Using Facebook.....

Using Facebook makes us more likely to eat unhealthy snacks by lowering our self-control

• Those who chatted with close friends via social network had higher levels of self-esteem but this caused a dip in self-control
• This meant users were more likely to snack on unhealthy snacks immediately after logging off

By Claire Bates
PUBLISHED: 11:38 GMT, 20 December 2012 | UPDATED: 12:50 GMT, 20 December 2012

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Using Facebook makes you fat - but not for the reason you might think.
Researchers found those who socialised regularly with their friends on the networking website had higher levels of self-esteem but lower levels of self-control.
This meant they were more likely to snack on unhealthy food once they had logged off - particularly if they had been chatting with close friends.

Most at risk: Teenagers and young adults are the heaviest users of social networks and have grown up using them

The team from Columbia University and the University of Pittsburgh suggested it was this factor that could be driving weight gain rather than by encouraging users to be sedentary.

Writing in the Journal of Consumer Research, they explained: 'Using online social networks can have a positive effect on self-esteem and well-being. However, these increased feelings of self-worth can have a detrimental effect on behaviour.

'Because consumers care about the image they present to close friends, social network use enhances self-esteem in users who are focused on close friends while browsing their social network. This momentary increase in self-esteem leads them to display less self-control after browsing a social network.'

 

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The scientists used five experiments on the behaviour of Facebook users to see how it affected them when they were offline. 

The studies suggested there was a link between the use of the website and poor self-control over what they ate and how much money they spent.

Contacting your friends on Facebook can cause a dip in self-control

They found people who used Facebook to contact their friends were more likely to binge eat and be overweight. They also had higher levels of credit card debt.

The same was not true of people who focused on 'weak ties' - people they were less familiar with.

The findings have far-reaching implications as Facebook now has over one billion active users, which is one in seven of the world's population.

'These results are concerning given the increased time people spend using social networks, as well as the worldwide proliferation of access to social networks anywhere anytime via smartphones and other gadgets,' the authors said. 

'Given that self-control is important for maintaining social order and personal well-being, this subtle effect could have widespread impact. 

'This is particularly true for adolescents and young adults who are the heaviest users of social networks and have grown up using social networks as a normal part of their daily lives.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2251001/Using-Facebook-makes-likely-eat-unhealthy-snacks-lowering-self-control.html#ixzz2FbncK3V7
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The cheat's guide to exercise.....

The cheat's guide to exercise: Taking the stairs one at a time burns MORE calories than leaping up them

By Anna Hodgekiss
PUBLISHED: 16:59 GMT, 13 December 2012 | UPDATED: 17:10 GMT, 13 December 2012

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The next time someone bounds past you up the stairs, there's no need to feel guilty.

For ascending one step at a time actually burns more calories than leaping up multiple stairs, new research suggests.

Although more energy is initially expended when taking two steps per stride, over time, more energy is burnt up when you take your time.

Taking the stairs one at a time burns more calories than leaping up multiple steps, say British researchers 

Scientists from the University of Roehampton found climbing five flights of stairs five times a week - an ascent of around 15 meters - burnt an average of 302 calories if the stairs were taken one at a time.

But taking two steps with every stride will only burn 260 calories, they say.

Dr Lewis Halsey, senior lecturer in comparative and environmental physiology at the university, said: 'We were really interested to find out what expended more energy overall - attacking the stairs two at a time and climbing them quickly, or taking them more sedately one step at a time and reaching the top more slowly.

'Our study reported the calories burned ascending stairs, the potential weight loss value of climbing stairs if done regularly and frequently during the week, and also the different energy costs of ascending stairs one step at a time versus two steps at a time.

Previous research from the University of Ulster found office workers who began regularly climbing stairs quickly improved their fitness

'And our conclusion: it is better to take the stairs one at a time, if you want to burn the most calories.'

He added that the greater total energy expenditure of one-step ascents must be partly explained by the fact it takes longer. 

But there might be a biomechanical explanation, too. Taking the stairs one at a time may result in faster rates of muscle shortening, which increases energy turnover. 

Previous research from the University of Ulster found office workers who began regularly climbing stairs quickly improved their fitness. 

Researchers divided office workers into two groups. One climbed staircases located within an eight-storey office block, consisting of 145 steps. 

They began by climbing the stairs once a day and gradually built up to three over the following five weeks. 

The average speed they climbed was 75 steps a minute.At the end of the trial, the stairclimbing group showed a significant 10 per cent increase in a reading called predicted VO2 max. 

This is measured using your pulse — the time interval between your heartbeats is used to find out how well your body takes up and uses oxygen.

