ALAMEDA, Calif. & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 1, 2023--

Shaquille O’Neal has spoken candidly about his fitness and health goals while opening up about his 55-pound weight loss. The former NBA star, 51, discussed his recent weight loss, and his “crazy goals” for himself, during an interview with Entertainment Tonight, where he revealed that he decided to change his lifestyle after realising he couldn’t “walk up the stairs”. “I was getting chubby and couldn’t even walk up the stairs. I didn’t like the way I looked in the mirror,” he explained. “I was like, ‘I’m gonna lose 20’ and then I was trying to lose 20.” According to O’Neal, who weighed 406 pounds at the start of his journey, he began by exercising, with the Los Angeles Lakers legend then changing his eating habits as well. He told the outlet that his goal is now to be “between 315 and 330 [pounds],” which he said is what he weighed when he helped lead the Miami Heat to their first NBA title in franchise history in 2006. In addition to losing more weight, the basketball star, who is 7ft 1in, also wants to achieve an “eight pack,” although he joked that he’s halfway to his goal. “I’ve got a five-pack now so I’ve got seven more packs to go because I want to take my shirt off on Instagram,” he said. This is not the first time that O’Neal has opened up about his fitness transformation, as he told the outlet in December that he was inspired to get healthy after a friend called him “fat”. “I got a couple people involved - it’s all about eating right. I got some blood work done, a friend of mine called me and said: ‘You’re fat,’ and she gave me this guy’s name, and he did some blood work, and you know, ‘cause I was the athlete - I wasn’t a salad eater. I won’t pay attention to any of that. I don’t care about none of that,” he recalled at the time. According to O’Neal, he also hadn’t known the difference between “a carb and a protein”. “At 50 years old I never knew. So, he was saying you can’t do this, you can’t do that, more vegetables, my iron’s low. And once I just started changing those certain things, it dropped,” he said. Read More Shaquille O’Neal says he follows ‘respectable nepotism’ philosophy when it comes to his children Shaquille O’Neal surprises family by paying for their washer and dryer at Home Depot

By Lucy Raitano and Danilo Masoni LONDON (Reuters) -Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk unseated LVMH as Europe's most valuable listed company

Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado are keeping it going with new music.

The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is expanding to 18 schools with the addition of Stanford, Southern Methodist University (SMU) and the University of California-Berkeley, after a vote by the conference's board of directors on Friday.

MALVERN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 1, 2023--

Khloe Kardashian has officially changed her son Tatum’s last name, one year after his birth. A Los Angeles county judge granted the name change for the baby – who Kardashian shares with ex Tristan Thompson – on 31 August, according to documents obtained by US Weekly. In June, the publication had first reported that Tatum’s last name was initially listed as “Kardashian” on his birth certificate. Now, the 13-month old has been granted a new surname, which is the same as his father’s, officially decreeing him “Tatum Thompson”. Similar to law in other states, California law allows parents to pick if they want their child to have their father or mother’s last name. Parents can also do the combination of the two, and give the baby a surname with a hyphen in between the two last names. The law states that whatever last name is picked will be permanent, as a court order is required to change the name. In July 2022, the former couple welcomed their child, Tatum, together via surrogate. They also share a five-year-old daughter, True. The arrival of the pair’s second baby came months after they ended their on-and-off relationship, when Thompson confirmed he fathered a son with fitness instructor Maralee Nichols. In the most recent season of The Kardashians, the Good American founder has also spoken candidly about raising her son. During an episode of season three, which aired in June, she admitted to feeling less bonded to her son born via surrogacy than her daughter True, who she birthed herself. “With True, it took me a couple of days to be like, okay, this is my daughter,” Kardashian said. “With him, it’s taken me months. I love him and I love kids but, I still don’t have that complete bond.” Kardashian added that she sometimes felt “guilty” that she hadn’t bonded with her son in the same way as her daughter. “I’m like, why isn’t it the same? But I know it will be and I know, like, I don’t treat him differently. I just question myself sometimes,” she explained. Despite her challenges and feelings about her son, Kardashian also acknowledged that she was being hard on herself. “I wish I wasn’t so critical of myself because I’m very kind to everyone else,” Kardashian said in her confessional. “I’m just not very kind to myself.” “But being a mom is truly one of the most magical experiences ever,” she added. In July, Kardashian took to Instagram to share a series of photos of Tatum in honour of his first birthday. She also included a sweet tribute about her relationship with her son, in which she expressed how ​“God knew [her] heart needed” him when he was born. “I am so proud to be your mommy. So proud of the love and laughter we have in our house. So proud of your beautiful, gentle, loving, infectious spirit. You light up every single room. There’s no denying that everyone smiles when they look at you!” she wrote. “Especially True, she is so proud to call you hers.” Read More Khloe Kardashian denies disrespecting Halle Berry and says ‘don’t tear me apart’ amid Tristan Thompson reports Khloe Kardashian reveals ex Tristan Thompson and his brother moved in with her after their mother died Kylie Jenner addresses the ‘misconceptions’ she’s had plastic surgery Khloe Kardashian officially changes son Tatum’s last name to Thompson Khloe Kardashian takes swipe at ‘hater’ for insulting sister Kim How did man who dodged theme parks due to his weight lose nearly 60kg?

