Health News

New Medical Township in Kerala beckons foreign health tourists

A medical township comprising nine super speciality hospitals — offering the latest state-of-the-art technology to treat a host of diseases including cancer — is coming up in Kochi with an eye to promote Kerala as a top medical health tourism destination.

Aster Medcity, which is being built on what was a huge garbage dump yard, is to start functioning by March 2014. D M Healthcare, a big name in healthcare in Gulf countries, is building the complex on 38 acres of land at Cheranallur in Kochi.

Phase I of the complex, being built at a cost of $150 million, would have on offer 540 beds across the nine hospitals, Harish Pillai, chief executive officer of Aster Medcity, told IANS.

The Medcity plans to add another 500 beds later in Phase II. The township will have residential quarters, hotels, a convention centre, cafeterias, guest rooms and later also a home for the elderly, said Pillai.

“We are aiming to attract foreign health tourists to Aster Medcity. We have the latest facilities, including minimally invasive treatment and diagnostic techniques for the diagnosis and treatment of various cancers and heart diseases,” Pillai told IANS.

India gets 150,000 medical tourists every year, and it is expected to grow by 15 per cent annually, he said.

Among the latest technology that Aster will boast of is the ‘True Beam’ that provides radiation treatment in a shorter time and minus most of the usual side effects of current treatment, said Pillai. The ‘True Beam’ technology is a radio-surgery treatment in which high-energy X-rays are used to destroy tumours.

“Conventional therapy takes a very long time, but this system delivers concentrated radiation with pinpoint accuracy on the tumour,” Pillai said.

“As it is a concentrated high-dose treatment, the process is over in a few minutes for patients,” he added.

An added advantage of the new system is that it uses 25 per cent lower X-ray dosage compared to conventional ones. This reduces greatly the radiation exposure for patients.

“The conventional radiation therapies are accompanied by various side effects, but with True Beam the impact of radiation is greatly minimized and it also doesn’t impact the normal tissues,” Pillai said.

The Medcity will also have cardiac cath labs or catheterization laboratories — diagnostic imaging equipment used to visualise the arteries of the heart to detect any abnormalities. The cath labs will have an added advanced technology, called ‘clarity’, to reduce the radiation levels for patients, doctors and lab technicians, said Pillai.

This has been introduced keeping safety and efficiency as the hospital’s top priority, he said.

“You would be surprised to know that so far there has been no study of how many cardiologists in the country acquire cancer due to long exposure to radiation. So this is the reason the cardiac cath labs with option of ‘clarity’ are being introduced,” Pillai said.

The ‘clarity’ cardiac cath lab reduces radiation exposure by almost 73 per cent.

“This is the newest technology that is being introduced in India for the first time,” he said.

Another new technology being introduced is the hybrid biplane cath lab that can convert the imaging and diagnostic device into an operation theatre for any emergency surgery.

“Besides cardio, this technology would be used in interventional neuro-radiology cases. We will be bringing experts trained overseas for using this technology,” Pillai said.

The medical township also has a large artificial lake in the complex, which adds to the pleasing environment of the township.

Source: India Medical Times

Tea Promotes Weight Loss, Improve Heart Health

black tea for weight loss

Tea has been found to help promote weight loss, improve bone and heart health, slow the progression of prostate cancer and activate areas of the brain that bolster attention, problem solving and mood, say researchers.

The December 2013 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition features 12 new articles about the relationship between tea and human health. Each paper is based on presentations from world-renowned scientists who participated in the Fifth International Scientific Symposium on Tea and Human Health, held at USDA in September 2012. Highlights of some of the compelling reports published through the AJCN include the following five papers:

Tea Leaf Polyphenols May Promote Weight Loss

Tea polyphenols and the caffeine content in tea increase energy expenditure and fat oxidation, providing benefits for achieving and maintaining an ideal body weight. The results of one meta-analysis suggests the increase in caloric expenditure is equal to about 100 calories over a 24-hour period, or 0.13 calories per mg catechins. In a related review, researchers concluded that subjects consuming green tea and caffeine lost an average of 2.9 pounds within 12 weeks while adhering to their regular diet. Population-based studies also show that habitual tea drinkers have lower Body Mass Indexes (BMIs) and waist-to-hip ratios and less body fat than non-tea drinkers. In addition, green tea and caffeine also appear to boost fat oxidation over 24 hours by an average of 16% or 0.02 grams per mg catechins.