Lead researcher Rodney Kennedy said: 'Given that such improvement resulted from less than 30 minutes per week of moderate exercise, stair climbing in the workplace should be promoted as a health-enhancing physical activity.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2247582/The-cheats-guide-exercise-Taking-stairs-time-burns-MORE-calories-leaping-them.html#ixzz2FEEFvkPK
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A Cup of Coffee.....

Forget energy drinks - they're no more effective than a cup of coffee

• 'Overwhelming lack of evidence' that ingredients such as guarana enhance physical or cognitive performance
• New research suggests only useful ingredient is a generous dose of caffeine

By Emily Payne
PUBLISHED: 15:18 GMT, 14 December 2012 | UPDATED: 16:13 GMT, 14 December 2012

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New research suggests it is simply caffeine, rather than added ingredients such as guarana or taurine, that make energy drinks effective

With buzz-word ingredients such as guarana and ginseng, energy drinks have been heralded for their mind and body-boosting qualities. 

But according to new research, the only useful ingredient in beverages such as Redbull is caffeine.

The study, published in the Nutrition Reviews journal, found that while energy drinks often contain ingredients such as taurine, guarana and ginseng, there is an ‘overwhelming lack of evidence to substantiate claims that these ingredients boost performance’. 

It has been suggested that these drinks enhance physical and cognitive performance.
But the new research casts doubt over this, suggesting the main benefit is probably down to a generous dose of caffeine. 

Energy drinks often contain taurine, guarana, ginseng, glucuronolactone, B-vitamins, and other compounds. 

The researchers went through dozens of articles that examined the effects of energy ingredients alone and/or in combination with caffeine.

 

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With the exception of some weak evidence for glucose and guarana extract, there was little evidence substantiating claims that components of energy drinks, other than caffeine, contribute to the enhancement of physical or cognitive performance. 

Earlier this year, a study found that energy drinks have up to 14 times more caffeine than other soft drinks.

Furthermore, doctors warned that children given energy drinks could pile on the pounds because they are not active enough to burn off the extra calories.

Research published earlier this year warned children should never be given energy drinks, only fruit juice, milk and water

They say energy drinks – which contain between 10 and 270 calories a serving – should never be given to children.
Instead they should be offered water to quench their thirst, and drink the recommended daily amount of fruit juice and low-fat milk with meals.

A hidden problem with energy drinks is caffeine, which can reach toxic levels up to 14 times greater than in other soft drinks. The stimulant has been linked to seizures, diabetes, heart problems and behavioural disorders.

Children’s doctors renewed warnings about energy drinks, and the potential harm from sports drinks, following an expert report by members of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on Nutrition.

Dr Holly Benjamin, a lead author of the report, and a doctor at the Comer Children’s Hospital, part of the University of Chicago, said: ‘For most children engaging in routine physical activity, plain water is best.’

MailOnline has approached Red Bull for comment.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2248138/Forget-energy-drinks--theyre-effective-cup-coffee.html#ixzz2FDzM1a1T
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Cold, flu & fungal feet

Colds, flu... and fungal feet: How going to the gym could actually make you SICK

• Survey found almost three quarters of gym-goers have have witnessed poor hygiene
• Almost half admitted using towels or water bottles that didn't belong to them
• And more than a third admitted to exercising without deodorant or socks

By Anna Hodgekiss
PUBLISHED: 00:12 GMT, 11 December 2012 | UPDATED: 10:42 GMT, 11 December 2012

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Almost half of the gym users admitted using something in the gym that didn't belong to them, including towels, water bottles or toiletries

Going to the gym may not be as beneficial as you think because some fitness fans' poor hygiene could leave you ill, according to a new survey.

Almost three quarters (74%) of people polled by Nuffield Health said they had witnessed 'bad fitness etiquette' in the gym including poor hygiene like failing to clean sweaty equipment.

Almost half of those polled admitted using something in the gym that didn't belong to them, including towels, water bottles or toiletries.

Nuffield warned the behaviour could leave people open to catching colds and flu from other gym users, as well as fungal infections like athletes foot.

Sarah Marsh, the firm's professional head of fitness and wellbeing, said: 'Yes, it's unpleasant when the person before you hasn't wiped their sweat off the machine they've been using, but the health implications of this and the other hygiene issues our study revealed can be more wide ranging than this.

 

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'We encounter disease-causing germs every day, although generally few of us become ill. 

'We know these germs may easily be spread by unwashed hands - through direct contact with someone or indirectly through touching contaminated object.

'So, as the temperature dips outside, there are many more bugs around and our immune systems are challenged by the 'flu seasons' arrival - not wiping down gym equipment can help germs spread. 

Poor hygenie at the gym could leave people open to catching colds and flu from other gym users, as well as fungal infections like athletes foot

'These germs can cause not only vomiting and diarrhoea but also respiratory infections.'
The survey of 2,000 people also found that 22 per cent of people were put off exercise by poor hygiene or excessive nudity in changing rooms.