By Manas Mishra and David Shepardson (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has allowed Amgen to go ahead with its

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 1, 2023--

A man who “had anxiety all the time” because of his weight has lost more than 58.5kg after rediscovering his love of football and playing a weekly game of seven-a-side, and has now “gained a lot more confidence” and says his anxiety is “more controllable”. Kyle Bamford, 40, a scrap operative, who lives in Swansea, South Wales, with his wife Deborah, 41, and their three children, Caitlin, 18, Masie, 14, and Lola, 11, reached his heaviest weight in 2022, weighing around 161.5kg. At the time, he “suffered quite badly with depression”, “drank a lot”, comfort ate and even avoided socialising because he thought “people were judging (him)”. After coming across a friend’s social media post about Man V Fat, a weight loss programme that encourages overweight men to play football once a week, he had a “wake-up call” and decided to sign up. Since joining the club, in October 2022, Kyle has gone from a size XXXXXL to XL, lost 10 inches on his waist, and has lost 58.5kg – although, he still has to remind himself “that this is a big achievement”. Kyle admits that he still has “anxiety and nerves” but thinks it has got “a lot better” since losing weight. He has also noticed that the pain he was feeling “vanished overnight” and he can now do more things with his children – before, he was “too anxious” to go to theme parks with them as he was scared he could not fit on the rides. Kyle’s next goal is to get down to 99.9kg and he is considering playing football “competitively” once a week, as well as the weekly Man V Fat sessions. He told PA Real Life: “Before I lost weight, my wife said to me that when our kids grow up, I might not be able to do anything with them without getting out of breath. “I’d never go to theme parks, and I’d think of excuses because I was anxious of not fitting on the rides. “And now, I’ve got no problem with that. “My wife has also said that I’m more confident and she can notice that I’m happier too.” In early 2022, Kyle reached the heaviest weight he has ever been, weighing 161.5kg, with a BMI of 50.9 making him obese, and it began to take a toll on his mental health. He said: “I was just depressed and just had anxiety all the time. “I suffered quite badly with depression and I just drank a lot – eating was comforting more than anything. “I was quite anxious buying clothes and socialising, and I didn’t like seeing anyone from my past because I was smaller then. “I hated going to parties and things like that because I thought people were judging me.” In October 2022, one of his friends posted on Facebook about a weight loss programme called Man V Fat which involves overweight men playing football once a week. Kyle said: “I always enjoyed football and sports, and when I put the weight on, I fell out of love with it and lost interest in it. “When I saw my friend’s progress on Facebook, I couldn’t believe how much he had lost. “I signed up to Man V Fat when I was drunk and completely forgot about it. “When I got the call from them, I had a bit of anxiety and it was a bit of a shock but once I considered it, it felt like a wake-up call that I had to do something about my weight.” The following week, Kyle went to his first football session. He explained how the programme works: “At the start of the season, you register your weight and then you get weighed every week from then on. “You’re on a football team, and that gives you an incentive to lose weight because you play a 28-minute game of football, and if you have not lost weight, the other team gets points. “If you have lost weight, your team gets penalties.” After attending a few sessions, Kyle began to notice a difference in his weight and made small changes in his diet. He said: “My wife and I are very fussy, we like all the bad stuff really, to be honest. “But one thing I did do is cut out takeaways and pop, and I did see a big difference with just those two changes. “My guilty pleasure was on a weekend, after heavy drinking, I would order a takeaway, but I stopped doing that.” Kyle also started to track his calories on the MyFitnessPal app, and the more he lost, the more motivated he felt. He explained: “I stuck to MyFitnessPal religiously, and I think within the first month of joining Man V Fat, I was looking for excuses to quit. “I had all the negative thoughts go through my head, but I did stick at it. “I stepped on the scales a couple of weeks at a time, and I noticed my weight was dropping. “Something clicked in my head and I wanted to see how far I could go.” After 10 months of weekly football sessions and sticking to a calorie deficit, and now starting to go to the gym six times a week, Kyle has lost 58.5kg and is now 103.5kg. He said: “I always put myself down, and I have to remind myself that this is a big achievement. “I feel like I’ve gained a lot more confidence, but I still suffer with anxiety and nerves, but it’s a lot better and it’s a lot more controllable now. “I did suffer a lot of pain before I lost weight and it vanished overnight. “Now I go to parties and I definitely come out of my shell more easily.” Looking to the future, Kyle’s next goal is to get his weight down to double figures. He said: “I think 99.9kg is my goal – it will be hard but I think I can do it. “Now I’m back playing football I’m actually enjoying it again, and I’m looking to start playing competitively on a Saturday. “So at the age of 40, I think that is an achievement in itself because I feel like I can do it again.” Read More ‘I felt like a freak’: Woman’s bullying over skin blistering disorder Daniel Radcliffe credits his parents for helping him stay in shape What are the symptoms of prostate cancer and how common is it? ‘I felt like a freak’: Woman’s bullying over skin blistering disorder Daniel Radcliffe credits his parents for helping him stay in shape What are the symptoms of prostate cancer and how common is it?

A woman who was born with a rare inherited skin blistering disorder which caused her to get “bullied” and feel “like a freak” throughout her childhood and teenage years, as well as forcing her onto a soft food diet of “bananas and custard” for weeks at a time, now writes inclusive children’s books with a focus on disability to encourage “other children to grow up with confidence”. Vie Portland, a 52-year-old confidence coach, author and speaker from Winchester, was born with epidermolysis bullosa simplex generalised intermediate but was not formally diagnosed with the skin condition until she was 28. According to the NHS, epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a rare inherited skin disorder that causes the skin to become very fragile, and any trauma or friction to the skin can cause painful blisters. Vie is yet to find a treatment that helps her condition, and her feet are regularly covered with huge internal blisters which feel like she has “stones under (her) skin.” Her condition even means that she cannot eat “anything acidic or too peppery” and often spends weeks eating “just bananas and custard”. She has also developed thoracic outlet syndrome, chronic bursitis, and often has spasms, because of walking with a limp to try to ease the pain. Now, Vie writes inclusive children’s books to raise awareness about living with a disability, because she grew up “afraid that there was no one else like (her)”, and hopes to write a book about someone with her condition next. Vie told PA Real Life: “So it feels like I’ve got stones under my skin all the time on my feet and it doesn’t matter how much you try to explain that to someone people just don’t get it. “Even things like if I meet friends for a drink in a lovely pub garden – I’ll be in agony because of walking on gravel and it takes so much energy out of me. “I can’t eat anything acidic or too peppery – sometimes I have to eat just bananas and custard for weeks.” Vie was born with the skin condition, saying: “I was born with no skin on my bottom and had some skin missing on my left foot. “The charity that works with people that have EB wasn’t around then – I spoke to someone recently from Debra, the charity, and they said if you looked at all the people on a double-decker bus, you’d expect to find at least one person with psoriasis. “But, you’d have to wait for over 700 buses before you met someone with EB.” As a child, Vie regularly had huge blisters all over her feet and the back of her heels. She explained: “I remember wearing jelly shoes one summer, and heat and friction are two of my triggers. “Throughout the day, blisters grew around the rubber shoes and I had to have the pair of shoes cut off my feet – it was excruciating.” When Vie was a teenager, she was very self-conscious of her condition, she explained: “I was in constant pain, and I struggled with all shoes and walking anywhere. “We’re always told not to pop blisters, but when you have EB they tell you to pop them because they get so big. “I didn’t know that at the time and it was just so painful. “People were noticing how I walk and I was embarrassed to show my feet – I didn’t have a normal childhood because of this. “Even something as simple as opening a bottle makes several layers of skin come off and cause me to have raw skin all over my hands, I was told this was weird by other people.” Doctors were baffled by Vie’s condition, over the years, she was told she had different types of eczema and even that she was allergic to her own sweat. But, at age 28, she was diagnosed with EB by a dermatologist in London. She said: “I just grew up believing that it was my fault and I was afraid that there was no one else like me.” “It all just made sense. “They even took pictures of my feet for a medical journal because it was so rare.” After getting her diagnosis, Vie began researching the charity DEBRA, which specialises in EB. She said: “I started finding out that there were people like me – it was amazing, growing up, I was bullied and felt like a freak.” Since then, Vie has sadly not been able to find a treatment that helps her condition. “There’s no cure for EB but things have moved on a lot over the past 20 years,” she said. “We have special types of dressings and creams which can help alleviate the pain.” On top of this, because Vie has been walking “unusually” for most of her life, she has developed thoracic outlet syndrome, chronic bursitis, and often has spasms. Vie said: “It can be frustrating at times because it just feels like no one will ever understand what it is like. “For most people, blisters are a bit painful, but it’s all right, but for me, it’s one of the worst pains in the world.” Now, Vie is focussing on raising awareness about living with a disability, and has recently written two inclusive children’s books called ‘Where Are We Going?’ and ‘Who Am I?’. She said: “I want other children to grow up with confidence and not to feel like a freak like me. “Children aren’t born with prejudice and I think it’s really important to teach them about all of our amazing cultures and worlds. “In my books, I don’t explicitly say the character is disabled until the discussion questions at the end – I want the character to be accepted and not defined by their disability. “I think people have more in common with each other than things that are different, and that’s a beautiful thing. “I’m hoping to write a book about someone with my condition – that’s my next plan.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Fraser Franks undergoing heart surgery – four years after ‘hidden’ condition cut short football career 4 viral TikTok make-up trends you’ll actually want to try Childhood Cancer Awareness Month: What are the warning signs that your child might have cancer?

Alcohol addiction ruins millions of lives every year, but scientists may have found a cure for this terrible affliction. A new treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD) has been trialled in monkeys with impressive results and, if these translate to human trials, the impact could be monumental. A team of neuroscientists and physiologists from across the US tested a new type of gene therapy to see if they could directly target the underlying brain circuitry associated with sustained heavy drinking. As they noted, in the journal Nature Medicine, people suffering from AUD commonly return to alcohol use even if they attempt to quit. This is largely to do with what’s known as mesolimbic dopamine (DA) signalling – meaning how the central nervous system circuit communicates the feelgood neurotransmitter dopamine. A protein called glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is key to keeping these neurons in this reward circuitry functioning. However, experts have found that levels of GDNF are reduced in people with AUD during periods of alcohol abstinence, most notably in a region of the brain called the ventral tegmental area (VTA), as IFLScience notes. Therefore, the researchers decided to test whether using gene therapy to deliver more GDNF to the VTA could help reinforce this crucial dopaminergic signalling and prevent patients from suffering an alcoholic relapse. The team of scientists explained how alcohol consumption in non-addicts prompts the release of dopamine, creating a pleasurable buzz feeling, but chronic alcohol use causes the brain to adapt and stop releasing so much dopamine. “So when people are addicted to alcohol, they don’t really feel more pleasure in drinking,” Dr Kathleen Grant, a senior co-author of the study, said in a statement. “It seems that they’re drinking more because they feel a need to maintain an intoxicated state.” For their research, Dr Grant and her colleagues used eight rhesus macaque monkeys, who were exposed to increasing concentrations of alcohol over four 30-day “induction” periods. The monkeys then had free access to alcohol and water for 21 hours a day for six months, during which they developed heavy drinking behaviours. This was then followed by a 12-week abstinence phase, with the GDNF treatment performed four weeks in for half of the subjects. The gene therapy was delivered using a a viral vector containing a copy of the human GDNF gene injected directly into the primate’s VTA, according to IFLScience. And the results were truly jaw-dropping. “Drinking went down to almost zero,” Dr Grant said. “For months on end, these animals would choose to drink water and just avoid drinking alcohol altogether. They decreased their drinking to the point that it was so low we didn’t record a blood-alcohol level.” The most exciting aspect of their findings is the suggestion that gene therapy could offer a permanent solution for people with the most severe cases of AUD. This will be a welcome glimmer of hope to many, given that some 29.5 million people were diagnosed with AUD in the US alone in 2021, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Of these 29.5 million sufferers, almost a million (894,000) were aged between 12 and 17. It’ll likely be some time before we know for sure whether the gene therapy can be rolled out in humans, but it’s an important first step in tackling this devastating disorder. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.