Tea May Reduce Risk for Some Cancers

Green tea polyphenols may play a role in arresting the progression of certain cancers. For example, in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, supplementation with 600 mg/d green tea catechins reduced the progression of prostate cancer. The researchers reported that after a year, 9% of men in the green tea supplemented group had progressed to prostate cancer whereas 30% of men in the placebo group had progressed.

Hundreds—if not thousands—of laboratory, epidemiological and human intervention studies have found anti-cancer properties in compounds present in tea. The types of cancer that have shown benefits of tea include cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, lung, prostate, breast, and skin. The proposed mechanisms of action for providing protection against cancer include antioxidant effects, inhibition of growth factor signaling, as well as improving the efficacy of chemotherapy agents.

Tea Catechins are Cardioprotective

Numerous studies suggest tea supports heart health and healthy blood pressure, and appears to be associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, including stroke and heart attack. New research, published in the AJCN provides further support. Study results published by Claudio Ferri, MD, University L’Aquila, Italy, found that black tea reduced blood pressure, and among hypertensive subjects, it helped counteract the negative effects of a high-fat meal on blood pressure and arterial blood flow. Hypertensive subjects were instructed to drink a cup of tea after a meal that contained 0.45 grams fat/lb. body weight. The results suggest that tea prevented the reduction in flow-mediated dilation (FMD), the ability to increase arterial blood flow that occurs after a high-fat meal. In a previous study conducted by Ferri, tea improved FMD from 7.8 to 10.3%, and reduced both systolic and diastolic blood pressure by -2.6 and -2.2 mmHg, respectively, in study participants.

“Our studies build on previous work to clearly show that drinking as little as one cup of tea per day supports healthy arterial function and blood pressure. These results suggest that on a population scale, drinking tea could help reduce significantly the incidence of stroke, heart attack and other cardiovascular diseases,” concluded Dr. Ferri.

Tea Flavonoids Improve Bone Strength and Quality

Osteoporosis is a major public health concern but new research suggests that polyphenols in green tea may help improve bone quality and strength through many proposed mechanisms. In fact, one study found that tea drinking was associated with a 30% reduced risk in hip fractures among men and women over 50 years old. In a study of 150 postmenopausal women, researchers reported that 500 mg green tea extract (equivalent to 4-6 cups of green tea daily), alone or in combination with Tai Chi, improved markers for bone formation, reduced markers of inflammation and increased muscle strength in study participants. Numerous other studies have found that green tea flavanols provide a restorative effect to bone remodeling to help maintain bone density and slow bone loss.

Tea Improves Mood, Alertness and Problem Solving

Results from new research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that drinking tea improved attention and allowed individuals to be more focused on the task at hand. In this placebo-controlled study, subjects who drank tea produced more accurate results during an attention task and also felt more alert than subjects drinking a placebo. These effects were found for 2-3 cups of tea consumed within a time period of up to 90 minutes. Several studies have evaluated the role of tea in strengthening attention, mood and performance, and the results have been promising. It is thought that the amino acid theanine and caffeine, both present in tea, contribute to many of tea’s psychological benefits.

Twelve internationally renowned researchers contributed to the AJCN supplement, including experts from USDA, National Institutes of Health, UCLA, University of Glasgow and University of L’Aquila, among others. “The scientists who contributed their original research and insights are among the best in the world, and together, this body of research has significantly advanced the science of tea and human health,” said compendium editor Jeffrey Blumberg, PhD, Professor, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and Director, Antioxidants Research Laboratory, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston.

“These new peer-reviewed papers add to the previously-published body of evidence that shows that tea can improve human health—both physically and psychologically,” added Blumberg. “Humans have been drinking tea for some 5,000 years, dating back to the Paleolithic period. Modern research is providing the proof that there are real health benefits to gain from enjoying this ancient beverage.”

Source: med india

STIs can Lead to a Range of Health Problems Including Infertility

Having sex can be fun and talking about sex can be fun. Talking about sexually transmitted infections with a sexual interest, however, is a totally different matter.

This is according to new research from Indiana University’s Center for Sexual Health Promotion.

The study, to be discussed Nov. 6. during the American Public Health Association’s annual meeting, found a disconnect between the public health messages that promote STI testing as a way to prevent STIs such as HIV and chlamydia and the conversations — or lack of them — occurring in bedrooms.

