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The Greeks believed athletes should avoid sex before sport, but modern Olympians and scientists are torn over the merits of in-competition coitus and whether abstinence enhances performance. For years coaches and athletes have practiced abstinence the night or even weeks before a big event, although all bets are off when the medal ceremony is over — 1,50,000 condoms were handed out to the 10,500 athletes competing at the London Games. Panel recommends against ECG tests The US Preventive Services Task Force said that there’s no good evidence an ECG, helps doctors predict heart risks any better than traditional factors like smoking, blood pressure and cholesterol in people with no symptoms. It recommends against ECG screening of people considered at low risk for heart disease. It said that instead, people concerned about their heart health can discuss diet, lifestyle and family history risks with their doctor, who can then use a risk calculator to determine their chance of getting heart disease. Parents find ‘obese’ offensive
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Doctors should avoid
using terms like ‘obese’ if they want to have a rapport with
parents of obese children. It would be best if physicians use terms
like ‘large’, according to medical researchers at the University
of Alberta. Geoff Ball, a researcher, and colleagues reviewed articles
about the important relationship between families and health
professionals. They found the delicate balance was affected by:
parents’ preferences about language regarding obesity. "Terms
that are neutral and less stigmatising should be used. Ultimately, if
parents feel ostracised, the families are less likely to follow
recommendations, the study concluded. Their findings were recently
published in the peer-reviewed journal, Pediatric Obesity. —
Agencies