Eighteen per cent of exercisers admitted going to the gym when suffering from colds, coughing and sneezing.


And more than a third admitted to exercising without deodorant or socks on, while 16 per cent admitted not washing gym clothes between workouts.

As a result, Nuffield Health has produced an online guide with details of how to exercise and stay healthy.
For more information visit www.nuffieldhealth.com/fitnessguide

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2246014/Colds-flu--fungal-feet-How-going-gym-actually-make-SICK.html#ixzz2EkvnRkoJ
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Too much exercise could wear out your heart..

Take it a bit easier in the gym: Too much exercise can wear out your heart

• Moderate, regular exercise is beneficial but it is possible to do too much
• Exercising intensely for more than an hour can cause heart tissue to stretch
• Running between two and five times a week is better than going every day
• And, marathons should not be a regular challenge, rather done occasionally 

By FIONA MACRAE

PUBLISHED: 23:35 GMT, 29 November 2012 | UPDATED: 23:37 GMT, 29 November 2012

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While moderate exercise like jogging is good for you, too much is bad for your heart

It is the news that couch potatoes have been waiting for: too much exercise is bad for your heart.

Doctors have warned that, rather than adding years to their lives, fitness freaks could be working themselves into an early grave.

They say that while regular, moderate exercise, including jogging, is beneficial, it is possible to do too much.

After reviewing various studies on the health of runners, they said: ‘A routine of moderate physical activity will add life to your years, as well as years to your life.

‘In contrast, running too fast, too far and for too many years may speed one’s progress towards the finish line of life.’

In a three-page editorial in the journal Heart, US cardiologists James O’Keefe and Carl Lavie, both keen runners, also advise that those who want to exercise at full pelt should limit themselves to 30 to 50 minutes a day. And marathons should be viewed as something to do occasionally or once in a lifetime, rather than a regular challenge.

They warn that exercising intensely for more than an hour or two can damage the heart, causing its tissue to stretch, tear and scar and raising the odds of dangerous changes in heart rhythm.

Two studies recently presented at major medical conferences back up their argument that exercise, like many other things in life, is best done in moderation.

The first, co-written by one of the editorial’s authors, tracked the health of more than 50,000 people for up to 30 years.

The 14,000 runners in the study were 19 per cent less likely to have died than the others during this time. 

 

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• 
  

However, closer analysis of the results revealed the longevity benefits to be limited to those who ran between five and 20 miles a week.

In contrast, those who ran more than that did not seem to fare any better than non-runners. The same study revealed running quickly to also be of little benefit, with those who fared best doing a ‘comfortable jog’ of 6-7mph.

To be avoided: Marathons should be viewed as something to do occasionally or once in a lifetime rather than a regular challenge

Similarly, running between two and five days a week was better than pounding the pavements daily. The second study, of 20,000 Danes, found slow jogging to add most to life expectancy.

The editorial, by James O’Keefe, of Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City and Carl Lavie, of the John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute in New Orleans, concludes: ‘The unique and potent effects of exercise are best bestowed by moderate physical activity.

‘If one’s goal is to compete in the marathon or triathlon of the Rio Olympics in 2016, this will certainly require high-intensity exercise for hours a day. But for those whose goal is to be alive and well while watching the 2052 Olympics from the stands, then exercise and physical activity at lower intensities would be more ideal.’

Paul Thompson, a sports cardiologist and former elite marathon runner, told the Wall Street Journal the editorial’s authors had manipulated the data because they had an agenda.

Responding to the accusation, Dr O’Keefe called Dr Thompson a ‘chronic exercise addict’.

Ellen Mason, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘Moderate-intensity physical activity can halve the risk of dying from heart disease and every adult should try and get active for at least 30 minutes, five days a week.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2240711/Take-bit-easier-gym-Too-exercise-wear-heart.html#ixzz2DuYOyXMl
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When stroke or heart patients should take medication

Gene that predicts what time of day we'll die: Discovery could help determine when stroke or heart patients should take medication

Researchers hope the findings could eventually be used to determine when patients should take medication to make it most effective, or when hospital patients should be monitored most closely. The US scientists in Boston, Massachusetts, discovered the gene variation by accident when they were investigating the development of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. They looked at the sleeping patterns of 1,200 healthy 65-year-olds who were also given annual neurological and psychiatric assessments. ...read

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Is your laptop making you depressed? Bright screens at night could trigger the condition

• Mice exposed to light more regularly than they would on a natural cycle exhibited depressive behaviour
• Scientists say mice and humans share the same brain pathways that activate in response to light
• Experts conclude 'we should switch on fewer lamps and stick to less-intense light bulbs' in the evenings

By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 18:06 GMT, 14 November 2012 | UPDATED: 18:49 GMT, 14 November 2012

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Warning: Mice exposed to bright lights more regularly than they would be naturally exhibited depressive behaviour 

Using your laptop or tablet in the evenings could put you at risk from depression, according to a new study.