“Talking to partners about STIs is an important conversation to have,” said Margo Mullinax, lead researcher for “Talk about testing: What sexual partners discuss in relation to STI status and why.” “However, findings from this study suggest public health campaigns need to promote specific messages, concrete tips and tools around sexual health conversations stratified by relationship status. Campaigns should also address STI stigma and promote messages of normalcy with regard to talking about STIs.”

STIs, if untreated, can lead to a range of health problems including infertility, so a growing public health emphasis has been on preventing STIs through testing. Mullinax said little was known, however, about how STI testing figured into actual conversations between lovers, particularly among the college-age crowd that accounts for a disproportionate number of new STI cases nationwide.

She recruited 181 sexually active men and women, average age 26, to take an anonymous online questionnaire that probed the issue, looking for insights into how conversations about STIs might influence behavior and decision-making.

She described the sample as highly educated, with many participants who commented on their own work in sexual health education. More than half were in monogamous relationships. Most of the participants were white and identified themselves as heterosexual or straight.

Mullinax said she was surprised to learn that about the same percentage of study participants engaged in sex without a condom regardless of whether they talked about STIs with their partners.

“Participants who reported talking to their partners about STIs say it affected their decision to engage in certain behaviors in that it made them feel more comfortable and led them to stop using condoms,” she said. “But this finding concerns me given that many participants did not also report routinely getting tested nor having detailed conversations with partners about STIs.”

Here are some of the other findings:

  • Many participants reported that they occasionally, rarely or never got tested before having sex with partners who were casual (50.3 percent) or long-term (38.7 percent).
  • Of the people who did discuss STI testing, very few discussed concurrent sexual partners or when partners’ testing occurred in relation to their last sex act, and only half clarified what types of STIs their partner had been tested for. These issues are important components of assessing STI risk.
  • About a third of participants said they told a partner they didn’t have an STI even though they hadn’t been tested since their last sexual partner.

Mullinax said just a little more than half of study participants reported feeling “very comfortable” talking to partners about how to prevent STIs. Less than half felt “very comfortable” talking with a partner about sexual histories. Comfort levels improved — and conversations became easier — when people felt better informed about STIs and had practice talking about STIs with partners

“Take time to get informed,” she said. “It will only make your conversation more comfortable and ensure that you are really protecting your health.”

Source: inooz

Air travellers don’t trust female pilots: Survey

Air travelers are less likely to trust female pilots at the control of an aircraft in comparison to their male counterparts, a new UK survey suggests.

Around 51 per cent of the nearly 2,400 people surveyed said they did not trust a female pilot, while just 14 per cent said they would feel safer with a woman.

While 25 per cent of the people said the gender of the pilot did not matter, nine per cent said they were “unsure”, the ‘Telegraph’ reported.

As many as 32 per cent of those who proffered a male over a female, said “male pilots are more skilled”, while 28 per cent of them questioned the ability of female pilots to handle pressure.

Among those who preferred to see a woman at the control of an aircraft, 44 per cent said men were “too hot-headed in a crisis”, while a quarter said men might be “too easily distracted”.

All the people surveyed had taken a flight in the last one year, the report said.

“To see that more than half would be less likely to trust a female pilot was absolutely astounding,” said Chris Clarkson, managing director of UK based travel site Sunshine.co.uk, which undertook the survey.

“Clearly, many Britons have stereotypes that they need to get rid of,” said Clarkson.

Source: Economic times

 

Worried that your baby sick? Let good microbes grow

Here’s possible solace for parents who are up at night with a baby who gets sick all the time: There appears to be a good reason why infant immune systems don’t fight off germs.

A newborn’s immune system is deliberately not doing battle with every germ that comes along so that “good” microbes have a chance to settle in, researchers say. That explanation is at odds with the widely held belief that those new immune systems are just too weak to do the job.

Evidence has been mounting that most of the trillions of bacteria, fungi and other microbes that inhabit the human body are actually helpful. They seem to perform crucial functions, such as helping fight off pathogens and teaching our immune systems how to function properly in the long term.

Babies start acquiring their personal collection of microbes at birth. But it seems to take a few years for what scientists call our microbiome to fully form. That’s where this research comes in.

In a paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature, Dr. Sing Sing Way, a specialist in infectious disease in babies, and his colleagues at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital report that the immune systems of newborns are actively suppressed.

The experiments, which were done in a lab with mice and blood samples from human infants’ umbilical cords, show that certain red blood cells, known as CD71 cells, rein in the newborn immune system. That could create a welcoming environment for beneficial microbes, the researchers say, in a way that an adult immune system can’t.

