The obesity problem among young people is so bad that the present generation of parents may be the “first to bury our children”, Department of Health secretary-general Ambrose McLoughlin has said.
He told an Irish Heart Foundation conference today that the State had to move away from treatment and towards prevention, adding that tackling obesity was now a “public health priority”.
“If we don’t deal with [obesity], we will be the first generation to bury our children,” he said…
Obesity crisis so severe parents face ‘burying’ their children – Health News | Irish Medical News | The Irish Times – Mon, Jun 23, 2014
June 25, 2014
Uncategorized Early Education, Education, obesity, People & Society, peter singhateh, Peter Singhatey Leave a comment
‘Africa Rising’? Not really, unless we invest more in girls – CNN.com
June 18, 2014
Education Africa, Education, Gambia, peter singhateh, Peter Singhatey Leave a comment
‘Africa Rising’? Not really, unless we invest more in girls – CNN.com.
What factor has the power to transform individual lives, communities, nations and the world?
The answer to this complex question is a simple one: education. While it is widely accepted that there is no one solution to lift the millions across our globe out of poverty, it is also equally accepted that a key cornerstone of addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges is through providing a quality education to all children, especially girls…
Always Hungry? Here’s Why – NYTimes.com
May 16, 2014
Health Education, obesity, People & Society, peter singhateh, Research 1 Comment
Always Hungry? Here’s Why – NYTimes.com.
FOR most of the last century, our understanding of the cause of obesity has been based on immutable physical law. Specifically, it’s the first law of thermodynamics, which dictates that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. When it comes to body weight, this means that calorie intake minus calorie expenditure equals calories stored. Surrounded by tempting foods, we overeat, consuming more calories than we can burn off, and the excess is deposited as fat. The simple solution is to exert willpower and eat less.
The problem is that this advice doesn’t work, at least not for most people over the long term. In other words, your New Year’s resolution to lose weight probably won’t last through the spring, let alone affect how you look in a swimsuit in July. More of us than ever are obese, despite an incessant focus on calorie balance by the government, nutrition organizations and the food industry.
But what if we’ve confused cause and effect? What if it’s not overeating that causes us to get fat, but the process of getting fatter that causes us to overeat?
The more calories we lock away in fat tissue, the fewer there are circulating in the bloodstream to satisfy the body’s requirements. If we look at it this way, it’s a distribution problem: We have an abundance of calories, but they’re in the wrong place. As a result, the body needs to increase its intake. We get hungrier because we’re getting fatter.
To Reduce Inequality, Start With Families – NYTimes.com – NYTimes.com
April 21, 2014
Banking & Finance, Health, Research Education, Inequality, peter singhateh Leave a comment
To Reduce Inequality, Start With Families – NYTimes.com – NYTimes.com.
“…Inequality among families isn’t just about financial means, however. It’s also about the care parents can provide, the food they can prepare, and the amount and the nature of the time they can spend with their children. But today, the ability of parents to make the most basic time investments in their children — taking time for parent-teacher conferences or setting a schedule that permits a parent to sometimes be home in the after-school hours — is sharply divided by income level.
The lack of availability of parental time has serious detrimental effects on children’s behavior, ability to learn and emotional development — all of which affect performance in school and, eventually, the workplace…”
Why Black Women Die of Cancer – NYTimes.com
March 17, 2014
Medical, Research Black Americans, Cancer, Education, People & Society, peter singhateh Leave a comment
Why Black Women Die of Cancer – NYTimes.com.
“SINCE the early 1970s, studies have shown that black Americans have a higher death rate from cancer than any other racial or ethnic group. This is especially true when it comes to breast cancer. A study published last week in the journal Cancer Epidemiology found that, in a survey of 41 of America’s largest cities, black women with breast cancer are on average 40 percent more likely to die than their white counterparts.
The principal reason for this disparity is the disconnect between the nation’s discovery and delivery enterprises — between what we know and what we do about sick Americans…”
Fighting female genital mutilation – Family News & Advice | Parenting, Marriage & Kids | The Irish Tim – Tue, Feb 04, 2014
February 5, 2014
Irish News Africa, Education, FGM, Gambia, Ireland, People & Society, peter singhateh Leave a comment
In December 2012 the United Nations (UN) passed five resolutions condemning it. The motions were supported by all the countries in the African Union.
The procedure ranges in severity from a clitoridectomy, or the partial or total removal of the clitoris; excision, or the partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora; infibulations, or the narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal with or without a clitoridectomy.
The procedure can lead to multiple problems later in life. Infections, urinary incontinence, infertility, pain during sex and childbirth are among the problems faced by women who have been subjected to FGM.
The UN estimates that 140 million women have suffered FGM, two million girls a year are still subjected to the process. In parts of the Horn of Africa, FGM rates are more than 90 per cent. ..
One in four young people in developing countries unable to read, says UN | Global development | theguardian.com
January 31, 2014
Articles on Africa Africa, Education, Gambia, peter singhateh, United Nations Leave a comment
One in four young people in developing countries are unable to read a sentence, according to a report, which warns that poor quality education has left a “legacy of illiteracy” more widespread than previously believed.
Research published on Wednesday by Unesco, the UN’s educational, scientific and cultural body, suggests that 175 million young people lack even basic literacy skills.
“Access [to education] is not the only crisis – poor quality is holding back learning even for those who make it to school,” said Unesco director-general, Irina Bokova, in a foreword to the 11th annual Education for All global monitoring report, which measures progress towards global goals.
Reading Books Is Fundamental – NYTimes.com
January 24, 2014
Education Education, People & Society, peter singhateh, Research Leave a comment
Reading Books Is Fundamental – NYTimes.com.
“…we are now inundated with information, and people’s reading habits have become fragmented to some degree by bite-size nuggets of text messages and social media, and that takes up much of the time that could otherwise be devoted to long-form reading. I get it. And I don’t take a troglodytic view of social media. I participate and enjoy it.
But reading texts is not the same as reading a text...”
Peter "Just Loves Flying" 
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