MEDICAL Notes
IMAGINE YOURSELF LIGHTER
SLIMMERS can lose five times more weight by imagining how much better their lives would be if they were thinner, a study has shown.
Participants were given counselling and encouraged to imagine how they would look and what they would be able to do if they lost weight.
Those on the so-called functional imagery training (FIT) scheme lost an average of 4.3cm (1.7in) more from their waistline.
Research by Plymouth University and Australia’s Queensland University of Technology compared results from 141 people.
People who used FIT lost an average of 9lb (4.08kg) compared to 1.5lb among other slimmers in the scheme.
Study leader Dr Linda Solbrig said: “It’s fantastic that people lost significantly more weight on this intervention.”
ADVICE OVER SOCIAL MEDIA USE
PARENTS will be given Government advice on how long children should spend on social media.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has asked Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies to draw up tips amid fears for the mental health of the young.
Mr Hancock said: “As a parent you want to be able to say, ‘The rules say you shouldn’t use social media for more than a certain period of time’.”
He said switching off phones at bedtime would be a “straightforward way” to curb mental health damage.
CUTS SEE PATIENTS TURNED AWAY
SEXUAL health workers have warned they are turning patients away because of shrinking funding.
The British Association of Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) and the British HIV Association (BHIVA) said surveys of members show the sector is at “breaking point”.
Six in 10 BASHH respondents said they had to turn away patients each week.
Both surveys revealed significant cuts in services such as the HIV prevention activities and cervical screening.
BASHH president Dr Olwen Williams said funding cuts were “taking their toll”.