0982 HKSAR Name of the Day

Elain Ka Yee Mak, Lecturer I, Department of Physical Education, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Creation; Deletion

Sino Smileometer: Henry Tang

When the Smiles Start Sagging …

Back when Henry Tang—who lives a life of privilege and is proud to boast that he was born in the Year of the Dragon—believed he was 'untouchable' knowing he was the favourite to become Hong Kong's next Chief Executive

When Henry Tang is not so cock sure

Pic from The Standard on 17 Feb 2012, when Henry Tang realizes that he might not necessarily get away with his 'indiscretions'

Why the 'long face' Henry?


Click the following to see genuine and sincere Chinese Smiles

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Verbal Diarrhoea #13

0981 HKSAR Name of the Day

Warman Wai Ming Cheng, Lecturer I, Department of Physical Education, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Creation; Phonetic-based?

Doctor Doctor: Do As I Say Not As I Do

Local reporter Kenneth Foo's powers of observation enabled him to write:

Samartzis, being obese himself, said: "There is no better gift to give yourself than the gift of good health, so we hope our findings can add fuel to the fire for people to be more conscious of their weight."

Assistant Professor Dino Samartzis advises the public to be more aware of their weight

Apparently, Adrian Wan of SCMP did not notice (or chose to ignore) the fact that Samartzis is obese.


References

Study links obesity to lower back pain (The Standard)

Kenneth Foo
Monday, February 27, 2012

Overweight and obese adults are significantly more likely to suffer from back pain compared to those of normal weight, a study by the University of Hong Kong has shown.

Researchers studied nearly 2,600 people and found 73 percent have lumbar spine degeneration, a leading cause of lower back pain.

More significantly, those with a high body mass index are much more likely to get the disease and suffer from more advanced degeneration.

The condition was found to be more common in men than women and more prevalent among the elderly.

"Obesity results in diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, but what is bad for the heart is also bad for the back," said assistant professor Dino Samartzis of the university's Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine.

"We found that by taking preventive steps obese people can avoid the disease," he said.

The study's findings have been published in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism.

The development of the disease typically leads to a lifetime of low back pain episodes, which can diminish the quality of life, decrease productivity, increase health-care costs, and even lead to psychological distress.

Magnetic resonance imaging was used to assess the adults, and it was that found 73 percent had degenerative discs while the rest did not.

It is common belief that disc degeneration occurs with aging. As a person ages, their spinal discs begin to wear down, leading to a tearing of the outer layers of the discs.

But researchers found that packing on the kilograms may also lead to this disease, and the greater the BMI figure, the more serious was the disc degeneration.

The research found that overweight people with a high BMI are 30 percent more likely to suffer from disc degeneration.

On the other hand, those who are obese have double the risk of being afflicted by the disease.

Being overweight or obese is like carrying a heavy haversack, which contributes to the process, because the discs are loaded with extra weight, clinical professor Kenneth Cheung Man-chee said.

A patient named Sean, 33, who weighs 108 kilograms, said he has to apply for sick leave 10 days a year because of his degenerative disc disease brought on by being overweight.

He has stopped playing basketball because of his lower back pain.

Robin Mellecker of the university's Institute of Human Performance said even a fairly small decrease in weight can give rise to significant health benefits.

Samartzis, being obese himself, said: "There is no better gift to give yourself than the gift of good health, so we hope our findings can add fuel to the fire for people to be more conscious of their weight."

Obesity can be a pain in the back, says study (SCMP; paywall)

Research shows that being overweight can double the risk of disc degeneration in later life
Adrian Wan
Feb 27, 2012

Obesity doubles the risk of disc degeneration in adulthood and could lead to a serious need for back surgery, a University of Hong Kong study has revealed.

The research found that more than two-thirds of adults aged at least 21 had disc degeneration, which can cause severe chronic pain. Some 36 per cent of them were overweight, 9 per cent were obese and about half were of normal weight.

Researchers at HKU's Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine studied the magnetic resonance imaging scans of a cross-section of about 2,600 people.

"Those who are overweight will have an increased likelihood of severe pain and the need for lower back surgery in late life," said Professor Kenneth Cheung Man-chee, of the university's orthopaedics and traumatology department, who carried out the study with Dr Dino Samartzis.