Researchers have found exposure to bright light at night elevates levels of a stress hormone in the body which triggers the condition and reduces the ability to learn.

Study leader Samer Hattar, from Johns Hopkins University in the U.S, said: 'Basically, what we found is that chronic exposure to bright light - even the kind of light you experience in your own living room at home or in the workplace at night if you are a shift worker - elevates levels of a certain stress hormone in the body, which results in depression and lowers cognitive function.'

Up until the invention of electricity, humans rose with the sun and slept when it set. However, since then people can now work, play or party into the early hours.

The new study on mice found this typical 21st Century scenario may come at a serious cost.

It demonstrates how special cells in the eye - called intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells, or ipRGCs - are activated by bright light, affecting the brain’s centre for mood, memory and learning.

Prof Hattar added: 'Mice and humans are actually very much alike in many ways, and one is that they have these ipRGCs in their eyes, which affect them the same way.

'In addition, in this study, we make reference to previous studies on humans, which show that light does, indeed, impact the human brain’s limbic system. And the same pathways are in place in mice.'

The scientists knew that shorter days in the winter cause some people to develop a form of depression known as 'seasonal affective disorder' - or SAD - and that some patients with the mood disorder benefit from 'light therapy' which is simple, regular exposure to bright light.

 

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Prof Hattar’s team believed that mice would react the same way, and tested their theory by exposing laboratory rodents to a cycle consisting of 3.5 hours of light and then 3.5 hours of darkness.

Prof Hattar said: 'Of course, you can’t ask mice how they feel, but we did see an increase in depression-like behaviours, including a lack of interest in sugar or pleasure seeking, and the study mice moved around far less during some of the tests we did.

'They also clearly did not learn as quickly or remember tasks as well. They were not as interested in novel objects as were mice on a regular light-darkness cycle schedule.'
He said the animals also had increased levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that has been linked in numerous previous studies with learning issues. 

Treatment with Prozac, a commonly prescribed anti-depressant, mitigated the symptoms, restoring the mice to their previous healthy moods and levels of learning, and bolstering the evidence that their learning issues were caused by depression.

Prof Hattar said the results indicate that humans should be wary of the kind of prolonged, regular exposure to bright light at night that is routine in our lives, because it may be having a negative effect on our mood and ability to learn.

He added: 'I’m not saying we have to sit in complete darkness at night, but I do recommend that we should switch on fewer lamps, and stick to less-intense light bulb.
'Basically, only use what you need to see. That won’t likely be enough to activate those ipRGCs that affect mood.'
The findings were published in the journal Nature.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2232957/Is-laptop-making-depressed-Bright-screens-night-trigger-condition.html#ixzz2CJDC2HlW
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Researchers say, Maths could make your head hurt

Maths really CAN make your head hurt, researchers say

• Researchers say a fear of maths can activate regions of the brain linked to physical pain
• Claim fear is caused by anticipation

PUBLISHED:12:21 GMT, 1 November 2012| UPDATED:15:23 GMT, 1 November 2012

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Fear of maths can activate regions of the brain linked with the experience of physical pain, a study has found.
 

The higher a person’s anxiety of a maths task, the more it increases activity in regions of their brain associated with visceral threat detection, and often the experience of pain itself, according to researchers Ian Lyons and Sian Beilock, from the University of Chicago, in the journal Plos One.

The authors say that previous research has shown that other forms of psychological stress, such as social rejection or a traumatic break-up, can also elicit feelings of physical pain.

Researchers say that the anticipation of having to do maths can trigger regions in the brain associated with physical pain

However, they say their study examines the pain response associated with anticipating an anxiety-provoking event, rather than the pain associated with a stressful event itself.

The authors say their results indicate the maths task itself is not painful but merely the thought of it is highly unpleasant to certain people.

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'Math can be difficult, and for those with high levels of mathematics-anxiety (HMAs), math is associated with tension, apprehension and fear,” the authors said in their paper titled, When Math Hurts.

'Interestingly, this relation was not seen during math performance, suggesting that it is not that math itself hurts, rather, the anticipation of math is painful.

'Our data suggest that pain network activation underlies the intuition that simply anticipating a dreaded event can feel painful.

The researchers found some people suffer from major anxiety around maths.

'These results may also provide a potential neural mechanism to explain why (people with) HMAs tend to avoid math and math-related situations, which in turn can bias (those with) high levels of mathematics-anxiety away from taking math classes or even entire math-related career paths.

