The Health News Australia February 28 2018

  • A new report on the nutrition policies of Australia’s major supermarket chains has found they could be doing much more to promote healthy eating. A first-of-its-kind study conducted by the Global Obesity Centre at Deakin University has assessed the nutrition policies of Australia’s major supermarkets, finding they could be doing much more to encourage healthy eating. In the UK several supermarkets have committed to providing healthy checkouts with no chocolates, soft drinks or lollies on display and the researchers are calling for Australia to follow suit.
  • An Australian-first study of medicinal cannabis as a treatment for the debilitating neurological condition Tourette syndrome is set to be launched in Brisbane. Many people with the condition also experience anxiety, depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. The condition is associated with bullying and poor academic performance in childhood and adolescence, and with unemployment and social isolation as an adult.
  • Alcohol-related diseases are being blamed for causing the deaths of nearly 6000 Australians each year. A study by the National Drug Research Institute at Western Australia’s Curtin University has found an estimated 5,785 people aged over 15 died from alcohol-attributable causes in 2015. Breast cancer and liver disease were the main causes of death for women, while most men died from liver disease and bowel cancer.

News on Health Professional Radio. Today is the 28th of February 2018. Read by Tabetha Moreto.

https://healthtimes.com.au/hub/nutrition-and-hydration/42/news/aap/health-experts-calls-for-australias-supermarket-giants-to-remove-all-junk-food-and-soft-drinks/3198/

A new report on the nutrition policies of Australia’s major supermarket chains has found they could be doing much more to promote healthy eating. A first-of-its-kind study conducted by the Global Obesity Centre at Deakin University has assessed the nutrition policies of Australia’s major supermarkets, finding they could be doing much more to encourage healthy eating. Lead author Associate Professor Gary Sacks said : “Unhealthy diets and obesity are leading contributors to poor health in Australia. Tackling the issue requires a comprehensive societal response, including government policy and wide-scale action from the food industry, which includes our supermarkets.”

Researchers rated the policies of Woolworths, Coles, Aldi and IGA out of one hundred in the review which examined six key areas including nutrition labelling, promotion practices and product accessibility. The data included publicly available information collected until the end of two thousand seventeen plus policy information provided by the retailers.

The information was then assessed using the ‘Business Impact Assessment – Obesity and Population Nutrition tool’ developed by INFORMAS, a global network of public health researchers that monitor food environments worldwide. Woolworths ranked the highest, scoring forty six out of one hundred, while IGA scored just eight points.

In the UK several supermarkets have committed to providing healthy checkouts with no chocolates, soft drinks or lollies on display and the researchers are calling for Australia to follow suit.

The researchers have also called for the supermarkets to have fewer price discounts on chocolates and chips and instead make healthy, fresh produce more affordable.

http://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/medicinal-cannabis-trial-for-tourette-syndrome-patients-at-wesley/news-story/6fcf98fe66b3cd65a1ebe3b59c53281f

An Australian-first study of medicinal cannabis as a treatment for the debilitating neurological condition Tourette syndrome is set to be launched in Brisbane. Wesley Medical Research Institute neuropsychiatrist Philip Mosley will trial a medicinal cannabis product in twenty four adults with severe Tourette syndrome – a disorder which begins in childhood and is characterised by involuntary movements and vocalisations. Many people with the condition also experience anxiety, depression and obsessive compulsive disorder.

The condition is associated with bullying and poor academic performance in childhood and adolescence, and with unemployment and social isolation as an adult. Existing treatments include antipsychotic medications, which suppress involuntary movements, but they are also associated with severe side-effects, including weight gain and high cholesterol.

Doctor Mosley said deep brain stimulation was also effective in Tourette syndrome patients but it was costly and highly invasive, requiring surgery. Doctor Mosley said he expected the medical cannabis trial to begin mid-year with a pharmaceutical product containing a mixture of cannabidiol or CBD and tetrahydrocannabinol or THC – two of the chemical compounds in cannabis.

The treatment will be given as a tablet or in liquid form.

The trial has been made possible through a one hundred thousand dollar grant from the Wesley Medical Research Institute.

https://www.perthnow.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/alcohol-related-disease-claims-6000-lives-ng-s-1833637

Alcohol-related diseases are being blamed for causing the deaths of nearly six thousand Australians each year. A study by the National Drug Research Institute at Western Australia’s Curtin University has found an estimated five thousand seven hundred eighty five people aged over fifteen died from alcohol-attributable causes in two thousand fifteen. Just over a third died from alcohol-attributed cancer, with injuries, cardiovascular disease and digestive diseases linked to seventeen percent of deaths.

Breast cancer and liver disease were the main causes of death for women, while most men died from liver disease and bowel cancer. As well as the two thousand people who died from alcohol-attributable cancer, another thirteen thousand were hospitalised with cancers linked to low or moderate drinking levels.

Terry Slevin, education and research director at Cancer Council Western Australia , said many people would be shocked to learn that more than one third of alcohol-related deaths were linked to cancer.

The study said while national trends in alcohol-attributable deaths appeared to have remained fairly stable over time, there had been a slight increase in hospitalisation rates between two thousand three and two thousand thirteen. More than one hundred forty four thousand hospitalisations were linked to alcohol in the two thousand twelve and two thousand thirteen financial year, with most cases linked to alcohol dependence and falls.

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