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"I saw that!": Tom Cruise reacts to Shirvo's 100m Olympic sprint

<p>Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise, known for his association with A-list celebrities – and of course for his energetic, high-speed running in almost every film he's ever made – found himself captivated by<em> Sunrise</em> host Matt Shirvington's Olympic Games history.</p> <p>Appearing on the Channel 7 breakfast show on Monday morning, Cruise was greeted by enthusiastic fans outside the Sydney studio who chanted his name and displayed banners.</p> <p>However, it was a particular video showcasing Shirvo's performance in the 100-metre sprint at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games that truly caught Tom's attention.</p> <p>"Tom, I have to be honest with you, as a kid growing up, I was a sprinter and went to the Olympic Games," began Matt during the segment.</p> <p>"Did you? Wow, what year were you?" an intrigued Tom inquired.</p> <p>Matt went on to reveal that he had competed in the 100-metre sprint at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Tom, clearly impressed, responded, "I saw you run in that Olympics. I saw that!"</p> <p>As Tom gazed at the screen, he witnessed Matt, donning yellow and green attire, sprinting patriotically in the competition, juxtaposed with footage of the actor's own running scenes in his action movies.</p> <p>"Look at that. You're a great runner. I'm a good runner," remarked Tom.</p> <p>He then went on to explain that while he often runs in his films, he doesn't receive much assistance with training.</p> <p>"I've been an athlete my whole life, participating in gymnastics and sprinting. I was like that little kid who would get a new pair of sneakers and then joyfully sprint, splashing through puddles.</p> <p>"I haven't had extensive training, you know, but throughout the years, I've received some coaching and worked with different coaches as I grew up."</p> <p>Tom continued, "You know what I do? I observe people, study them, and then try different things on my own.</p> <p>"I'm the kind of person who watches someone, imitates them, and reads about other people's training. I've trained with different Olympians, constantly studying."</p> <p>At this point, Matt chimed in, saying, "If you ever need a coach, let me know."</p> <p>Amidst giggles, Nat Barr interjected, "We'll arrange a training session for you guys."</p> <p>Tom went on to reveal that earlier that morning, he had engaged in sprints around his hotel room in Sydney, as he always makes an effort to stay fit.</p> <p>"I've trained my whole life. You never take a break," he emphasised.</p> <p><em>Images: Sunrise</em></p>

Movies

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"Keep going!": Sunrise cameraman sprints off to help rescue families

<p dir="ltr">An Aussie cameraman has dropped his camera to help people through rising flood waters, as the US state of Florida is battered by Hurricane Ian.</p> <p dir="ltr">After causing fatalities in Cuba, the hurricane hit the US overnight, with “catastrophic” winds of up to 240 km/h - making it the fifth-strongest hurricane to hit the US - leaving millions without power and destroying hundreds of homes.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-d5f04eff-7fff-b393-8ee8-fa29d53ba03b">During a live cross to the city of Naples in southwest Florida on Thursday morning’s episode of <em>Sunrise</em>, cameraman Glen Ellis abruptly stopped filming, rushing to aid people wading through the floodwaters, including one person holding a child’s hand and carrying belongings.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">In dramatic scenes, a Channel 7 cameraman has dropped his camera to assist people fleeing fierce winds and rising waters as Hurricane Ian smashes the US state of Florida.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Sunriseon7?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Sunriseon7</a> <a href="https://t.co/e9bk6wsWgr">pic.twitter.com/e9bk6wsWgr</a></p> <p>— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) <a href="https://twitter.com/sunriseon7/status/1575228363458760704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">US correspondent Tim Lester continued describing the harrowing conditions as Ellis ran over to help.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Keep going, keep going,” Lester tells Ellis.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Sunrise </em>host David ‘Kochie’ Koch then asks if the team are okay.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s an enormous storm, yeah no we’re fine,” Lester replies.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We are just helping some people through the water here, that is our camera operator, Glen Ellis, out there. I think you can see he is trying to help people who are wading away from their homes.”</p> <p dir="ltr">While Lester continues reporting, Ellis can be seen helping more hurricane victims carry their belongings to higher ground.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We have spoken to a couple of them and they tell us already that their houses have been lost in the water, they’re flooded right through and they’ve had to abandon them,” Lester says, as another crew member picks up the camera and zooms in on Ellis.</p> <p dir="ltr">“They’ve just had no other way of doing it. But they are trying to get out and obviously what we’ve got here, is a relatively high ground, so we are lucky enough to be able to talk to you and this is a place where people in Naples, Florida, to try and get away from the water essentially.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The <em>Sunrise </em>team aren’t the only reporters helping out or even seeing the effects of the Category 4 storm for themselves.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-c4397cce-7fff-dd3c-d0e2-70ab7a22f463"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Among the footage circulating on social media of reporters fighting the elements, one clip shows meteorologist Jim Cantore being hit by a flying tree branch and struggling to keep himself upright while reporting for <em>The Weather Channel</em> in Punta Gorda, about 100 kilometres north of Naples.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jim Cantore got hit by a flying tree branch during hurricane report <a href="https://t.co/ybONC3VR51">pic.twitter.com/ybONC3VR51</a></p> <p>— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) <a href="https://twitter.com/gifdsports/status/1575204822243954690?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">It comes after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned citizens in an address on Wednesday evening that the worst may be yet to come.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This storm is doing a number on the state of Florida,” DeSantis said, urging residents who were braving the storm to stay in their homes or emergency bunkers.</p> <p dir="ltr">With the hurricane expected to turn into a tropical storm as it moves across the US, the governors of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina have all pre-emptively declared states of emergency.</p> <p dir="ltr">The US government has also sent 300 ambulances with medical teams and will send in 3.7 million meals and 3.5 million litres of water to the state once the storm passes.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We’ll be there to help you clean up and rebuild, to help Florida get moving again,” President Joe Biden said on Wednesday.</p> <p dir="ltr">“And we’ll be there every step of the way. That’s my absolute commitment to the people of the state of Florida.”</p> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><em>Image: Sunrise</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Trainee nurse sprints into action to save toddler

