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*** g93 4/22 p. 28 Watching the World ***

?Today?s children are fatter and more sedentary than ever before,? reports The Toronto Star. ?Obesity among children has increased quite dramatically in the last 20 years,? claims Dr.?Oded Bar-Or, a director of children?s nutrition at Chedoke-McMaster Hospitals in Hamilton, Canada. Studies suggest that lack of exercise and a balanced diet are to blame. If the trend continues, doctors fear that there will be a sharp decline in the fitness level of children. According to the Star, doctors have already ?identified lack of exercise as a risk factor for .?.?. coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and osteoporosis.? Dr.?Bar-Or concludes that ?an inactive child is likely to be an obese adult.? He recommends an active life-style.

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*** g04 10/22 p. 29 Watching the World ***

A simple, inexpensive therapy using hydrated magnesium sulfate (Epsom salts) can halve the chances of women developing a potentially fatal complication of pregnancy, explains The Times of London. Eclampsia, a dangerous form of high blood pressure that causes convulsions, annually kills over 50,000 women and their unborn children worldwide. Although a drip or injections containing magnesium sulfate have been used for years in the United States to treat preeclampsia, which can develop into eclampsia if untreated, the therapy has not caught on in most other countries. Hence, an international team of doctors at the Institute for Health Sciences in Oxford, England, ?decided to test the benefits of the salts by conducting a trial on 10,000 women in 33 countries,? says The Times. ?After three years the .?.?. trial was stopped early when it became apparent how effective the treatment was: using magnesium sulphate on women with pre-eclampsia reduced their risk of having a fit by 58 per cent. It reduced their risk of dying by 45 per cent.? The treatment ?costs only ?3 [$4.50] per woman, making it .?.?. accessible to women in developing countries.?