Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the report, which cited “medical sources” as saying the diagnosis was made in April.

In the study, researchers  compared pulmonary function changes, methacholine challenge scores, sputum induction cell counts, symptom perceptions, BMI/waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio of 44 obese subjects with asthma with 44 non-obese subjects with asthma.

Compared with those who were not obese, those who were obese had poorer asthma control, as well as lower total lung capacity, expiratory reserve volume, functional residual capacity, and residual volume.

Bronchial and systemic inflammatory characteristics and patterns of pulmonary function changes suggest that obese patients may have a different phenotype of asthma.

The study has been published in the August issue of the journal CHEST.

The six vaccines and their manufacturers are: CSL Limited, Afluria; GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, Fluarix; ID Biomedical Corporation of Quebec, FluLaval; MedImmune Vaccines Inc., FluMist; Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics Limited, Fluvirin; and Sanofi Pasteur Inc., Fluzone.

Approval information and specific indications can be found at http://www.fda.gov/cber/flu/flu2008.htm

Where a child is classed as being overweight strategies and exercise programmes will be suggested but the onus is on parents to initiate help if they want to address the weight concerns of their children.

The National Child Measurement Programme for England aims to weigh and measure children at two points in their school life, in primary school at age 4-5 and year 6 at age 10-11.

Last year 80% of children in those age groups took part, but health campaigners say the programme is too soft because parents can opt out of having their child included and they are more likely to do so if their child is fat.

But though male circumcision can prevent 65 per cent of new HIV infections, many of the countries worse hit by AIDS are slow to promote the procedure.

Experts are now urging countries with high rates of HIV infections which are being transmitted predominantly through heterosexual contact, to include circumcision in a comprehensive HIV prevention strategy because unlike other prevention methods, circumcision is unique, because it is a ‘one-time treatment.’

Current strategies to prevent HIV transmission such as abstinence, condoms, early diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, and HIV testing, have limitations and at present antiretroviral treatment is not available to millions of HIV- infected people who need it.

However while circumcision protects men who have undergone the surgery, there is no evidence to suggest that the lack of a foreskin in men carrying HIV reduces transmission of the virus to their sexual partners.

Compared with those who were not obese, those who were obese had poorer asthma control, as well as lower total lung capacity, expiratory reserve volume, functional residual capacity, and residual volume.

The research found a strong correlation between sex hormones and body fat, which was predominantly due to shared genes. There was no link in terms of environmental factors between sex hormones and body composition.

Most prostate cancers that grow serious enough to cause death take more than 10 years to do so and the researchers say as a 75-year-old man has an average life expectancy of about 10 years he is more likely to die from other causes such as heart disease or stroke, and prostate cancer screening is unlikely to help men over 75 live longer.

The latest information regarding the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test for prostate cancer, is advising men age 75 and older not to be screened.

It also says younger men should discuss the benefits and harms of the PSA test with their doctors before being tested.

The new recommendation comes from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force which has found evidence that screening for prostate cancer provided few health benefits but led to substantial physical and some psychological harm in men age 75 and older.

The Task Force says for men younger than 75, the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of prostate cancer screening.

Lead author Dr. Benjamin A. Spencer of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center in New York said that improving the quality of care throughout the healthcare system could greatly improve quality-of-life issues for men treated for the disease.

Researchers found significant variations for early stage prostate cancer quality indicators. There were differences in care from community hospitals to cancer centers to teaching hospitals. There were also disparities in care from one region of the country to another. But there were no racial disparities.