Blog #10: The negative Effects of Pot

Summary:

There has been a lot of debate about whether or not marijuana is harmful to the human body or not. And although a lot of data has gone back and forth between whether not pot is actually harmful, recent data has shown that using pot one to seven times a week can actually have very harmful effects. It most strongly affects individuals from the ages 18-24. The areas of an individual’s brain who is between the ages of 18-24 that are most harmed are those relating to emotion and motivation. The effects of marijuana have also been found to show their effects later rather than sooner. In other words, individuals who smoke a lot of pot will not see the negative effects of pot until later in their life.

Analysis:

People who smoke pot on a regular basis will likely see the results later in life. Most people think that they must be heavy smokers for it to truly have a negative effect, but just smoking one to seven blunts a week will result in brain damage. Researchers in the article found that smoking pot damages the nucleus accumbens and the nucleus amygdala, which are two areas on the brain that are highly responsible for helping regulate the emotions and motivations of individuals. Researchers also found that when these areas of the brain are damaged, it results in a person without life goals. Therefore not only does pot lead to health risks by damaging the brain, it can affect the rest of an individual’s life as far as what jobs they choose, whether or not they go to school and, and other important life goals as well.  In conclusion, researchers found that pot has an overall negative effect on the health and external life issues of any individual who smokes pot on a regular basis.

Link: 

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/health/140417/bad-news-420-casual-pot-use-causes-brain-abnormalities-young-adults 

Blog # 9: Increasing the risk of oral cancer

Summary:

                The latest research on oral cancer has lead researchers to discover that bad dental hygiene and extreme use of mouth washes with alcohol in them can lead to increased risks of oral/mouth cancer. Around the world there are approximately 640,000 people who contract oral cancer which can occur in the following places: the tongue, the floor of the mouth the gum, and the cheek. The deaths caused by oral cancer were counted to be around 7,890 in past years.  These findings were discovered by the Leibniz Institute for Prevention and Epidemiology.

Analysis:

                Researchers want to know if these finding mean anything important. And what they found was that although poor mouth cleaning and mouth washes with alcohol cannot alone cause oral cancer, they can increase the risk of mouth cancer when an individual is already smoking or already consuming large amounts of alcohol. Smoking and alcohol are the most common causes of mouth cancer and having a consistently dirty mouth or swishing mouth wash that contains alcohol can hurt one’s chances of fighting oral cancer if they already smoke or drink a lot of alcohol. Mouth cancer is a non-communicable disease that can be prevented. Researchers hope to use this information to teach people that they need to every precaution to avoid oral cancer. A cleaner mouth and mouth washes without alcohol as well as not smoking and heavily drinking alcohol are all major ways that people can greatly reduce their chances of getting oral cancer. 

Link:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/04/08/300257396/mouthwash-and-poor-dental-hygiene-may-up-the-risk-of-oral-cancer

Blog # 8: Tuberculous rates in South Africa

Summary:

Silicon dust is a huge reason why people get tuberculosis (TB). For years people wondered where it came from and found that silicon dust formed in mines was causing people to contract tuberculosis.  After many years, TB still strongly affects people around the world, but most strongly in mines in South Africa.  The country of South Africa population has one of the highest risks for TB. In fact, TB was said to be contracted by  more than 1,000 out of every 100,000 individuals. South Africa’s president said that the TB disease was the primary cause of death throughout the country, as well as nearby countries such as Lesotho, Mozambique, and Swaziland. The mines are a huge part of South Africa’s income and therefore are an important part of their economy. Having so many people die from the silicon dust coming from the mines is not only a huge health risk for South Africa, but an economical risk.

Analysis:

A meeting was held to address the TB mining issues, the world bank showed the results they obtained from a study which said that there was a 40:1 benefit-cost ratio to treating TB. South Africa is trying to do more to help prevent the high levels of TB throughout the country. They are doing health screening and putting forth a TB testing initiative. They are hoping that South Africa’s neighboring countries will do the same. Even though TB is highest in countries in Africa, TB screening should be done all around the world. TB awareness should be raised all over the world because it has such a high death rate. 

Link: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/global-pulse/southern-african-countries-address-TB

Blog #7: Air Pollution is Killing People Around the World

Summary:

According to the WHO, around 7 million people died from illnesses due to air pollution around the world in the year 2012. Over half of these deaths were linked to indoor smoke from cook stoves. They say that air pollution in now the biggest environmental health risk for people around the world.  The deaths caused by air pollution include but are not limited to, heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer. Asia, the Pacific Islands, and Southeast Asian regions have shown to be experiencing the most harmful amounts of air pollution. According to the Who report 2.8 million and 2.3 million deaths were a result of air pollution in the year 2012. The number can only go up as 2014 passes by.  The WHO results also showed that women in developing countries experience more exposure to harmful pollution than men.

