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NEWS ÜVERVIEW
.
Understandi World Events and Trends
A European
Olympic
Team
O
ne month before the
1984 Summer Olympic
Games in Los Angeles,
California, began, the idea
of a combined European
team was advanced at a
European Community summit
m Fontainebleau, France.
Had thal idea been a realily
in 1984, !he results of !he
Games would have been
dramatically different.
Athleles from !he 10 nalions
of !he European Community
won 181 medals, compared
to 174 for the United Stales.
To be sure. the creation
of a European Olympic team
would be difficult, given
national boundanes in
Europe and lnternational
Olympic Commiltee rul es.
On !he other hand, a
team combining lhe lalenls
of alhleles from Wesl
February 1986
Germany, lhe Uniled
Kingdom, France, llaly and
the olher Western European
states would be formidable.
A European team could
benefit from cooperation in
the area of lraining. 11 would
be cheaper lo tram one
team inslead of 12. The
separale training cenlers in
Risks of
Abdominal
Obesity
A
bdominal obesity carries
a three- to fivefold
increase in !he risk of hearl
altack or stroke over
obesity in the thighs, hips
and bultocks, according to
Swedish studies.
Says Dr. Ulf Smith.
chairman of medicine at the
University of Goteborg: "The
point is that if fa t is
distributed on the abdomen.
the chances are
considerably greater lhat !he
each country could be
replaced by fewer but better
facilities lmproved train1ng
might cause sorne athletes
lo stay in Europe lo !rain
instead of going lo the U.S.
However, fewer athletes
would be able to participale
if all qualified athletes from
Weslern Europe had to
compete for positions on a
single team.
The formation of a
European Olympic leam w1ll
wait until severa! hurdles are
cleared. chief among them
the borders separating the
nations of Weslern Europe.
But what if an even grealer
barrier-the one separating
Eastern Europe trom
Western Europe–
disappears? A team
combining the talenls ot
both Easlern and Western
Europeans would seem
unbeatable. •
individual will have a heart
altack than if the fal is
dislribuled over lhe thighs.
the hips or the back."
Dr. Smith's comments
were made al an American
Heart Association forum tor
science writers and were
based on a 13-year study of
1,500 Swedish men and a
12-year study of about as
many Swedish women.
Dr. Smilh pointed out that
men are more prone lo
abdominal obesity !han are
women, who tend to
accumulate tal on the thighs
and hips. Thus more men
are at risk lo hearl disease.
Other studies indicale that
The
Endangered
Family
T
he number of
married-couple famihes
with children under age 18
declined lo 29 percent of all
U.S. households in 1984.
That is down from 40
percenl in 1970, according
to a U S. Census Bureau
report. In contras!, the
number of one-parent
families doubled to 26
percent in 1984. Thal is up
from 13 percenl in 1970
Divorce, separation and
premarital birlhs are the
main contributing factors in
lhe growth of single-paren!
homes in the U.S. •
fat stored 1n !he abdomen 1s
more quickly released into
the bloodstream than fat
stored in cells elsewhere,
thereby elevating blood tal
levels This is why individuals
with abdommal obesity are
also more susceptible lo
olher ailmenls such as high
blood pressure and
diabetes. •
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