News:
Research recommends ‘short bursts’ of exercise:
Researchers at the University of Glamorgan
have found that six 30-second sprints three times a week can have the same health
and weight loss benefits as jogging or cycling for up to 45 mins several times
a week. Professors Julien Baker and
Bruce Davies studied exercise patterns over several years comparing short
high-intensity sprints to longer endurance training, such as cycling and
jogging. For this article in full see the following link: http://news.bbc.co.uk
Institute member invited to present at ASEP Conference:
Professor Julien Baker, from Glamogran University,
will deliver a guest lecture at the American Society of Exercise Physiologists national
conference. The conference is due to be
held at Midwestern State Univeristy (Texas),
on the 3rd and 4th April. For more information see the following link: www.asep.org
WRU Centre of Excellence Announced:
A £2 million Centre of
Excellence for the Welsh Rugby Union teams has been unveiled. The centre, based at the Vale Hotel, Golf and
Spa Resort in Hensol, will include three new full size pitches, as well as an artificial
pitch inside the Indoor Arena. In
addition, gymnasium and administration facilities will be upgraded. For more information see the following link:
http://www.sports-council-wales.org.uk/
Antiobesity drug withdrawn
by EMEA:
The European Medicines
Agency (EMEA) has suspended the marketing authorisation of the antiobesity drug
rimonabant (brand name Acomplia), stating that the benefits no longer outweigh
the risks of psychiatric disorders, especially depression. The drug has previously been restricted in
patients with either major depressive disorders or those who are taking
antidepressant drugs. For this article
in full see: www.bmj.com
Welsh Universities work together to improve primary
healthcare:
The Universities of Cardiff, Glamorgan, Swansea
and Bangor are collaborating to form the Wales School
for Primary Care Research. The new
school aims to develop and share excellence in primary care research and work
with professionals across all relevant disciplines to improve the quality and
quantity of primary care research in Wales. For this article in full see the following
link: http://news.glam.ac.uk
Biomechanics techniques
assist vulnerable groups:
Researchers at Swansea University’s Sport and Exercise Science
Research Centre (SESRC) are currently using techniques designed to maximise
performance to develop training programmes to assist young children with
coordination difficulties, and to improve balance among older people.
The
research team, including Professor Jim Watkins, Head of the SESRC, Dr Liam
Kilduff, Nick Owen and Dan Cunningham, use forceplates as diagnostic test, to
allow the development of highly individualised training programmes. For more information see the following link: http://www.swan.ac.uk/
Parents
unable to estimate children’s physical activity levels:
Researchers
at the Universities of Glasgow and Newcastle
have reported evidence to suggest that parents vastly overestimate the amount
of time their children spend exercising.
The study, published in Archives of Disease in Childhood, showed that
while parents reported that 83% of boys and 56% of girls were meeting a target
of 60-minutes a day, accelerometers indicated that only 3% of boys and 2% of
girls were actually meeting this target.
For more information see the following link, or the journal article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/
WHO report highlights social
determinants of health:
A new report published by
the World Health Organisation concludes that social factors, rather than
genetics, are largely to blame for huge variations in ill health and life
expectancy. The report, based on a three
year analysis of the ‘social determinants’ of health, found that in almost all
countries, poor socioeconomic circumstances equated to poor health. For this
article in full see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/
Glamorgan
University
named as 2012 ‘Training Camp’:
The University of Glamorgan
has been selected as an official ‘Pre Games Training Camp’ venue for the
Olympic Games in 2012. Glamorgan will
host Olympic athletes due to compete in the football and archery events. For more information see the following link: http://news.glam.ac.uk
Winner of UK Sport New Researcher Award announced:
UK Sport’s Research and Innovation Team have announced that Chris
West, an MSc Sport Sciences graduate from Brunel University,
is the first winner of their Ideas 4 Innovation: New Researchers Award. His
project focused on the development of a novel device for performance enhancement
in spinal cord injured athletes. The award scheme aims to acknowledge and
harness outstanding research and innovation concepts, with students encouraged
to enter their projects if they have the potential for enhancing elite sports
performance. For more information see the following link:
http://www.uksport.gov.uk/
Emily Oliver, News editor.
Research highlights mislabelling of supplements:
A study conducted by HFL Sport Science and Lucozade Sport
has found that over 10% of the supplements it tested contained prohibited substances
not listed on the label, highlighting the need for athletes to carefully
consider the use of such products. For
more information see the following link: http://www.uksport.gov.uk/
Emily Oliver, News editor.
