爱华网3. Study of Cousins Who Marry
This is the VOA Special English Health Report.
Sometimes people who are first cousins get married. Two peopleare first cousins if their mothers are sisters, or their fathersare brothers, or one's mother and the other's father are brotherand sister. American researchers now say it is not as dangerous ashad been thought for first cousins to have children.
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A new study says that first cousins are only a little morelikely than others to have a child with a serious physical ormental problem, or a genetic disease. It says the chance that achild of unrelated parents will be born with a serious problem isbetween three and four percent.
The risk for first cousins is increased by between two and threepercent, to as much as seven percent. One researcher says thismeans about ninety-three percent of the children of first cousinsare normal.
The small increase in risk exists because people in the samefamily may carry the same genes that cause disease. Scientists sayat least five-thousand diseases are caused by these genes. If bothparents have a harmful gene, it is more likely that the gene willbe passed on to their child. People who are not related share fewergenes, so their chance of passing such a sickness on to theirchildren is lower.
A committee from the National Society of Genetic Counselorsreported the results of their investigation in "The Journal ofGenetic Counseling." The group examined six major studies donebetween Nineteen-Sixty-Five and Two-Thousand involving thousands ofbirths. The group began the investigation after learning that somegenetic counselors gave wrong information to people who wanted toknow if first cousins could safely have children.
The group said in its report that no genetic tests are neededbefore first cousins have a child. Their report also noted thatAmericans fear such marriages more than people in other parts ofthe world.
Marriages between first cousins are illegal in at leasttwenty-four American states. However, no countries in Europe havesuch laws. And marriages between cousins are desirable in manyparts of the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The researchers saytheir study shows that such laws in the United States should bechanged.
This VOA Special English Health Report was written by NancySteinbach.
4. Walking
This is the VOA Special English Health Report.
Researchers agree that intense physical exercise is not the onlyway to gain better health. Studies show that walking several timesa week can lower the risk of many diseases. They include heartdisease, stroke, diabetes, bone loss, arthritis and depression.Walking also can help you lose weight.
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Fast walking is good for the heart. It lowers the bloodpressure. It raises the amount of good cholesterol in the blood.Researchers say walking can reduce the risk of suffering a heartattack by as much as fifty percent.
Studies have shown that walking for thirty minutes a day candelay and possibly prevent the development of Type Two Diabetes. Itcan prevent diabetes among people who are overweight and at riskfor the disease.
Walking strengthens the muscles and builds up the bones to whichthey are attached. Studies show that women who walked and tookcalcium decreased their risk of developing osteoporosis or thinningof the bones. Walking also helps ease the pain of arthritis inareas where bones are joined by strengthening the muscles aroundthe bones.
Walking several times a week is a good way to control yourweight and even lose body fat. Studies show it also helps easedepression, feelings of extreme sadness.
Experts say walking is one of the safest ways to exercise. Thereis a low risk of injuries. So it is good for people who arestarting an exercise program for the first time and for olderpeople.
A walking program is easy to start. You should wear looseclothes and good shoes. Shoes designed for walking are best.
You should stretch the muscles in your arms, legs, and backbefore and after you walk. Stretching is an important part of anyexercise program. It helps prevent injury and muscle pain.
How fast should you walk? You should be breathing hard while youare walking. Yet, you should be able to talk. Let your arms moveback and forward at your sides while you walk.
There are no rules to starting a walking program. You may walkshort distances. Or you may walk up hills to strengthen your legmuscles. Health experts say you can gain the most from a walkingprogram if you walk about five kilometers an hour for thirtyminutes a day. You should do this about five times a week.
This VOA Special English Health Report was written by LawanDavis.
5. Tobacco and Cancer
This is the VOA Special English Health Report.
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A recent report by the International Agency for Research onCancer says the dangers of tobacco smoke are greater than had beenthought.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer is part of theWorld Health Organization. It is based in Lyon, France. The agencyresearches the causes of cancer. It identifies the number of peoplewho develop cancer around the world. And it develops programs aimedat finding ways to prevent the disease. The new report is part of aseries written by independent international experts on the dangersof different chemicals.
