High-fat diet link to ovarian cancer
A long-term low-fat diet may cut the risk of ovarian cancer by as much as 40 per cent, say US researchers who studied about 49,000 women over eight years. The reduced risk became apparent after about four years. A typical American diet contains about 35 per cent fat. The women in the study were asked to cut theirs to 20 per cent (they got it down to about 24 per cent, on average) and boost their intake of fruit, vegetables and whole grains.
Pollution cuts life expectancy
Polluted air and water, and environmental changes blamed on global warming, may cut life expectancy in Europe by nearly a year, according to a report by the European Environment Agency. 'The estimated annual loss of life is significantly greater than that due to car accidents,' it said in the report. Hundreds of thousands of Europeans are dying prematurely because of air pollution.
Depression rates in Japan's youth
More than one in 10 Japanese teens in their first year of high school suffer from depression, according to a Hokkaido University survey. And more than one in 25 younger children, aged nine to 13, also suffer from depression. The study, which found no link between lifestyle and mental illness, follows a recent series of teen suicides attributed mainly to bullying.