Physical
Activity and Diabetes Conference to be held at Swansea University:
A
one day regional conference titled ‘Physical Activity and Diabetes – ‘Towards
Improving Collaborative Research in Wales’ will take place on the 11th
September 2008. The conference,
organised by the Diabetes Research Network Cymru and hosted by Swansea
University Institute of Life Sciences aims to provide an opportunity to explore
the current knowledge base of researchers’ interests in Wales and
explore avenues for future research collaboration in the use of physical
activity in treating or preventing diabetes.
If you are interested in attending or would like more information please
contact Professor Stephen Bain (s.c.bain@swansea.ac.uk) or Dr. Richard Bracken
(r.m.bracken@swansea.ac.uk). WISHES
members can also view a flyer for the event via the members’ pages.
Study suggests longer
duration exercise may be needed to maintain weight loss:
A study published
in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that 55 minutes of moderate
intensity exercise a day may be needed for females to maintain weight loss. The
research, which tracked a group of overweight and obese women over a four year
period, found that women who maintained a 10% weight loss after the first six
months were those who reported doing, on average, 275 minutes per week of
exercise. For a more detailed report see
the following link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk
Postgraduate Bursaries available for BPS conference:
The Higher Education Academy Psychology Network and the
Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Network are sponsoring a session at the
upcoming BPS Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology conference (11-12th
December). The session aims to
support postgraduates in their teaching, and to encourage postgraduates to
attend, two £50 bursaries will be available. For more information and details
on how to apply see the following link: http://www.bases.org.uk
Emily Oliver, News editor.
Obesity link to pancreatic cancer in women:
A new US-based study has suggested that obesity is a
significant risk factor in the development of pancreatic cancer in women. The research, published in the British
journal of Cancer, found that after controlling for other risk factors, the
disease was 70% more likely in women with the highest waist-to-hip ratios. For an extended article see the following
link: http://news.bbc.co.uk
Emily Oliver, News editor.
UK Centre for Coaching
Excellence launched:
It has been announced that
the UK Centre for Coaching Excellence, a key component of the UK Coaching
framework aiming create a world-leading coaching system by 2016, will be based
at Leeds Metropolitan University. The
centre will receive start-up funding of £600,000 from UK Sport and Sport
England, and will focus on four main areas of development included high
performance, performer development, participation and children’s coaches. For more information see the following
link:
http://www.uksport.gov.uk/
Emily Oliver, News editor.
WADA hold Gene Doping Symposium:
Following their third
gene-doping symposium, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) reported that there
are signs of a growing interest in sport in the potential of the
techniques. WADA currently fund a
number of research projects aimed at better understanding genetic and
physiological effects of doping, and methods for the effective detection of
gene doping. For this article in full
see the following link: http://www.uksport.gov.uk/newsarchive/
Emily Oliver, News editor.
Additional funding to target
health inequalities:
The BMJ reports that the
health secretary Alan Johnson has pledged an extra £34 million over the coming
year to reduce health inequalities in the UK.
The government plans to focus on the social determinants of health promoting
healthy lifestyles, and improving access to services. For the article in full see http://www.bmj.com/
Emily Oliver, News editor.
Congratulations to WISHES Vice-Chair:
Congratulations to Mike McNamee on his award of a personal
chair at Swansea University. Mike is
the Vice-Chair (Conference) of the Virtual Institute and is based in the Centre
for Philosophy, Humanities and Law in Healthcare at Swansea University.
Emily Oliver, News editor.
‘Sporting Preferences’ survey shows public desire for
success is high:
UK Sport today revealed that Olympic success is high on the
public agenda, with athletics second only to football in the nation’s desire
for sporting success, with swimming, boxing and gymnastics also securing places
in the top ten. In addition, athletics,
swimming and wheelchair basketball remain favourites for success in Paralympic
sport, with the survey showing that support for Lottery investment across the
Olympic sports also remains consistently strong. For more detailed information see the following link: http://www.uksport.gov.uk
Emily Oliver, News editor.
Assessment of Beijing’s
Air Quality Published:
An article published in the journal Air Quality,
Atmosphere & Health
reports on
concentrations of air pollutants in Beijing in
August and Septmeber 2007 Wen-Xing and
colleagues found that average daily concentrations of sulphur dioxide and
carbon monoxide were lower than the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for China. Nitrogen
dioxide levels met the Standard, whereas concentrations of ozone and inhalable
particles were higher than the Standard.
For more details see the following news article or the original
article:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/
Emily Oliver, News editor.