A committee of twenty-nine experts from twelve countriesdeveloped the report. These scientists examined more than fiftymedical studies concerning tobacco smoking. The group says thattobacco use is the largest cause of preventable cancers around theworld. Experts say that more than one-thousand-million peoplearound the world smoke tobacco.
The report says that one-half of all people who smoke cigaretteswill die from diseases caused by smoking tobacco. These includecancers of the lung, stomach, liver, kidney and blood. The reportalso says tobacco use causes an even greater number of deaths fromlung diseases, heart disease and stroke.
The report says other kinds of tobacco use also increase thechances of developing cancers of the lung, head and neck. Theseinclude smoking cigars, pipes and bidis -- tobacco rolled in a leafthat is popular in South Asia.
The report also says that people who smoke endanger the healthof non-smokers who breathe in tobacco smoke. These non-smokers arebreathing in a smaller amount of cancer-causing chemicals thanactive smokers get. But it is still enough to cause deadly lungcancer.
However, the scientists found no increased risk of cancer amongchildren who breathe in this second-hand smoke. But they say theydo not know the long-term effect of tobacco smoke on children asthey grow older. The scientists also say their research found thatsmoking tobacco does not cause some kinds of cancer. There is clearevidence that smoking has little or no effect on developing breastcancer or prostate cancer.
This VOA Special English Health Report was written by NancySteinbach.
6. Fast Food
This is the VOA Special English Health Report.
The McDonald's fast-food company is facing legal action bypeople who say its food made them fat and sick. In New York City,legal action was recently brought against McDonald's and four otherfast-food companies.
The lawsuits charge that these companies have not warned peoplethat this kind of food could be harmful. Aboutone-hundred-seventy-thousand American fast-food restaurants sellfood that is high in fat, sugar and calories. They include potatoescooked in oil and meat sandwiches called hamburgers. Therestaurants also serve sweet soft drinks.
One man charged that this kind of food damaged his health. Hesaid he had heart attacks and developed the disease diabetes.Several families say their children got fat on fast food and alsodeveloped diabetes. One of these teenagers weighsone-hundred-eighty kilograms.
Experts say Americans are now the fattest people in the world.Two years ago, the top government doctor reported an increase inthe number of Americans who are too fat. David Satcher said almostsixty percent of American adults weigh too much. Doctor Satcheralso said thirteen percent of American children are too fat. Hesaid the fast-food industry, schools and government agencies shouldchange their policies. He said extreme overweight could become thenation's leading cause of preventable death.
A report published by the Center for the Public Interest saysAmericans spend about half their food budgets on meals eatenoutside the home. Many eating places have increased the size oftheir servings. And it is difficult to know the amount of fat andnutrients in the food served in restaurants. Processed foods soldin food stores are required to include this information.
The food industry spends large amounts of money onadvertisements to get people to buy their products. Innineteen-ninety-eight, for example, McDonald's spent aboutone-thousand-million dollars on ways to increase its business.McDonald's and Hershey Foods have given money to an internationalfood organization to set up an Internet Web site. The goal is toget children to exercise more. But critics say the food industry isnot doing enough to protect the public's health.
This VOA Special English Health Report was written by JerilynWatson.
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News update: On January 22, a federal judge dismissed acivil action brought against McDonald's by a lawyer for some young,overweight New Yorkers. Judge Robert Sweet said that if people knowor should know they might gain weight or suffer health problems,then they cannot blame the company if they eat large amounts of"supersized McDonald's products."
At the same time, though, he said the young people might have abetter case if they could show that "the dangers of McDonald'sproducts were not commonly well known and thus that McDonald's hada duty toward its customers." The judge said Chicken McNuggets, forexample, "rather than being merely chicken fried in a pan, are aMcFrankenstein creation of various elements not utilized by thehome cook."
