And then there's this...

In a stunning slap in the face to the international medical community... "Study: Heart Disease Causes Same Globally."

Nearly all of what is known about the causes of heart disease comes from studies of white people in rich countries, because that's where the illness first emerged.

However, with the globe's No. 1 killer now taking over the developing world as well, scientists have been worried that the way it is tackled in the West — by combatting smoking, obesity, blood pressure and cholesterol, among other things — may not necessarily apply in poorer countries.

"Some 80 percent of the heart disease in the world is in developing countries, yet 99 percent of the research done into the causes of heart disease comes from developed countries and largely white, European populations, so we really don't know for sure whether we can apply the results of the studies we've got to the rest of the world," said the study's leader, Dr. Salim Yousef, a professor of medicine at McMaster University in Canada, explaining what prompted the study.

Well and good. And, in some respects, it's good to see that they were able to interpret the data objectively, even though it did not support their going-in expectations.

Yousef said he was surprised by some of the findings.

"My expectation when I went into this was that I would find ethnic and regional variations, because some of our earlier papers had suggested that. It just shows you need massive numbers to get the right answer," Yousef said. "I thought smoking would be bad everywhere, but the (cholesterol) I wasn't sure."

But what was most unexpected, he said, was the power of stress.

"The standard biomedical scientist is really not interested in stress, partly because they are uncomfortable with the concept, the certain softness with which you measure it," Yousef said. "I came into this with a little educated hostility regarding stress, but I've changed my mind after seeing the data."

The rest of the article is a worthwhile read, in that the study did confirm that the risk factors currently used are probably valid.

Some of you now doubt will be pleased to see this:

Light to moderate alcohol consumption was found to be of slight benefit.

However, the usual suspects were present, always ready to take something like this and push for an expanse of the nanny-state.

The rest is in the Flash Traffic!

Dr. Jean-Pierre Bassand was particularly pleased.

"This study confirms that the risk factors are the same all over the planet and ... has made it possible to assess the weight of the different risk factors," said Dr. Jean-Pierre Bassand, president of the European Society of Cardiology. "It's a fantastic study.

Why was he pleased?

"It is clear that not a single continent, not a single civilization, not a single race, can be spared from cardiovascular disease, which will hit humankind more dangerously than the Black Death in the Middle Ages," said Bassand, who was not connected with the study or the publication. "What we need is political action." (empahsis mine)

Even though for the most part, people are living longer than ever before - we must increase regulation so that they will feel compelled to live longer eating oatmeal and tofu, modifying workspaces so that everyone will work standing up, walking on treadmills (which will be used to power their workstations), and doing what their betters tell them. Especially the experts.

The study implies that the main way to tackle the problem is societal change, including better urban planning and health-promoting food policies and advertising regulations, experts said.

The whole bit is here.