UK Sport opens search for Fast-Track Practitioners:
UK Sport has announced that it is seeking to recruit a new
intake for its Fast-Track Practitioner Programme. Successful applicants will complete
internships in areas including nutrition, performance analysis, physiotherapy,
physiology, psychology and strength and conditioning. For more information see the following
link:
http://www.uksport.gov.uk/newsarchive/
Emily Oliver, News editor.
WISHES Treasurer heading for Beijing:
Dr Nicki Phillips, the Treasurer of the Virtual Institute, a senior lecturer in Physiotherapy at Cardiff University and the Director of Postgraduate Healthcare Studies has been appointed as the Chief Physiotherapist to the British team for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Glamorgan Professor wins
International Award:
Congratulations to Professor
Julien Baker of the University of Glamorgan on winning the International
Investigator Award for 2008 from the American Society of Exercise Physiologists
(ASEP). Julien was award the prize in honour of his contributions to JEPonline,
the research journal of ASEP, during the last 10 years, and his presence and
contributions to the meeting which was held this year in Minnesota.
Ossur donates funding to
Virtual Institiute:
The Virtual Institute is
delighted to announce that Ossur has donated £3500 to the Institute. The
donation came from funds raised at the Ossur Sports Medicine conference held at
their Llantrisant Headquarters on Friday 18th April. All of the speakers at
that meeting (Julien Baker, Mike Benjamin, Jim Watkins, Paul Frowen, Liam
Kilduff, Ian Mathieson, Nicki Phillips and David Tod) are members of the
Institute and the audience of 120 delegates largely comprised physiotherapists,
orthotists, podiatrists and osteopaths. The whole day was very enjoyable and
successful and is part of an increasing collaboration between the Institute and
Ossur (www.ossur.com).
The management committee will consider how best to use the funds at its meeting
on July 4th (at the time of the summer conference at Swansea University).
The next joint venture between Ossur and the Virtual Institute is likely to be
in November this year.
US study links exercise to
growth of tumours in mice:
A study presented at an
American cancer conference has reported findings that tumours in mice given
exercise expanded twice as fast as those without exercise. 50 human prostate tumours were implanted into
mice, half of which were kept in cages restricting movement. The remainder were
allowed to run for an average of half a mile a day. The researchers, based at Duke University Medical Centre,
suggest that improved blood flow to the tumour may be a possible cause, yet
emphasised that sedentary lifestyles raise the risk of other serious
diseases. For a full news article see
the following link: http://news.bbc.co.uk
Emily Oliver, News editor.
BASES Abstract Submission
Open:
Abstracts can now be
submitted for the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences Annual
Conference. The conference is due to be
held at Brunel University from the 2nd to the 4th of
September. See the BASES website for
more details: http://www.bases.org.uk/newsite/home.asp
Emily Oliver, News editor.
BPS
Divisional AGM:
The AGM of
the British Psychological Society’s Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology
will take place in
Dublin
on
the 3rd
April, 2008
at
11.00am
. For more details
see the BPS website at the following link: http://www.bps.org.uk/spex/spex_home.cfm
Emily Oliver, News editor.
Trinity
College
to host European Outdoor Education
Conference:
It has been
announced that Trinity College Carmarthen will be hosting the 9th
Annual conference of the European Institute for Outdoor Education and
Experiential Learning from the 17th to
the 20th
September 2008
. The conference, entitled ‘Landscape,
Youth and Outdoor Education: What are we doing? What should we be doing?’, aims
to bring together practitioners, academics and policy-makers from across
Europe
.
For more information see the EOE website:
http://www.eoe-network.org/
Emily Oliver, News editor.
BOA Annual Review is Published:
Last week the British Olympic Association (BOA) released
their 2007 Annual Review. This report
provides a summary of the BOA’s activites during 2007, including the progress
and development of the Elite Performance Programme. To download and view the document visit the BOA website at http://www.olympics.org.uk/home2.aspx
Emily Oliver, News editor.
Sports Council for Wales receives Corporate Health
recognition:
The Sports Council for Wales has received a Corporate Health
Standard bronze award in recognition of its support for policies promoting the
health and well-being of employees.
The Welsh Institute of Sport, the Plas Menai National
Watersports Centre, and regional offices of the SCW have all successfully met
criteria developed by the Welsh Assembly Government. For more information see the following link: http://www.sports-council-wales.org.uk/index
Emily Oliver, News editor.
SCW Chair to oversee New National
Anti-Doping Board:
It has been announced that Philip
Carling, Chair of the Sports Council for
Wales
, will oversee meetings to assist with the
development of a new, stand-alone National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO) in
the
UK
. The board
will consist of representatives of the government, national governing bodies,
and law enforcement, and will meet twice ahead of presenting a detailed
proposal for the NADO to Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe in the spring. For this article in full see: http://www.sports-council-wales.org.uk/
Emily Oliver, News editor.