McDonald's released a statement on January 24 that it uses "thesame chicken suppliers that stock grocery store shelves andkitchens across America." The statement, reported by the New YorkTimes, said McNuggets "are made from marinated, boneless, white anddark meat with no fillers. The chicken is then battered and breadedand cooked in vegetable oil."
7. Addiction and Girls
This is the VOA Special English Health Report.
A study in the United States finds that girls and young womenuse tobacco, drugs and alcohol for different reasons than boys. Itsays young males generally use alcohol or drugs for excitement. Orthey think it will make them more popular. Young females, however,may hope to feel happier or reduce tension or lose weight.
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at ColumbiaUniversity in New York released the findings. The center chairman,Joseph Califano, says prevention programs are often developed morefor males. He called for programs designed for girls and youngwomen.
There are physical, psychological and social effects fromsmoking, drinking and using drugs. The report says some of thesemay happen more quickly and severely in females. For example, itsays they are more likely to become dependent on tobacco than maleswho smoke just as many cigarettes. And it says females have agreater risk of brain damage from too much alcohol.
The report notes general reductions in substance use by youngAmericans. But it says girls in many cases have caught up with boysin rates of use.
Here are some other findings:
Girls and young women who drink coffee are much likelier tosmoke and drink alcohol -- and to start sooner -- than those who donot drink coffee. The report calls caffeine a "little known"warning sign.
Girls who do unhealthy things to lose weight drink more alcoholthan those who do not diet -- even though alcohol can cause weightgain. Also, even girls who do healthy things to lose weight smokemore than those not on diets.
Puberty is a time of higher risk of substance use by girls,especially those whose bodies change early. Other times are whengirls rise from elementary to middle school, from middle to highschool, and from high school to college. And, girls who move oftenfrom one home or community to another are at greater risk thanboys.
The report lists a number of warning signs to watch for. Theseinclude depression and too much concern about appearance. The studyalso reminds parents and other adults that they set examples --good or bad -- by their own actions.
More than one-thousand-two-hundred girls and young womenanswered questions as part of the study. Most who talk with theirparents about substance use said these talks made them less likelyto smoke, drink or use drugs.
This VOA Special English Health Report was written by JerilynWatson.
8. Cancer and Children
This is the VOA Special English Health Report.
Most children who die of cancer are in developing nations.British researchers say only ten percent of children with cancer inthese countries survive. They say many more could be saved if theircountries had the resources needed to find cancers and treatthem.
Around the world, about one-hundred-sixty-six thousand childrenunder age fifteen are found each year to have cancer. Theresearchers say eighty-four percent of these cases are found indeveloping countries. But many others go unnoticed.
Children from industrial countries who do get cancer also have amuch better chance to survive. For example, more than seventypercent in countries like Britain and the United States are aliveafter five years.
An organization called Cancer Research United Kingdom announcedthese numbers to mark International Childhood Cancer Day onFebruary fifteenth. The purpose of the event is to educate thepublic and raise money for children with cancer.
Cancer Research U-K says fifty-four percent of cancer casesamong children strike in Asia. Also, more than half of all childcancer deaths happen in Asia. Africa has twenty-percent ofchildhood cancer cases and twenty-five percent of the deaths.
Vaskar Saha of Cancer Research U-K is a childhood cancer expert.Professor Saha called for an international campaign againstchildhood cancer similar to the campaign against AIDS. The goalwould be to increase the supply and reduce the cost of drugs totreat cancer in developing countries.
Earlier this month, world trade negotiators agreed to continueto look for ways to cut drug prices for developing nations.
Chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells. Drug companies say theyhave improved this treatment in recent years while reducing harmfulside effects. But many developing countries cannot pay forchemotherapy drugs. Another way to fight cancer is to cut out thediseased cells. A third way is to use radiation to target cancercells.
Scientists say most cancers are caused by a combination ofgenetic and environmental conditions. There are warning signs ofchildhood cancer. These can include a white spot in the eye,unusual growths, weight loss and tiredness. Unexplained bleeding,pain and high body temperature are other possible signs.
