Health: Vital Signs

Puppy fat is exactly that

Fat babies rarely turn into fat adults. A US study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that only 8 per cent of obese infants were also obese as adults. By contrast, the study found that children who were obese at 10-14 years had a 75 per cent probability of remaining so in adult life.

Not a fungi to be with

A tonic drink made from mushrooms and on sale in healthfood shops has been associated with toxic side effects by US researchers. Writing in the Journal of Internal Medicine, they describe four cases where people were admitted to hospital after drinking Kombucha tea, which comes from the mushroom of the same name. One woman developed jaundice; another reported dizziness, nausea, vomiting and headaches.

Cancer treatment risks

According to studies by epidemiologists in Europe and the US, of 29,000 testicular cancer survivors, 1,406 developed a second cancer - 1.43 times the expected number. Writing in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, they link second cancers in the stomach and bladder to radiotherapy treatment for testicular cancer, and cases of leukaemia to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. They raise particular concern about cisplatin, a drug in use for testicular cancer, as it persists "in numerous tissues long after treatment is completed." They stress the need to monitor the carconogenic effects of treatment, as a preventive measure.

Cherrill Hicks