Teenagers have been urged to play sports or run for at least three hours a week to counteract the potential damage to their bone health caused by prolonged spells of sitting.

An international team, including an expert from the University of Exeter, has found evidence that adolescents who spend long periods engaged in certain sedentary activities are more likely to have low bone mineral content in parts of the body where it can be an indicator of the risk of developing osteoporosis.

In the research, the team found that studying put girls at particular risk, while for boys leisure internet use posed the greatest threat.

Scientists found that participating in at least three hours of certain sports could significantly reduce the threat in girls. The study found evidence of the benefits of high-intensity sports where the participant is on their feet, such as football, basketball, netball or running.

Scientists have previously studied the impact of an inactive lifestyle on problems such as obesity or heart defects, but this is one of the first studies analysing the effects of different sedentary behaviours on bone health in the critical development period of adolescence.

"Clearly we are not telling girls not to study. It is a fact of modern life that teenagers spend more time engaged in deskbound or sitting activities, but our research is one of the first to identify a connection between this behaviour in adolescents and low levels of bone mass in key regions of the body," said Dr Luis Gracia Marco of the University of Exeter, who led the research.

"It is already well-known that an inactive lifestyle has implications for young people, such as obesity and heart diseases. Combined with that, our findings emphasise the need for exercise, and we hope it will give some focus for young people and their parents to ward off any health problems later in life," Dr Marco added.

The research was carried out in collaboration with scientists from the University of Zaragoza, the University of Granada, the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), and the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. It was supported by the European community Sixth RTD Framework Program, as well as with a grant from Fundacion Cuenca Villoro.

The research assessed the lifestyles of 359 Spanish adolescents participating in the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence Study. It examined bone mineral content in the femoral neck region of the hip, which is a critical area for diagnosing osteoporosis.

The research team looked at the impact of different types of sitting activity, including watching television and playing computer games. The strongest connection between deskbound behaviour and low bone mineral content was found in girls' hips, which is where most fractures occur. It was linked to study time, but regardless of how much time they spent studying, the risk was significantly reduced if they spent at least three hours each week participating in high-intensity upright sport.

Internet leisure use was found to negatively affect whole body bone mineral content in boys.

Dr Gracia Marco said: "More research is needed to establish exactly why there are differences between the two genders, and why these types of activity are particularly damageing to teenage boys and girls, but we can speculate that it is linked to how long they remain in the same position.

The research was published in PubMed.

Researchers said they have found evidence that Vitamin D supplements for pregnant women in the world's colder, darker countries may stave off multiple sclerosis (MS) in their offspring.

The finding adds to a growing body of work showing a link between low Vitamin D levels and the debilitating disease, which sees the immune system attacking the body's own nerve fibres.

Data on more than 1,50,000 MS patients born in places north of 52 degrees, revealed a heightened risk for those born in April a month preceded by a long period without sunlight, said a paper in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

Of the total, 13,300 were born in April compared to 11,600 in November a lower-risk month after summer in the northern hemisphere, British researchers wrote.

"Month of birth has a significant effect on subsequent MS risk," they said.

"This is likely to be due to ultraviolet light exposure and maternal Vitamin D levels.

They added, though, it could also be "any factor that varies in a similar seasonal and latitudinal manner".

The data was taken from individuals born between 1930 and 1980, from studies done in Britain, the United States, Italy, Israel, Finland, Scotland, Sweden and Canada parts of which see little sunlight between the months of October and March.

About 1,00,000 people in Britain and about 4,00,000 in the United States are believed to suffer from MS, a disease that affects vision, movement, balance, sensation, bladder control and eventually also memory and thinking. There is no cure.
Study co-author Sreeram Ramagopalan from the Queen Mary University of London said the findings amounted to an added MS risk of 5 percent for people born in April about five extra births per million.

"Pregnant mothers need to ensure they are Vitamin D replete at all times," Ramagopalan said in an email exchange.

"Because Vitamin D deficiency is a massive problem at the moment due to living at high latitudes and lifestyle changes (wearing sunscreen etc), mothers may need to take several thousand international units of Vitamin D3 to become Vitamin D replete."

Humans need Vitamin D, which our bodies produce from exposure to sunlight or extract from food, for healthy bones.

Suspected links between a lack of vitamin D and an increased risk of death, including from heart disease and certain types of cancer, have been the subject of medical research for several years.

Researchers have also focused on its possible role in MS.

"It is thought that maternal Vitamin D levels during pregnancy affect the immune status of the developing foetus, and hence modulates subsequent MS risk," wrote the authors.

North of 52 degrees latitude lies the northern parts of England, the Scandinavian countries, and most of Russia and Canada.

No studies from the southern hemisphere were included in the analysis.

A new study has estimated that 100 million people have died due to smoking in India over the last 100 years, and the worst apparently is yet to come. Nearly 4.52 trillion cigarettes and 40.3 trillion beedis have been produced in 100 years, between 1910 and 2010 in India, according to a new study published in the journal Current Science. And in an even more shocking revelation, the study has estimated nearly a 100 million premature deaths in India, as a result of smoking in the last 100 years.

The study found that in the first 50 years between 1910 and 1960, more than 5.5 trillion beedis and 52.7 billion cigarettes were manufactured and smoked. Researchers believe these smokers mostly died in a span of the next 40-50 years.

