A recent study has revealed that different kinds of sedentary activities may have different consequences on children's health, and high levels of TV viewing posses higher cardio-metabolic risk than high computer use.

"Even if a child is physically active, this activity is really only making up a short period of their whole day, so it's important to look at other aspects of their day to see what's going on. Part of that is the kind of sedentary behaviours they engage in," said Valerie Carson, a doctoral candidate in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies at Queen's.

Previous research has identified high volumes of sedentary behaviour as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases in adults.

But among the children she surveyed, Carson found no general connection between the volume of sedentary behaviour and the risk of developing diabetes or coronary heart disease.

Instead, she noticed some types of sedentary activities having a greater impact on children's health than others. Specifically, high levels of TV viewing predicted higher cardio-metabolic risk, whereas high computer use did not.

One possible explanation is that TV viewing falls near the bottom on the scale of energy expenditure, according to some research.

Another is that activities like snacking between meals that usually go hand-in-hand with specific kinds of screen times may be causing the associated health risks.

"The take home message is that we want children to be more physically active, but then, at the same time, we need to think about what they're doing the rest of the time," explained Mr. Carson.

"Our study suggests we should also limit children's television viewing time," she added.

Scientists have come up with a cutting edge technology that would help in detecting Alzheimer's disease with almost perfect precision.

The new brain- scanning technique gives new hope for diagnosing the disease in its initial stages, even before symptoms develop completely and also indicates that there will be fewer chances of misdiagnosis.

The test is presently in the final clinical trial stages and if the results continue to prove successful, it could be rolled out by the end of 2012, the Daily Mail reported.

So far, the only way to diagnose Alzheimer's (AD) was by ruling out other diseases like cancer, depression or even a vitamin deficiency.

Definitive conclusion came only after the death of the individual, when the brain samples containing high levels of beta amyloid plaques, the growths that characterise AD, were found.

But now a new compound called Flutemetamol, which highlights areas of the brain that are affected by the disease when scanned, is showing hopeful results in clinical studies.

The compound is injected into the arm of the patients and those who show symptoms of AD undergo a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan.

If beta amyloid plaques are present in the brain, Flutemetamol makes them glow red, which confirms the patient has AD.

The second phase of the Flutemetamol study was finished earlier this year. In the study, 65 patients suffering with AD and other degenerative mental-health conditions with less than a year to live were given Flutemetamol to observe what PET scans revealed.

Post-mortem results divulged that when a specialist alone tried to diagnose each case, 15% of diagnoses were wrong. However, by using Flutemetamol there was only a seven per cent failure rate.

Any errors during the scan were because low levels of beta amyloid plaques do not essentially mean a patient has developed full-blown AD.

However, many experts believe that having a positive amyloid scan may signify the risk of developing AD in the future.

"What makes the results so revolutionary is that it makes both a correct and an earlier diagnosis possible for the first time," said Dr Francois Nicolas, director of neurology at GE Health, the company that is developing Flutemetamol.

"This could significantly increase the quality and even the length of a patient's life."

"Equally, those whose scan shows no signs of AD can be given the appropriate treatment they need too," he added.

An Alarming rise in Type 2 diabetes, traditionally known to affect adults, is worrying scientists. In fact, the focus of this year's diabetes day is on children and adolescents.

"From school I return at 2. At 2:45 our tuitions are there and at 5 I return and have my snacks. Then I study till 9. I watch TV for one and half hours and then I sleep," said 12-year-old Hargun.

Hargun was diagnosed with diabetes and a sedentary and high level of stress proves to be a trigger.

Doctors blame the rise in Type 2 diabetes on the stressful lifestyle.

"South Asians are more prone to Type 2 diabetes. If because of your lifestyle you are putting on weight, you can develop Type 2 diabetes," said Dr Ambrish Mittal.

The International Diabetes Foundation finds that there has been an increment of 30 per cent in Type 2 diabetes in children in last two decades. In India a study on obese children in AIIMS found that out of 400 obese children four have got diabetes and almost 37 children were pre-diabetic between the age of 10 and 18.

There are some warning signs what parents can watch out for like increased thirst, increased need to urinate, increased appetite and fatigue, even blurred vision and frequent and slow healing infections.

Type 2 diabetes is not curable. It is a life long condition but you can learn how to manage it with a complete change in the lifestyle.

Apart from counseling, one can go for regular exercise, small frequent meals, high fibre, more of vegetables, low fats. This means avoiding fast food. One can also go for medication like Metfommin which is the key stone in treating Type 2 diabetes.

