The Health News UK March 26 2018

• According to a large study, being overweight or obese is a growing cause of cancer in the UK while cases caused by smoking are falling.  Cancer Research UK found more than a third of all cases of cancer were avoidable – some 135,000. The charity also found that excess weight now caused 6.3% of all cancer cases – up from 5.5% in 2011- while smoking as a cause had declined.
• The Government has proposed that the vast majority of fruit juices will be banned from advertising aimed at children in a bid to cut down on juvenile obesity.  Under new rules, 90% of fruit juices on the market will be deemed too sugary to advertise, with only those highest in fibre and “bits” eligible for promotion. Currently only 9% are banned.
• A study has found that 1 in 5 children has at least 1 energy drink every day and 1 in 20 consumes 3 or more. Heavy use of the high-sugar, high-caffeine products has been linked to raised anxiety, sleep difficulty, palpitations, shakes and stomach and concentration problems. Boys tended to consume slightly more energy drinks – 21.9% had at least one a day compared to 18.9% of girls.

News on Health Professional Radio. Today is the 26th of March 2018. Read by Tabetha Moreto.

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-43502144

According to a large study, being overweight or obese is a growing cause of cancer in the UK while cases caused by smoking are falling.  Cancer Research UK found more than a third of all cases of cancer were avoidable – some one hundred thirty five thousand. The charity also found that excess weight now caused six point three percent of all cancer cases – up from five point five percent in two thousand eleven – while smoking as a cause had declined.

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Cancer Research UK found the country with the greatest proportion of preventable causes of cancer was Scotland with forty one point five percent, followed by Northern Ireland on thirty eight percent, Wales on thirty seven point eight percent, and England on thirty seven point three percent. Across the UK, smoking remained by far the leading cause of preventable cancer, although it dropped from nineteen point four percent in two thousand eleven to fifteen point one percent. Second was being overweight or obese, and third was exposure to UV radiation from the sun and sunbeds.
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Cancer Research UK found overexposure to UV radiation caused about thirteen thousand six hundred cases of melanoma skin cancer a year – or three point eight percent of all cancer cases. Other preventable causes of cancer included drinking alcohol and eating too little fibre, it said. However, overall the analysis found the proportion of preventable cases of cancer had fallen – from forty two point seven percent in two thousand eleven to thirty seven point seven percent.

Cancer Research UK said the figures showed smoking prevention strategies were working, but more work was needed to tackle the growing problem of obesity.

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https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/03/23/fruit-juice-ban-ads-aimed-children-sugar-crackdown/

The Government has proposed that the vast majority of fruit juices will be banned from advertising aimed at children in a bid to cut down on juvenile obesity.  Under new rules, ninety percent of fruit juices on the market will be deemed too sugary to advertise, with only those highest in fibre and “bits” eligible for promotion. Currently only nine percent are banned.

Fruit juices have not been deemed unhealthy per se, and Public Health England still recommends that one hundred fifty milliliter diluted and consumed with a meal is acceptable.
However, the proposed new framework reflects growing disquiet around the the amount of juice children are drinking, some of which contain more sugar than certain fizzy drinks.

The proportion of milkshakes allowed to be marketed at children will also be slashed from just under three quarters to fifty five percent as part of a wider strategy to tackle soaring obesity levels. The measures, which have been published for consultation, were last night welcomed by health campaigners who said they showed the Government was starting to “get real” about the dangers of too much juice. They come a fortnight ahead of the introduction of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy – dubbed the “sugar tax” – which imposes a tax on sodas, such as some Coca-Cola and Pepsi products, containing more than five grams of sugar per one hundred milliliters. Fruit juices and milkshakes, however, are exempt.

Under the updated Nutrient Profiling Model, products which receive a negative score are banned from advertising during programming believed to attract an audience comprising twenty five percent or more children. This includes advertisements on all broadcast media, print, social media and in cinemas.
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https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/schoolchildren-risk-developing-severe-health-12250394

A study has found that one in five children has at least one energy drink every day and one in twenty consumes three or more.  Heavy use of the high-sugar, high-caffeine products has been linked to raised anxiety, sleep difficulty, palpitations, shakes and stomach and concentration problems.

Doctor Nicky Knights, of the Amy Winehouse Foundation, said use was highest among children from deprived backgrounds. She backed the Mirror’s campaign to ban sales of energy drinks to under- sixteens, adding: “You don’t expect to see kids in Starbucks with huge cups of coffee, but they can go into a supermarket and buy these drinks loaded with caffeine and sugar.” Doctor Knights also criticised the way some drinks seemed to specifically target children with bright packaging, sweet tastes and sports sponsorship.
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Results of the study of two thousand five hundred eleven to eighteen-year-olds were presented at a Public Health England conference.
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For the latest study, carried out between two thousand fifteen and two thousand seventeen, more than two thousand five hundred secondary school children aged eleven to eighteen from both state and private schools were surveyed about their diet and health. In total, more than twenty percent said they drank at least one energy drink every day. Nearly ten percent had two or more a day and five percent drank at least three every day.
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Boys tended to consume slightly more energy drinks – twenty one point nine percent had at least one a day compared to eighteen point nine percent of girls.

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