Obesity
Today the media reported on plans for an expansion of weight loss surgery offered on the NHS. BBC Health covered the story, on how the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has drafted guidelines to increase surgery in order to tackle type 2 diabetes. The Telegraph reports that NICE recommends weight loss surgery be extended to include anyone with a BMI of 30 that has been diagnosed with diabetes. At present it includes those with a BMI of over 35 with the same condition.
Take Nightingale Hospital’s weight and food perception test if you think you might have an issue with weight management.
Depression
Early in the week, criticism of NHS postnatal services focused on postnatal depression and a lack of support for new mothers. BBC Health reported that figures from the charity National Childbirth Trust show over half of the NHS trusts in England do not have peri-natal mental health service with trained specialists. The Telegraph covered the news that 53 million prescriptions for antidepressants were dispensed last year, equivalent to a rise of NHS spending of 33.6%.
Sport
With the summer of sport still in full swing, Nightingale Hospital’s Dr Nerina Ramalakhan started her new blog this week with a post on how athletes achieve quality sleep and what we can learn from their habits. The Telegraph also featured the summer of sport in an article on the dietary plans and eating practices of Tour de France cyclists.
Sleep
New research showing that people seem to sleep less when it is close to the full moon was reported in The Times. The University of Gothenburg, who led the analysis, found that even in a completely dark environment, the lunar cycle of a full moon had an impact on how much sleep participants in the study had.
