Being fat is bad for your brain

Children should not be given mobiles until they』re 12 years old

DR W GIFFORD-JONES

It』s been said, 「The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.」 How true! I recently planned to attend medical meetings in England and Switzerland. I never reached Switzerland.

A volcano in Iceland spewed ash all over Europe for nine days. No planes flew. But I didn』t spend all my time sulking in English pubs. Here』s what I learned.

Rows can lead to accidents

Tiger Woods』s alleged quarrel with his wife and his resulting crash into a tree is not an uncommon phenomenon in England. A survey of 1,183 motorists showed that 36 per cent admitted they drove erratically after a fight.

Psychologist Honey Langcaster-James reports that an intense quarrel with a partner triggers acute emotional turmoil, causing drivers to behave aggressively and take needless risks. This behaviour results in 2.3 million accidents on English roads every year. Langcaster-James』s advice to Woods and others: Cool down for one hour after a major argument before driving.

Mobile phones may be risky for kids

There is debate in England as there is here in Canada about children using mobile phones. Professor Lawrie Challis, Emeritus Professor of Physics at Nottingham University and expert on the effects of radiation, says children should not be given these phones until they』re at least 12 years of age.

He argues that children are more sensitive to ultraviolet light and pollutants and have less-developed immune systems. And he says that in an ideal world, these phones would never have hit the market until more research had been done.

The problem Challis sees is that cancer and neurological problems such as Alzheimer』s disease, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson』s disease take years to develop, but mobile phones have only been around for a decade.

To investigate the effects of mobile phone use, a huge study comprising 250,000 Europeans and 100,000 Britons is being launched. The result will not be known for 30 years! However, I』ve just become aware that there may be a speedier solution, and I hope to report on this shortly.

『Being fat is bad for your brain』

Dr Olivia Judson, an evolutionary biologist at Imperial College, London, reports: 「Being fat is bad for your brain.」 A study of 6,500 people found that those who were obese at middle age were more likely to suffer from dementia in their 70s.

Brains normally get smaller with age, but the result of several studies reveals that extra pounds accelerate the process. The question is why this happens.

Genes that help to govern obesity may be part of the answer. Being overweight can lead to sleep apnoea, which decreases the amount of oxygen delivered to the brain.

And since obesity is linked to atherosclerosis, hypertension, and diabetes, this too would decrease the supply of oxygen to brain tissue. Dr Judson adds that fat cells secrete substances that cause chronic inflammatory changes in the brain often seen in Alzheimer』s disease.

This is alarming news, as it was evident as I wandered England and Wales that it』s not only North Americans who are getting obese. In the years ahead, the economic impact of these diseases will be enormous.

Cuts to mental health services

English doctors I talked to worried that politicians were about to make unprecedented cuts to medical services. For instance, psychiatrists were concerned that 500,000 patients with mental illness would lose access to counselling.

Shon Lewis, professor of adult psychiatry at the University of Manchester, claims mental illness is a soft target: 「You can drag money out of this area, and people don』t die straight away, unlike cancer.」 It』s the same old song, everywhere.

Decline in organic food

I discovered that this year has had a negative impact on organic food in Britain. The biggest decline was in consumption of organic bread and bakery products. The only organic foods that bucked this trend were organic milk and baby foods.

It didn』t help that last year the Food Standards Agency, after analysing 50 years of research, found that organic food was no more nutritious than conventionally produced food.

Diamorphine for terminal cancer

Years ago, I helped legalise the use of diamorphine (heroin) for terminal cancer patients after seeing it effectively used for pain in England. To get an update, I visited several hospitals and found that diamorphine is still the painkiller of choice for patients suffering from terminal malignancies.

Was I disappointed at not reaching Switzerland? Yes, but I found the best therapy in a cosy English pub and a pint of beer.

Dr Gifford-Jones is a medical journalist with a private medical practice in Toronto.