The Human Imprint

Australian school-based Obesity Prevention Program fails to reduce BMI

Ausfoodnews reports that an Australian school-based obesity prevention program for adolescent girls has failed to reduce body mass index (BMI) in the participants, according to a report published by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Researchers at the University of Newcastle, Australia, examined the effects of a 12-month group trial designed to prevent unhealthy weight gain in adolescent girls living in low-income communities. The study was funded by a grant from the Australian Research Council. The study included 357 adolescent girls between the ages of 12 to 14 years, and 148 girls received the program. The program included, among other things, enhanced school sport sessions, nutrition workshops, lunchtime physical activity sessions and text messaging for social support. After 12 months, changes in BMI were “in favour” of the program, but were not statistically different from those in the control group, according to the study results.

Follow the link for more details.

Foodbank handouts double as more families end up on the breadline

The Guardian reports that Britain's leading foodbank network, the Trussell Trust, says every single day it is handing out emergency food parcels to parents who are going without meals in order to feed their children, or even considering stealing food to put on the table, as the government's austerity measures start to bite.

The number of people to whom it had issued emergency food parcels had doubled in the last 12 months and was set to increase further as rising living costs, shrinking incomes and welfare cuts take their toll,Two foodbanks a week opened up in the UK over the last 12 months to meet an explosion in demand from families living on the breadline, the trust said. The charity currently oversees 201 foodbanks run on a franchise basis across the UK, up from 100 in 2010-11. It fed 128,000 people last year, distributing 1,225 tonnes of food donated by the public, schools and businesses, and estimates that half a million individuals a year will be in receipt of a food parcel by 2016. follow the link to read the full article.

Sugar warning for 'healthy drinks'

People are underestimating sugar levels in drinks which are perceived to be "healthy" options, according to new research. More than 2,000 people across the UK were asked to estimate how many teaspoons of sugar were in a variety of beverages and, while many overestimated the amount in fizzy drinks, they "significantly misjudged" the levels in milkshakes, smoothies and some fruit juices.

The research, carried out by the University of Glasgow, suggested the average person in the UK consumes 659g and 3,144 calories a week through non-alcoholic liquid intake. At 450 calories a day, it is the equivalent to almost a quarter of the recommended daily calorie intake for women and around a fifth for men.

Source: The Independent

Agencies warn poor rains threaten Somalia's recovery

Follow this link to BBC News to find out more on these concerning predictions.

Schmallenberg virus (SBV) infection cases continues to rise

Schmallenberg virus (SBV) infection has now been identified on 190 farms. Fourteen of the positive cases have been diagnosed in cattle, 176 in sheep, and none to date in other species such as goats, camelids or deer. Currently, SBV infection has only been identified in areas predicted to be at risk of midge incursion from Northern Europe during summer / autumn 2011. It is likely that domestic midges have transmitted SBV within the affected areas.

Source: AHVLA

Post Chernobyl sheep controls to be removed

I remember the incident in 1986 thinking about the cloud of radiation going over the UK and twenty six years later the Board of the Food Standards Agency has agreed to the lifting of the last of the ‘Mark and Release’ monitoring controls on sheep introduced in 1986 as a result of the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

Out of the 9,800 UK holdings, and more than 4 million sheep originally placed under restriction following the accident in 1986, there are only 327 farms in North Wales and 8 farms in Cumbria, England, still remaining under some form of restriction. All 'Mark and Release' controls were lifted in Northern Ireland in 2000 and in Scotland in 2010.

For the full report check out this link.

New FAO Statistical Yearbook links figures to trends

FAO Media Centre reports that the yearbook, the foremost collection and reference point for statistical data on food and agriculture, provides a snapshot of related economic, environmental and social trends and issues. It breaks down a myriad of numbers gathered from around the world into four broad thematic categories: the state of the agricultural resource base; hunger dimensions; feeding the world; and sustainability.

France Restores Ban on Genetically Modified Maize Crops

Scientific American reports that  France has set a temporary new ban on the cultivation of Monsanto's MON810 genetically modified maize, after a previous moratorium was annulled by the country's top court in November. Follow the link to read the article

Zoonoses report

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have published their annual report on zoonoses and food-borne outbreaks in the European Union for 2010. The report shows that Salmonella cases in humans fell by almost 9% in 2010, marking a decrease for the sixth consecutive year. Salmonella prevalence in poultry is also clearly declining at the EU level.

Campylobacteriosis remains the most reported zoonotic infection in humans since 2005 and the number of cases has been increasing over the last five years. This report supports the European Commission and EU Member States in their consideration of possible measures to protect consumers from risks related to zoonoses.

Source: EFSA

Europe facing egg shortages

Check out the article on WattAgNet.com