Fast food linked to child asthma: study

PARIS: Children who frequently eat fast food are far more likely to have severe asthma compared to counterparts who tuck into fruit, a large international study published on Monday said.

Researchers asked nearly half a million teenagers aged 13-14 and children aged six and seven about their eating habits and whether in the previous year they had experienced wheezing, eczema or an itchy, blocked nose when they did not have cold or flu.

The questionnaires -- completed by a parent or guardian for the younger children -- were distributed in scores of countries.

It marks the latest phase in a long-running collaborative programme, the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC), which was launched in 1991.

The investigators filtered out factors that could skew results, such as maternal smoking during pregnancy, sedentary lifestyle and body-mass index, in order to focus purely on diet.

They found that fast food was the only food type that could be clearly linked to asthma severity.

Three or more weekly servings of fast food were associated with a 39-per cent increase in the risk of severe asthma among teens and a 27-per cent increase among younger children.

It also added to the risk of eczema and severe rhinitis.

In contrast, eating three or more weekly portions of fruit led to a reduction in symptom severity of between 11 and 14 per cent, respectively.

The study, which appears in the British Medical Association journal Thorax, noted that to prove an association is not to prove a cause -- but argued that a further inquiry was clearly needed.

"If the associations (are) causal, then the findings have major public health significance, owing to the rising consumption of fast foods globally," the authors said.

Previous research has found that the saturated and "trans" fatty acids trigger an inflammatory response from the immune system, the paper noted.

- AFP/xq

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Savour the Sankranti goodies

After all these years of having grandmas scream down our ears that seasonal, local produce is good for the body, new age nutritionists and food specialists telling are now telling us that how ghee, carbs and natural sugars will, eventually, do us good and that food miles are important. As it turns out, however, we need more than a little motherly arm twisting to eat sensibly.

A decade or so ago, people around me were turning up their noses at traditional foods — too rich, too fattening. And although I am far from fit to make such remarks, I join their club every Diwali, eyeing every little syrup-drenched, ghee-laden morsel with disdain.

But there's something about Sankranti goodies — jaggery-based laddoos and chikkis, North Indian rewris and gajak — that make me go weak in the knees.

Come January, my mum and grandmother get together to plan the elaborate, almost scared ritual of making gulachipoli. They're only made once a year, and entire afternoons are spent in the kitchen, slaving away. These are super thin, short yet chewy chapattis filled with the season's fresh jaggery, bruised sesame seeds, and a hint of cardamom. They are roasted to a golden brown, folded, and stored until Sankranti day, when they are eaten with a generous dollop of good, homemade ghee. On a cold January day, these polis are perfect to warm your soul and your body.

Apart from those, there are the usual sankranti suspects — hard and chewy sesame seed and jaggery laddoos with roasted gram and peanuts, and soft, crumbly sesame and coconut squares or vadis. The Punjabi g
rocery supplies store in town brings back rewris, tilpaapdi, and various kinds of gajak from the North every winter, and these delectable gems disappear just as suddenly as they appear. This is the stuff I have grown up on.

People my age (or a few decades younger), however, haven't a clue how full of warmth these are — and I am not just talking about their medicinal properties. While they stuff their pockets (and their faces) with ene rgy bars, I want to thrust a square of nutty, crisp sesame seed chikki under their noses and tell them how the tiny seeds will not just satisfy temporary hunger but also take care of their bones and their digestive systems in the long run; that they'll make their skins smoother and their hair glossier without having to slather unpronounceable chemicals on. And Indian grandmas aren't the only ones who think so! Sesame seeds are also used extensively in Oriental and middle-eastern cuisines as well as in bakery and confectionery.

Although the humble til is an oil seed, it contributes mono unsaturated fatty acids which help in the regulation of cholesterol by lowering the bad and increasing the good cholesterol. Sesame seeds are also rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, and are an excellent source of dietary fibre — that checks all the boxes in our current vocabulary. Now if only we'd accept the little bit of jaggery that comes with it and allow ourselves a bit of seasonal indulgence.

Perhaps, the way to change mindsets is to repackage — that standard, new-age solution to everything.