Unfortunately, the scientists didn’t look at how long immune system suppression might last in actual babies. But most parents know that eventually their child won’t get sick as often. And that could be when the immune system strikes a balance between allowing good microbes to thrive while fighting off the bad ones.

Source; npr

Doctor Suspended after feeling up patient

A Blenheim doctor who unnecessarily intimately examined a South Korean vineyard worker and then altered his notes has been banned for 18 months and must always have a chaperone present with females on his return to practice.

Ravi Kiran Reddy Tamma, who has returned to India, worked for the Marlborough After Hours GP Services in Blenheim in August 2011, when he examined a South Korean woman who was working in the vineyards.

She believed she had a recurrence of a urinary tract infection.

Dr Tamma did not explain she could have a chaperone present and examined her completely naked, during which he touched her vagina and massaged her abdomen and legs, all while not wearing gloves.

He made no record of her breathing, pulse, blood pressure or heart rate and diagnosed her with a kidney infection.

The Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal said Dr Tamma also changed his notes to justify what he knew to be an inappropriate examination.

Dr Tamma admitted he had breached professional standards.

The tribunal ruled he be suspended for 18 months and for three years after that he must have a chaperone present whenever he sees a female patient.

In addition:

  • his notes will be randomly audited;
  • he will be assessed by a sexual misconduct team;
  • he must take a course on maintaining appropriate professional boundaries;
  • he must pay nearly $19,000 towards the case against him.

Dr Tamma, in a letter from India, apologised to the patient for his behaviour. He said he wanted to return to practice in New Zealand but wanted to make sure he was mentally stable first.

Source: 3news

Researchers warn medical tourism ‘myths’ unfounded

A team of British researchers is warning governments and health care organizations around the world not to fall for the myths and hype surrounding medical tourism.

With the promise of a lucrative market and huge global market opportunities, the appeal of medical tourism is hard to miss.

But researchers from London, York, Sheffield and Birmingham, UK, challenge the view that there is an ever-growing number of people prepared to travel across national borders to receive medical treatment.

They caution that all that glitters may not be gold, saying:

“Our message is: be wary of being dazzled by the lure of global health markets and of chasing markets that do not exist.”

The researchers say medical tourists are typically from affluent countries who will be treated as private patients and will cover their own medical costs.

They are not to be confused with health tourists, who may not always intend to pay for their treatments.

The report, published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), looks at the flow of medical tourists between countries and the interaction between the demand for, and supply of, these services.

Medical tourists can access the full range of medical services but most commonly opt for dental treatments, cosmetic surgery, elective surgery or fertility treatment.

There has also been a shift toward patients from developed countries traveling to less develop ones for lower-cost treatments than would be available at home – helped by cheap air fares and better research opportunities through the internet.

Patients beyond Borders, which claims to be “the world’s most trusted source of consumer information about international medical and health travel,” estimates there are 8 million cross-border patients worldwide, spending on average between $3,000 and $5,000.

And using their statistics about potential savings, it is easy to understand why they estimate 900,000 Americans will travel out of the US for treatments.

Potential savings by traveling to various countries are as follows:

  • Brazil: 25-40%
  • Costa Rica: 40-65%
  • India: 65-90%
  • Malaysia: 65-80%
  • Mexico: 40-65%
  • Singapore: 30-45%
  • Thailand: 50-70%
  • Turkey: 50-65%

Historical links influence destination choice

Price is not the only determining factor when it comes to choosing a destination. The authors argue that in terms of medical tourism, there is not necessarily a level playing field, and they challenge the view of open and global markets. They say it is not as simple as building facilities and expecting patients to come.

Networks, history and relationships may also explain a great deal about the success of particular destinations.

Dr. Daniel Horsfall, from York’s Department of Social Policy and Social Work, who carried out the statistical analysis for the study, explains:

“We found that historical flows between different countries and cultural relations account for a great deal of the trade.”

“The destinations of medical tourists are typically based on geo-political factors,” he adds, “such as colonialism and existing trade patterns. For example, you find that medical tourists from the Middle East typically go to Germany and the UK due to existing ties, while Hungary attracts medical tourists from Western Europe owing to its proximity.”

But the British research warns that there is not enough evidence “to enable us to assess who benefits and who loses out at the level of system, programme, organisation and treatment.”

Lead author Dr. Neil Lunt, from the University of York, explains:

“What data does exist is generally provided by stakeholders with a vested interest rather than by independent research institutions. What is clear is that there exists no credible authoritative data at the global level, which is why we are urging caution to governments and other decision-makers who see medical tourism as a lucrative source of additional revenue.”