But researchers have warned that the larger part of the epidemic is yet to occur. That is because in the last 50 years, from 1960 to 2010, smoking rates went up four times - and these are estimated to cause a large number of deaths in the next 50 years.

Study Author Dr Nevin Wilson said, "Smoking is estimated to cause 78.8 million deaths till 2050." Another study author Dr PC Gupta said that if this continues, we will see more than 200 million deaths within this century.

Presently, India has 111 million smokers, but public health experts warn of a larger health epidemic in the 164 million Indian smokeless tobacco users. Gutka is known is causing 90 per cent of all oral cancers and is responsible for the maximum number of young heart attacks, Gupta said.

Look at that girl, isn't she beautiful and her skin, oh! She has that perfect glow. Can't I have a glowing skin like her? Do thoughts like these make you jealous? Everyone wants to grab that attention and look their best during the festive season. But, thanks to our stressful lives, faulty eating habits, pollution and most of all our lethargy, we neglect to take care of ourselves. A healthy skin and perfect radiance tops the wish list of every woman irrespective of her age and profession.

But, don't worry, this Diwali, we bring before you the best home remedies that will work wonders for skin while being cost effective too.


Home tips for glowing skin:

- Egg white and honey face mask: It works wonders, trust me. All you have to do is first mix one egg white with 1 tbsp of honey and after this, apply it evenly over your face extending it to the neck. All you get to see is a glowing bright skin.

- Milk and honey mask: It is one of the best formulas to get that instant glow. Take a spoonful of honey and mix at least half cup of fresh milk in it. Now, apply this wonder mask on your face and see the amazing results.

Home tips for chapped lips:

- Desi Ghee, yes! which we resist to eat is actually the best moisturizer for those chapped lips.

- Applying a little amount of coconut oil is very effective in treating dry lips.

- One can also apply a small amount of paste containing honey mixed with a little Vaseline on dry lips to retain the lost moister of your lips.

Home tips for treating under eye circles:

- Apply cucumber juice for say 10-15 minutes and then wash off your eyes with plain water. This will help in reducing the stress of your eyes.

- Applying a mixture of potato juice with cucumber juice proves to be quite effective in treating puffiness of eyes along with dark circles.

- Cooled tea bags too help a lot in revitalizing the area under your eyes.

Home tips for those dry and black elbows and knees:

- Cut a lemon and then apply its juice on the darkened area of your elbow and knee and see the change. Do it at least twice a week for most effective results.

- Applying a mixture of sugar with honey and scrubbing it on your elbows and knees twice a week is also helpful.

- Another tip is to mix 1 tbsp of coconut oil in lemon juice and the applying it.

Home tips to treat cracked heels:

- For treating cracked heels, apply a mixture of candle wax and mustard oil and leave it on overnight to see the difference.

- Cracked heel is a common problem but trust me, sesame oil works wonders. Apply it on your cracked heels before going to bed and you will fall in love with your feet the very next day.

- Applying pulp of ripe banana on the affected area helps a lot in fast healing.

So, go on ladies make the most of these tips and shine like a 'diya' this diwali from tip-to-toe.

Researchers from Sweden have identified a protein in blood that can indicate who is at risk of diabetes at an early stage, thereby reducing the chances of the disease to damage areas like blood vessels and eyes because of late diagnosis.

"We have shown that individuals who have above-average levels of a protein called SFRP4 in the blood are five times more likely to develop diabetes in the next few years than those with below-average levels," Anders Rosengren, a researcher at the Lund University Diabetes Centre (LUDC), who led the work on the risk marker, said.

It is the first time a link has been established between the protein SFRP4, which plays a role in inflammatory processes in the body, and the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Studies at LUDC, in which donated insulin-producing beta cells from diabetic individuals and non-diabetic individuals have been compared, show that cells from diabetics have significantly higher levels of the protein.

It is also the first time the link between inflammation in beta cells and diabetes has been proven.

"The theory has been that low-grade chronic inflammation weakens the beta cells so that they are no longer able to secrete sufficient insulin. There are no doubt multiple reasons for the weakness, but the SFRP4 protein is one of them," Taman Mahdi, main author of the study and one of the researchers in Rosengren's group, said.

The level of the protein SFRP4 in the blood of non-diabetics was measured three times at intervals of three years.

Thirty-seven per cent of those who had higher than average levels developed diabetes during the period of the study. Among those with a lower than average level, only nine per cent developed the condition.

"This makes it a strong risk marker that is present several years before diagnosis. We have also identified the mechanism for how SFRP4 impairs the secretion of insulin. The marker therefore reflects not only an increased risk, but also an ongoing disease process," Rosengren said.

The marker works independently of other known risk factors for type 2 diabetes, for example obesity and age.

"If we can point to an increased risk of diabetes in a middle-aged individual of normal weight using a simple blood test, up to ten years before the disease develops, this could provide strong motivation to them to improve their lifestyle to reduce the risk," Rosengren said.

"In the long term, our findings could also lead to new methods of treating type 2 diabetes by developing ways of blocking the protein SFRP4 in the insulin-producing beta cells and reducing inflammation, thereby protecting the cells," he said.

The findings have been published in the journal Cell Metabolism.