Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by the Health Promotion and Education Team at Heart Research UK
Healthy Heart Tip: Keep an eye on your waistline
Your waist circumference is an indicator of your risk of developing heart disease. If you carry too much fat around your middle, your risk of developing heart disease is higher, however this risk can be reduced by losing weight. We explain how to measure your waistline and tips for maintaining a healthy waistline.
What is a healthy waistline?
A healthy waistline for men is anything below 94cm (37 inches) and anything below 80cm (31.5 inches) for women. You are at a high risk if your waist circumference is 102cm (40 inches) or over for men or 88cm (34.6 inches) or over for women. If you are a man from African Caribbean, South Asian, Chinese or Japanese origin, a healthy waist circumference is anything below 90cm (35.4 inches).
How to measure your waistline
Checking your waist circumference will help you to identify whether you are carrying too much fat around your middle. To measure your waist, you first need to find the bone at the top of your hip and your bottom rib. You need to wrap a tape measure around your middle at the centre of these two points. Relax and breathe out when the measurement is taken. Ensure the tape measure is touching your skin, but not pulled too tightly. You can repeat the measure two more times and take the average.
Maintaining a healthy waistline
If your waist circumference is within the healthy range, this is great news. You should keep an eye on your waist circumference by measuring it from time to time. If your waist circumference is above the healthy range, you should try to lose weight through healthy eating and exercise. You can find lots of ideas for healthy eating and physical activity from the healthy tips and recipe pages on our website.
YOTEL Edinburgh has launched a limited-edition modern twist on a Tia Maria classic, with the Matchatini cocktail.
Combining the natural caffeine of Japanese green Matcha tea extract with Tia Maria’s indulgent creamy liqueur, YOTEL’s Matchatini is the perfect way to find some inner bliss in Edinburgh’s city centre.
YOTEL Edinburgh’s Matchatini cocktail is the perfect chance to carve out some ‘me-time’, blending Tia Maria Matcha Cream Liqueur with grape, vodka and Matcha sugar for a silky smooth finish. The cocktail launches alongside self-care packs celebrating YOTEL’s exclusive partnership with Australian-born beauty brand Urban Jungle, making YOTEL the first hotel brand in the world to stock the luxury, ethical hair and bodycare.
Guests can now add Urban Jungle’s ‘Do It On The Daily’ pamper bundles to their YOTEL Edinburgh room booking when they book a stay on yotel.com.
The bundle includes celebrated products such as the brand’s ‘Melt Me Softly Cleansing Balm’, which currently sells one tub every 12 minutes in Australia. Becoming one of the first places in the UK for fans to try out Urban Jungle’s innovative beauty products, guests at YOTEL Edinburgh can achieve that all important glow with Urban Jungle’s ‘Glow With The Flow Gel Serum’, delicately packaged up in a ‘Love Pouch Bubble Bag’.
Urban Jungle’s everyday essentials will gently wash the day away before locking in hydration, and now guests can sign off their ultimate self-care day in Edinburgh with a Matchatini, savour the iconic matcha tea flavour and refreshing floral notes and embrace a new mindful ritual.
Matchatinis are now available for £9 at YOTEL Edinburgh’s contemporary bar and restaurant Komyuniti for a limited time only. Guests can also add an Urban Jungle ‘Do It On The Daily’ bundle to their stay in Edinburgh for £44. For more information and to book: www.YOTEL.com/en/urban-jungle
Created using matcha tea extract to provide a natural source of caffeine, Tia Maria’s Matcha Cream Liqueur creates a refreshing sweetness, sure to delight fans of the iconic Japanese green tea.
Hailed for its energising and calming qualities, matcha has swept the nation in recent years and now with YOTEL Edinburgh’s latest Matchatini concoction, guests can feel good about their drink choices, toasting to taking a break and creating new rituals.
To create your own Matchatini at home, Tia Maria’s suggested recipe is:
Ingredients:
1 x grape
Matcha sugar
30ml of vodka
60ml of Tia Maria Matcha Cream Liqueur
Method:
Cut a grape in half and run the inside around the rim of a chilled glass
Dip glass in Matcha sugar
Combine 30ml of Vodka with 60ml of Tia Maria Matcha and give it a shake
Serve and enjoy
YOTEL Edinburgh’s new pamper packages and Matchatini cocktail celebrate the launch of Urban Jungle hair and bodycare in YOTELs around the world.