<p dir="ltr">A trainee nurse on his way to work has been hailed a hero after jumping into action and saving a toddler. </p> <p dir="ltr">Nicholas Jensen did not think twice when he heard a mother screaming for someone to help her two-year-old daughter who was turning blue and foaming from the mouth. </p> <p dir="ltr">The 44-year-old nurse grabbed the motionless toddler and placed her in the recovery position before rushing to the Princess Alexandra Hospital emergency room in Brisbane. </p> <p dir="ltr">CCTV from the hospital carpark captured the heroic moment he ran to the hospital with the girl’s mother following behind. </p> <p dir="ltr">Inside, he is seen running through the emergency department where he is directed by a fellow nurse through a door where he is met by seven other nurses.</p> <p dir="ltr">They rush him into a room where the toddler is placed on a bed and resuscitation begins to save the child.</p> <p dir="ltr">The nurses saved the toddler’s life and found she had suffered an atypical febrile convulsion which can be caused by a viral infection and fever, <a href="https://7news.com.au/news/qld/incredible-moment-trainee-nurse-saves-motionless-toddler-in-brisbane--c-6007072" target="_blank" rel="noopener">7News</a> reported. </p> <p dir="ltr">Doctors ordered the toddler to stay for two days for observation and is now doing well, thanks to Nicholas’s quick thinking.</p> <p dir="ltr">“In the moment adrenalin and my training kicked in,” he said. </p> <p dir="ltr">“This is why I got into this job, great job satisfaction. It is a meaningful career.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: 7News</em></p>

Caring

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Disaster recovery from Australia’s fires will be a marathon and not a sprint

