DOUGH FOR DOUGH: After winning $1-million for her Loaded Potato Pinwheels recipe, Glori Spriggs gets a hug from the Pillsbury Doughboy in Las Vegas.Paul Morse/The Associated Press
SHAME OF EGYPT
Life can be a struggle for women all over the world, but it's particularly difficult in Egypt. The Telegraph reports on a survey naming Egypt as the worst country in the Arab world to be a woman. The poll from the Thomson Reuters Foundation cited ongoing instability and conflict as major roadblocks for women in the country, which was supposed to become more tolerant following the Arab Spring and the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. The survey says Egyptian women are still subject to genital mutilation and sexual harassment, along with rising domestic violence and Islamist extremism in many areas. Iraq was found to be second worst for women, followed by Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen.
CARRYING THE WEIGHT
Steadily rising rates of obesity are being blamed for the rapidly increasing number of knee replacements in the United States. As reported in Newsday, a recent study shatters the perception that aging baby boomers and weekend athletes are the reason the surgery is on the upswing. Researchers from the University of Massachusetts examined data from 9,000 knee-replacement patients from 22 states. They found that 55 per cent of those under age 65 were clinically obese, compared with 43 per cent of those 65 and older. Twice as many in the under-65 group were classified as severely obese. "The rise in obesity rates in younger people is having a dramatic influence on the number of total joint replacement surgeries," said study author David Ayers.
THE ANTI-BLUES WALK
A brisk daily stroll is not only good for your heart, it could also prevent depression in your golden years. The Daily Mail recounts a new study asserting that light physical activity not only has the ability to treat depression, but can actually prevent it from happening. A team from the University of Toronto reopened a quarter-century of data from 30 previous depression-related studies and were surprised to discover that 25 of them showed a strong link between lack of activity and a depression diagnosis later in life. "If you're not physically active, you should start," said study co-author George Mammen.
THOUGHT DU JOUR
A man's accomplishments in life are the cumulative effect of his attention to detail.
John Foster Dulles, former U.S. secretary of state (1888-1959)