'We provide the first neural evidence indicating the nature of the subjective experience of math-anxiety.'

The researchers used 14 people with HMAs and 14 who had low levels of maths anxiety.

The subjects were then asked to complete word tasks and maths tasks.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2226247/Maths-really-CAN-make-head-hurt-researchers-say.html#ixzz2AzT6BcZd
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Good Parenting vs Good Schooling

Good parenting is more important than good schooling in determining your child's academic results, says new research

• Trust, good communication and active involvement in a child's academic life 'can help them succeed more than sending them to a good school'

By Laura Clark
PUBLISHED: 00:12 GMT, 12 October 2012 | UPDATED: 00:13 GMT, 12 October 2012

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Good parenting is more important than a good school to a child’s academic success, according to a study.

Youngsters do best when their parents help them with homework, emphasise the importance of education and attend school events, researchers found.

Children with supportive parents – even if they attend poor quality schools – tend to outperform pupils at good schools whose parents take little interest in their education.

Learning with mum: A study has found that youngsters whose parents are supportive but who go to bad schools perform better than children whose parents are unsupportive but who attend good schools

The findings prompted the researchers to warn that improving social mobility cannot be achieved only by ‘fixing’ the school system. 

Initiatives were also needed which aimed to enhance parents’ involvement.

 

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Researchers examined information on 10,585 teenagers drawn from 1,000 randomly selected secondary schools in the US.

LIMIT THE TIME YOUR CHILD SPENDS IN FRONT OF TV, WARNS EXPERT

Limiting the amount of time children spend in front of a screen could have significant advantages for their health and wellbeing, a leading psychologist has said.

By the age of seven, a child born today will have spent a full year glued to screens, according to Dr Aric Sigman.

The average 10-year-old has at least five screens available to them at home, and over the course of childhood youngsters spend more time watching TV than they do in school, he said.

Many parents use devices as 'electronic babysitters', but all this screen time has been linked to obesity problems and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes, he warned.

Dr Sigman added that such extensive use could also lead to attention problems and other psychological difficulties. 

The study considered their academic performance and the quality of parental involvement in their lives – so-called ‘family social capital’ – as well as the quality of their schools – ‘school social capital’.

Parents were considered to be passing on high levels of social capital if they regularly checked homework, talked about school with their children and attended parents’ evenings and other events.

These are thought to be ways parents pass on knowledge and values to their children.

Meanwhile, schools with high social capital ensured the classroom environment was conducive to learning and kept truancy and disruptive behaviour to a minimum.

They also offered plenty of extra-curricular activities and made regular contact with parents.

Teachers at these schools reported high morale.

The researchers, from North Carolina State University, found that while good schools did help to raise achievement, the influence of families was stronger.

Teenagers with high levels of family capital but low school capital tended to do better in exams than pupils with high school capital but low family capital, according to the study, published in the journal Research and Social Stratification and Mobility.

Dr Toby Parcel, who led the study, said: ‘While both school and family involvement are important, the role of family involvement is stronger when it comes to academic success.’

Advice: Dr Toby Parcel, who led the study, said parents should check homework, attend school events and let kids know school is important

She said the findings emphasised the crucial role parents play in children’s education.

‘Our study shows that parents need to be aware of how important they are, and invest time in their children – checking homework, attending school events and letting kids know school is important.

That’s where the payoff is.’ Dr Parcel said attempts to ‘fix’ schools ignored decades of research highlighting the importance of families.

‘Our findings ... suggest that efforts to increase social capital at school, such as initiatives to reduce class size or attempts to create parent-school programmes and ties, would probably have a beneficial effect on students,’ she said.

‘However we also find that family social capital has a stronger influence on child achievement than does school social capital.’

Parents heavily involved in their children’s education are often called ‘helicopter parents’, because they hover around, or ‘tiger mothers’, because they push them to achieve high academic standards.

The research suggests the approaches are, at least in part, vindicated.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2216202/Good-parenting-important-good-schooling-determining-childs-academic-results-says-new-research.html#ixzz29I6cN7J7
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Mobile phones have more GERMS....

You may want to wipe down your mobile as phones found to have more germs than a TOILET SEAT

By Daniel Bates
PUBLISHED: 14:50 GMT, 31 August 2012 | UPDATED: 14:50 GMT, 31 August 2012

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Next time you use you mobile phone, you might want to give it a little clean.

Researchers have discovered there are more bacteria on the average mobile than you will find in a toilet.

In tests there was up to 10 times the amount of bugs which can cause nausea and stomach problems than were present in a lavatory.

Mucky mobile: Your phone could carry 10 times as many bugs as a lavatory seat

Experts said the reason is that phones are often passed between people which spreads the germs around - but they are never cleaned which means the diseases keep on building up.

