Daily digest July 22 2015

Sugary drinks may cause type 2 diabetes regardless of size, research says

Sugar-sweetened drinks such as colas and lemonades may play a part in the alarming rise of type 2 diabetes in the UK and the US, according to new research – regardless of whether people are obese or not.

Researchers at Cambridge University analysed the results of 17 separate observational studies, taking into account their design and quality to minimise bias, and found that regular drinkers of sugar-sweetened beverages were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. Their research is published in the British Medical Journal.

Action on Sugar spokesperson Aseem Malhotra said: ‘This study adds further evidence that sugary drinks are associated with increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes, even in non-obese people, suggesting we are all vulnerable.’

Read more on the Guardian website

Dementia crisis as £26bn 'time bomb' threatens to sink the NHS

Britain is in the grip of a dementia time bomb with new cases being diagnosed every three minutes, a report warns.

Disturbing figures reveal 225,000 people will fall prey to the illness this year alone as cases of senility rocket.

The report by Public Health England shows 850,000 people in the UK already have some form of dementia.  In less than a decade more than a million will suffer by some degree and by 2050 the figure will reach two million.

Read more on the Express website

Petition for Parliament to debate a vote of no confidence in Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt hits 100,000 in just 24 hours

A petition to call a debate on a vote of no confidence in health secretary Jeremy Hunt has hit the required number of signatures to be considered for debate in parliament, in only 24 hours.

The petition, which was started by Ash Sadighi, a doctor, argues that Hunt has ‘alienated the entire workforce of the NHS’ with his plans ‘to impose a harsh contract and conditions on first consultants and soon the rest of the NHS staff.’

Jeremy Hunt has been the centre of criticism from all areas of the NHS this week, after #ImInWorkJeremy was trending online this weekend and the health secretary claimed that a ‘Monday to Friday’ culture exists in parts of the NHS during a speech that added further fuel to his on-going fight with the British Medical Association.

Read more on the Independent website

Women in every part of England and Wales are victims of female genital mutilation

Women who have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM) are living in 'virtually every part of England and Wales', with the highest rates being in London.

An estimated 137,000 women and girls are affected by FGM across the country, with the highest rate found in the London borough of Southwark, where one in every 20 women has been a victim.

According to research by City University London and the human rights organisation Equality Now, areas outside of London which had the highest number of FGM victims were Manchester, Slough, Bristol, Leicester and Birmingham.

Read more on Mail Online