A round-up of other health news in brief
Dating site drops heavy members
Piling on the pounds at Christmas may put a slight dampener on the new year but the consequences were rather more grave for more than 5,000 people expelled from an online dating community.
The so-called “festive fatties” were kicked off BeautifulPeople.com for losing their looks over the holiday season. The site, which has a strict ban on “ugly people”, said it had thrown out more than 5,000 members from around the world who had put on weight.
Pedometer could cut diabetes risk
Using a pedometer as part of a regime could reduce the chances of type 2 diabetes by more than half in those at risk of developing the condition, according to a study just published.
A total of 98 people with pre-diabetes – a precursor to type 2 diabetes in which a person has raised blood glucose (sugar) levels – took part in the study to assess the effectiveness of a pre-diabetes activity programme and see whether using a pedometer helps people increase their physical activity levels.
For the study, a control group was given only a brief information leaflet, another group took part in the education session and another was given both the education session and a pedometer. Blood glucose levels, which were tested after participants ingested a standardised amount of sugar, were reduced by 15 per cent in the pedometer group after a year compared with the control group.
Cork tries timed appointments
Cork University Hospital yesterday began a trial of its new outpatients timed appointments system, which management hopes will reduce waiting times, as people will no longer be seen on a first come, first served basis. The move has been prompted by problems with the old system which saw the arrival of large numbers of patients early in the morning or afternoon. Patients were often in the clinic for up to two or three hours for a 10-15 minute consultation.