Charles Gerba, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona, said during his ongoing experiments he has found that bugs get onto a phone because it is so close to our hands and mouths.

When somebody lets a friend or a stranger use their mobile their bacteria easily gets onto the device too.

 

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Professor Gerba added that because mobiles are electronic some people are reticent about cleaning them.

Phones are just not part of our cleaning routine whereas we should think about giving them a wipe with an antibacterial substance every now and then.

Professor Gerba is well known for his environmental germ theory in the household

Previous research has found that other things we assume are clean are in reality rather disgusting.

British scientists discovered that cash machines have similar levels of pseudomonads and bacillus, bacterias which are known to cause sickness and diarrhoea, as they found in public toilets.

Computer keyboards are also five times dirtier than the average lavatory seat.

Researchers from Which? swabbed 33 keyboards for food poisoning bugs e.coli, coliforms, staphylococcus aureus and enterobacteria and found four were a potential health hazard.

One was even ‘condemned’ because it was so infectious.

Remote controllers have also long been known as the grubbiest item in hotel rooms as they are never wiped down.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2196365/Mobile-phones-germs-toilet-seat.html#ixzz25EHs0R4P

The disgraceful moment of the Olympics...

The disgraceful moment two sets of Badminton pairs are KICKED OUT of the Olympics for deliberately trying to lose their games

• Longest rally in one game between Korea and China was just four strokes
• Locog said it would not refund tickets for the matches
• Lord Coe said: 'Depressing. Who wants to sit through something like that'

By Leon Watson
PUBLISHED: 03:06 GMT, 1 August 2012 | UPDATED: 14:09 GMT, 1 August 2012

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The eight women involved in last night's badminton match-throwing scandal have been kicked out of the Olympics.


The women's tournament descended into farce in the evening session as four pairs all appeared to try to lose their matches in order to secure a favorable draw in the next round.

The top seeds from China, two pairs from South Korea and another from Indonesia have been disqualified from the tournament and will take no part in this evening's quarter-finals.

Farce: China's Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang play against South Korea's Jung Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na 

There were boos from the Wembley Arena crowd as the world class athletes repeatedly put serves into the net and failed to return simple shots on an embarrassing evening for the sport.

The Badminton World Federation immediately launched disciplinary proceedings, confirming all four pairs would face charges of 'not using one's best efforts to win a match' and 'conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport'.

The disqualification was announced just before lunchtime today.

The four pairs had been due to play their last-eight matches in this evening's session at Wembley Arena but it is thought the schedule will now be reconstituted.
One possibility would be to allow the pairs who finished third and fourth in the groups behind the banished players to take their places in draw.

 

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London 2012 chairman Lord Coe today condemned their questionable tactics but Locog said it would not refund tickets for the matches.
Asked about his own feelings about the play, Lord Coe said: 'Depressing. Who wants to sit through something like that?'

He added: 'The sadness of it is I was actually at the badminton yesterday and I saw a British competitor narrowly fail to progress but the games were incredibly competitive in front of really large enthusiastic audiences.

'I know the (Badminton World Federation) really well and they will take that really seriously. It is unacceptable.'


The women had already qualified for the last eight meaning that the only issues at stake were the final placings in the first-round group stage.

Victors: Kim Ha-na (left) and Jung Kyung-eun (right) eventually won, despite their best efforts

Quiet word: Tournament referee Torsten Berg was forced to intervene after all four players began missing routine shots

World doubles champions Yu Yang (front) and Wang Xiaoli, of China, watch as the shuttlecock yet again lands int he net

The fiasco began when Chinese top seeds Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang started to show little interest in beating Koreans Jung Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na to finish top of Group A.

Coming second would have meant avoiding compatriots and second seeds Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei at least until the final.

Tian and Zhao had been sent off their natural path to the final as second seeds by defeat to Denmark's Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Christinna Pedersen earlier in the day.
The Koreans responded to China's antics by copying them and referee Thorsten Berg emerged to warn all the players.

The match restarted and the Koreans went on to win 21-14 21-11. The longest rally in the first game had been just four strokes.

The matter did not end there as a second Korean pair, the third seeds Ha Jung-eun and Kim Min-jung, then attempted to engineer defeat in their match against Indonesia's Meiliana Jauhari and Greysia Polii.

Their motive was apparent retaliation to avoid Wang and Yu in the quarter-finals, an outcome they failed to achieve as they eventually won 18-21 21-14 21-12.

The Indonesians were not bystanders in the affair either as they responded to the Koreans by trying to lose themselves.

With the crowd getting increasingly restless, Berg again intervened and brandished the black card to disqualify the players.

He quickly rescinded his decision on protest but returned courtside, despite an attempt to restrain him by the Indonesia coach, as the histrionics - now including time-wasting - continued.