This VOA Special English Health Report was written by JerilynWatson.
9. Childhood Bed-Wetting: Some Advice for Parents
This is the VOA Special English Health Report.
We continue the first in a new series of reports from time totime on raising children. Today we discuss some ways to helpbed-wetters stay dry all night long.
First of all, health experts say bed-wetting should be treatedwith understanding. The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, sayschildren do not wet the bed to upset their parents.
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health say the youngpeople who do it are usually physically and emotionally normal.They say the causes of bed-wetting are not known. But they thinkmost cases probably result from a mix of things including slowerphysical development. Often there is a strong family history ofbed-wetting.
The good news is that most children grow out of it over time.So, until that happens, here are some steps that might help.
First, consider a limit on the amount of liquid a child drinksbefore bedtime. Also, make sure children use the bathroom rightbefore bed -- an empty bladder at bedtime should help.
Some parents wake their children at night to use the bathroom.Others set a timer to sound, so children wake up on their own.
The Mayo Clinic says even going to bed thirty minutes earliercan help some children stop wetting the bed.
If children do have an accident at night, the experts at theclinic say parents should let them help clean up. For example,children could rinse out their wet nightclothes. The Mayo Clinicsays taking responsibility may help the bed-wetter feel a sense ofcontrol over the situation.
But the American Academy of Pediatrics has a warning about suchadvice. It says having to clean up may seen like punishment ifother children in the family do not have similar duties.
The academy advises families to establish a "no teasing" rule.Bed-wetters usually feel shame enough without having other childrenmake fun of them.
Some parents put a plastic cover on the bed, then a cloth sheet,followed by an additional set of plastic and cloth sheets. Thisway, it is easy to remove wet coverings and have a dry setready.
The American Academy of Pediatrics says the first thing a parentshould do about bed-wetting is talk to their child's doctor. Whennothing else works, doctors sometimes give medicines to reduceurine production, or antidepressant drugs or both.
And that's the VOA Special English Health Report. You can findthe first part of our report on bed-wetting atwww.voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Barbara Klein.
10. Explaining the Placebo Effect
I'm Katherine Cole with the VOA Special English HealthReport.
Studies of new drugs traditionally involve at least two groupsof people. The people in one of those groups are given only whatthey think is the drug. Really they get a placebo -- an inactivesubstance. The drug is proven effective if it performs better thanthe placebo.
Some researchers do not think drug studies should use placebos.They say it makes more sense to compare new medicines to drugsalready on the market. Then people would know if a new drug is anybetter.
"Placebo" is Latin for "I shall please." It may contain nothingmore than sugar.
Yet some people who are given a placebo experience improvementsin their health. This is called the placebo effect.
Some doctors use the placebo effect in their treatments. Aninfluential study published in nineteen fifty-five said placebotreatments made patients feel better thirty-five percent of thetime.
But in two thousand one, Danish researchers reported that theyhad examined more than one hundred studies. They found littleevidence of healing as a result of placebos.
Still, there is continued belief in the placebo effect.
A Swedish study published last year suggested that a placebo canreduce the emotional effects of unpleasant experiences. The studyinvolved people who looked at images of dead bodies and otherunpleasant pictures. The findings appeared in the journalNeuron.
The researchers said the effects in the brain were similar tothose seen when placebos have been used as a pain treatment. Inboth cases, they said, expectations of improvement are a majorinfluence.
But more than expectations might explain why placebos appeareffective sometimes.
Researchers led by Scot Simpson at the University of Alberta, inCanada, just had a report published in the British Medical Journal.They examined twenty-one studies. These compared death ratesbetween patients who always took their medicine and those who didnot.
Even patients who took placebos had better results than thosewho did not follow doctor's orders. The researchers see thisfinding as support for the idea of a so-called healthy adherereffect. That is, a person who takes a drug treatment as directedmay also do other things to live a healthy life.
And that is the VOA Special English Health Report. You candownload free transcripts and MP3 files of our weekly reports atwww.voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Katherine Cole.