But if the promise of financial savings is too attractive to dismiss, remember that different countries may also have different standards of care. Companies brokering medical tourism do not have standard accreditation, so it may not be clear what is covered and what is not.

The study also points out that there is currently no overarching legal or ethical strategy for medical tourism, and the researchers call for more information and understanding before even considering what regulations are needed.

But as to whether medical tourism is a good or bad thing, the researchers decline to call. The report concludes:

“On balance there is a pressing need to explore further as to whether medical tourism is virus, symptom, or cure.”

 

Source: Medical news today

Speaking a second language delays dementias, even in the illiterate

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There’s more evidence that speaking a second language can delay the onset of dementia later in life — this time in a population where even illiterate people reaped the benefits of being bilingual.

Conducted in Hyderabad, India, the largest study of its kind so far found that speaking two languages slowed the start of three types of dementia — including Alzheimer’s disease — by an average of 4.5 years.

“Being bilingual is a particularly efficient and effective type of mental training,” said Dr. Thomas H. Bak, a researcher at The University of Edinburgh and a co-author of the study published Wednesday in the journal Neurology. “In a way, I have to selectively activate one language and deactivate the other language. This switching really requires attention.”

That kind of attention keeps the brain nimble and may ward off not only Alzheimer’s disease, but other cognitive conditions such as frontotemporal dementia and vascular dementia, the new study found.

Bak is part of the team led by Dr. Suvarna Alladi, a professor of neurology at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad. The researchers examined case records of 648 patients with dementia who entered a memory clinic at a Hyderabad university hospital between June 2006 and October 2012.

Slightly more than half of the patients, some 391, spoke more than one language in a place where many people grow up learning three or more languages, including Telugu and Dakkhini along with English and Hindi.

Previous studies have focused on the impact of bilingualism on dementia mostly in immigrants in Canada, which may have influenced the results, Bak said.

“It really brought up the question, is it the bilingualism or is it is being an immigrant?” he said. “They have very different lifestyles, very different diets, which can affect the outcome.”

Still, those studies also found that speaking more than one language delayed dementia by the same span of time, four to five years.

The Indian patients offered a chance to examine the issue in a society where many people are naturally multilingual and shift easily among different languages in different social settings.

“If I live in Hyderabad, I am practically always switching,” said Bak. “There will not be a day when I don’t have a chance to practice.”

The researchers found that patients who spoke a single language developed the first symptoms of dementia at age 61, versus age 65 ½ in those who were bilingual. The delay was slightly more than three years for Alzheimer’s disease, but about six years for frontotemporal dementia and about 3.7 years for vascular dementia.

In people who couldn’t read, the delay of dementia was about six years later in those who were bilingual versus those who spoke only one language — evidence that education isn’t the key in postponing problems, the researchers said.

The effect of bilingualism on dementia onset was independent of other factors including education, gender, occupation and whether patients lived in urban or rural areas, the authors said.

Speaking more than two languages didn’t appear to increase the effect, a result that surprised researchers, Bak said. Other studies have found that the more languages spoken, the greater the protection against dementia.

An outside expert who documented the first physical effects of the delay of dementia in people who speak more than one language praised the new study.

“Being able to show that immigrant status was not a factor answers one remaining question, said Dr. Tom Schweizer, a neuroscientist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada, who found in 2011 that bilingual people have twice as much brain damage as those who speak one language before they show signs of Alzheimer’s disease.

“The fact that the illiterate subjects were also showing this strong effect was also novel,” he added.

It’s still not clear exactly how language acquisition triggers protection against dementia, or whether another kind of intense brain activity such as learning an instrument or doing puzzles could mimic the effect, Schweizer said.

Going forward, conducting dementia research in other non-Western cultures will be key to understanding the effect of bilingualism on dementia, the authors of the new study said.

“For me, the most important message is that you cannot do all the studies in the same place,”Bak said. “In completely different contexts, in complete different populations, we found the same effect

Source: inagist.com

Sanitary napkin may soon be available for Rs 2.50 apiece

A teacher-student duo of the Institute of Technology and Management (ITM) here has designed a machine that will be able to provide a biodegradable sanitary napkin for just Rs 2.50 apiece.

Assistant professor Ashwini Sharma, along with his student Surbhit Arora, used wood pulp to produce the napkin, which is both biodegradable and cost-effective.