Urban Jungle’s ethically sourced products will be available in every YOTEL, YOTELAIR and YOTELPAD worldwide, meaning hotel guests can enjoy a new quality of hotel hair and bodycare, leaving bulky toiletries at home. Products including Urban Jungle’s Make Good Shampoo, Save the Day Conditioner, Magic Bullet Hand & Body Wash and Thirsty Work Hand & Body Creme will be available in every room, meaning YOTEL’s toiletries are cruelty-free, vegan and cute to boot!
Committing to a greener way of working, YOTEL crew can monitor in-room product levels and refill as necessary, removing the need for wasteful miniature plastic bottles. Urban Jungle bottles are also made with EcoPure, an additive that assists with the biological breakdown of plastic overtime.
YOTEL Edinburgh’s new wellness offering will encourage guests to slow down, taking time out of their busy days to enjoy a Matchatini in Komyuniti’s welcoming space, before dialling up their self care routine with Urban Jungle’s luxury packages.
They’ve played for Her Majesty the Queen as part of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations – and now fans can hear the Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland on a national tour.
Scotland’s best-known military band has launched a series of concerts, “Celebrating our Heroes” to raise funds for Poppyscotland this autumn.
Renowned for their performances at Holyrood Palace and the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the talented musicians will be touring venues in Livingston, Hamilton, Perthshire, Angus, and the Scottish Borders.
This year’s repertoire will include folk music inspired from across Scotland, featuring a collaboration with Hawick folk musician and songwriter, Alan Brydon.
The events follow similar successful tours in 2018 and 2019. All proceeds will go to help Poppyscotland deliver its life-changing support for members of the Armed Forces community across Scotland.
The first one will take place at Hamilton Town House on Friday 2nd September, followed by dates at Howden Park Centre, Livingston, Montrose Academy, and Bankfoot Church Centre, Perthshire. The final, festive concert will be on December 15th at Hawick Town Hall.
Gordon Michie, Poppyscotland’s Head of Fundraising, said: “We’re delighted to welcome back the Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland after a two-year break due to the pandemic, and are very grateful for their continuing support. This is a fantastic chance to hear the internationally acclaimed band at local venues around Scotland.
“The concerts promise to be unforgettable evenings, featuring folk music inspired from across Scotland, from the Borders to the Western Isles, and guaranteed to get your feet tapping! They are always very popular, so we’d encourage music lovers to buy their tickets early before they sell out.
“All funds raised will help us continue our vital work, supporting current and former servicemen and women and their families, which is now needed more than ever.”
The Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, based at Dreghorn Barracks, Edinburgh, is one of the 22 Regular Army bands, and is made up of musicians who are also serving soldiers. As well as supporting the Army and performing at ceremonial occasions across Scotland, they have also played around the world, traveling to Hong Kong, New Zealand, Switzerland and Canada in recent years.
Concert dates are:
Hamilton Town House – Friday 2nd September 2022
Howden Park Centre, Livingston – Friday 30th September 2022
Montrose Academy – Friday 21st October 2022
Bankfoot Church Centre, Perthshire – Friday 4th November 2022
Hawick Town Hall – Thursday 15th December 2022
Tickets cost £15 (£12 concessions) and are available via:
Screen Education Edinburgh partnered up with The Guardian to tell the story of the community in North Edinburgh and their fight to bring back their much loved festival.
Screen Education Edinburgh’s Film Tutor, Jennifer Souter, worked with John Domokos from The Guardian throughout this production.
Jennifer said “My aim when making the film was to show the positivity that is not often shown about this community in mainstream media.
“When undertaking initial research for the film I would ask local residents what they wanted to show people about the community and how they felt it had been represented in media and almost everyone’s response was that the community was filled with good people that we never get to see.
“Local people didn’t think there was enough positive stories about the area as much of the representation is dominated by crime and antisocial behaviour.
“During the course of the making of the film the team and I worked with so many amazing people who work tirelessly to make things better for the community in spite of widening inequalities.”
The film follows the story of a community coming back together post-covid to create the first local Festival in decades. It highlights the importance of connection, recovery and never giving up.
Drumbrae holiday club is to be hosted at Rannoch Community Centre from Monday 18th July – Wednesday 3rd August.
This free holiday club is for children currently in P6- S2 who live locally.
They will provide fun centre based activities and local trips.
You can book online using the QR code in the poster, or get along to one of the registration nights on Tuesday 5th and 12th of July, 6pm – 7pm at Rannoch community centre, EH4 7ES.