Analysis:

                So why are air pollution levels getting so bad and why are so many individuals dying from deaths caused by air pollution?  The WHO estimates that about 3 billion people around the world rely on coal, wood, and open-aired fires for household cooking.  In the country of India, 63% of the population uses solid fuels for cooking, and these fuels produce harmful pollutants in to the air such as carbon monoxide. Women and children are affected the most by the harmful pollutants because they spend more time indoors than men do. This especially affects poorer families who have leaky coal and wood cook stoves.  Outdoor air pollution killed around 3.7 million people with the majority of those deaths coming from low- and middle-income countries. The outdoor air pollution comes from sources like diesel engines and industrial emissions. 60% of these deaths were due to cardiovascular diseases such as stroke and heart disease.

Link:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/25/health/who-air-pollution-deaths/index.html?hpt=he_c2

Blog #6: Exercise helps reduce the risk of breast cancer

Summary: Research shows that for women around the world, an hour of exercise can reduce the chances of obtaining breast cancer.  In a study, researchers looked at data on over 4 million women and compared the ones who got the least amount of exercise and those who were most active and found that those who were most active reduced their risk of breast cancer by 12 percent. Physical activity has already shown to help reduce the risks of other types of cancers and heart disease, and researchers gladly added breast cancer to the list. They also found that exercise reduces women’s risk for breast cancer regardless of their age and weight. No matter where a woman is at in life, exercise has shown to be beneficial. Researchers also added that the reduced risk of cancer is not due to weight loss or being fit from a young age, it is just the exercise itself that helps.

Analysis: Researchers say that while exercise is extremely beneficial in reducing the risk of cancer, the full explanation behind it is still unclear. Researchers hope that these findings will give women around the world real motivation to exercise and stay healthy. They say that even small exercise improvements are beneficial. Now that breast cancer is added to the list of cancers reduced by exercise, researchers hope that it will make cities and organizations encourage more exercise on a daily basis. They hope that cities will encourage walking and bicycle friendly areas for people to exercise on. Simply walking or riding a bike more is a small cost to pay to safe large life expenses later.

 Link:

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=177354

Blog #5: The Negative Effects of Sugar

Summary:

            According the World Health Organization, a person’s sugar intake should be less than 10% of your total calories a day. They also said that consuming less than 5% of total calories from added sugars can lead to additional health benefits.  Most people consume an average of 15% of their daily calories from added sugars which adds up to about 300 calories a day. This is all based on a 2,000-calorie diet.  Large amounts of sugar intake increases one’s risk of death from heart disease, and some studies found that high intake of added sugars raises people’s chances of many poor health conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease and stroke. 

Analysis:

            Overall, people around the world consume entirely too much sugar. Although it seems like America is one of the countries with the biggest junk food intakes, places all around the world are seeing similar results. Any countries that consume a lot of sweets and junk foods containing sugar risk raising their chances of several noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.  Health advisors also suggests that women should eat no more than 100 calories a day from added sugars, or about 6 teaspoons of sugar, and men should consume no more than 150 calories a day, or about 9 teaspoons. Added sugar is in so many foods these days and it can be hard to stay away from. Every time food is consumed,  labels should be looked at to see how many calories from sugar there are. Sugar has negative effects on the human body and should only be eaten in moderation.

Link:
http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/health/2014/03/06/you-need-to-cut-even-more-sugar-to-live-healthy-lifestyle/6126367/

Blog #4: Fast Food Leads to Obesity

Summary:

                The World Health Organization is encouraging counties around the world to help stop the rising obesity rates. They say that the main reason countries are becoming too over weight is the easy access and advertisement of fast food. The WHO also found that places with higher income people tend to spend more money on fast food. The WHO believes that if governments have more control and regulation of the fast food industry that they could prevent or reverse the growing obesity problem around the world. Obesity leads to conditions that result in long term health problems such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Rather than investing in programs to help the currently obese, the WHO says it is better to invest in prevention because it is a lot harder lose weight once it is already on you.

Analysis:

                The WHO is very determined to help stop noncummunicable diseases such as cancer and heart disease and obesity is a big part of that. Obesity is an extremely hard thing to fix once an individual has gained weight. WHO realizes that it is much smarter to prevent obesity. In order to prevent obesity, the WHO wants to put regulations on fast food restaurants. The number of people getting fast food has increased where deregulation and globalization have occurred. Large amounts of weight gain were seen in Canada, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. Countries like Italy, Netherlands, Greece and Belgium having fewer transactions due to tighter regulations and therefore have lower obesity rates. Being overweight by school age can lead to obesity in the teenage years and possibly even adulthood. Because of this parents need to be more proactive in teaching children about healthy choices and preventing obesity early in before it becomes a health concern.

Link:

http://guardianlv.com/2014/02/world-health-organization-study-seeks-prevention-of-obesity/

Victoria Lusk's Blog #3: Palliative Care

Summary:

The World Health Organization collected data around the world and found that only 1 in 10 people who need palliative care are receiving it. Palliative care is medical care that relieves the pain, symptoms and stress of serious illness. Palliative care is not just pain relief; it also includes the physical, psychosocial and emotional suffering of patients who are suffering serious advanced illnesses. About one third of those needing palliative care suffer from cancer, and the other two-thirds have illnesses affecting their heart, lung, liver, kidney, brain, or other life-threatening diseases such as HIV and drug-resistant tuberculosis. Most people need palliative care at the end if their life. 6% of patients needing palliative care are children. The majority of people who receive palliative care are upper class and upper middle income families, yet 80% of the people who need palliative care the most are in lower income areas.

Analysis:

                Palliative care is an important part of the medical process. Noncommunicable diseases often involve the most suffering and the most common noncommunicable disease is cancer which involves extended periods of pain and suffering. People in lower income areas cannot afford to pay for palliative care, and in some cases, it is not even offered. Palliative care is most commonly offered in more wealthy areas, yet people in high income areas tend to be healthier because of easier access to health care. The people who are most at risk of noncommunicable diseases live in poorer countries that do not offer palliative care. The WHO has called for palliative care to be an essential part of health care. The WHO has emphasized the importance of palliative care in their WHO Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases 2013–2020. Palliative care is an essential part of medical care that the WHO is trying to incorporate into as many countries as possible.

Link:

http://who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2014/palliative-care-20140128/en/

Victoria Lusk's Blog #2, Cancer in Developing Coutries

Summary:

The World Health Organization's 2014 Cancer Evaluation has shown the unfortunate numbers when it comes to cancer. The evaluation stated that 14 million new cancer cases were reported around the world in the year 2012, and the rate is expected to rise to 22 million cases a year within 20 years. The amount of deaths caused by cancer is also expected to rise from 8.2 million a year to 13 million a year. These numbers are somewhat depressing, and remind people that we do not have much control over a very common disease. Countries that are being hit the hardest are lower and middle class people in developing countries. Africa, Asia, and Central and South America are the top countries that account for more than 60 percent of the world's cancer cases and around 70 percent of the world's cancer deaths.

Analysis:

Poorer industrialized countries are more prone to certain kinds of cancer because of certain unsafe environments they contain. They have a wider range of cancers that they are more prone to because of their aging populations and higher rates of infection-related cancers. They also lack the means to do scanning and preventative care. They lack treatment and early detection in countries like Africa, Asia, and South and Central America. There are two types of cancers that are especially prevalent and dangerous for poorer countries. First there are cancers triggered by infections, like cervical cancer, that often go undetected due to lack of screening, and there are an increasing number of cancers linked with smoking, drinking, eating processed foods and not exercising enough. Poorer countries do not always have the means to live healthy life styles as people in North America do, and these unhealthy life styles lead to higher risks of cancer and no proper means to treat them.

Web Link:

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/health/140204/who-report-global-cancer-developing-countries

Blog #1, The Negative Affects of Smoking

Feb. 6th, 2014
Summary:

Smoking has become a global problem for men and women around the world. Approximately 50% of men smoke and 10% of women smoke. At these current rates, the number of deaths cause by tobacco use will rise from 5 million to 10 million in the next few decades.  The World Health Assembly (WHO) has called on governments to reduce the high rates of smoking by at least a third by the year 2025. They say that doing this will avoid more 200 million deaths by the end of the century. Smoking is one of the most common noncommunicable diseases and the WHO wants a 25% decrease in deaths by noncommunicable diseases. One of the best ways to reduce the amount of cigarette use around the world is to increase taxes on them.

Analysis:

Two thirds of all smokers live in China, India, the European Union, Indonesia, the United States, Russia, Japan, Brazil, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Smoking has become a global issue and is the number one noncommunicable death.  Tobacco already accounts for about 12 to 25% of deaths among men in low- and middle-income countries such as China, India, Bangladesh, and South Africa. This article emphasizes the rising number of deaths from smoking across the world. It also says that stopping before the age of 40 can help one avoid more than 90% of the excess risk during the decades after 40 years old. This article also states the number one way to stop smoking and stop future smokers is to raise taxes on them. They can raise taxes on cigarettes as a whole, or individual companies can raise the taxes on their products. Raising taxes on all cigarettes is the preferred option because it affects everyone. If only a few select brands are taxed extra, then consumers will buy the cheaper brands. If we do not stop the bad smoking habits around the world, then more and more people will continue to die. Although some may say it is unfair to raise taxes on a product that so many people like or feel they need to have, the affects will be more beneficial than harmful. Despite the millions of people who have died from smoking already, many people do not think it will happen to them. Raising the prices and taxes on cigarettes is the best way to reduce the number of smokers. 

Link: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1308383?query=featured_global-health

Victoria Lusk Topic: health

My name is Victoria Lusk and I am interested in the topic of health.