**** 5th Annual WISHES Conference Announced: ***
The 5th Annual WISHES conference which will be held on the 4th July at Swansea University. (see members pages for call for abstracts).
The conference is a collaboration between the School of Health Science, the Department of Sport Science and the School of Medicine. The keynote speakers are drawn from across the spectrum of disciplines of exercise, health, medicine and sports and comprise an exciting one-day program
along with the poster presentations and the Young Investigator Award.
Topics include the genetics of athletic performance, pediatric in/activity and health, sports psychology and mainstream pyschological research, and achilles tendon injuries in sedentary and athletic populations. For the first time we have included an international keynote, focusing on exercise prescription intervention in Copehagen, Denmark, in order to see what lessons we in Wales can learn from their approach to exercise and public health .
As with all previous WISHES conferences, attendance is free and you will be able to register in the near future.
For more information visit the members pages or contact g.abbott@swansea.ac.uk
We look forward to welcoming you in Swansea
Liam Kilduff, Mike McNamee, Jim Watkins and Rhys Williams
BPS Divisional
AGM announced:
The British
Psychological Society’s Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology will hold its
AGM on
the 3rd April, 2008
in
Dublin
.
See the website for more information: http://www.bps.org.uk/spex/spex_home.cfm
Emily Oliver,
News editor.
Swansea
University
receives health sciences funding:
The
School
of
Health Science
at
Swansea
University
has received funding from the Leverhulme
Trust to advance research and collaboration in Nanomedicine and Enhancement. The grant, obtained under the Leverhulme
Fellowship Scheme, will allow Dr Christian Lenk from the
University
of
G
ö
ttingen
in
Germany
to visit the School for 12 months to
develop research in the ethics of nanomedicine, and the improvement of
abilities over and above ‘normal’ healthy ranges. See the following link for the full article:
http://www.swan.ac.uk/
Emily
Oliver, News editor.
Glamorgan
University
to research history of Welsh cricket:
Last week
Glamorgan Cricket announced a partnership with The University of Glamorgan to
gather and record information for the
Museum
of
Welsh Cricket
. The
project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, will initially
involve cricket clubs from
Colwyn
Bay
, Cresselly, Gowerton, Llantwit Major, St.
Fagans and Usk. See the following link
for a full article: http://news.glam.ac.uk/
Emily Oliver, News
editor.
New cell
metabolism study suggests weight training can reduce your chances of diabetes:
The results of a
new study in Cell Metabolism suggest that weight training might help to burn
fat and prevent the development of diseases such as diabetes. The research reports that when a gene was
activated to trigger the growth of Type II muscle in mice, they burned fat more
easily and reduced their resistance to insulin. The team, based at
Boston
University
’s
School
of
Medicine
, suggests that Type II muscle may play an
important role in controlling whole-body metabolism. For the article in full see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/
Emily Oliver, News editor.
Childhood obesity
linked to genetics not lifestyle:
Researchers based
at University College London have reported findings showing that 77% of the
variance in BMI (Body Mass Index) and waist size can be attributed directly to
genes. By studying over 5000 identical
and non-identical twins, scientists were able to measure differences that might
be attributable to the environment compared with those that might be explained
by genetics. For an extended report see:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
Emily Oliver, News editor.
Research links sedentary
lifestyle to cellular ageing:
A recent paper published in
Archives of Internal Medicine reports that pieces of DNA known as telomeres
shortened more quickly in inactive people, which is thought to signify faster
cellular ageing. Researchers from
King’s College London studied lifestyles and DNA from over 2000 twins and found
that the most active individuals had telomeres of a length comparable with
inactive people up to ten years younger, on average. For a full article see http://news.bbc.co.uk/
or the original article at http://archinte.ama-assn.org/
Emily Oliver, News editor.
IOC announces potential
locations for 2010 Youth Olympic Games:
The International Olympic
Committee (IOC) have announced that either Moscow or Singapore will host the
Youth Olympic Games in 2010. The Summer
Youth Olympics will involve over 3000 elite athletes aged between 14 and 18. Members will now vote to decide the winning
city. For this article in full see http://www.olympics.org.uk/home2.aspx
Emily Oliver, News editor.