<p>After reporting on the deadly 2011 Queensland flash flood disaster, I spent a year documenting <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/archived/360/the-day-that-changed-grantham/3584672">accounts</a> of <a href="https://www.uqp.uq.edu.au/Book.aspx/1418/The%20Torrent-%20A%20True%20Story%20of%20Heroism%20and%20Survival%202nd%20Edition">heroic rescues, tragic deaths and extraordinary survival</a>.</p> <p>Five years later, I returned for a follow-up <a href="https://ojs.aut.ac.nz/pacific-journalism-review/article/view/402">study</a>. I found some survivors had recovered, but many were far worse off.</p> <p>This research suggests there is a long road ahead for survivors of the current bushfire crisis. However, there are key lessons to be learned.</p> <p><strong>The initial response</strong></p> <p>At the time of the 2011 Queensland flood crisis, the Australian Defence Force arrived to help. Community spirit was high. Australia and the world donated very generously.</p> <p>But after the first few weeks, initial assistance gave way to often intractable difficulties with housing, insurance claims, job losses and chronic physical and mental health conditions.</p> <p>Blanket media coverage of the crisis soon dwindled. And for many people, there simply was no return to “normal” life.</p> <p><strong>Five years on</strong></p> <p>Five years after the event, many still struggled. The journey was far longer and more difficult for people who:</p> <ul> <li>lost family members during or after the disaster</li> <li>were traumatised by a near-death experience</li> <li>could no longer work in their old job</li> <li>had significant health problems</li> <li>had insurance claims that were slow, difficult or rejected.</li> </ul> <p>Those people who were most able to recover were people who:</p> <ul> <li>lost possessions but who were not traumatised by the disaster</li> <li>remained healthy and had insurance with companies that promptly paid their claims</li> <li>were able to resume work</li> <li>were able to repair or replace their homes and return to a relatively normal life within a few months to a year.</li> </ul> <p>After five years, some people realised they would never recover. Some said they would have preferred to die than endure the five years post-flood.</p> <p>Several survivors spoke of the “near miss” they had with death. For some, it was an incentive to live every day with renewed gusto. For others, the near miss reinforced the fragility of life and left them feeling more vulnerable.</p> <p><strong>Death and near-death experiences</strong></p> <p>Thirty-three of the rescuers and survivors in the disaster experienced a near-death experience. Five years on, some of them had still not attended any counselling and reported memories of near-death experiences playing out in their minds in an endless video-loop. Some became hermits, afraid to leave home.</p> <p>One of the rescuers told me it took five years to even acknowledge he had risked his life.</p> <p>One mother whose children were at risk said:</p> <p><em>Life as you know it changed on that day. You know that one second your life is normal and then how quickly things can change. I scan all the time. I scan rooms for the exit. I scan terrain in case something happens […] which is the quickest way to escape?</em></p> <p><strong>Lasting psychological impacts</strong></p> <p>Two thirds of the people interviewed still had ongoing traumatic memories five years after the disaster – including seeing or hearing the sounds of the disaster, smelling the fetid aromas associated with floods or feeling anxious at the sound of helicopters.</p> <p>For some, the trauma triggers occurred only in the flood zone, while for others it could be anywhere, whcih meant moving away offered no respite.</p> <p>In the small town of Grantham, where 13 people died, witnesses told an inquiry into the disaster that counsellors <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-07/medical-help-arrived-days-after-grantham-flood-inquiry-hears/6682154?&amp;section=latest&amp;date=(none)">changed from week to week</a> (meaning survivors had to retell their stories again to a new counsellor). The service then stopped because townspeople didn’t want to see them.</p> <p><strong>Return or move away?</strong></p> <p>Many people no longer felt safe at home. People who had to rebuild as property values fell and insurance premiums skyrocketed – some up to A$34,000/year – could not afford to insure their house. They feared a total loss of their homes next time.</p> <p>Some people who never returned to affected towns fared better psychologically than those who did go back.</p> <p>Some people returned initially, rebuilt, but then sold up and left again. Some told me they would not be alive unless they got out when they did.</p> <p>Whole communities all but disappeared as almost the entire population left town.</p> <p><strong>Natural disasters are financial disasters</strong></p> <p>After a natural disaster, mortgages still need to be paid, even on houses that are uninhabitable. Accommodation costs mount. The risk of homelessness and bankruptcy increases and relationships can be put under enormous stress.</p> <p>Property values in the towns and districts affected by the 2011 floods fell dramatically and immediately, meaning some people couldn’t sell and move away.</p> <p>Several survivors were unable to return to their old jobs because their workplace had been destroyed or because it was too traumatic.</p> <p>One who stayed to rebuild his business experienced another disaster two years later and lost his service station a second time. He rebuilt again only to have his business destroyed a third time the following year.</p> <p>People who are injured at work in Queensland are eligible to claim on WorkCover, a government funded program that assists workers to recover and return to work. People injured in disasters, however are not eligible for the same type of assistance.</p> <p>Many people relied on charities for food, clothes and shelter for months to years after the flood. Some refused or resisted charitable help or government help.</p> <p>Some older people reported becoming dependent on their adult children for the first time.</p> <p><strong>What is needed</strong></p> <p>The research suggests several possible ways to help natural disaster survivors including, but not limited to:</p> <ul> <li>better access to publicly funded psychological care beyond the current 10 visits allowable under the current Medicare system, especially for people who have lost family or their home or business</li> <li>free and well coordinated government-funded counselling in disaster zones</li> <li>income support and emergency <a href="http://tatsuki-lab.doshisha.ac.jp/~statsuki/papers/JDR/JDR2007/Tatsuki(2007).pdf">housing</a> for people who have lost homes</li> <li>government-funded funerals for those who die in a natural disaster</li> <li>provision of short-term retraining for those who cannot return to their old jobs</li> <li>the creation of a “DisasterCover” system to support volunteer rescuers or firefighters with access to counselling, income support and job security – in the same way that WorkCover might support professional firefighters. A legislated scheme would mean survivors are not at the whim of ad hoc emergency government funding or relying on public appeals</li> <li>such a scheme could cover emergency medical, rehabilitation and wage costs and then claim them back, where possible, from the claimant’s private medical and income protection insurance</li> <li>improved land planning around where it is safe to build.</li> </ul> <p>All of this sounds expensive. But the cost of not learning these lessons may be greater in the long run.</p> <p><em>Written by Ananda Gearing. Republished with permission <a href="https://theconversation.com/disaster-recovery-from-australias-fires-will-be-a-marathon-not-a-sprint-129325">of The Conversation.</a> </em></p>

