TUESDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2017

Crunch Doha is a fitness company designed to meet your goals by providing a combination of three basics. It was founded by Nuwaid Pocker who is a Qatar-based entrepreneur and a motivational speaker.

READY TO START YOUR HEALTHY JOURNEY?P 4-5

COMMUNITY | 6 ENTERTAINMENT | 12

North Indians’ Association organised Deepotsava 2017

George Clooney after the

quality of acting projects

CAMPUS / MARKETPLACETUESDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2017 03

DPS-MIS champion at Scintillation Chemistry quiz competition

DPS Modern Indian School (DPS-MIS) was emerged Champions at the Scintillation Chemistry quiz competition held at Al

Khor International School on November 1. The winning DPS team consisted of Nikhil Roashan and Prithviraj Ray of XII A, and Aakash Jain of XI A.

The preliminary round consisted of a writ-ten test, with eight teams vying for five spots in the finals.

The qualifying teams, DPS, BPS, AKIS, MES, and EMS, battled it out through 5 rounds in the finals.

Each round tested the students’ practical and theoretical knowledge, and their ability to think quickly and logically. After stiff competition in the first four rounds, BPS and DPS were tied at first place before moving to the rapid fire round, after which DPS emerged on top.

Through this competition, the students learnt the importance of chemistry in everyday life, and got the opportunity to display their competitive

spirit and acumen. The principal commended the students on winning this prestigious

competition.

MES retains overall champion at

CBSE Qatar Cluster Athletic meet

MES Indian School, with its unbeaten 365 championship points which included 42 gold, 12 silver and 8 bronze medals proved its supremacy yet again in the track and field events by emerg-

ing as the overall champion at the CBSE Qatar Cluster Athletic Championship held at the synthetic track of MES Indian School on Octo-ber 20 and 31.

In the boys’ under 14,17 and 19 categories as well as the girls’ under 19 category MES won the overall championship, followed by Alkhor International School with 265 points. In the girls’ category of the com-petition Alkhor International School became the title winner in categories 14 and17.

By virtue of the championship points aggregating 168 Alkhor Inter-national School won the championship in the girls’ category followed by MES Indian School with 152 points to its tally.

Amathunoor of MES; Lakshi Rajesh of Alkhor International School and Ardra C Rajesh of MES Indian School adjudged the Best Athletes of the Meet in the girls’ under 14, 17 and 19 categories respectively, while Master Niyat Rahman, Master Misnad Muneer and Master Afjal Khan of MES Indian School were adjudged the Best Athletes of the Meet in the boys’ under 19, 17 and 14 categories respectively.

Now, the winners are qualified to participate in the interschool CBSE National Athletic Championship Meet to be held from December 20 to 24 at Jharkhand, in India.

Grazia Arabia to host four-day

fashion and beauty workshops

All those with a passion for beauty and fashion are in for a treat from November 8 to 11, as Qatar’s most influential fashion magazine, Grazia Arabia, is hosting four days of live activi-

ties at Doha Festival City, the largest entertainment, fashion and dining destination in Qatar.

From panel discussions with leading influencers, to fashion, beauty and lifestyle workshops, shoppers will discover what goes on behind-the-scenes at the magazine, get free fashion tips and com-plimentary makeovers at the beauty bar.

Visitors will also get access to some of the best international and local retail stores at Doha Festival City. Swing by The Style Closet to pick up some fashion forward tips with image consultant Elisabete Reis, who will be collaborating with high-end brands.

Grazia Arabia Editor in Chief, Bianca Brigitte Bonomi said: “We are thrilled to launch the first event of its kind in Qatar and show-ing our readers what goes on behind-the-scenes of Qatar’s favourite fashion magazine. As Doha’s largest fashion, entertainment and life-style destination, Doha Festival City is the perfect host partner and we look forward to welcoming guests over the course of the event.”

Grazia Live will also be welcoming the hugely influential social media star Fatima Al Momen to the event for an exclusive meet and greet with shoppers and, for the first time in Grazia’s history, the team will be asking its readers to select which image of Fatima, shot at Doha Festival City, will grace its December cover.

May Marzooq, Senior Marketing Manager at Doha Festival City said: “Doha Festival City is excited to be collaborated with Qatar’s leading fashion and lifestyle magazine, Grazia Arabia, to bring an exclusive experience to our visitors. From witnessing how the mag-azine runs, to beauty and fashion workshops with the trendiest icons in the country, we are looking forward to welcoming all our guests during this event.”

