Open thread: should a million more people get obesity surgery on NHS?

The Nationwide Institute of Health and Care Excellence (Nice) say that fat reduction surgery—which fees the NHS around £6,000 per operation—should be made broadly obtainable amid increasing ranges of weight problems and diabetes.

Existing NHS weight problems surgical treatment is supplied to people who are morbidly obese with a BMI of more than 40, or to people with a BMI over 35 if they have another issue, this kind of as diabetes.

One particular in four Britons is now classed as obese—should they be given excess weight loss surgery free on the NHS?

Can we afford to double the quantity of folks who qualify for gastric bands and stomach stapling? And is it proper to give cost-free care for individuals who are overweight even though NHS has rejected a series of daily life-extending cancer medication?

And must we spot better emphasis on other policies to tackle obesity—such as encouraging individuals to workout and limiting promoting for low cost, unhealthy meals?

Inform us your thoughts in the feedback beneath or tweet @TeleTweetures.

Open thread: should a million more people get obesity surgery on NHS?

Is present day daily life also noisy? | Open thread

Urban regions are specifically noisy, with the sound of site visitors and sirens. Photograph: Alamy

The noise expert Bernie Krause has mentioned the incessant sounds of contemporary life are generating people unhappy.

Speaking at the Cheltenham science festival, Krause explained that whilst we feel we have turn into accustomed to noise, it is truly creating us stressed, depressed and reliant on sleeping tablets and antidepressant prescription drugs. Urban regions are particularly noisy, and the sound from aeroplanes, traffic and police and ambulance sirens are all factors that could be contributing to anxiety and insomnia.

Do you deal with intrusive noise on a everyday basis? Does it contribute to your sleepless nights or sense of tension? Tell us how you deal with the sounds of modern day lifestyle, and if you deal with to block them out.

Is present day daily life also noisy? | Open thread

Would you willingly get the flu for $3,000? | Open thread

The homemade flu remedy. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod for the Guardian

Daniel Bennett’s mum imagined he was a bit daft for agreeing to catch the flu for scientific research. He’s 1 of about 100 individuals America’s National Institutes of Wellness (NIH) would like to infect with the flu in the up coming yr. The purpose is to greater realize human influenza and, hopefully, develop far more efficient prevention strategies and remedies.

The upside? Daniel will obtain about $ three,000 in compensation for his “work”.

The downside? He is holed up in quarantine for at least nine days and below the surveillance of researchers. Oh, and he gets a mild model of the H1N1 flu from a spray up his nose.

The NIH is nevertheless hunting for participants for the research. On their internet site, they listing qualifications this kind of as:
• Healthy individuals amongst the ages of 18 and 50
• Will not smoke
• Never share living room with any person over 65 or underneath 5
• Females of “childbearing potential” should agree to use successful contraception or abstain from sex for 4 weeks prior to enrolling and throughout the examine

The trial raises intriguing inquiries all around what we’ll do for funds, specially when it comes to willingly receiving sick as opposed to the many healthcare trials that aim to deal with these who are already ill. Interestingly, the NIH has not conducted this sort of influenza investigation on people in above a decade.

A pal mentioned that she would have gladly taken portion in a examine like this in her early 20s when she recovered speedily (anything Daniel mentioned in his reasoning for taking element) and she was not married with two young young children to get care of. Investing in excess of a week on quarantine simply does not function for folks with other folks who depend on them.

Of course, this isn’t a new phenomenon. Investigation universities about the globe do a variety of tests with human participants. Loads of undergraduate and graduate students in want of funds gladly take component. But most analysis pursuits only final a couple of hours, never come with huge side effects and pay $ a hundred or significantly less.

For the a lot more financially minded, the hefty payment for participating in the flu research seems excellent, until finally you consider that it functions out to about $ 13.89 an hour for nine days of 24-hour work and a assured headache. It’s a good deal much better than the US minimal wage, but is it excellent ample?

Would you willingly get the flu for $3,000? | Open thread

Is alcohol damaging your memory? | Open thread

Guilty pleasure? A guy drinking a pint of beer. Photograph: Johnny Green/PA

Men who drink two and a half pints a day could be accelerating memory reduction and psychological decline, a research has discovered. Some memory loss in outdated age might be caused by hefty consuming earlier in life, the investigation suggests.

Do you really feel that your consuming routines have had a detrimental affect on your wellness? Does drinking heavily put you out of action the subsequent day, or lead to feelings of depression that linger? Do you worry that your alcohol consumption has an effect on your memory, or have you restricted your consuming to prevent these health issues from occurring later in existence? Tell us about how you truly feel alcohol impacts on your mind and body, and how you counter the a lot more unfavorable elements of consuming.

Is alcohol damaging your memory? | Open thread