Police are appealing to the public to help identify a man whose body was discovered within water at Lochan Na Craoibhe, Glencoe, around 6.30pm on Wednesday (29 June 2022).
He is described as a white male, aged between 40-60 years-old with dark hair.
When he was found, he was wearing a Regatta blue lightweight waterproof jacket, size XL, a Pep&Co purple/mauve t-shirt with a graphic of palm trees, size XXL and black Gelert walking boots, size 10.
A post mortem examination will be carried out to establish the exact cause of death and a report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal.
Detective Sergeant Louise Thewlis, of Aviemore Police Office, said: “Extensive police enquiries are continuing to identify this man. Despite our investigations, we have not been able to establish who he is, and we are appealing to the public for any assistance so we can notify his next-of-kin.
“I would urge anyone who recognises his description to please come forward.
“I’m also appealing for witnesses who may have been in the local area in the past week.
“Alternatively, if you have concerns about a male family member or friend who matches this description, and has not been in contact, then please let us know.”
Anyone with information should contact Police Scotland via 101 quoting reference number 2817 of Wednesday, 29 June, 2022.
It needs repeating, people should really object to the ‘decoration’ of roundabouts with prominent signs in the middle of them advertising the boards as private selling space.
Roundabouts are for the direction of traffic, for everybody’s safety, not to divert the drivers’ attention away!
A growing number of families are accessing funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) across Scotland.The latest figures show that 121,101 children were in funded ELC places at the end of April 2022 – an increase of 9,527 since January 2022.
The entitlement to funded ELC increased to 1,140 hours in August last year, saving families up to £4,900 annually for each eligible child.
The ELC workforce also continues to increase, up 357 since January 2022, with 18,421 (FTE) staff now working in the sector. This marks a rise of 8,845 since 2016/17.
Children’s Minister Clare Haughey said: “It is clear funded ELC is making a real difference to families – particularly at a time when so many are struggling with the rising cost of living.
“Crucially, high quality ELC also helps to provide children with skills and confidence to carry into school education, and is a cornerstone for closing the poverty-related attainment gap.
“It’s also encouraging to see the workforce continue to grow and I’d like to thank everyone working in the sector for their continued hard work and dedication.”
Councillor Tony Buchanan, COSLA Children and Young People’s spokesperson said: “I’m pleased that today’s figures confirm that over 121,000 children are accessing additional funded early learning and childcare hours from Scotland’s Councils and their partners.
“The increased availability of funded early learning and childcare is allowing children more time to play and learn, and more opportunities for parents and carers to work, study or volunteer, as well as significant financial savings for families.
“I particularly welcome that there has been a 15% increase in the number of eligible two-year-olds accessing increased hours between April 2021 and April 2022, as we know this will provide support for children and families who will benefit most.”
The STUC is standing alongside 125 civil society organisations across Scotland to support the Human Rights Act and oppose the #RightsRemovalBill:
JOINT STATEMENT ON THE UK RIGHTS REMOVAL BILL
Our human rights are about the values we hold dear and the way we treat one another – they are about dignity, fairness, equality, tolerance, and respect. They are the foundations that help us live together freely and fairly – a safety net to protect us all.
We are therefore alarmed that the UK Government has introduced a Bill to Parliament which, if enacted, will repeal the Human Rights Act and will significantly diminish protection for human rights in law.
Our experience of working with individuals and communities across Scotland is that the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) is an essential protection for our human rights. Indeed, many of our organisations submitted evidence to the Independent Review of the Human Rights Act detailing the ways in which the HRA is working well. We also collectively gave many hours of our time to respond to the UK Government’s consultation on proposals for this Bill of Rights. However, both the Panel’s recommendations and the consultation responses have been disregarded by the UK Government in the development of this Bill.
We are very concerned that there are many elements to this Bill that will significantly reduce human rights protection. These include, for example, restricting / narrowing our relationship with the European Court of Human Rights, lowering standards of protection, and making it harder for the court to protect us from serious and irreparable harm.
The rights removal bill will undermine all of our human rights and significantly impact the realisation of rights for individuals whose human rights are currently most at risk. The UK Government’s proposals for reform are out of step with political and public opinion in Scotland. There is overwhelming support across Scotland to go forwards and not backwards on human rights, for a strong human rights legal framework and not one that is watered down.