I make these cookies using unpolished sesame seeds, and the nuttiness of the sesame seeds is balanced well with the depth of the jaggery-like brown or raw sugar. The vanilla and lemon zest make the cookie appealing to palates of all ages (my 2-year-old wolfs them down with much enthusiasm) and they make for excellent gifts and handbag snacks. They're quite versatile, too — add a little cocoa and coffee powder for an adult variation or decorate with a little icing for the kiddie lunchbox. The cookie dough freezes well up to a month, so you can wrap the leftover dough in plastic wrap and slice off cookie roundelswhenever you feel like a hot, freshly baked cookie.

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Pictures: Civil War Shipwreck Revealed by Sonar

Photograph by Jesse Cancelmo

A fishing net, likely only decades old, drapes over machinery that once connected the Hatteras' pistons to its paddle wheels, said Delgado.

From archived documents, the NOAA archaeologist learned that Blake, the ship's commander, surrendered as his ship was sinking. "It was listing to port, [or the left]," Delgado said. The Alabama took the wounded and the rest of the crew and put them in irons.

The officers were allowed to keep their swords and wander the deck as long as they promised not to lead an uprising against the Alabama's crew, he added.

From there, the Alabama dropped off their captives in Jamaica, leaving them to make their own way back to the U.S.

Delgado wants to dig even further into the crew of the Hatteras. He'd like see if members of the public recognize any of the names on his list of crew members and can give him background on the men.

"That's why I do archaeology," he said.

(Read about other Civil War battlefields in National Geographic magazine.)

Published January 11, 2013

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Golden Globe Moments: A Night of Laughs, Surprises

Let's finally bury this idea that women can't be funny once and for all. Fey and Poehler were undeniably hilarious throughout the Globes, so much so that many fans on Twitter demanded more of them during the ceremony. From their opening bit -- Poehler: "Meryl Streep is not here tonight, she has the flu. And I hear she's amazing in it." -- to their pseudo drunk heckling of best TV comedy actress winner Lena Dunham, they were radiant, energetic, and above all, funny. More please.

Foster made her acceptance of the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award a coming out, of sorts. She first shocked the audience by leading them to think that she was about to make a huge public statement about her sexuality. Instead, she said she was single, adding "I already did my coming out in the stone age."

"Now, apparently, I'm told that every celebrity is expected to honor the details of their private life with a press conference ... You guys might be surprised, but I'm not Honey Boo Boo child," she said, to a flurry of laughter and applause.

"If you had been a public figure from the time that you were a toddler ... then maybe you too might value privacy above all else," she said. "Privacy."

But Foster did specifically thank her ex-partner Cydney Bernard, with whom she has two kids. Both boys gestured to her from the audience.

She also implied that she was retiring from acting when she said she would not be returning to the Globes stage or any stage. "It's just that from now on, I may be holding a different talking stick," Foster said, bringing many in the audience to tears.

But backstage, Foster clarified to reporters that she was not retiring from acting. "Oh that's so funny," she responded to reporters. "You couldn't drag me away. And I'd like to be directing tomorrow."

It takes a lot to make Hollywood star struck. Bill Clinton did it when he strutted on stage to introduce a clip of "Lincoln," which was up for best drama. He brought the crowd of A-listers to its feet and commended the 16th president. "We're all here tonight because he did it," he said of Lincoln's battle to end slavery.

If there was any doubt that Lena Dunham wasn't Hollywood's next big thing, it was obliterated Sunday night. The star and creator of HBO's "Girls" went home with two awards, best actress in a TV comedy and best TV comedy. Her heartfelt acceptance speech for best actress struck a chord: "This award is for everyone who feels like there wasn't a place for her," she said. "This show made a space for me."

Jessica Chastain won the Globe for best actress in a drama for "Zero Dark Thirty." She offered a moving tribute to director Kathryn Bigelow, the first woman to win a best director Oscar who failed to get a nomination for that award this year, though "ZDT" was up for a slew of other awards, including best picture. "I can't help but compare my character of Maya to you," Chastain said to Bigelow. "When you make a film that allows your character to disobey the conventions of Hollywood, you've done more for women in cinema than you take credit for."

Blame it on nerves, the spirit of spontaneity, or the a-a-a-a-alcohol (apologies to Jamie Foxx), but Jennifer Lawrence's acceptance speech was a tad insulting to a Hollywood icon, if totally hilarious. "Oh what does it say?" she asked, looking at her trophy. "I beat Meryl." She meant Meryl Streep, who was also up for the award.

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S'pore's productivity well below most developed countries: DPM Tharman

SINGAPORE: Singapore's productivity is well below that of the most developed countries, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, he noted that restaurants here are experiencing difficulties finding employees.

