uncnews.unc.edu

International Coverage

Obesity in China Doubled in 11 Years With Rising Prosperity
Bloomberg News (Wire Service)
Waistlines in China are expanding faster than almost anywhere else, with nearly a quarter of residents in the Earth's most populous nation now overweight, according to a study. ...The number of obese and overweight people in China, now at 325 million, could double in 20 years, spurring more diabetes and heart disease in what was once one of the world's leanest populations, said Barry Popkin, the study author and a nutrition professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Obesity levels in China rising fast, study finds
Reuters (Wire Service)
Obesity levels in China are rising fast, with more than a quarter of the adult population overweight or obese. ..."What's happening in China should be seen as a marker for what is going to hit the rest of the developing world if we fail to act," said study author Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina.
Related Links:
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200807/s2298446.htm?tab=latest
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iJz_n7mH6q81krzVVURHLvz347SQ

National Coverage

China grows fat while embracing Western lifestyle
USA Today
For centuries, people in China have been fairly lean, but now at least one-fourth of adults there are overweight or obese, a trend starting to take a toll on the country's health care system and economy, says a paper out today in the journal Health Affairs. ...In 2006, 26% of the Chinese population weighed too much — about 275 million people — compared with 8.8% in 1989, says study author Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition and director of the Obesity Center at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

A Blood Marker Could Spot Diabetes Risk
U.S. News & World Report
Rising levels of a blood protein called fetuin-A may indicate an elevated risk of developing type 2 diabetes, new research suggests. ..."This is a very preliminary result which suggests that there might be a relationship between fetuin-A and diabetes, and this study suggests a potential target for drug development, but it's something that will take years to tease out," said Dr. John Buse, president of medicine and science at the American Diabetes Association, and director of the diabetes care center at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill.

State and Local Coverage

Gift will boost creative writing
The Chapel Hill News
The first major private gift made during Holden Thorp's tenure as UNC chancellor will enable creative writing students to study with some of the nation's most notable writers. Made July 1, the first day of Thorp's administration, the gift from Sallie Shuping-Russell of Chapel Hill will fund an innovative new course featuring the work of active writers who will hold a distinguished visiting professorship within the Creative Writing Program.
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/campus-and-community/first-major-gift-during-holden-thorps-
chancellorship-to-support-uncs-creative-writing-program.html

Foundations select UNC for journalism initiative
The Triangle Business Journal
UNC-Chapel Hill is one of 11 journalism schools around the country selected by the Carnegie Corp. of New York and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to host a new journalism education initiative. Carolina will receive an initial $250,000 grant to fund efforts to adapt journalism education to the challenges of the struggling modern news industry, according to an announcement.
Related Link:
http://heraldsun.southernheadlines.com/orange/10-969584.cfm
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/business/carnegie-corp.-knight-foundation-
select-unc-journalism-school-for-initiative.html

Carson's proposal to establish scholarship becomes a reality
The Herald-Sun (Durham)/The Chapel Hill Herald
A few days before her death, Eve Carson presented a proposal for a Junior-Year Merit Scholarship. Four months later, more than 1,570 donors and $318,000 are supporting her vision. The fund in Carson's name was created by UNC in consultation with the Carson family in memory of the former student body president who was murdered at the beginning of March.

UNC study links alcohol abstinence with depression
The Triangle Business Journal
Cutting back on drinking could possibly lead to feelings of depression, according to findings from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ...Senior study author Clyde Hodge, a psychiatry professor at UNC, says the research "establishes a causal link between abstinence from alcohol drinking and depression."
Related Link:
http://heraldsun.southernheadlines.com/orange/10-969582.cfm
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/health-and-medicine/unc-study-ties-ending
-moderate-drinking-to-depression.html

Save Money On Your Smile
WNCN-TV (NBC/Raleigh)
Preventive health care isn’t something to cut back on, even when money is tight. ...More than 400 dental students and dental hygiene students staff the patient care clinics at the UNC School of Dentistry.

Professor given law award
The Fayetteville Observer
University of North Carolina law professor Rich Rosen has won the Thomas Paine Award, in part for his representation of murder defendant Lee Wayne Hunt of Cumberland County. The award is presented by the Durham-based Common Sense Foundation, a public policy organization that advocates for Founding Father Thomas Paine’s ideals of equality and justice.

Environment not 'special interest' (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Chapel Hill News
Floating in my snorkel gear, I stared into the large eyes from a foot away. ...Chapel Hill is a pretty eco-friendly town. Our Town Council has a sustainability committee, we recently held our first Earth Action Day celebration, and our local UNC campus is educating a whole new generation of green crusaders.

Economists like McCain plan (Under the Dome)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Seven North Carolina economists have signed onto John McCain's plan. ...Among the Tar Heels who signed: Barry K. Goodwin and Walter N. Thurman of N.C. State, J. Edward Graham of UNC-Wilmington, Randall Parker of East Carolina University, James F. Smith of UNC-Chapel Hill and Sherry L. Jarrell of Wake Forest University.

Officials Question GMAT Test Scores
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
Some graduate-level business students at schools nationwide, including UNC-Chapel Hill, may be among those who used a website to cheat on their graduate school entrance exam. Jim Gray, Associate Dean of External Affairs at UNC, said, as of right now, officials at UNC have no way of knowing who has used the site to cheat on the Graduate Management Admissions Test.

Issues and Trends

Holding tight (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The state won't go hog-wild with spending under a budget approved by the General Assembly, but these days, who is, and who can afford to? What's important is that some bases were covered that need to be.

Appalachian to open lab in Kannapolis
The Independent Tribune (Kannapolis)
Appalachian State University is moving closer to joining the North Carolina Research Campus. ...“Collaboration is the buzzword at the campus,” Nieman said, adding that he has spoken with directors at the UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC Greensboro labs.

Indictments list murder weapons in Carson case
The Herald-Sun (Durham)/The Chapel Hill Herald
The two weapons investigators believed were used in the murder of Eve Carson include an illegal sawed-off shotgun and a semi-automatic pistol, according to indictments released Tuesday from an Orange County grand jury. The indictments list the serial numbers for both weapons, indicating that they had been recovered by authorities.