Funding for expanded
exercise prescription scheme in Wales:
The Welsh Assembly
Government have announced £11.5 million of funding to support a new NHS
exercise referral scheme targeting those at risk of chronic disease. The scheme, launched last week by First
minister Rhodri Morgan, requires GPs to identify and refer patients perceived
as being at risk of developing a chronic condition. See the following link for the article in full: http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/
Emily Oliver, News editor.
Debate over appointment of
WRU Elite Performance Director:
The BBC has reported
conflicting views regarding the recent appointment of Graeme Maw as the Welsh
Rugby Union’s Elite Performance Director.
Ex-players such as former Welsh wing Adrian Hadley have argued that the
position needed to be filled by someone with a knowledge of the game, who could
focus on improving skill and technique at the top level. However, Maw arrives
with a strong background in performance management, having spent
five years as the British
Triathlon Association's performance director and prior to that working as the
high performance manager for swimming at the Queensland Academy of Sport in
Australia. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/ for a full summary.
Emily Oliver, News editor.
Gordon Brown reveals new
health screening plan:
The Prime Minister Gordon
Brown has announced that patients in
England
will soon be offered screening for signs of heart
disease, kidney disease and stokes, in an attempt to reduce the number of
avoidable deaths from these conditions.
He also announced expanded provision of breast cancer screening and
cervical cancer vaccines, with a greater focus on preventing rather than solely
curing illness across the health service.
For the article in full see:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
Emily Oliver, News editor.
BMJ publish call to act on
Obesity:
A letter published this
month in the British Medical Journal argues that we need to focus on improving
infrastructure through environmental changes to target rising obesity
levels. Nicole Lavery proposes that a
saturation point has been reached in terms of research findings regarding the
prevalence of obesity, and that it is now time to focus on providing
large-scale solutions to combat the problem.
For the letter in full see: http://www.bmj.com/
Emily Oliver, News editor.
Welsh coach wins British Swimming Coach of the Year:
Swansea-based Billy Pye has been named British Swimming Coaches and
Teachers Association Coach of the Year, in recognition of an outstanding season
working with Wales’ Beijing Paralympic prospects. Six elite swimmers from the
Swansea National Pool have shared seven world championship titles and almost as
many world records between them, a success he credits partially to the
facilites available to swimmers, including the scientific support. For the full article see:
http://www.sports-council-wales.org.uk
Emily Oliver, News editor.
Thesis suggests that knee
operations can lead to other injuries:
A new thesis from Lund
University in Sweden presents evidence that operating on an anterior cruciate
ligament injury can lead to other damage to the knee. By studying cruciate ligament injuries using a magnetic
resonance camera, researcher Richard Frobell discovered that most patients had
additional fractures and bone marrow lesions, and that knees which were
operated on displayed a poorer condition after a year than those which were
not. He argues that this may mean that structured rehabilitation may be
preferable unless there is clear evidence that an operation is necessary, and
that returning to sport sooner may also increase athletes’ long-term risk of
osteoarthritus. For an extended article
see:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/
Emily Oliver, News editor.
BASES request
feedback on strategic plan:
A draft version
of the British Association for Sport and Exercise Sciences Strategic plan for
2008 to 2010 has been released for member and stakeholder feedback. Developed by the out-going Strategic
Management Team and the newly-appointed Board, the plan can be reviewed via the
BASES website at the following link:
http://www.bases.org.uk
Emily Oliver, News editor.
Chemical may
replicate effects of exercise on mental health:
Research by
scientists at
Yale
University
has identified a chemical produced in the
brain that might explain the ‘natural high’ triggered by exercise. The study, published in Nature, focuses on
the gene ‘VGF’ in the hippocampus region of the brain which researchers found
became more active during exercise. The
gene is linked to a ‘growth-factor’ chemical which, when tested on mice, showed
antidepressant behavioral effects. For
an extended article see http://news.bbc.co.uk/
Emily Oliver,
News editor.
Cognitive
Neuroscience Institute to target obesity in
Wales
:
Last week saw the
official launch of the Welsh Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience (WICN) which
draws together facilities at
Bangor
,
Cardiff
and
Swansea
Universities
. The institute aims to develop the universities’
range of partnerships with industry, healthcare, schools and the public and to
become a world-leading institute for the study and application of cognitive and
clinical neuroscience. Examples of
current research topics include overeating and substance abuse, and it is hoped
that findings will lead to cognitively-based interevetions in these areas. For an extended article see:
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk
Emily Oliver,
News editor.
Revised World
Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code Approved:
Last week the
Foundation Board of WADA unanimously approved revisions to enhance and
strengthen the World Anti-Doping Code at the third World Conference on Doping
in Sport. UK Sport contributed to consultations on the updates and will now
have to work with national governing bodies to ensure compliance with the code
by
1 January 2009
. For more
details see http://www.uksport.gov.uk
Emily Oliver,
News editor.