COVER STORY TUESDAY 7 NOVEMBER 201704

Tania Khan The Peninsula

The emergence of fad diets had people scurrying around to be the first ones to try ‘wonder’ foods that would help

them drop pounds magically. Diets like the slow carb, Atkins, paleo and intermittent fasting are the few ones that have gained a lot of popularity in the past for exhibiting rapid results.

Sure, some people do have suc-cess stories who have dropped significant pounds because of these but alas, the only thing that has seemed to pass the test of time is the old school combination of a good diet, sufficient exercise and most importantly, consistency.

Crunch Doha is a fitness com-pany designed to meet your goals by providing a combination of these three basics. It was founded by Nuwaid Pocker who is a Qatar based entrepreneur and a motivational speaker.

He left his decade-long corpo-rate career to follow his ambition to help the residents of Qatar lead a healthier life. He carries an under-standing of anatomy and nutrition which helped him transform his own body in just 12 weeks through proper nutrition and training.

“I grew up with a lot of sports and fitness activities such as football, running, karate etc; so staying healthy and fit was not alien to me. I spent my teenage and early twen-ties in the gym, which included getting certified in fitness and nutri-tion diplomas,” says Nuwaid about where his passion for fitness stems

from. On conception of Crunch: “Well, Crunch Doha is an on-going personal journey. It started in 2012, when I was stuck in a downward spiral, working in a job that kept me busy, neglecting my health. While considering fast and easy ways to lose weight, I decided to go back to the basics – change what I eat and hit the gym. The results were incred-ible. My body transformed completely and I began to feel that this is my calling.”

“That inspired me to help oth-ers going through the same experience realise their capabil-ities, redefine their limits, love their appearance, and feel amazing on the inside. In order to do so, I founded Crunch Doha in 2013, Qatar’s first transforma-tion company focused on successfully helping its clients lose weight, tone u p a n d s t r e n g t h e n their core while adopt-ing a healthy l i f e s t y l e naturally.”

M a n y people didn’t know what transformation really meant and so Crunch Doha had to first educate people about what they do since it was one of its kinds. A lim-ited budget for marketing in the beginning forced their hand aggres-sively on social media which ended up being the wisest decision for the

company.“When I

look back, every struggle was a learning curve, which still continues. I think that’s the beauty of entrepre-neurship!” he said.

Fit & Healthy Body by Crunch Doha

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COVER STORYTUESDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2017 05

Since its inception, Crunch has made some changes in its business dynamic. At first it was initiated as a fitness training and healthy food company, hence, the name Crunch which represents exercise as well as crunchiness of food. But then they launched healthy food boxes which catapulted their popularity compelling them to focus exclu-sively on customised nutrition catering and shutting down their personal training wing.

Today, Crunch Doha delivers personalised healthy food boxes called “Fresh Box” to its clients and have partnered with well-quali-fied trainers in Qatar to refer to their clients to help them reach their goals.

“Fresh Box is what we call our healthy food subscription service. Through Fresh box, we deliver five customised meals everyday to our clients that are healthy, measured and most importantly, delicious. It is an easy solution to lead a health-ier lifestyle, as we do most of the work for you. We analyse your body composition, your goals, your allergies and dislikes to create a meal plan using our menu of 180+ items that will make sure that you don’t repeat your meals for a month.

Our meals are measured to meet both calorie-requirements, protein, carbohydrates and fat needs. Our goal remains the same, so every food item is aimed at help-ing people transform naturally and

healthily in the shortest period of time” he said.

To keep their clients motivated, they invite them for bi-weekly measurements using a body com-position machine where they can see the progress of fat loss, muscle gain and target weight achieve-ment, “it has been out best motivating factors to keep our cli-ents on track”, Pocker said.

On dealing with clients who don’t show much progress, he said

“At Crunch, everything is personal

and that is what I believe provides the result. When a client is not showing progress, there can be several factors, which can only be found through personal interac-tion. We begin by examining the meal plan itself, then move to their daily activities, their stress levels, any other food consumption that are outside of our box etc. We believe that one-size doesn’t fit all, so every case is treated differently.

What always works is getting

to know the client more closely because everyone has a story and in between their stories often lies the root cause. This is perhaps why we have never failed with any cli-ent in helping them progress.”

Crunch Doha plans to expand out of Qatar to serve other markets. They are currently working on standardising many of their oper-ational factors. They are also digitalising their operations to be able to serve a larger audience with more efficiency.

COMMUNITY TUESDAY 7 NOVEMBER 201706

North Indians’ Association organises Deepotsava 2017

North Indians’ Asso-c i a t i o n ( N I A ) organised Deepot-

sava 2017 to celebrate festival of lights- Diwali on OCtober 26 at Al Fayrouz Ballroom- Doha Marriott Hotel.

Sudhir Gupta, NIA Pres-ident, welcomed the Chief Guest, Indian Ambassador to Qatar, Shri P Kumran and other guests, Mr Hemant Diwvedi, 1st Sec ( E&C) Indian Embassy; Has-san Chougle; Milan Arun, ICC President, sponsors and NIA members were also present at the event.

Al Fayrouz Ballroom was jam packed with approximately 300 people to witness performances of artists specially flow in from India, Jr. Akshay Kumar-Vikalp Mehta, a comedian & actor; and Pinky (Peacock) Maidasani,

a versatile singer. Vikalp made a power

packed entry with his dance number from Akshay Kumar ‘s hit movie. He also performed a dance medley with NIA members’ children.

Various items like Microwave ovens, blenders, luxury wrist watches were given during the raffle draw sponsored by Al Mufta. Family games made eve-ryone, including new members interact with each other. Attractive gift ham-pers consisting of cosmetics were given to the partici-pants. A silver coin was given to all the NIA mem-bers on the auspicious occasion of Diwali. Gift hampers from Qatari-Canadian trading company were also given to the members. Sanjay Arora VP was MC of the event.

Sponsors were Shoprite, WIC India, Gulf Lights, Qatari Canadian Trading company, Jet Airways, Al Mufta, LTC Distribution, Golden Ocean, HomesRus, Marhaba Jewellery, Al Maya International, Malabar Jew-

ellery and PWC. NIA is conducting a

Family Sports Day on December 1 at Mesaieed Cricket ground. Similarly, NIA is also planning a party on December 31, in a 5 star hotel, which will be

confirmed at later stage. Hence, those who are interested in taking NIA membership, can write at niadoha@gmail.com or contact any MC members or visit organisation’s web-site: www.niadoha.org

We support Qatar

Qatar residents

Appajimoorthy, wife

Gayathri (not in pho-

to) and their sons,

M G Keerthi and M

G Theerthi recently

visited Italy. They are

seen in front of the

leaning tower of Pisa

holding portrait of

the Emir H H Sheikh

Tamim bin Hamad Al

Thani to express their

solidarity with Qatar.

BOOKSTUESDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2017 07

The Washington Post

At Easter in 1105, Queen Edith-Matilda of England invited a crowd of lepers to her apart-

ments and washed their feet. Leprosy was a scary disease in the Middle Ages: disgusting, infectious and incurable. Lepers, with their rotting extremities and warning bells, were ostracised by a society that attributed human suffering to an individual’s sinfulness.

The sight of a queen taking suf-ferers of this foul disease into her chambers, cleaning them with a water bowl and linen cloth, kissing them as she worked, and drying them with her hands was therefore a brave and pious show. Edith-Mat-ilda knew this and very likely conceived it not only as a personal act of religious devotion but also as a PR stunt for the benefit of the monarchy at large. It worked. The story was passed around by chron-iclers, who wrote that this privileged woman with the ulcerated toes between her lips was not merely a queen but something of a saint.

The job of a queen in medieval England was well defined but has been widely misunderstood. Of course, a queen was a biological necessity to a king: Marriage was a tool of dynastic alliance, and a royal belly the garden of heirs. Now and then a queen could also serve as a regent for a king, governing in his name or on behalf of an immature son. Less frequently queens ruled in their own right, although this pre-sented significant challenges in a martial society, in which command-ing men on the battlefield was vital to political leadership.

Yet beyond childbed the regu-lar duties of a medieval queen lay elsewhere: in embodying specifi-cally female virtues such as temperance, charity, modesty, com-passion and kindness, evinced

through good works and interces-sion with their husbands. Today, of course, these skills seem hopelessly bland and even offensive, and those medieval and early-modern queens who have attracted the most atten-tion (and approval) from modern historians are those who subverted the norms: Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France and Anne Boleyn.

The historian and novelist Ali-son Weir has made queenship a staple of her work: Her backlist focuses almost exclusively on women of the 12th through 16th centuries. Like everyone else, she has concentrated mainly on women who overstepped the boundaries. Now her new project, “Queens of the Conquest,” seeks to fill in the gaps: presenting, across multiple volumes, the lives of every queen from the Norman conquest of 1066 to the fall of the Plantagenet dynasty in 1485.

Weir describes this story as “a chronicle of love, passion, intrigue, murder, war, treason, betrayal and sorrow.” In fact it is mostly a tale of women giving birth, washing lep-ers’ feet, writing letters to their husbands asking them to calm down a bit, dying young and leav-ing their candlesticks to churches.