Change of lifestyle is especially important. If you have a history of diabetes that coupled with obesity increases your child's chances of getting diabetes by 50 per cent. There is no cure so prevention really is the key.

India records the highest number of child pneumonia deaths globally, but is among the only four of the 15 countries with the highest child pneumonia death toll that is yet to introduce the newest generation of pneumoccal vaccines.

A Pneumonia progress report, 2011, released by the International Access Vaccine Centre (IVAC) and John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health on Wednesday shows that India recorded 3.71 lakh child pneumonia deaths in 2008, but till 2010 had "not introduced" the HIB vaccine against pneumonia.

It had also not taken "any action" to introduce PCV10 and PCV - the newest-generation of pneumococcal vaccines. The report says last year alone, 10 of the 15 countries have either introduced PCV10 or PCV13, have been approved for introduction, or have applied to the GAVI Alliance for introduction support.

It is estimated that by 2013, 11 of the 15 countries will have introduced the pneumococcal vaccines in their national immunization programmes. India is among the four countries that haven't taken much action. Together, these 15 countries account for approximately 75% of the global toll of child pneumonia.

The report says in India, while 69% of children suspected to have pneumonia were taken to a health facility, only 13% were administered antibiotics.

Feeding infants only breast milk in the first six months of life is a key protection intervention highlighted in the report. Breast milk alone provides all of the essential nutrients babies need to thrive and grow. Exclusive breastfeeding has multiple positive effects, and chief among them is its ability to bolster an infant's immunity to help combat disease, protecting babies from not only pneumonia but also diarrhoea and other infections.

However, the report says that only 46% of children in India are exclusively breastfed by their mothers in the first six months, which is abysmally low.

It explains, "Pneumonia remains the leading killer of young children around the world, according to the most recent WHO estimates. Every year, pneumonia claims the lives of more than one million children before their fifth birthday - accounting for more young deaths annually than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. In the 15 focus countries alone, an additional half a million more children were vaccinated against pertussis, more than 1 million additional children were vaccinated against measles and about 155,000 more children were vaccinated against HIB pneumonia, as compared to the previous year."

It is estimated that as many as 3-4 million child deaths could be prevented by accelerating pneumococcal vaccines in all developing countries over the next decade.

"However, even more children can be saved from pneumonia if additional gains are made in the following areas "promoting exclusive breastfeeding, recognizing the signs and symptoms of pneumonia early and ensuring proper treatment with antibiotics and limiting exposure to indoor smoke," it adds.

Every four minutes, one child dies of pneumonia-causing diseases in India even before reaching their fifth birthday.

Global toll count

1. India: 371, 605

2. Nigeria: 177, 212

3. Congo: 112, 655

4. Pakistan: 84, 210

5. Afghanistan: 80, 694

6. China: 62, 229

A new study reveals that too much sitting can raise your risk of cancer. Even if you get the recommended 30 minutes of exercise a day, you still have a higher risk of developing cancer if you're deskbound most of the day, researchers say. Reported in MyHealthNewsDaily last week, the new study was presented at American Institute for Cancer Research conference. Researcher Christine Friedenreich, an epidemiologist at Alberta Health Services-Cancer Care in Canada, revealed that sedentary lifestyles could be linked to as many as 49,000 cases of breast cancer and 43,000 cases of colon cancer a year in the US. Sitting also contributes to lung, prostate, endometrial, and ovarian cancers, with researchers noting that they could be "prevented" if people were more physically active.

The new study adds to growing scientific research suggesting that sitting can raise your risks for a host of problems, including obesity and diabetes. This is especially true if you spend time outside of work lounging in front of the television or commuting. In one study, researchers found that people who spend more than two hours per day of leisure time watching television or sitting in front of a screen face double the risk of heart disease.

The good news is that you can lessen your risks for cancer by taking frequent breaks from sitting with just a few minutes of light exercise, noted the researchers. Take micro-breaks every hour, suggested the American Institute for Cancer Research.


Safeguard yourself:

Those who have a desk job must make sure that they get up, move around, or at least move their shoulders and take deep breaths to relieve muscle tension every 20 or 30 minutes.
Other ideas to get moving include standing up every time you take a phone call, walking to see a colleague rather than emailing him/her, and making it a habit to take the stairs instead of the lift where possible.

Also try keeping light hand weights at your desk that you can use while reading email or while talking on the phone.

Make sure to bring water or tea and coffee rather than ordering at your table. Also do not have you meals at your work station, as you also tend to eat more that ways.