“A majority of the rural and poor urban women in India use pieces of cloth and other unhygienic things during menstruation, as they cannot buy sanitary napkins which are expensive. We hope the machine will be helpful to them,” said Sharma.

The machine can make the napkin in a three-step process that involves pressing, sealing and cutting.

All these three steps occur in one cycle, in which four napkins are produced in one go.

“The machine is semi-automatic and uses only a small amount of power, so it can be used to run small and medium enterprises. This way, we also hope to generate employment for women in rural areas,” Sharma said.

National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, under a scheme titled “Design Clinic Scheme” of medium and small enterprises, funded this project with a contribution of Rs 1.5 lakh.

“The project has been recently awarded the first prize for most innovative work at the national ‘Rural Entrepreneurship’ seminar in Jaipur. We promote innovation in our students in a big way, and we are happy that they have turned out to be social innovators,” said Prem Vrat, vice chancellor, ITM. [IANS]

Source: India medical times

 

 

Young men have unrecognized eating disorders

Eating disorders are most often associated with young women, but a new study suggests young men can also become obsessed with their appearance and go to extremes to enhance their bodies.

The problem can resemble a traditional eating disorder or involve use of drugs and supplements, according to U.S. researchers, and it tends to go along with depression, binge drinking and recreational drugs.

“The results of our studies would suggest we need to be thinking more broadly about eating disorders and consider males as well,” Alison Field, the study’s lead author, said. She is an associate professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Classical eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, in which a person refuses to eat, and bulimia nervosa, in which someone binge-eats then purges through vomiting or laxative use.

“For a lot of males, what they’re striving for is different than females,” Field said. “They’re probably engaged in something different than purging.”

It has been estimated that one in every 10 cases of an eating disorder occurs in men.

For the new study, Field and her colleagues used survey responses collected between 1999 and 2011 to see what concerns teenage boys had about their bodies.

Field’s team also wanted to know if eating disorders were tied to later unhealthy behaviours, such as drug and alcohol use.

The surveys were answered every one to three years by 5,527 boys who were between ages 12 and 18 at the start of the study in 1999.

The researchers found that 31 per cent of the teens had – at some point – binged on food or purged.

About nine per cent reported a high level of concern with their body’s muscularity and about two per cent were both concerned about muscularity and had used some type of supplement, growth hormone derivative or anabolic steroid to enhance it.

Use of those products rose to about eight per cent when the researchers looked just at 16- to 22-year-olds.

“The results from this study would suggest that males who are extremely concerned about their physiques are doing or using things that may or may not be healthy,” Field said.

“There are a whole range of products available online that we don’t know if they’re healthy or not,” she said. “We know when a lot of them are tested, they’re not what they’re marketed to be.”

Those young men who used enhancement products were also more likely than their peers to binge drink and use drugs, the researchers found.

In her mind, Field said the behaviour of those young men could be the male equivalent of binge-and-purge disorders, because they’re using the products to alter their bodies.

About six per cent of the young men surveyed said that in addition to muscularity, they were also concerned about their thinness.

Overall, though, young men were more likely to be focused on muscularity and that concern increased with age.

Between two per cent and three per cent were concerned only about their thinness. Those young men were more likely to develop symptoms of depression later on.

“We think about a lot of disorders and diseases that look different in males than females,” Field said. “This is another example and we need to remember that.”

“These are not likely to be healthy behaviours,” Dr. Evelyn Attia said. She is a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medical College in New York.

“The overwhelming number of people – often young men – who are thinking about needing to change their body by using some of these supplements is certainly something the family should know about and we as clinicians should be aware of,” Attia, who was not involved in the new study, said.

She added that those behaviours and the use of those supplements should be tracked for future research. At this point, she said, it’s hard to say whether these behaviours are truly eating disorders.

Field said it would be unrealistic to expect young men and women not to be concerned about their weight or their bodies, but for some it’s all they’re concerned about.

“The images these teens are seeing of models don’t even look like that,” Field said. “They’ve been airbrushed and shaded … so everyone believes they have unbelievable definition in their abs and arms.”

The new research appeared in JAMA Pediatrics. The authors note that the survey’s respondents were mostly white and middle class, which may limit the study’s relevance to other populations.

Field suggested that doctors and parents should be aware of their patients’ or children’s attempts to change their bodies to make sure it’s being done for the right reasons and in a healthy way.

“It’s a good time to have that conversation,” she said.

Source: the globe and mail