Hello there and welcome to Thursdays Levy Letter. I must say it does appear to be getting warmer this morning, lets hope it bodes well for the weekend!
Love Handles Ive been reading today that if you carry extra fat around your middle, it dramatically increases the risk of early death, even if your overall weight is normal, researchers have suggested. The study of almost 360,000 people from nine European countries found that waist size was a powerful indicator of risk. Each extra 2 inches raised the chance of early death by between 13% and 17%. There has always been a link between waist fat and health problems but because the size of study was so large, it gives a more accurate picture. Professor Elio Riboli, from Imperial College London, said: "We were surprised to see the waist size having such a powerful effect on people's health and premature death. "There aren't many simple individual characteristics that can increase a person's risk of premature death to this extent, independently from smoking and drinking." He added, "The good news is that you don't need to take an expensive test and wait ages for the result to assess this asp! ect of your health - it costs virtually nothing to measure your hip and waist size." Well there you go! It does sound rather scary but I think that sometimes a shock is just what you need to get into good habits. I think it may be time to start the sit ups! Free Health Testing On another health note tomorrow is World Diabetes Day. Hull PCT is helping with this years campaign to raise awareness of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents. There will be free diabetes testing at the Hull Open Centre in Queens Gardens, from 11am. There is no need to book, just come along. Wonky Veggies Im not sure if you heard yesterday, but the EU has now relaxed its rules that prevented mis-shapen or odd sized fruit and vegetables being sold in Europe. The EU's agriculture commissioner called it "a new dawn for the curvy cucumber and the knobbly carrot". The rules were originally introduced to ensure common EU standards but critics think it is another example of so-called Euro madness. Currently 20% of produce is rejected by shops across the EU because it fails to meet the current requirements. There are 26 types of produce, which when the new rules come in, in July 2009, which can be sold if they arent aesthetically pleasing. These are apricots, artichokes, asparagus, aubergines, avocadoes, beans, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflowers, cherries, courgettes, cucumbers, cultivated mushrooms, garlic, hazelnuts in shell, headed cabbage, leeks, melons, onions, peas, plums, ribbed celery, spinach, walnuts in shell, water melons and witloof/chicory. However the rules will remain unchanged for 10 types of produce, apples, citrus fruit, kiwi fruit, lettuces, pe! aches and nectarines, pears, strawberries, sweet peppers, table grapes and tomatoes. However, the commission says shops will be allowed to sell these products as long as they are labelled appropriately. What do you think to this one? Would you rather buy a wonky carrot than a straight one? Id love to hear your thoughts on this. You can contact me on [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thats all for todays letter. If you havent had a chance to listen to my new show on BBC Radio Humberside, you can always listen again online. Head on over to bbc.co.uk/humberside and click on the listen again button. Enjoy the rest of your day, Peter And for the latest news and more where you live, go to: http://bbc.co.uk/humber and http://bbc.co.uk/lincolnshire ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the BBC Look North newsletter, go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/england/looknorthhull/newsletter/newsletter_index.shtml, enter your email address in the unsubscribe box. Your email address will be held by the BBC and kept confidential, and will only be used in relation to this newsletter. You will be given the option to unsubscribe from this newsletter each time you receive it. Please visit the BBC's Privacy & Cookies Policy (www.bbc.co.uk/privacy) for more information.
