U.S. obesity epidemic shows no hint of shrinking

CHICAGO (AP) ― America’s obesity epidemic is proving to be as stubborn as those maddening love handles, and shows no sign of reversing course. More than one-third of adults and almost 17 percent of children were obese in 2009-2010, echoing results since 2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday.“It’s good that we didn’t see increases. On the other hand, we didn’t see any decreases in any group,” said CDC researcher Cynthia Ogden.Early in the decade, slight increases w

TechnologyJan. 19, 2012

Marathoners show low heart incident risk

NEW YORK (AP) ― It’s dramatic news when a marathon runner collapses with no pulse. Now a big study finds such calamities are rare and usually due to a pre-existing heart problem.The study also found such incidents are increasing as more runners try to go the distance.“You hear about this more and more,” said Dr. Aaron Baggish, senior author of the study.Baggish, who runs a program for athletes with heart issues at Massachusetts General Hospital, and co-authors present their analysis in Thursday’

TechnologyJan. 19, 2012

Panic disorder

Case vignette: “When returning home, I suddenly had a cold sweat, felt dizzy, felt my heart tighten and felt like I could die. Also, I felt like I had difficulty breathing. Also, I not only had numbness in my hands and feet but also felt my heart beating. This was intolerable. I was very nervous that such things would happen again.” An office worker, Mr. K, experienced a sudden onset of the above symptoms. Now he is worried that he will again have a sudden onset of panic symptoms that are both f

TechnologyJan. 19, 2012

Three steps to deal with strokes

Strokes remain one of the biggest causes of death in Korea, and signs of onset are vagueAs Korea continues to become an aging society, more attention should be placed on the possibility of and risk factors leading to strokes, since they are more common among the elderly.According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, cerebral diseases were the No. 2 cause of death among Koreans in 2008, with 73.6 deaths per 100,000 people. Among cerebral diseases, strokes are the single largest cause of death,

TechnologyJan. 19, 2012

KRX to accelerate overseas expansion

CEO discusses 2012 strategy, cross trading with Japanese exchange,corporate reforms and CSRKorea Exchange will accelerate its expansion into overseas markets this year, providing stock market solutions to strategic partners in Asia and elsewhere, its chief said. “Korea Exchange has formed solid partnerships with Southeast Asian countries by offering its market solutions, and is already making progress in central Asia, as well,” Kim Bong-soo, chairman and CEO of the KRX, told The Korea Herald. “

Jan. 19, 2012

E-Land buys two major Saipan resorts

E-Land Group acquired two major resorts in Saipan, expanding its international corporate hunt from fashion brands to resorts. The Korean apparel and retail company signed a deal to acquire Pacific Islands Club Saipan and Palms Resort Saipan, but declined to disclose the purchasing prices, citing a confidentiality agreement.“We cannot talk about the details such as price under a provision on confidentiality,” an E-Land official said.Run by PIC, a subsidiary of InterPacific Group, PIC Saipan is po

IndustryJan. 19, 2012

Finance minister urges active corporate investment, hiring

Korea’s finance minister urged the business community Thursday to ramp up its investment and hiring this year in order to help the nation’s economy tide over toughening economic conditions at home and abroad.In a meeting with heads of major business lobby groups in central Seoul, Bahk Jae-wan promised that the government will continue its efforts to improve the overall business environment by streamlining red tape deemed to be unnecessarily hampering activities in the corporate sector. “When the

Jan. 19, 2012

LGE gets head start in 3-D TV market

LG Electronics announced its 2012 global television lineup as it plans to roll out the new models beginning next month ― a month ahead of previous years.The latest lineup is represented by the firm’s 3-D smart TV model called the Cinema Screen, which is said to “minimize the frame and maximize 3-D,” according to Kwon Hee-won, president of the home entertainment business at LG.The 3-D lineup for this year is modeled by nine-member K-pop girl group Girls’ Generation.“We decided to launch the produ

IndustryJan. 19, 2012

Hyundai Motor names vice chairman for labor

Hyundai Motor’s manufacturing factory manager Kim Eok-jo has been promoted to the post of vice chairman in charge of the company’s labor sector.Since January 2011, Kim has worked for Hyundai Motor as a president and the chief of the carmaker’s Ulsan plant.Before that, he played a significant role in boosting the automaker’s overseas sales as head of Hyundai Motor’s Czech Republic corporation.Hyundai has been striving to enhance its internal strength amid global uncertainties, in part through act

MobilityJan. 19, 2012

Major retailers blamed for high beef prices

Lotte hanwoo prices highest among department storesExcessive profits by department stores and supermarket chains were cited as the main reason why hanwoo meat remains expensive despite a plunge in homebred cattle prices, a survey found Thursday. According to the Consumer Union of Korea, department stores and large discount chains increased the prices of the top grade 1++ hanwoo by up to 12 percent last year, while the wholesale price dropped 23 percent during the same period. The beef prices at

IndustryJan. 19, 2012