Controversy: Greysia Polii and Meiliana Jauhari of Indonesia and Jung Eun Ha and Min Jung Kim of Korea are threatened with a 'black card'

Heated: A coach for Indonesia argues with the tournament referee

Korea's coach Sung Han-kook blamed China for triggering the shambles. He said: 'The Chinese started this. They did it first.

'It's a complicated thing with the draws. They didn't want to meet each other in the semi-final, they don't want that to happen.

'They (BWF) should do something about that.'

Yu claimed the Chinese tactics had simply been to preserve energy ahead of the knockout phase.

She said: 'Actually these opponents really were strong. This is the first time we've played them and tomorrow it's the knockout rounds, so we've already qualified and we wanted to have more energy for the knockout rounds.'

Speaking after chairing this morning's daily ministerial Olympics meeting in Whitehall, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the audience at last night's badminton had 'a right to feel very, very let down by what happened'.

Asked if he thought the players should be disqualified, Mr Hunt said: 'It's a matter for the sporting federation to decide that, but I feel very, very disappointed for the crowd, who really were going along expecting to have a fantastic time watching the best sport in the world and I think they have a right to feel very, very let down by what happened.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2181902/Olympics-2012-Badminton-descends-farce-China-South-Korea-attempt-LOSE.html#ixzz22JEdkldm

Why your risk of dying in hospital will rise...

Why your risk of dying in hospital will rise by 6 per cent tomorrow

By Lucy Elkins
PUBLISHED: 01:09 GMT, 31 July 2012 | UPDATED: 01:09 GMT, 31 July 2012

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Lisa Whelan knew within hours of her Caesarean that something was wrong.
As her baby girl lay contentedly snuffling in a cot beside her, Lisa started suffering from ‘agonising stomach cramps — just about as bad as labour pains’. 


As the 32-year-old mother from Leeds recalls: ‘By the next day, my stomach was not only painful, it was swollen.
'It looked as if I was about to give birth to twins.

Turmoil: Doctors didn't spot Lisa Whelan's Caesarean complications. 'I had to spend five months in hospital,' she said

‘I’d had a Caesarean with my first daughter 11 years ago — and I just knew this wasn’t normal.’ 


The junior doctor overseeing Lisa’s care thought it was trapped wind, and prescribed peppermint oil and suppositories.

Another junior doctor sent her for an X-ray but could see nothing wrong.
Three days after giving birth, Lisa started vomiting.

‘It was only then that a surgeon reviewed my notes and they realised something was seriously wrong,’ she says.
But by then it was too late: Lisa’s bowel had been perforated and had become septic.

 

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She was rushed to theatre to remove the infected parts and was given only a 20 per cent chance of survival. 


In the end, despite multiple operations, it was not possible to save any of her bowel.
‘I had to spend five months in hospital and was sedated for so long I did not realise I’d had my baby until she was around two months old,’ says Lisa.

‘I finally got home in March, 2011.’


Not only that, but Lisa now has to face the future with a permanent colostomy bag.
What makes it so galling for her is that the hospital has since admitted that had she not been left in the care of junior doctors, this might have been avoided.

Junior doctor error led to an even more tragic outcome for Anita and Patrick Bowyer.
Their 26-year-old son Ben underwent an operation in March 2010 to relieve pressure due to a build-up of fluid on his brain, caused by a benign cyst. 


Doctors at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford inserted a device to allow the fluid to drain off. 


‘We were told at the time that this was a holding operation and that they would remove the cyst a few days later,’ recalls Patrick, a self-employed plumber.
‘However, the consultant neurologist who had been in charge of Ben’s case then went off to London to teach for a week.


‘Ben was put on to a neurosurgical ward and left in the care of doctors in their first or second year out of medical school.’

On the first Wednesday of August every year, the latest tranche of junior doctors is launched on hospital wards

Although Ben was ‘screaming and writhing in pain’, these junior doctors failed to realise how much his condition was deteriorating.

A week after his operation, and in the absence of the consultant, Ben died.
The inquest into his death heard that the drain was taking fluid from one but not both sides of the brain, causing fatal brain damage. 


The juniors did not recognise this, and while one did try to find a senior consultant to ask what he should do, this consultant later told the inquest he hadn’t been given the proper facts.

‘If he had, he said he would have authorised immediate  surgery,’ says Patrick.
The medical director of Oxford University NHS Hospital Trusts has since apologised to the family, saying: ‘The staff looking after Ben failed to recognise his deteriorating condition, which led to his death.’ The hospital has offered the family compensation.


A ‘junior doctor’ is a newly-qualified doctor who has spent five years at medical school and is now learning the ropes, working independently in a two-year foundation course in a hospital. 


