestic abuse according to crime statistics for England and Wales, and charities say an increasing number of victims are...

 

Local: Better medical service will improve prisoners’ health and management,
Wales Online, 10 January 2011.

Lucy Merredy explains why a comprehensive forensic medical service in Wales will mean a better service for prisoners and benefit the wider society. IN the increasingly complex...

 

Local: Cardiff Street Pastors see in new year by keeping city centre streets safe, Guardian Cardiff, 4 January 2011.

Cardiff Street Pastors have been helping keep the city centre's streets safe for more than two years, but have never been out New Year's Eve. We joined them on one of the...

 

National: Teen heart risks 'can be tackled', a study suggests,
BBC News, 4 January 2011.

Health campaigns targeted at teens could help reduce their risk of heart problems as adults, a study suggests. Concerns have been raised that warning signs like high cholesterol are...

 

Did you know

  •    You are entitled to review your medications with your local pharmacist free of charge.
  •    A healthy balanced diet, taking more exercise and losing weight if necessary may delay the onset of diabetes.
  •    Young people aged 13-25 years can access free, confidential sexual health advice and condoms from the Cardiff Condom-Card (C-Card) Scheme.
  •    A reduction in dietary salt intake from 9g to 6g could reduce blood pressure.
  •    In England and Wales, alcohol misuse leads to some 33,000 hospital admissions each year for alcohol-related liver disease.
  •    Improving your diet could prevent an estimated third of cancers.
  •    Over 40% of 5 year olds in Cardiff have one or more decayed teeth.
  •    Currently, over half of the population of Cardiff are reported to be overweight or obese.
  •    If you drive at twice the legal alcohol limit you are at least 30 times more likely to cause a road crash, than a driver who hasn't been drinking.
  •    A healthy balance diet, physical activity and maintaining a healthy body weight have been shown to be effective in the prevention and treatment of hypertension.
  •    Obesity is associated with a reduction in life expectancy of approximately 9 years.
  •    Regular exercise can really help if you're feeling depressed, stressed or anxious.
  •    A diet rich in fruit and vegetables decreases the risk of coronary heart disease.
  •    Of the people alive today, 650 million will eventually be killed by tobacco.
  •    An extra portion of fruit and vegetables per day could decrease the risk of coronary heart disease by 4% and stroke by 6%.
  •    If you are regularly physically active, you are 50% less likely of becoming obese.
  •    Nearly £2000 a year could be saved by quitting smoking 20 cigarettes per day.
  •    If you are regularly physically active, you are approximately 50% less likely to develop coronary health disease than those who do not exercise.
  •    By taking regular physical activity you are at reduced risk of developing osteoporosis.
  •    Smoking during pregnancy has been identified as a cause of cot death.
  •    In Wales, the total cost of physical inactivity to the health service and the economy as a whole is estimated at around £650 million per year.
  •    6,000 deaths from coronary heart disease in men each year are directly due to alcohol.
  •    Only 26% of adults in Cardiff undertake the recommended 5 x 30 minutes exercise per week.