New Clearer CT
Scanner announced:
GE Healthcare
have revealed details of a new high-definition CT scanner which will be
officially launched in next year. The
scanner will be able to produce images that are 30% clearer and 100 times
faster than current technology, using half the radiation dose. Of particular
relevance to those involved in cardiac care and research, the makers state that
the radiation reduction will be even greater for cardiac scans, potentially up
to 83 percent. For this article in full see:
http://www.reuters.com/
Emily Oliver,
News editor.
Wales
’ Health reorganisation branded a ‘costly
distraction’:
A detailed study
into NHS structures in
Wales
has concluded that the Government made
errors in implementing a strategy focused on health rather than health
services. In an article for the
Institute of Welsh Affairs, Professor Scott Greer argued that although the
intellectual justification being linking health and social care was good, the
creation of 22 local health boards was a ‘costly distraction’ which had little
impact on problems such as waiting lists.
For an in-depth article see http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/
Emily Oliver,
News editor.
SCW Reveals
coaching award shortlist:
This week the
Sports Council for
Wales
revealed the finalists in contention for
prizes at its annual Coach of the Year Awards.
Prizes are given in eight categories including Teacher Coach of the
Year, Volunteer Coach of the Year and Coach to Disabled Sportspeople of the
Year. The winners will be unveiled on
the 23rd November at a ceremony at the Welsh Institute of
Sport. For the shortlist in full visit: http://www.sports-council-wales.org.uk
Emily Oliver,
News editor.
Swansea
researchers seek diabetic patients for study:
Researchers at
Swansea
University
are seeking volunteers from
Swansea
and South West Wales to participate in an
eight-week walking training programme.
Participants need to have been recently diagnosed with Type 2
diabetes. The research team hope to gain
a deeper understanding of the physiological responses to walking in Type 2
diabetes patients, which may aid promotion of this form of exercise by GPs and
other health care professionals. For the
article in full or details of how to participate see the following link: http://www.swan.ac.uk/
Emily Oliver,
News editor.
BOA Elite
Performance Programme outlined by Woodward:
The British
Olympic Association’s Director of Elite Performance, Sir Clive Woodward, has
announced his plans for the progression of the BOA’s elite performance
programme. In a briefing last week he identified
the need for athletes to have access 24/7 to coaches and
performance-enhancement specialists, as well as plans for a unique communication and
analysis system which aims to achieve this.
For an in-depth article see http://www.boa.org.uk/
Emily Oliver,
News editor.
New Support
Network announced for
North Wales
’
Athletes:
The Sports
Council for
Wales
last week unveiled a new support system
for talented athletes and coaches based in
North Wales
. Established
with funding from the Welsh Assembly Government, The North Wales Regional
Institute of Sport (NWRIS) is a network of facilities, coaches and support
services, including sports science, which aims to help athletes from the region
achieve world-class levels of performance. The institute will work from a base
at Plas Menai Watersports Centre in partnership with the National Governing
Bodies of Sports. For an extended
version of this article see http://www.sports-council-wales.org.uk/
Emily Oliver,
News editor.
BPS Division of
Sport and Exercise Psychology Conference Announced:
The British
Psychological Society Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology have announced
their Inaugural Conference which will be held on the 11th and 12th
December 2008 at the Societies London Office.
Additionally, division committee meeting dates for 2008 have been
released; for more details see the BPS website at http://www.bps.org.uk
Emily Oliver,
News editor.
UWIC Lecturers
help boost British Basketball:
Great Britain
Senior Women’s Basketball team secured promotion to Division ‘A’ of the
European Championships this summer with support from staff based at the
University
of
Wales
Institute,
Cardiff
.
Damian Jennings and Lucy Power, both from UWIC’s Cardiff School of
Sport, spent nine weeks traveling with the squad as Assistant Coach and Team
Manager. For a more detailed article see
http://www2.uwic.ac.uk
Emily Oliver,
News editor.
Brain imaging research shows
leptin reduces craving in the obese:
Research published in the
proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has reported that giving the
body's natural appetite suppressant to morbidly obese volunteers de-activated
their brain's response to tasty food.
Whilst off leptin, participants showed high levels of activation in
brain regions associated with food craving, whereas with leptin the executive
centres involved in self-control were more activated. The report’s authors suggest that their findings may lead to new
and improved treatments for obesity.
For an in-depth article see http://uk.reuters.com/
Emily Oliver, News editor.
