Health Briefs

* At Downsize Fitness health clubs, the treadmills are wider, the head trainers are weight-loss veterans and new members must be at least 50 pounds (22.7kgs) overweight. It’s all about creating a more welcoming environment to battle the bulge.

*State-of-the-art brain scans that allowed doctors to look inside the head of former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon show how advances in neuroscience are forcing a rethink of what it means to be in a long-term coma. The tests hinted that Sharon, who has been in a coma since suffering a stroke in 2006, may have a degree of consciousness and be able to hear sounds or understand pictures.

*Women carrying BRCA mutations tied to breast and ovarian cancer may hit menopause earlier than other women, according to a new study. Doctors discussed with those women whether they wanted immediate surgery to remove their ovaries and breasts, or if they wanted to start a family first and hold off on ovary removal.

*Dieters who ate early lunches tended to lose more weight than those who had their midday meal on the later side, according to a new Spanish study. The finding doesn’t prove bumping up your lunch hour will help you shed those extra pounds, but it’s possible eating times play a role in how the body regulates its weight, researchers said.

*The flu isn’t the only illness adults should be immunised against, say health officials, as a new study found current adult vaccination rates in the US ‘unacceptably low’. The report concluded that a substantial increase in adult vaccinations is needed to prevent diseases including pneumonia, tetanus, diphtheria, hepatitis and shingles.

*Women who bleed heavily after giving birth aren’t at any higher risk of complications during their next pregnancy, according to a new UK study. Postpartum haemorrhage – when a woman loses at least half a quart of blood – typically occurs when the muscles in her uterine wall don’t contract correctly after childbirth.