We therefore strongly urge the UK Government to reconsider this Bill and instead, consider what can be done to better protect human rights for all in Scotland, and across the UK.
Social media sites are rife with dodgy companies offering car insurance that is either non-existent or missing key details, resulting in tens of thousands of drivers being potentially left uninsured on the roads, Which? research has found.
‘Ghost broking’ is a scam that cost its average victim £1,950 last year. It involves ‘brokers’ forging insurance paperwork completely or more commonly selling victims a ‘real’ policy at a reduced price, by changing some of the victim’s details in the application, such as their address or claims record. It leaves those affected potentially liable for fraud and at risk of penalties for driving uninsured.
Ghost brokers mainly operate online, particularly on social media. In May, Which? searched on social media platforms for profiles and pages that showed signs of being run by scammers.
Which? analysed the first 50 pages returned from a search for ‘cheap car insurance’ on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Of the 47 profiles that matched Which?’s search on Instagram, more than half, 25, appeared to be offering quotes or cover to UK drivers, while showing no signs of being authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
In a separate search, Which? found one Instagram profile that boasted it could save customers ‘up to 50%’ on their premium – it also offered ‘NCB (no-claims bonus) Documents’ and ‘Speeding Ticket Removal’. It had 45,900 followers – more than the five biggest insurers combined – and claimed to have ‘over six years experience in [its] field’. It also had a sister profile with an additional 15,200 followers. Which? flagged these to Instagram, and both have since been taken down.
On Facebook, seven pages of the 50 profiles were dubious. On video-sharing site TikTok, two of the 50 profiles analysed were suspect.
Experts Which? spoke with in the police and insurance industry seem to agree that ghost brokers generally operate most prolifically on Facebook and Instagram.
According to the Insurance Fraud Bureau, last year insurers collectively reported more than 21,000 policies that could be connected to the scam.
Some victims will not report being scammed because they are too embarrassed. Others might be aware their quotes have been manipulated, but ghost brokers can be persuasive in downplaying the significance of this.
Some ghost brokers also put real effort into creating a positive word-of-mouth buzz, which helps them seem trustworthy.
Some 517 cases of ghost broking – with losses totalling £1 million – were reported to Action Fraud in 2021. However, this will only be people who make a report to Action Fraud and actually know that they have bought a fraudulent policy. The true numbers are likely to be much higher.
Many of these losses, unsurprisingly, were from young drivers, who face the steepest premiums. Ghost brokers also heavily target non-native English speakers.
People who have not even bought a policy can also be affected by the scam through having their address or other details used as part of forged insurance paperwork.
To test how social media platforms are vetting unregulated insurance middlemen, Which? set up six accounts of its own on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, claiming to be car insurance brokers.
Which? promised cheap quotes and asked interested drivers to contact via a mobile phone number or directly message through the website.
The two profiles Which? set up on Facebook were taken down by the site within a few days, as was an Instagram profile linked to an email address containing the word ‘ghostbrokerscammer’. However, a second Instagram profile, connected to a less conspicuous email with a ‘normal’ name (e.g. ‘johnsmith’), stayed up for 35 days until Which? took it down.
The two TikTok profiles, one linked to a ‘ghostbrokerscammer’ email, also stayed up for the same period.
Which? believes social media companies should have stronger processes in place to protect consumers from fraudulent pages offering financial services.
When the Online Safety Bill comes into force, platforms should be required to prevent this kind of activity. To ensure this is the case, Which? is calling on the government to amend the Bill to ensure its definition of fraud does not allow some scammers to slip through the net and to guarantee that Ofcom has appropriate powers to adequately enforce the Bill when it becomes law.
Meanwhile, consumers should be wary of insurance brokers selling their services on social media and carry out other basic background checks to ensure they are not buying a fraudulent or misleading insurance policy – and are dealing with a company that is actually authorised by the FCA.
Jenny Ross, Which? Money Editor, said:“Ghost broking is a really nasty kind of fraud, where scammers operate by stealth and typically take advantage of those who feel locked out of, or bewildered by, the car insurance market.
“Social media sites must do much more to crack down on car insurance scammers that are infiltrating their sites and harming consumers, and should address these problems now, ahead of the Online Safety Bill becoming law.
“The Online Safety Bill should require platforms to tackle this type of fraudulent content. The government must ensure this happens by amending the Bill so that its definition of fraud does not allow some scammers to slip through the net and guaranteeing Ofcom is ready to enforce these new laws when they come into force.”
