Aug182017

China warns of geological disasters in some region

East Asia

Meteorological authorities Thursday warned of possible geological disasters in southwestern China as heavy rain is expected in the region.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) and the Ministry of Land and Resources warned of high risks of geological disasters in quake-hit Jiuzhaigou County and central areas of Sichuan Province as well as parts of Gansu, Tibet, Yunnan, Guangxi, Jiangxi and Anhui from Thursday to Friday evening.

A 7.0-magnitude quake rocked Jiuzhaigou County last Tuesday, leaving 24 dead and hundreds injured.

The NMC revoked a blue alert for a rainstorm on Thursday, but the forecast for rainstorms in north, east and south China will continue.

People in rain-affected areas should take precautions against possible mountain torrents, mud-rock flows and landslides, the NMC warned.

China has a four-tier color-coded warning system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

Over the past years, China has suffered some large-scale natural disasters, from extreme weather to geological events, causing huge losses of life and property.

Aug182017

Official: Tainted eggs won’t enter mainland

East Asia

Eggs tainted by the pesticide fipronil in Europe do not pose a threat to the Chinese mainland, as no European countries have approval to send eggs or egg products here, the Ministry of Agriculture said on Thursday.

China maintains strict supervision over the use of pesticides, and forbids the use of fipronil in poultry farming, Jin Fazhong, the ministry’s deputy director for agricultural product quality and safety supervision, said at a news conference.

The eggs in question originated in the Netherlands and were exported to as many as 16 European countries and Hong Kong. Millions of chicken eggs have been pulled from European and Hong Kong supermarket shelves as a result of the fipronil scare.

The ministry “will intensify supervision and control of pesticides and veterinary drugs to ensure they are used safely in agricultural production” and it “will ensure the safety of agricultural products at the source”, Jin said.

Agricultural product quality and safety in China has improved steadily over the past five years, with more than 96 percent of products passing national standards in each of the past five years, said Guang Defu, director of the ministry’s agricultural product quality and safety supervision.

In the first half of this year, inspection results showed 97.6 percent of agricultural products met quality and safety standards, a rise of 0.4 percentage points over the same period last year, he said.

By comparison, in 2001 only about 60 percent of vegetables, meat and aquatic products in the domestic market met standards, he said.

Food containing melamine, a toxic substance that can make dairy products appear to have more protein, has met standards for eight consecutive years, he said.

Melamine was at the center of a food safety scandal in 2008 in China, when infant formula produced by Sanlu Group, then a leading dairy company, was found to contain a large amount. Six babies died.

Over the past five years, agricultural authorities have launched various special campaigns to catch violators, focusing on the use of banned pesticides, veterinary drugs and illegal additives in fresh milk. Punishments have been handed down in 238,000 cases, Guang said.

Luo Yunbo, a professor of food safety at China Agricultural University, said more legislation is needed in the production and use of agricultural products, with more severe punishments for violations.

He also said the authorities should roll out more measures encouraging farmers to use environmentally friendly pesticides, such as raising the prices of highly toxic pesticides and providing subsidies to manufacturers of effective pesticides that have lower toxicity.

Aug182017

Body altered by PM2.5, study finds

East Asia

Chinese scientists have discovered that exposure to PM2.5 could significantly increase stress hormones in humans, as well as cause metabolic changes in blood glucose, amino acids and lipids.

The team, led by Kan Haidong, a professor at Fudan University’s School of Public Health, shed light on the prevention and treatment of diseases caused by PM2.5－fine particles 2.5 microns or less in diameter that can go deep into the lungs and cause health problems, even deadly ones.

There is considerable evidence that the tiny particles found in polluted air can damage the cardiovascular system, but it is still not fully known how they work in many parts of the human body.

The team’s study appeared in Circulation, a science journal published by the American Heart Association, on Tuesday.

“We generated two conclusions from the study: Exposure to PM2.5 may lead to higher cardiovascular risk through increasing stress hormones; and indoor air purifiers are useful for protecting our health,” Kan said on Thursday.

Stress hormones, such as cortisol and epinephrine, are released when the body senses a danger, resulting in an increased heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rate, and a shutdown of metabolic processes such as digestion, reproduction, growth and immunity.

The scientists conducted tests on 55 healthy college students in Shanghai, with real and fake air purifiers randomly placed in participants’ dormitories.

Analysis showed that exposure to higher levels of PM2.5 led to significant increases in cortisol, cortisone, epinephrine and norepinephrine. Between-treatment differences were also observed for glucose, amino acids, fatty acids and lipids.

Scientists found significantly higher blood pressure, hormones, insulin resistance and biomarkers of stress and inflammation among individuals exposed to higher levels of PM2.5.

However, short-term reductions in stress hormones were observed following indoor air purification.

The studies were released as air quality in Shanghai is improving somewhat.

According to the city’s environmental protection bureau, the average concentration of PM2.5 in the first half of this year stood at 42 micrograms per cubic meter, a drop of 22.2 percent year-on-year and a 36.4 percent reduction from 2013.

Statistics also showed that the city reported excellent or good air quality on 142 days in the first six months, an increase of 7.1 percentage points year-on-year.

Aug182017

News story: £5 million investment for new obesity policy research unit

HM Government

The Department of Health has announced £5 million of funding for a new obesity policy research unit at University College London.

One year on from the launch of the childhood obesity plan, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Obesity Policy Research Unit has been set up to provide resource for long term research into childhood obesity.

