Even car passengers at risk of DVT The risk of developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT) doubles after travelling for more than four hours, regardless of whether you're flying or even in a car - and it's most dangerous for tall and short people. 'What causes the risk is immobility,' says Catherine Le Gales-Camus, of the World Health Organisation, which estimates that one in 6,000 long-haul passengers is at risk of DVT. Also at risk are the obese and women on the pill, Reuters reports. When muscles aren't able to contract for several hours, blood starts to pool in the legs, which can result in potentially fatal clots. Breathing technique a mood enhancer Researchers have finally got around to testing a breathing technique developed for asthma sufferers about 40 years ago - and it works. The Papworth method of breathing and relaxation exercises developed in the 1960s not only reduces asthma symptoms but improves your mood, a University College London study has found. The researchers say the technique may also help treat other breathing disorders, Reuters reports. Stressed comfort eaters get fatter Stress triggers certain forms of obesity by releasing a molecule that encourages fat cells to grow in size and number. Researchers say blocking that the process can have a remarkable effect - in mice, at least. In an Australian study, mice subjected to stress while on a so-called comfort food diet (high-fat, high-sugar) developed more body fat than unstressed mice. But blocking neuropeptide-Y receptors in their fat cells cut abdominal fat deposits by 40 per cent and reduced adverse metabolic changes such as glucose intolerance and fatty liver, WebMD reports. 'Our findings suggest that we may be able to reverse or prevent ... the worst kind of obesity: the apple-shaped type, which makes these people more susceptible to heart disease and diabetes,' say the researchers at the Garvan Institute in Melbourne. Added bonus for spermicide users An ingredient in many spermicides may hinder the transmission of human papillomavirus (HPV), say US researchers, but the studies on mice are preliminary and may not apply to people. Nonoxynol-9 is used in many lubricants and contraceptive creams, WebMD reports. However, lubricants containing carrageenan seem to protect against HPV infection, even if nonoxynol-9 is used as well, the Dartmouth Medical School study found. HPV causes genital warts and most cervical cancers. Jason Sankey is a tennis professional