Fat camp for Under-5s to be
televised:
ITV are offering free places
on a fat camp designed specifically for the under-fives by a professor at Leeds
Metropolitan University. Professor Paul
Gately has previously run summer camps for overweight teenagers, and he argues
that the biggest problem is often that parents don’t recognise that their child
is overweight. For the article in full
see http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/
Emily Oliver, News editor.
Glamorgan
researchers present keynote at Performance and Image-enhancing Drugs
Conference:
A keynote lecture
at the UK’s first Performance and Image enhancing Drugs conference earlier this
month was presented by Dr Mike Graham, Professor Bruce Davies and Professor
Julien Baker of the University of Glamorgan’s Faculty of Health, Sport and
Science. The lecture, entitled ‘The
pathophysiology of doping in sport’, was attended by over 200 delegates
including representatives from the medical profession (doctors,
pharmacologists, psychiatrists, medics, government officials, social workers,
drug testing officers, the Sports Council and outreach workers. For this article in full see
http://www.glam.ac.uk/index.php
Emily
Oliver, News editor.
New
findings suggest cancer survival rate is not affected by emotions:
The findings of a
new study published in the journal Cancer suggest that people who are depressed
about their cancer are no more likely to die than people who keep a positive
outlook. Dr. James Coyne and his
colleagues at University of Pennsylvania analyzed the emotional states of 1,093
patients with head and neck cancer, and found that emotional status was not
associated with survival rate, even after taking into account factors such as
gender, tumor site or disease stage.
For more information see http://uk.reuters.com/
or the journal website.
Emily
Oliver, News editor.
Swansea
University
joins elite medical research group:
Swansea
University
have joined the Texas-United Kingdom
Collaborative, which was created to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and
research in fields including cancer and heart disease. Comprised of 10 universities and medical
colleges in Texas, and 8 top UK universities, the collaborative has brought
together some of the world's leading scientists and medical experts to foster
collaborative research projects in areas such as biomedicine, biotechnology,
nanotechnology, and ICT. To see this
article in full visit: http://www.swan.ac.uk/
Emily Oliver,
News editor.
Latest update
from BPS regarding statutory regulation:
Following a
meeting on the 8th October, the British Psychological Society has released an
update on the ongoing introduction of statutory regulation for
psychologists. The society still has
concerns over the content of draft documentation – for an update in full see http://www.bps.org.uk/
Emily Oliver,
News editor.
Warning over online
self-medication:
A recent Western Mail
article has highlighted the dangers of Internet health research following
findings that at least 1 in 100 people source prescriptions online. The British Medical Journal reported that
using signs and symptoms as search terms online can lead to correct diagnosis
approximately 57% of the time, however, concerns have been raised about
individuals’ lack of training in dealing with available information and the
possibility of mis-diagnosis. For the
article in full see
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk
Emily Oliver, News editor.
New research examines
effects of high intensity strength training:
Research by Professor Julien
Baker at the University of Glamorgan using male weightlifters has shown that it
can be counter-productive to spend hours at the gym, and that shorter work-outs
can obtain the same strength benefits.
The study, publicised in an article from efitness news, suggests that
after high-intensity strength training muscles need more time to recover and
become stronger. For an extended
summary see
http://www.glam.ac.uk/index.php
or for the original article in full visit
http://www.efitness.com/20_01_index.cfm
Emily Oliver, News editor.
Call for increased focus on
‘cancer lifestyle’:
Research presented at the National Cancer
Research Institute conference has predicted that, without women making changes
to their lifestyle, there will be 58,000 diagnosis of breast cancer a year by
2024, compared with 44,000 in the past year.
Cancer Research UK has said that factors such as reducing long-term HRT
use, reducing obesity, cutting down on drinking, and increasing exercise, could
help to prevent up to 5,700 cases a year.
However, the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer highlighted that other
factors, such as genetics and even living environment also play a role, and
emphasised the importance of attending regular screening. To read the report in full visit www.bbc.co.uk
Emily Oliver, News editor.
Aber student wins BPS prize:
The Annual BPS Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology H.T.A. Whiting
Undergraduate Dissertation Prize has been won by Christian Edwards, who
graduated from Aberystwyth in 2007.
Supervised by Dr David Tod, his dissertation examined ‘The effects of
motivational and instructional self-talk on power production during the
vertical jump test in University rugby union players’. For more information visit
http://www.aber.ac.uk/
Emily Oliver, News editor.