Mr Tharman said some restaurants have raised pay to attract part-timers during the peak Lunar New Year season.

But most still have difficulty finding people, because the overall labour market is close to full employment.

DPM Tharman said these are real problems for businesses, but the solution is not to ease up on foreign worker policies.

He said the solution has to be more fundamental.

Using restaurants in the US, Europe, Japan, and Hong Kong as examples, he noted that they have fewer workers, but are still able to do well.

The same employee handles more duties, and serves more tables.

The employees are well-paid, both full-time and part-time.

They know their stuff, including details of the dishes on the menu, and are well trained.

The restaurants also employ older workers, give them good jobs with some adjustments where required, and customers treat them with respect.

Mr Tharman said productivity then becomes key to upgrading incomes and standards of living - and transforming jobs is the only 'fundamental and sustainable' solution.

Higher productivity will also mean price increments can be minimised - even if wages go up.

He said everyone has to play his or her part.

Employers have to transform the way businesses are run and share productivity gains with their employees through higher pay.

Employees need to pick up skills and keep learning on the job.

Mr Tharman said the government has to keep the foreign worker policy tight, but at the same time lend strong support to help this upgrading and upskilling in every sector.

And customers too have to play their part by treating workers in ordinary jobs with respect.

- CNA/fa

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Fresh firing in Poonch as Pak troops target Indian posts

NEW DELHI: A day before the flag meeting between Indian and Pakistani commanders, there are reports of fresh exchange of fire in Poonch sector on Sunday.

According to TV reports, several Indian posts have been targeted by Pakistani troops.

The Indian Army retaliated leading to exchange of fire between the two sides along the LoC.

Earlier today Pakistan agreed to hold a flag meeting to defuse tension at the border after the brutal killing of two jawans.

The Indian Army had sent a hotline message to the Pakistan Army on January 11 and asked for a flag meeting to discuss the issue of brutal killing of two jawans by Pakistani troops, reportedly belonging to 29 Baloch Regiment, and increasing incidents of firing and ceasefire violations in the Poonch sector.

(With inputs from PTI)

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Pictures: Civil War Shipwreck Revealed by Sonar

Photograph by Jesse Cancelmo

A fishing net, likely only decades old, drapes over machinery that once connected the Hatteras' pistons to its paddle wheels, said Delgado.

From archived documents, the NOAA archaeologist learned that Blake, the ship's commander, surrendered as his ship was sinking. "It was listing to port, [or the left]," Delgado said. The Alabama took the wounded and the rest of the crew and put them in irons.

The officers were allowed to keep their swords and wander the deck as long as they promised not to lead an uprising against the Alabama's crew, he added.

From there, the Alabama dropped off their captives in Jamaica, leaving them to make their own way back to the U.S.

Delgado wants to dig even further into the crew of the Hatteras. He'd like see if members of the public recognize any of the names on his list of crew members and can give him background on the men.

"That's why I do archaeology," he said.

(Read about other Civil War battlefields in National Geographic magazine.)

Published January 11, 2013

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Jay Rockefeller, likely the last of a political dynasty

Uncle Nelson was vice president. Uncle Winthrop a governor. Great-grandfather Nelson a senator.

Political bloodlines, he had.

But the great American electoral dynasty that abruptly announced its end Friday, or at least signaled what looks to be a long, long pause, always evoked more. That name on the ballot — Rockefeller — meant money. It meant epic-scale success. It meant everything.

And it meant that Jay Rockefeller wasn’t ever going to be just some Democratic senator from West Virginia. Rockefeller, who said Friday that he would not seek reelection in 2014 after nearly three decades in the Senate, was always going to be the oil titan John D. Rockefeller’s great-grandson, too. One of the heirs to a legendary fortune.

“He’s proud of being a Rockefeller. He talks about his uncles and his grandfather, about that legacy. It’s an important part of who he is and how he thinks about himself,” Rockefeller’s longtime political adviser, Geoff Garin, said in an interview. “He found a way to be a Rockefeller that was about serving people.”

Dynasties like these roll across American political history. Not just Rockefellers, but Adamses and Kennedys and Bushes. A nation formed to escape power granted as a birthright still embraces power that follows the contours of a family tree. Voters even expect it, and so do political scions.