Disc degeneration disease was irreversible and could cause long-term suffering, Cheung said. This could include serious lower back pain, which might prevent patients from leading a normal work and social life.

The findings are based on data from the Hong Kong Degenerative Disc Disease Cohort, the largest study of its kind in the world.

Launched in 2001, it addresses disc degeneration and lower back pain by tracking the health of more than 3,500 southern Chinese volunteers aged 10 to 80.

The HKU study also found that the more overweight an adult was, the more serious the backache would be, compared with adults who were in the normal weight range. People who were obese had a 79 per cent increased risk of disc degeneration, while those who were overweight had a 30 per cent risk.

It has long been known that ageing, genetics and biomechanics - the structure and function of biological systems - are contributory causes of disc degeneration.

The findings were published in the latest issue of the medial journal Arthritis and Rheumatism. They are in line with a previous study by the same team that found a third of teenagers suffered from backache, and the condition was three times more likely if they were overweight.

The number of people overweight or obese in Hong Kong is rising. Department of Health data shows that in 2010, 39 per cent of adults aged 18 to 64 were overweight or obese.

Degeneration of the intervertebral discs - the joints of the spine - was on the increase in Hong Kong and the mainland, said Dr Robin Mellecker, a fellow at HKU's Institute of Human Performance.

"This is because populations are eating and sitting more," she said.

Verbal Diarrhoea #13

"It was a random draw. Three is a quite good number. The number plate of one of my cars is `3388'".

Claims a 'smiling' and beleaguered Henry Tang Ying-yen

See Sino Smileometer

Incidentally, Henry Tang was the government minister responsible for introducing Hong Kong's customized vanity car plate system, whereby 'boring' and unimaginative people with bags of money and no creativity simply buy up clever-sounding or numerically-pleasing vanity car plates.


About Verbal Diarrhoea


Related Posts (Verbal Diarrhoea) and (Vanity Plate)


Reference

Leung gets the luck of the draw (SCMP; paywall)

Coincidence sees candidates line up on the ballot paper in order of weekend forum popularity poll
Colleen Lee
Mar 05, 2012

The draw may have been random but the result was an accurate reflection of their popularity at a weekend forum on green issues.

When Mr Justice Jeremy Poon Shiu-chor, the returning officer for the March 25 chief executive race, pulled the names of the three contenders from one box and the slots on the ballot paper from another yesterday, each candidate's place coincided with their relative public opinion ranking among attendees at the Saturday forum.

Taking top spot on the ballot paper was former Executive Council convenor Leung Chun-ying, with pan-democratic candidate Albert Ho Chun-yan second and former chief secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen third.

Scandal-plagued Tang was quick to dismiss suggestions that the draw mirrored his popularity compared with his rivals.

"It was a random draw. Three is a quite good number. The number plate of one of my cars is `3388'," he smiled.

Leung refused to be drawn on the result.

Yesterday's draw, held at the Central Library in Causeway Bay, also determined where in the city each candidate could post his election advertisements.

Tang, once tipped as Beijing's favourite for the city's top job, secured just 2 per cent of the vote in a poll of 500 members of the public and green campaigners at the forum.

Leung, constantly leading in surveys since declaring his candidacy, took 63 per cent of the audience vote, followed by Ho with 23 per cent.

Tang argued that he was told all three of them performed similarly well at the forum.

That event marked the candidates' first public appearance together and was a chance for them all to respond to audience questions on key environmental areas.

Earlier in the day, National People's Congress Standing Committee member Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai said in Beijing that the election was no longer a "gentlemen's competition".

Tang declined to comment on Fan's remarks, saying only that he agreed with Ho and one-time hopeful Tsang Yok-sing that the race was full of scandals targeting candidates.

"It has seriously hampered the professionalism and credibility of the election. It has also led to a stronger call among the public for universal suffrage," he said. "The election should get back to the right track."

0980 HKSAR Name of the Day

Ricardo K. S. Mak, Head & Professor, Department of History, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Rare

0979 HKSAR Name of the Day

Lobo Hung Tak Louie, Associate Professor, Department of Physical Education, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Creation

0978 HKSAR Name of the Day

Odalia M.H. Wong, Head & Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Creation; Substitution