It will give independent advice to policy makers and analysts, and develop understanding on the causes of childhood obesity, looking at social inequalities, the early years of childhood, and marketing to children and families.

It will also help to evaluate action that has been taken so far, to make sure the plan works for those who need it most.

In addition, the government tasked Public Health England (PHE) to look at why children are eating too many calories.

Philip Dunne, Minister of State for Health, said:

Too many of our children are growing up obese, which can lead to serious health complications. We all have a responsibility to help people live healthier lives, but with a third of children leaving primary school obese we must take a comprehensive approach and now focus on excess calories.

This can only be done through strong guidance, grounded in evidence. That’s why we have funded a new £5 million dedicated obesity policy research unit to understand the deeper causes of obesity.

Professor Russell Viner, Policy Research Unit Director and Professor of Adolescent Health, at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, said:

Obesity is one of the greatest health concerns of our time and we welcome this considerable and very timely investment from the government.

We are delighted that the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health will host the new obesity policy research unit (OPRU). Preventing obesity in early life is key to turning the tide on this modern epidemic.

Obesity levels among children and young people present a significant, long-term challenge for the NHS: reducing calorie consumption is critical to reversing the worrying obesity trend, which shows:

  • 1 in 3 children are either overweight or obese by the time they leave primary school
  • children from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to be obese
  • more children in the UK than ever before are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, some as young as 7

Aug182017

Press release: Next stage of world-leading childhood obesity plan announced

HM Government

As set out in the plan, PHE will now consider the evidence on children’s calorie consumption and set the ambition for the calorie reduction programme to remove excess calories from the foods children consume the most.

Ready meals, pizzas, burgers, savoury snacks and sandwiches are the kinds of foods likely to be included in the programme.

Over the past year, real progress has been made on reducing the level of sugar in many products.

The Soft Drinks Industry Levy has become law and will come into effect in April 2018 and PHE has formulated a comprehensive sugar reduction programme with the aim of a 20% reduction in sugar in key foods by 2020. Leading retailers and manufacturers have also announced they are, or already have, lowered the amount of sugar in their products as a result of these programmes.

Sugar reformulation was a vital first step under the childhood obesity programme, however overconsumption of calories will continue to have a detrimental effect on the health of our children without further action.

Adults currently consume on average between 200 to 300 calories too many each day and children are following suit, with food more readily available than ever before. Reducing calorie consumption from sources other than sugar is critical to reversing the worrying obesity trend, which shows:

  • 1 in 3 children are either overweight or obese by the time they leave primary school
  • more children in the UK than previously are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, some as young as 7
  • children from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to be obese

Philip Dunne, Minister of State for Health said:

Too many of our children are growing up obese, which can lead to serious health complications. We all have a responsibility to help people live healthier lives, but with a third of children leaving primary school obese we must take a comprehensive approach and now focus on excess calories.

This can only be done through strong guidance, grounded in evidence – that’s why we have funded a new £5 million dedicated Obesity Research Policy Unit to understand the deeper causes of obesity.

Duncan Selbie, chief executive of PHE, said:

A third of children leave primary school overweight or obese and an excess of calories – not just excess sugar consumption – is the root cause of this.

We will work with the food companies and retailers to tackle this as the next critical step in combating our childhood obesity problem.

PHE will publish the evidence in early 2018. Following this it will then consult with the food industry, trade bodies and health non-governmental organisations to develop guidance and timelines for the calorie reduction programme.

The Department of Health has also funded a policy research unit – the £5 million National Institute for Health Obesity Research Policy Unit at University College London – which will look to develop a deeper understanding on the causes of childhood obesity, including marketing to children and families, social inequalities, and the early years of childhood.

Professor Russell Viner, Policy Research Unit Director and Professor of Adolescent Health, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, said:

Obesity is one of the greatest health concerns of our time and we welcome this considerable and very timely investment from the government. We are delighted that the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health will host the new Obesity Policy Research Unit (OPRU). Preventing obesity in early life is key to turning the tide on this modern epidemic.

  1. Since the childhood obesity plan was published, retailers and manufacturers like Nestle, General Mills, Lucozade Ribena Suntory, Tesco, Waitrose, Kellogg’s, Sainsbury’s, Marks and Spencer, Greggs, Starbucks and Breck’s Food have announced they are, or already have, lowered the amount of sugar in their products.

  2. The sugar reduction programme sees Public Health England working with the food and drink industry to remove 20% of the sugar children (up to 18 years of age) consume from the foods that contribute the most sugar to their diets by 2020. Guidelines that set out the approaches the food industry should take to achieve this target were published in March alongside baseline levels of sugar in products.

  3. The Soft Drinks Industry Levy comes into effect in April 2018. Drinks with more than 8g of total sugar per 100ml will pay 24p per litre, with drinks between 5g and 8g sugar per 100ml paying 18p. Drink with less than 5g sugar per 100ml are exempt.

  4. The free Change4Life Be Food Smart app helps families see the amount of sugar, salt and saturated fat in food and drinks. More information is on the Be Food Smart website.

  5. It is estimated 40,000 deaths per year in England are attributable to being overweight or obese (over 10% of all deaths). An estimated 70,000 premature deaths in the UK could be avoided each year if UK diets matched nutritional guidelines.

For further information on the calorie reduction programme, contact:

For more information on the new Obesity Research Policy Unit, contact: