Видео уроки английского языка с субтитрами от VOA - Health Report

Выводы относительно безалкогольных напитков и агрессии у детей - Findings About Soft Drinks and Aggression in Children

A new study has found evidence of aggressive behavior in children who drink four or more servings of soft drinks every day. Information for the study came from the mothers of three thousand five-year-olds. Researchers asked the women to keep a record of how many servings of soft drinks their children drank over a two-month period. The women also were asked to complete a checklist of their children's behavior. The researchers found that 43 percent of the boys and girls drank at least one daily serving of soda. Four percent of the youngsters had four or more sodas to drink every day. Shakira Suglia is with Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. She worked on the study with researchers from the University of Vermont and Harvard University School of Public Health. She says they found that children who drank the most soda were more than two times as likely as those who drank no soda to show signs of aggression. The aggressive behaviors included destroying possessions belonging to others, taking part in fights and physically attacking people. Dr. Suglia says the researchers identified the link after they considered socio-demographic factors like the child's age and sex. They also considered other possible influences, such as whether the boys and girls were eating sweets or given fruit drinks on a normal day. In addition, the researchers examined parenting styles and social conditions at home. Dr. Suglia says it is not clear why young children who drink a lot of soda have behavior problems. But she says the ingredient caffeine could cause children to be more aggressive. For VOA Learning English, I'm Carolyn Presutti.

Почему "незначительная" потеря памяти может быть плохим признаком - Why 'Minor' Memory Loss May Be a Bad Sign

You wake up early one morning to prepare a meal to take to work, and then you forget it. Has this ever happened to you? Researchers say they now have proof that self-reported minor memory loss sometimes led to greater mental decline six years later. They reported the findings at a recent conference organized by the Alzheimer's Association.
Rebecca Amariglio is a neuropsychologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. She found that individuals who worried about their memory were more likely to suffer a loss of mental ability. Her research showed such persons were likely to have a protein called beta amyloid in the brain. Beta amyloid is suspected of being at least partly involved in Alzheimer's disease. Evidence that the disease develops for an unknown period of time before doctors recognize it is leading to a new area of study. It is called "subjective cognitive decline." It involves people who sense that their memory and thinking skills are failing before others realize it. Experts want to inform the public that most people who worry about their mental decline do not develop dementia, the most common form of Alzheimer's. What they are experiencing is truly natural and normal aging. Dr. Ronald Petersen is a member of the Alzheimer's Association National Board. He says people should be tested if they fear they might have the disease. He says doctors might ask patients about other issues, like any medicines they are taking or whether they suffer from anxiety, depression or stress. He says all those things can cause changes in memory. For VOA Learning English, I'm Alex Villarreal.

ВОЗ призывает к оказанию медицинской помощи всем - WHO Urges Health Care for All

The World Health Organization says everyone should have a right to the health care services they need without risking financial ruin. A new WHO report is urging countries to provide health care designed to meet the needs of their citizens. In 2005, all 194 members of the World Health Organization set a goal of providing universal health coverage. But very few countries have reached that target. Most people must use their own financial resources to pay for the health care they need.Since health care needs differ from one country to another, the new report urges every country to create its own system of health coverage. It says the services should include prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and reduction of pain. And the health care should involve communities, health centers and hospitals. Christopher Dye is head of the WHO's Office of Health Information, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases. Every year, he says, about 150 million people face extraordinary medical expenses that they cannot pay. The question, he says, is how to put in place financial risk protection that reduces costs to a minimum.The report shows how research can help countries improve their health system. Dr. Dye said some European countries have continued supporting their social and health services even during this period of financial difficulty. He says that decision is paying off in better health for their people. Dr. Dye notes that the cost of medical care is increasing quickly. Because of that, he says, governments must work harder to keep costs under control. For VOA Learning English, I'm Laurel Bowman.

Злоупотребление алкоголем обходится США более $220 млрд в год - Alcohol Abuse Costs US More than $220 Billion a Year

A new study has found that excessive alcohol drinking costs Americans more than $220 billion a year. But the organizers of the study believe the biggest cost comes from the loss of worker productivity. Robert Brewer works for America's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a public health agency. He helped to produce a report on the study. Researchers used findings from 2006 to examine costs linked to heavy drinking. They looked at results from around the United States and found a lot of variation in different parts of the country. Alcohol-related costs include health care, the cost of trying cases for alcohol-related crimes, and property damage from road accidents. Robert Brewer says the biggest cost, however, is the loss of productivity. Many people with a drinking problem have lower-paying jobs. He says they may also be less productive when they are at work. Mr. Brewer says there is also a huge cost to people who die from alcohol-related causes. He says many are young, and their incomes and productivity are tragically lost. The researchers were mainly concerned about the cost of heavy alcohol use. The study did not look at the effect on individuals who drink a glass of beer or wine with dinner. Mr. Brewer says the largest costs come from binge drinking, when people drink a lot of alcohol in a short period of time. The study was based on the economic costs of heavy drinking in the United States. But Mr. Brewer says many nations have problems with what the World Health Organization calls "harmful use of alcohol." For VOA Learning English, I'm Alex Villarreal.

Цвета и депрессии - Colors and Depression

Some colors that people see late at night could cause signs of severe depression. That was the finding of a recent study that builds on earlier findings. They showed that individuals who live or work in low levels of light overnight can develop clinical depression, or severe depression. Signs may include loss of interest or pleasure in most activities, low energy levels and thoughts of death or suicide.In the recent study, American investigators designed an experiment that exposed hamsters to different colors. The researchers chose hamsters because they are nocturnal, which means they sleep during the day and are active at night. The animals were separated into four groups. One group of hamsters was kept in the dark during the nighttime period. Another group was placed in front of a blue light. A third group slept in front of a white light, while a fourth was put in front of a red light. After four weeks, the researchers noted how much sugary water the hamsters drank. They found that the more depressed animals drank the least amount of water. Randy Nelson heads the Department of Neuroscience at Ohio State University. He says animals that slept in blue and white light appeared to be the most depressed. Randy Nelson notes that photosensitive cells in the retina have little to do with eyesight. He says these cells send signals to the area of the brain that controls what has been called the natural sleep-wake cycle. He says there is a lot of blue in white light. This explains why the blue light and white light hamsters appeared to be more depressed than those seeing red. For VOA Learning English, I'm Laurel Bowman.

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