“It’s so predictable!” said Stephen Hess, a Brookings Institution senior fellow emeritus and author of the book “America’s Political Dynasties.” “It’s daddy’s business and increasingly it’ll be mommy’s business, too.”

For Hess, each dynasty takes on a different aura. There were the “crafty” Roosevelts, headlined by a couple of presidents — Franklin Delano and Theodore — and his favorites, the Tafts, whose standout, William Howard, was about the “nicest” guy ever to occupy the Oval Office, in Hess’s estimation, and who also managed to become chief justice of the Supreme Court.

The Rockefellers were almost incidental dynasty builders, Hess said. “That generation — the robber barons, if you want to call them that — wasn’t interested in politics. Politics was something you could marry into.”

Indeed, John D. Rockefeller’s only son married the daughter of Nelson Aldrich, a prominent Republican senator of the late 1800s and early 1900s who wielded tremendous influence over monetary policies. Their son, Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller, became governor of New York and was Gerald R. Ford’s vice president. Another son, Winthrop Rockefeller, became governor of Arkansas.

“My great-grandfather, John D. Rockefeller, worked at it very, very hard. There’s an ethic in the Rockefeller family of hard work,” Jay Rockefeller wrote in an e-mail late Friday. “It’s expected that everybody work hard. And there has been a tradition of public service.”

John D. “Jay” Rockefeller IV entered politics unconventionally, drawn into that sphere by his experiences as a volunteer for VISTA (the precursor of Americorps) in Emmons, W.Va., a small coal mining town. “Coming to West Virginia was life-changing for him,” Garin said. “West Virginia exposed him to a whole new world that broadened his world; and in a lot of respects it gave his career a defining purpose.”

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M'sian police to investigate rally participants' violation of terms

KUALA LUMPUR: Police will carry out investigations on participants who violated the three conditions agreed to by the rally organiser, Dang Wangi police chief ACP Zainuddin Ahmad said.

The three conditions prohibit the participants from bringing children below the age of 15 and waving placards and banners with seditious words; and compel the organiser to ensure that no more than 30,000 people were participating in the rally.

Zainuddin said the conditions were among the 27 police conditions agreed to by the organiser in accordance with Malaysia's Peaceful Assembly Act.

He said no arrests were made and no unwanted incidents occurred during the rally.

"Only two minor incidents occurred as the participants rushed to enter the stadium where the gathering was officially held, causing two senior citizens to pass out and be taken to hospital," he told reporters after the rally in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.

Zainuddin said several opposition leaders had also commended the service and cooperation given by the police throughout the rally.

He said the number of participants attending the rally was estimated at 45,000.

He also refuted the allegation that a bomb was found at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre area.

- Bernama/xq

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Martyr's family on hunger strike, wants govt to bring back severed head

LUCKNOW: Family members of Lance Naik Hemraj Singh, who was killed and beheaded by Pakistani troops last Tuesday, along with the villagers of Sher Nagar in Mathura, went on a hunger strike on Saturday to protest the neglect, apathy and inaction of the state and central governments.

The family and the villagers want central government to give a befitting reply to Pakistan and bring back the head of the martyr.

They also want chief minister Akhilesh Yadav to visit the village and pay tribute to the martyr, instead of announcing compensation and offering lip service.

The politicians, they said, should learn to honour those who make supreme sacrifice for the country. Senior officers of the Mathura district administration have reached the spot to pacify the villagers.

According to a PTI report, the family members and the villagers have called off their fast after getting assurance on their demands from the Uttar Pradesh government.

Lance Naik Hemraj was killed along with Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh, who belonged to Sidhi in Madhya Pradesh.

While Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan was present in the funeral of the martyr, his counterpart Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh neither attended the funeral, not sent any representative of the state cabinet, leading to widespread criticism.

Though Yadav later announced Rs 20 lakh compensation for the family of the martyr, villagers and family members are angry over the initial neglect and apathy of the state administration.

Hemraj is survived by wife Dharmvati (28), two daughters Nirmal (7) and Shivam (3), son Prince (5), and mother Meena Devi. He joined Rajputana Rifles of the Army in 2001.

Angry villagers said that the central government should try and get Hemraj's head to maintain the dignity of his body.

Village head Dharam Veer demanded a befitting reply to Pakistan for 'cowardly act'. He said that villagers are proud of the supreme sacrifice made by the 32-year-old brave soldier and want that he should be awarded with Ashok Chakra for serving the nation.

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