It can be a sharp learning curve, with sometimes disastrous results.
On the first Wednesday of August every year, the latest tranche of junior doctors is launched on hospital wards. 


On that day the number of mortalities among patients brought into hospital increases by 6 per cent compared with the previous Wednesday, according to new research carried out by Dr Foster Intelligence.


‘I wouldn’t want a relative of mine to be admitted into hospital in August,’ one nurse who has been working in hospitals for the past 13 years told the Mail.


‘The junior doctors arrive fresh out of university and are expected to get on with it and you can see that many of them are really nervous and unsure what to do. 


'Most of them are keen for help and advice, but some arrive on the ward and you can tell that the fact that they have qualified as a doctor has gone to their head, and they think they know it all.’ 


Sir Bruce Keogh, medical director of the NHS, recently admitted that patients were at risk during this transition period, saying: ‘We recognise the change-over period in August puts patients at risk.


‘Junior doctors are under stress as they change from being a student to a professional, and they need help to adapt to a working environment when they’ve never done a job before.’


To try to put an end to the ‘killing season’, as this period has been dubbed, from next year junior doctors will have to shadow senior colleagues for four days before they start out. 


A pilot scheme in Bristol found this tiny change reduced the amount of mistakes made by junior doctors in their first four months at work by half.


The students benefited from familiarising themselves with the hospital, watching how seniors interacted with patients and nurses, and learning to locate life-saving equipment more quickly.
However, some believe there are other issues to addressed.
Indeed, it could be argued that it is a year-round problem. 


Another study carried out by Dr Foster Intelligence has found that in some hospitals the death rate at weekends rises by as much as 10 per cent — a time when, typically, senior staff are in short supply and it’s junior doctors who are in charge.


Lawyers involved with medical negligence cases have a high volume of complaints involving junior doctors.
‘Often they don’t seem to have the experience to see the severity of a situation,’ says Helen Hammond from Penningtons Solicitors.


‘In fairness, we also see quite a few cases where junior doctors are left to deal with a situation where they seek input from a more senior doctor but don’t get it.
'We also find that junior doctors are often left on their own during anti-social hours and help from a senior colleague is not that easy to find.’
This is a scenario Patrick Bowyer recognises.

‘At the inquest into Ben’s death, the two junior doctors involved were squirming and fearful,’ he says.
‘The point is, they did what they felt was right. The problem was there was no one of seniority around to guide them.’


In the past, too, medical students had more experience on the frontline with patients before they became junior doctors, says Dr Ben Dean, a registrar in orthopaedics based in Oxford, who himself qualified nine years ago. 


‘That changed when the General Medical Council took responsibility for a lot of a doctor’s training in about 2005;  it became more bureaucratic.
'Now there’s more formal  teaching, which is a good thing, but because of that there is less emphasis on clinical experience.’


It’s a problem junior doctors themselves recognise. 


When Dr Dean recently conducted a survey of 615 foundation doctors, a staggering 87 per cent believed that ‘incompetent trainees’ could still be allowed to pass the foundation stage because the testing was too focused on ticking boxes and less on core clinical experience. 


Another issue is the cut in hours. 


In 2009, a new European directive was introduced which capped the number of hours junior doctors can work to 48 a week.
‘Most junior doctors would be in favour of an increase in hours to around 50 or 60 per week, which would be better for doctors in terms of training continuity and better for patients in terms of continuity of care,’ says Dr Dean.


Junior doctors themselves recognise their limitations.
‘Part of being a doctor is recognising your limits and knowing when something is outside your competence and referring upward,’ says Dr Tom Dolphin, chair of the Junior Doctors Committee of the British Medical Association.


‘There have been some studies that suggest patients fare a little worse during the first few weeks of August, but that will also be contributed to by the fact that many other grades of doctor also rotate between hospitals on training programmes on the same day, and are therefore perhaps unfamiliar with the new hospital’s systems.


‘The problem is that training is not given much priority in a lot of hospitals and senior doctors are not being given time in their jobs to train their juniors.


‘Likewise, a lack of supervision overnight reflects understaffing and having too few doctors around to provide advice and support.

'Learning requires supervision.’ 


Currently, many patients may be cared for by junior doctors whose only supervision is by consultants at the end of the phone. 


As Carolyn Lowe of Henmans, the law firm that represented Ben Bowyer’s family, says: ‘We see far too many cases where junior doctors are left without adequate supervision and support.


‘They’re often put in charge of wards and expected to look after large numbers of patients — and, unsurprisingly, they struggle.
 
‘We welcome the shadowing scheme.

'However, one week just does not seem sufficient when patients’ lives are at risk.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2181288/Why-risk-dying-hospital-rise-6-cent-tomorrow.html#ixzz22DicT49R