Legal

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Stripped of gold: Utter “disbelief” after insane finish to race

<p>The 200m sprint is always one of the blue ribbon events of the Commonwealth Games, but this year’s final ended in controversy which saw England’s Zharnel Hughes stripped of his gold medal for impeding runner-up Jereem Richards.</p> <p><a href="http://www.news.com.au/sport/commonwealth-games/live-commonwealth-games-day-eight-on-the-gold-coast/news-story/bf56edeb78b6e5507e349de437780b13" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>News.com.au reports</strong></em></span></a> both men clocked 20.12 seconds for the race, but Hughes was declared the winner in a photo finish.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FCeylonAthletics%2Fvideos%2F510399466022172%2F&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=560" width="560" height="314" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p> <p>However, officials disqualified the Englishman soon after, ruling that he had impeded the path of Richards in the home straight and made contact in the sprint for the line.</p> <p>Some commenters noted Hughes slowing considerably as he approached the final metres, noting the arm contact between the two as Richards made a desperate late lunge.</p> <p>“It’s unbelievably close, it is just crazy what happened in the last 10 meters,” Bruce McAvaney told <em>Seven</em>.</p> <p>“Not sure exactly how it played out, how does it finish? Wow, what a race.</p> <p>“It was almost like they were going to fall over.</p> <p>“I would be fascinated to see the front angle and I can only conclude they just collided. Actually when he crossed the line, Hughes grabbed his hand.”</p> <p>Thinking he had won the event, Hughes did a lap of honour before officials told him he was disqualified.</p> <p>“Hughes didn’t know and that is remarkable,” McAvaney said.</p> <p>“On the board, he has done a lap of honour and now there is disbelief for the young man. I am sure England will do everything they can do to get him reinstated.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Drama in the Men's 200m Final. <br /><br />Photo finish but there appeared to be contact late on between Hughes (ENG), who has been awarded the win and Richards (TTO).<br /><br />Both same time 20.12 (0.9). <a href="https://t.co/gWTLpgqfWu">pic.twitter.com/gWTLpgqfWu</a></p> — Athletics Australia (@AthsAust) <a href="https://twitter.com/AthsAust/status/984401985980923909?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2018</a></blockquote> <p>While England saw their initial appeal rejected late Thursday night, athletics champion Lord Sebastian Coe said he wouldn’t be surprised if there was further protest.</p> <p>“I would be surprised if they did not appeal this,” he said.</p> <p>“I am not on the jury. I have sat on juries of appeal for many years, but you are right, you can run on the line and you could be 3m ahead and run on the line and there is no material advantage, but if you do happen to impede or clash that will be the argument.</p> <p>“The jury of appeal however has a problem because two or three of those members are actually conflicted because the places and the decisions are concerning their own athletes. It may well be that they will have to chase them around at the moment.”</p> <p>What are your thoughts? Do you think the officials made the right call?</p> <p><em>Hero image credit: Twitter / <span class="FullNameGroup">#Atinka FM #DiAsa Atinka 104.7fm‏<a href="https://twitter.com/Atinka1047" class="account-group js-account-group js-action-profile js-user-profile-link js-nav"></a></span></em></p>

News

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101-year-old wins sprinting gold medal at the World Masters Games

<p>The most popular medal at the World Masters Games has gone to the oldest competitor - 101-year-old Indian sprinter Man Kaur.</p> <p>She was heartily cheered when a gold medal was draped around her neck after winning her one-woman 100m race at the Waitakere's Trusts Arena athletics stadium on Monday.</p> <p>Man Kaur - sporting her special number, 10001 - crossed the line in 1min 14.58sec - almost 1min 4sec short of the women's world record for the distance.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-video"> <p dir="ltr">Amazing 101 year old completing the 100m <a href="https://twitter.com/WMG2017">@WMG2017</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WMG2017?src=hash">#WMG2017</a> <a href="https://t.co/wUEcPHThv0">pic.twitter.com/wUEcPHThv0</a></p> — Wɐʎuǝ Qnǝpןǝʎ (@UUJQ) <a href="https://twitter.com/UUJQ/status/856260816936386560">April 23, 2017</a></blockquote> <p>But Man Kaur was definitely a champion in the eyes of the crowd, epitomising the spirit of the Masters Games.</p> <p>She raised her hands in prayer position to thank her supporters and sported a winning smile at the medal ceremony.</p> <p>She arrived in Auckland to much fanfare a week ago and has been embraced by the city's Indian community.</p> <p>​The World Masters Games crowds will be seeing a lot more of Man Kaur yet.</p> <p>She will also take part in the 200m, shot put and javelin this week.</p> <p><em>First appeared on <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank">Stuff.co.nz.</a></span></strong></em></p> <p><em>Image credit: The Canadian Press via Darryl Dyck Twitter</em></p>