11. Staying Healthy by Washing Your Hands
This is the VOA Special English Health Report.
Hand washing is a powerful way to prevent the spread ofdisease.
The World Bank, the United Nations and the London School ofHygiene and Tropical
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Medicine did a study to urge hand washing around the world. Theyfound that one million lives could be saved each year if peoplewashed their hands with soap often. They said that programs toincrease hand washing with soap could be among the most effectiveways to reduce infectious disease.
Doctors say many diseases can be prevented from spreading byhand washing. These include pinworms, influenza, the common cold,hepatitis A, meningitis and infectious diarrhea.
Hand washing destroys germs from other people, animals orobjects a person has touched. When people get bacteria on theirhands, they can infect themselves by touching their eyes, nose ormouth. Then these people can infect other people.
The experts say the easiest way to catch a cold is to touch yournose or eyes after someone nearby has sneezed or coughed. Anotherway to become sick is to eat food prepared by someone whose handswere not clean.
The experts say that hand washing is especially important beforeand after preparing food, before eating and after using the toilet.People should wash their hands after handling animals or animalwaste, and after cleaning a baby. The experts say it is also a goodidea to wash your hands after handling money and after sneezing orcoughing. And it is important to wash your hands often when someonein your home is sick.
The experts say the most effective way to wash your hands is torub them together while using soap and warm water. They say you donot have to use special antibacterial soap. Be sure to rub allareas of the hands for about ten to fifteen seconds. The rubbingaction helps remove germs. Then rinse the hands with water and drythem.
Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are rubbed into the hands and donot require soap and water. Experts say these products must containat least sixty percent alcohol to be effective in killing mostbacteria and viruses.
Experts also say that people who use public bathrooms and drytheir hands with a paper towel should use the towel to turn off thewater. Then, before throwing it away, use the same paper to openthe bathroom door.
And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, written byNancy Steinbach. For more news and information about health, go towww.voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.
A Handful of Findings About Finger Length
This is the VOA Special English Health Report.
Is there meaning in the length of a finger? An eighteenninety-three guidebook called "Modern Etiquette in Public andPrivate" had this to say: "Long fingers are a sign of refinement. Ashort stubby hand argues a lack of sensibility."
Well, long fingers might also be a sign of a good basketballplayer or pianist. Or maybe just a master at thumb wars. This muchis sure: studies in recent years have pointed toward a number offindings.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge in England, forexample, just tied finger length to success in financialtrading.
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The study led by John Coates looked at stock traders in London.Earlier work found that male stock traders made more money on dayswhen their level of the male hormone testosterone was higher. JohnCoates -- himself a former trader -- wondered if, over all, menwith more testosterone made more successful traders.
Individuals are exposed to testosterone while in their mother'swomb. A way to know how much is to compare their ring finger totheir index finger. The index finger is the one next to the thumb;the ring finger is third from the thumb. The longer the ring fingerand the shorter the index finger, the greater the testosteroneexposure.
The study involved forty-four traders and their profits andlosses over a twenty-month period ending in two thousand seven.
Those with the most experience and testosterone exposure earnedabout six times as much as those with the least. Also, the researchshowed that traders with the most exposure generally made the mostmoney in wild markets when quick action is required. Testosteroneis known to make people more sure of themselves and more willing totake risks. It may also improve a person's thinking ability.
The findings appear in the Proceedings of the National Academyof Sciences.
A two thousand seven British study showed that finger lengthmight help predict test results among schoolchildren. Psychologyresearchers at the University of Bath looked at the hands ofseven-year-olds. Those with ring fingers longer than index fingersdid better on the math part of a standardized test than the readingpart.
This was true for boys as well as girls. Females are alsoexposed to some testosterone in the womb.
And another British study reported last year that people whoseindex finger is shorter than their ring finger are at higher riskof osteoarthritis. That study was from the University ofNottingham.
And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, written byCatty Weaver. Looking at my fingers, I'm Steve Ember.
