Numbers of deaf-blind set to burgeon

Having fat around your waist is dangerous, no matter what your weight, according to the latest research, while having a very large waist - equivalent to UK size 24 or so - doubles your risk of premature death.

The research, from the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, is from a very large study - 100,000 people - 50/50 men and women, followed over nine years. The most worrying finding is perhaps that even in women of normal weight, a large waist size appears to be dangerous, causing higher than average death rates from respiratory failure as well as heart disease.

More research needs to be done, but it appears that the reason may be fat stored around the internal organs. 

The Advertising Standards Authority has comprehensively rejected claims by anti-abortion groups that ads for Marie Stopes 'trivialised and promoted abortion'. Critics said the ad campaign - the UK's first on unplanned pregnancy - was 'misleading, offensive and harmful' but the ASA pointed out that not only did the ads not actually mention or advocate abortion, they also showed the women affected deep in thought and did not trivialise the issue.

Breast cancer rates in the UK are four times higher than those in East Africa, twice as high as in South America and threes times as high as in east Asia, claims a new study. Although some of the difference can be accounted for by better detection rates, the survey's scientists also suspect that the British lifestyle may be partially to blame. "Scientists estimate that about a third of the most common cancers in the UK could be prevented just through eating healthily, being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight," said one spokesperson. Drinking too much alcohol was also cited as a significant factor.

I was heartened to read this news story in the Guardian the other day. It's about a vaginal gel that women can use and it appears to cut HIV infections in half.

This is extremely good news because it is crucial, particularly in Africa, to find an AIDS prophylactic that can be used by women, not by men. Women in most of the world are in no physical or economic position to force men to be careful in sexual matters - they are effectively the sexual slaves of men, and outside of the west, the biggest risk factors for contracting AIDS are to be female and married. 

Wearing high heels shrinks your calf muscles and thickens your tendons, according to a study undertaken by the Journal of Experimental Biology. The findings confirm something that has long been suspected by high-heel wearers and doctors alike.

 "Fashion is intended to be uncomfortable and none of the women in the study planned to give up their high heels," said the leader of the study (a statement which I find frankly astonishing), but regularly switching to flats or undertaking a few simple exercises should, in any case, be enough to sort out the problem, he reckons.

I went for my regular podiatry checkup last week and was told by the 'pod' that I was lucky to be walking at all. So massive is the scar on the sole of my foot from my operation last year, that I should apparently be in constant pain. Luckily, however, I'm only in pain when I walk for a long time in shoes other than my Crocs or proper walking shoes. But that is flats alone - I haven't worn heels since last December and don't anticipate doing so again. 

So, elegance is out of the window in this house. Apart from anything else, as forewarned, my feet have now spread from Crocs-wearing and none of my old shoes fit any more.  But why is it that elegant flat shoes are so very hard to find? A giant conspiracy, I reckon, on the part of the manufacturers....

There's an article in the Guardian here about the rise of older models, such as Madonna, Linda Evangelista and Elle Macpherson. Although it is indeed good to see more images of older women rather than entirely bright young things, it would be better, IMHO, if they weren't all so generally airbrushed.

Linda Evangelista, for instance, is so heavily retouched in skincare ads that they almost might as well use a mask. In real life she has a bit of a saggy chin these days, but she is still amazingly beautiful - just clearly not beautiful enough for the powers that be.

Another model mentioned by the writer is Emma Balfour, but frankly it would be better not to have the Emma Balfours of the world as role models. I don't doubt she's naturally thin, but her stick-like arms, with the widest part being the elbow joint, are the kind of shape that back in the 90s set off the now firmly establised trend for waif-life, unthreatening-looking women in advertising. 

Anyway, have a read and see what you think.

A US study has put the cat among the pigeons by suggesting that at-home births result in a far higher death rate for babies than hospital births, despite mothers who give birth at home generally being lower risk. At-home births were undoubtedly less stressful for mothers, but babies, the study found, were three times more likely to die in home births than in hospital births, once figures had been balanced for birth defects. It represents a blow for natural childbirth advocates as the study was a large one that took into account over half a million births in two countries. Its findings will be weighed carefully by the Royal College of Obstetricians.

The Body Shop is doing a special offer on Strawberries and Cream to tie in with Wimbledon - 50 per cent off any two selected items in either its Strawberry range, including Strawberry Body Butter and Strawberry Body Polish, or creams such as its Vitamin E Cream. Online only at www.bodyshop.co.uk.

A study in mice has shown that those that received ovarian transplants lived up to 40 per cent longer. Obviously, much more research needs to be done but the possibly that similar treatments might one day be used to extend women's lifespans is intriguing to researchers.

There's an interesting article here by Lyse Doucet about a women's prison in Kabul. Half the inmates are in there for 'moral crimes', including one woman who was jailed because a young man visited her house and asked her to marry him (without asking her parents first). Read 'em and weep - and be thankful you live in the west.

A Belgian survey has found that many women in their 30s and younger are now freezing their eggs, waiting for the right partner to come along. One group of women questioned, whose average age was 38, did not expect to use their frozen eggs until they were around 43. The scientist leading the investigation suggested that society needs to better support women to have their babies younger, so they that they do not feel so pressured by considerations such as establishing a career or earning enough money.

Jean-Paul Gaultier, known for his pointy-bra innerwear-as-outerwear, is to design a lingerie collection for high-end brand La Perla.

A new porn site for women is due to launch on July 4. Viva Fem says that one third of all online porn viewings are by women, and it plans to tap into this market, which normally remains hidden. Aimed at the heterosexual woman, the site mingles sex advice, relationship advice, health advice, hardcore porn, and - of course, chocolate...

The deputy editor of a British parenting magazine has caused controversy by called breastfeeding 'creepy', resulting in a wave of condemnation from pro-breastfeeding organisations. Kathryn Blundell, of Mother & Baby, admitted that she did not like her baby latching on where only a lover had been before, that she hated giving up wine in order to feed, and sometimes "just couldn't be fagged". She's entitled to her viewpoint of course - breastfeeding can sometimes be no picnic - but I can't help thinking it shows quite how thoroughly men have taken over women's sexuality if the organ that is DESIGNED to feed children and is only culturally sexual (breasts are not, for instance, sexual in Japan) feels peculiar or is denigrated when used for its intended purpose.

It has probably escaped no-one's notice that there has been a medical breakthrough this week in the prediction of the age at which a woman will reach the menopause. Scientists in Iran are the ones who've done the research, on 266 women over the course of 12 years, and have found that levels of a particular hormone may be able to indicated menopausal age as closely as within four months. They are now asking for the research to be extended to a wider group.