International health news

Smoking 20 cigarettes per day causes 150 cell mutations in every lung cell per year. The effects of smoking on DNA mutations has been said to continue even if the individual quits.

If you think you’re wasting your time on social networks, think again – people who accept more friend requests on Facebook are living longer. Interestingly, no such relationship was found among those who send requests and initiate friendships.

The use of junk-food adverts on mobile apps, social media and vlogs has to be stopped, the World Health Organisation (WHO) have warned. With obesity become more and more of a worldwide issue, the WHO are particularly concerned at the amount of these ads that are being directed at children.

Country updates

A new fungus, Candida auris, has been identified in the U.S.A.. First discovered 7 years ago in Japan, certain strains can resist all antifungal drugs and kill very sick patients who are infected with the yeast.

How do you cut your calorie intake by 50% without changing your eating habits? Nutella has the answer: they want the FDA to reclassify “one serving” of Nutella from two tablespoons to one, reducing the calorie intake on the label at the same time. Currently, the spread is classified as a desert, warranting the larger serving size.

Health advice

Were you happy to get one more hour of beauty sleep when the clocks went back in parts of the world? As much needed as it may have been, daylight saving time has been noted to be linked to disruptions in sleeping patterns and a greater chance of heart attack. Crime is also said to increase as night sets in earlier, and fatal car accidents are also said to be increase with a change to the clocks.