UK
city employs ‘obesity tsar’:
Birmingham City
Council have employed an official with a specific remit to tackle childhood
obesity in over 400 schools within the
area. Dr Patrick Lowe will aim to reduce
childhood obesity by working with schools and parents, as well as by
coordinating community-level developments through planning and transport
departments (e.g. creating more cycle paths).
If the scheme is a success it could be introduced in cities across the
UK
.
For more information visit the website via http://news.bbc.co.uk
Top Scientist proposes ethical code for British Researchers:
The government’s chief scientific advisor has presented a
universal ethical code for scientists, which outlines seven principals that
highlight the responsibilities and values of a scientific profession. The principals include respecting and
acknowledging the work of other scientists, ensuring that research is justified
and lawful, and more socially focussed ideals such as minimising the impact of
research on people, animals and the environment and discussing the issues
science raises for society. To read the
article and code in full see:
http://news.bbc.co.uk
Emily Oliver, News editor.
Launch of BASES Position on 'Genetic Research and Testing in
Sport and Exercise Science':
The British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences
(BASES) have launched their position stand on genetic testing in sport and
exercise science. For more information
or to read an executive summary or the whole position statement visit the BASES
site at the following link:
http://www.bases.org.uk
Emily Oliver, News editor.
Research from Swansea University shows benefits of ‘Ageing
Well’:
A report into the national ‘Aging Well’ programme has been
published by researchers from the School of Health Science at Swansea
University. The Aging Well programme
focuses on training volunteers aged over 50 to act as ‘health mentors’ to their
peers and helps to support older people in accessing health and wellbeing
services. The research report praises
the positive impact of the programme on a number of factors, including improved
social wellbeing, enhanced knowledge of health behaviours and increases in
physical activity levels for participants.
For a full report see the following link:
http://www.swansea.ac.uk
North
American Congress on Biomechanics 2008 Annual Meeting:
The 2008 North American
Congress on Biomechanics (NACOB), a joint meeting of the American Society of
Biomechanics (ASB) and Canadian Society for Biomechanics (CSB), will be held
August 5-9, 2008, at the University of Michigan. For more details see the ASB website at:
http://www.asbweb.org/
Emily Oliver, News editor.
BPS History of
Psychiatry and Psychology Seminar Series this Autumn:
The British
Psychological Society
History
of Psychology Centre, in conjunction with the Wellcome Trust Centre for the
History of Medicine at UCL,
is hosting
a series of seminars examining the History of Psychiatry and Psychology. Seminars titles include
“
Why Was 1919 the Key Year in the
Development of British Psychology, Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis and Why Has
Nobody Noticed this Fact?”
and “The
Subject of Influence: Brainwashing and Suggestion in Psychoanalysis, Sociology
and Neurology”. For a full list of
seminars and more information see
http://www.bps.org.uk
New Web-based interactive
tool for mapping Health data in Wales:
The Health Information
Analysis Team at NHS Wales have developed a new interactive mapping tool which
is available online. Health data for
Wales is presented in user-friendly graphics, and allows users to select specific
themes or indicators (e.g. proportion of current smokers) and view comparative
rates across Wales. For the article in
full see http://www.wales.nhs.uk
Emily Oliver, News editor.
Confusion over exercise for
health guidelines:
A recent article on the BBC
website reports that ACSM members are concerned that the public is
misinterpreting advice to do thirty minutes gentle exercise each day. Citing recent findings that walking for just
half an hour three days a week gave similar fitness and blood pressure benefits
to walking five times a week, the authors stress that individuals may need to
‘top-up’ their routine activities with bouts of structured exercise. For the
article in full see:
http://news.bbc.co.uk
Emily Oliver, News editor.
BPS
update on statutory regulation:
The
British Psychological Society has published an update on its campaign for statutory
regulation covering psychologists, psychotherapists and counsellors. The BPS disagrees with current government
plans based on using the Health Professions Council, and has proposed setting
up an independent Psychological Professions Council. To read the update in full see the following link:
http://www.bps.org.uk
Emily Oliver, News editor.
New figures show activity of
primary school children in Wales is on the increase:
The Sports Council for Wales
Children’s Participation Survey has shown that levels of activity among primary
aged children have increased by 3% points in the last two years. The survey reports that 44% of children aged
7-11years now take part in recommended levels of physical activity. Additionally, the survey’s findings
highlight the importance of parental involvement in sport, reinforcing the view
that parents play a key role in shaping children’s attitudes and behaviour
towards physical activity. For the full
article see: http://www.sports-council-wales.org.uk
Emily Oliver, News editor.
If you would like to request an archived article or previous articles on a particular topic, please email the news editor at emily.oliver@btinternet.com
