Almost 70% of US adults would be deemed obese based on new definition, study finds

Almost 70% of adults in the US would be deemed to have obesity based on a new definition, research suggests.The traditional definition of obesity, typically based on having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater, has long been contentious, not least as it does not differentiate between fat and muscle.In an effort to tackle the issue, in January medical experts from around the world called for a new definition to be adopted. This would encompass people either with a BMI greater than 40; or those with a high BMI and at least one raised figure for measures such as waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, or waist-to-height ratio; or those with two such raised figures regardless of BMI; or those with direct measures of excess body fat based on scans.In addition, they said obesity should be split into two categories: clinical obesity – where there are signs of illness – and pre-clinical obesity, where there are not

‘Alarming rise’ in mental health stigma in England, research shows

The number of people in England who are frightened of living near people with mental health problems has nearly doubled to one in seven, which experts warn reflects an “alarming rise in stigma”.Even if the mentally ill person had recovered, one in 10 people said they would be unwilling to live next to them, according to new research from the mental health charity Mind.The survey, by the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London, found that only 63% of people were comfortable about mental health services operating in their community instead of in psychiatric units, down from 70% in 2015.The figures showed that 14% of people were frightened of those with poor mental health living in their neighbourhoods, up from 8% in 2017, while 16% of people believed mental health services “downgraded” a neighbourhood, up from 10% in 2019.The number of respondents who agreed that being part of a community was the best therapy for people with mental health problems was the lowest since the research was first conducted in 2008, at 68%

Abolishing stamp duty won’t solve Britain’s housing crisis – but this radical property tax just might | Josh Ryan-Collins

The UK’s property tax system is both inefficient and unfair. There is consensus among all political parties that something needs to be done. On the efficiency side, stamp duty is the main culprit: as a lump sum tax on property wealth paid at point of purchase, it discourages people to move as frequently as they should. It prevents people from realising their full economic potential by finding the right job, in the right area, or moving into a home suitable for their household size.In combination with high interest rates and sluggish growth, tax is contributing to UK property transactions reaching near record lows

‘You are constantly told you are evil’: inside the lives of diagnosed narcissists

Few psychiatric conditions are as stigmatised or as misunderstood as narcissistic personality disorder. Here’s how it can damage careers and relationships – even before prejudice takes its tollThere are times when Jay Spring believes he is “the greatest person on planet Earth”. The 22-year-old from Los Angeles is a diagnosed narcissist, and in his most grandiose moments, “it can get really delusional”, he says. “You are on cloud nine and you’re like, ‘Everyone’s going to know that I’m better than them … I’ll do great things for the world’.”For Spring, these periods of self-aggrandisement are generally followed by a “crash”, when he feels emotional and embarrassed by his behaviour, and is particularly vulnerable to criticism from others

Ditch ‘shrink it and pink it’ women’s trainer design, say experts

Sports footwear manufacturers are being urged to ditch the “shrink it and pink it” approach when it comes to women’s running shoes.Over the past five decades, brands have invested billions of dollars into the development of trainers that prevent injury, maximise comfort and boost performance.But this research has overwhelmingly been designed for – and tested on – men, experts have said.Running shoes are typically designed using a three-dimensional foot-shaped mould called a last, which is usually based on male foot anatomy.Most sports footwear retailers use the same last for their entire range, and beyond making shoes smaller and changing the colour – a process known as ‘shrink it and pink it’ – only minimal modifications are made to create women’s shoes, the experts said

Trans people at risk of exclusion from many UK public spaces, rights expert says

Transgender people risk being excluded from many public spaces as a result of the recent UK supreme court judgment and must be protected from discrimination, a human rights expert has said.Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe commissioner for human rights, said he had concerns about the climate for transgender people in the UK after April’s supreme court ruling that the legal definition of a woman in the Equality Act 2010 refers to biological sex.Interim advice issued after the judgment by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) in effect banned transgender people from using facilities according to their lived gender and allowed services to request birth certificates to ensure single-sex services were protected. Its formal guidance, understood to be similar, was submitted last month to Bridget Phillipson, the minister for women and equalities and also the education secretary, who must decide whether to accept it.In a letter to the respective chairs of the UK parliament’s joint committee on human rights and the women and equalities committee, O’Flaherty said there was a tendency in the UK to see the human rights of different groups as a “zero-sum game”