Retirement Life

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99-year-old and 92-year-old go head-to-head in 60-metre sprint

<p>Most people would be thrilled to make it to their 90s with their mind and body still intact, but two extraordinary nonagenarians have taken it a step further, battling it out in a nail-biting 60-metre track race.</p> <p>Orville Rogers, 99, and Dixon Hemphill, 92, went head-to-head in the sprint race at the USATF Masters Indoor Track &amp; Field Championships in New Mexico, USA. Hemphill maintained a slight lead for the first 55 metres before Rogers, a WWII veteran, narrowly overtook his younger competitor and won by five-hundredths of a second!</p> <p>Compared to the under-10 second personal bests of Olympians running the men’s 100m, the elderly duo’s times of 18 and 18.05 seconds to complete 60 metres is certainly impressive. So, it’s no surprise that footage of the thrilling race, posted to Facebook, quickly went viral.</p> <p>“I took off, and I was a little bit ahead so I thought, ‘This is going well,’” Hemphill told <a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/general-interest/99-year-old-upsets-92-year-old-in-thrilling-sprint" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Runner’s World</span></strong></a> of his early lead. “I think had I leaned a little bit, I would have won.”</p> <p>However, Hemphill wasn’t too disappointed at his loss. The pair also faced off in the 200m, 400m, 800m an 1600m, with the 92-year-old coming up trumps in these longer events. “I guess he has the speed and I have the distance,” Hemphill chuckled.</p> <p><em>Video: USA Track &amp; Field/Facebook. Image: USATF.</em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/lifestyle/retirement-life/2017/03/great-grandma-dances-into-100th-birthday/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Gorgeous great-grandma grooves into her 100th birthday</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/lifestyle/retirement-life/2017/03/95-year-old-man-finally-comes-out-as-gay/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>95-year-old man finally comes out as gay</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/lifestyle/retirement-life/2017/02/elderly-woman-gets-arrested-for-bucket-list/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Dutch woman in her 90s ticks “getting arrested” off bucket list</strong></em></span></a></p>

Retirement Life

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96-year-old sprinter not slowing down any time soon

<p>At a time when most people are slowing down, 96-year-old Dr Charles Eugster is setting records on the track. But what’s this sprinter’s secret to success?</p> <p>Charles reportedly joined a gym at 87 because he was feeling “a little unhealthy” and since then has never been better, reaping the real health benefits of physical training.</p> <p>In Charles’s words, “Old age is something to look forward to and it can be the most enjoyable, wondrous, stupendous and amazing, exciting period of anybody’s life.”</p> <p>So what’s Charles’ secret to success?</p> <p>Charles says his diet as well as his exercise regime is key.</p> <p>As the retired dentist states, “Variety is key. I start every day with a protein shake because, as you get older, your protein synthesis no longer functions as well. I avoid sugar and eat lots of meat, especially fat. I’ve been on a fat trip lately. Fat! Piles of fat. Yet, I was in a supermarket the other day and was perplexed to find yogurt with zero fat.”</p> <p>“What on earth is that? The idea of the nutrition pyramid where, at the top, is a little fat and meat, and at the bottom a lot of carbohydrates. Humans are so unbelievably stupid that we have begun to tinker with food. Our theories of nutrition have resulted in a pandemic of obesity. Can you imagine a hunter-gatherer enjoying a low-fat yogurt?”</p> <p>Definitely some food for thought!</p> <p><em>Video credit: YouTube / Barcroft TV</em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/health/body/2016/03/diets-over-detoxes/"><em>Detox versus diet: which one is best?</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/health/body/2016/03/tricks-to-beat-the-bulge/"><em>Simple tricks to beat the bulge</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/health/body/2016/03/struggling-to-lose-weight/"><em>5 reasons why you may be struggling to lose weight</em></a></strong></span></p>

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