British industry is back in favour

BRITISH companies are ditching foreign factories in favour of making goods in this country. One in seven firms reportedly moved operations back to Britain in the last two years after finding that overseas suppliers produced poor quality goods and often delivered late.

   Cheap labour in Eastern Europe and Asia has led many companies to shift manufacturing overseas in the past few decades. The Engineering Employers Federation and accountants BDO Stoy Hayward reported the finding. The EEF said “In the UK it’s about quality, it’s about customer service and it’s about delivery times”

Fears for food

SERIOUS food shortages are on the way unless Britain produces more and consumers throw away less, ministers are expected to warn, and we shall have to accept genetically-modified food. Rising populations, global warming and falling fish stocks will put food supply under severe pressure during the next two decades, the government-backed Food 2030 report is expected to say, it is also expected to call for Britons to adopt healthier diets.

   Two thirds of Britons are overweight and only one in 20 gets enough exercise, a report reveals. A shocking 68 per cent of men and 57 per cent of women are too heavy or obese. And many do No exercise at all walking no further than to the car. NHS (National Health Service) researchers quizzed more than 16,000 families. They say adults should keep active for at least 30 minutes on five days a week. The study found that men were more likely to turn into couch potatoes at weekends, doing no physical activity at all.

Smoking ages

SMOKING, sunburn and being fat are key factors in making people look prematurely old, a new study found. Scientist examined 60 pairs of twins. They found skin damage was worse among people who had suffered sunburn, smoked or were overweight.

   However, drinking alcohol appeared to Protect against the sun. Up to 40 per cent of ageing effects are due to non-genetic factors, said experts in Ohio, U.S.

A lonely generation

MILLIONS of young people in Britain are unhappy, lonely or having problems with relationship, despite having “friends” on social networking sites, a poll suggests. While money problems or mounting debts are the main concern for people of all ages, teenagers and young adults are more likely to report suffering from loneliness or isolation than their parent’s generation.

   The survey of more than 2,000 adults which was carried out online by YouGov and published by the Samaritans found that loneliness was a major worry for 21 per cent of people aged 18-24 compared with only 8 per cent of those aged 55 and over.  Sarah Brennan, the Chief Executive of the charity Young MINDS said “The young people we work with tell us that talking to hundreds of people on social network is not like having real relationships”

One theft a minute

SHOPLIFTING rose by a third last year, leaving businesses with a £1.1 billion bill. The British Retail Consortium said there were 498,405 thefts almost every minute, and 22,000 staff who suffered abuse from customers. It is thought that because many crimes are not reported the true figure could be higher. Retailers have asked the police to do more to protect them.

Watching Television

SPENDING less time in front of the TV can help people lose weight, new research suggests. A study found people whose viewing time was halved by an electronic lock-out device burned 244 calories more than they consumed each day.

   Another group whose TV time was not limited took in 57 calories more than they burned off.

Dr. Jennifer Otten of the University of Vermont, US who led the experiment said “consuming just 100 fewer calories a day could prevent the weight gain observed in most of the population”.

Mobile phones protect against Alzheimer’s disease?

Chatting on a mobile phone could help reduce the risk of suffering Alzheimer’s disease, or even cure it, a study claims.

   Researchers believe electromagnetic waves released by the phones could dissolve the build up of plaques in the brain that trigger the disease. Although the discovery has only been found in mice, experts hope it could open up new ways of treating humans.