Book One is the story of one woman called Adeliza and four called Matilda: William the Con-queror’s wife, Matilda of Flanders; his son Henry I’s two wives, Edith-Matilda of Scotland and Adeliza of Louvain; Matilda of Boulogne, con-sort of William’s grandson King Stephen; and Henry’s daughter, the Empress Matilda, who fought Stephen for the crown in a trauma-tising civil war known as the Anarchy.

In 400 pages plus appendices, Weir chews over what bones she can find among these women’s largely serene stories. Was Matilda of Flanders a dwarf? (No.) Did

Edith-Matilda of Scotland really flee a nunnery before marrying her hus-band? (Not exactly.) Why did Henry I not father any children with Adeliza? (Not clear.) The book lights up in Weir’s biography of the Empress Matilda (whom she calls by her now seldom-used Germanic name, Maud).

Matilda’s war against Stephen was genuinely ballsy: a series of bit-ter campaigns in which fortunes swung wildly, with Matilda taking and losing the city of London and later making a famous escape from Oxford by fleeing, white-cloaked, through a snowstorm.

However, one of the main causes of the Anarchy was the fact that Matilda was impeded in her claim to the crown by the very fact of her femininity; the reason for the war’s end was that she found an acceptable male proxy in the form of her eldest son. In other words, in the long run of medieval queenship, this story is by its very nature an outlier.

All this leaves Weir with

something of a problem. The two most recent notable surveys in her field are Helen Castor’s “She-Wolves” (2010), a brilliant, thesis-driven narrative history that ignores the foot-washers and deals head-on with the problem queens who tried to approximate male rule, and Lisa Hilton’s “Queens Consort” (2008), which is comprehensive, smartly written and sensibly lim-ited to one book.

None of this is to say that this is a particularly bad Weir book. It is underpinned by extensive read-ing in the original sources (although these are, as usual, inad-equately referenced in the endnotes) and will serve as a use-ful reference for those needing a detailed biographical compendium more reliable than Agnes Strick-land’s 19th-century work “Lives of the Queens of England.” But with three further books to come, tak-ing us to the death of Richard III’s consort Anne Neville in the 15th century, the end seems like an awfully long way off.

Queens of the Conquest: England’s Medieval Queens

TECHNOLOGY TUESDAY 7 NOVEMBER 201708

The Washington Post

Pop quiz: Which comes in more flavours, Baskin Robbins ice cream or the iPhone?

It’s the iPhone, by almost double. There’s a hype around the $1,000 iPhone X, but Apple actually makes eight iPhone models right now, each in multiple colours and storage capacities.

There’s never been a more confusing time to buy an iPhone. Still, 50 million of us are ready to get a new smartphone this fall-the largest upgrade season in years.

Perhaps I can help. I’ve reviewed, recharged, dropped and tested the camera on every iPhone model, as well as many of its Android rivals.

So let’s keep it real: The iPhone X is great, but you probably don’t need the most expensive iPhone ever. Here’s what you should know before you spend big on a phone you might not need-or even like.

Is the X the best iPhone?Yes. But do you also always get a banana split

because it’s fancy? The iPhone X (pronounced “ten,” according to the classicists at Apple) isn’t actually any more powerful than the $700 iPhone 8 that debuted in September and you could pick up without a wait. And it won’t take much bet-ter photos than the $800 iPhone 8 Plus.

What is different about the X, aside from its price, is its design. Apple killed the home button. What’s so bad about the home button? Nothing, but Apple has been waging a decades-long war on buttons. The X replaces the fingerprint reader and button with new tech that reads your face to unlock the phone - even in the dark. (In my tests, identical twin 12 year-olds fooled it. And it wouldn’t unlock anymore after a kind col-league shaved his beard.)

The best reason to get a X is that it has a big screen but feels small. Apple nipped and tucked the “forehead” and “chin,” so the screen fills out much more of the space. Apple didn’t invent this

“edge-to-edge” design, and Samsung does it bet-ter on its Galaxy S8 phone. But iPhone owners who find a Plus model is hard to hold will be much happier with the X.

How annoying is life without a home button?It’s very mildly annoying. After living with

the X for a week, I’ve found the so-called FaceID system works 9 times out of 10. (When it fails, you can always re-angle your phone to geta bet-ter scan, or type in your PIN.) It also requires you to learn some new finger yoga to close apps and other things you used to do with the button. I adjusted after a few days, but it still causes a brain fart when I use my iPad (which has a button).

Which iPhone is best for most people?I most often recommend the iPhone 7. It

starts at $550, and is the cheapest way to get a couple of things you want. First, it’s water-resist-ant, so you don’t have to fear taking it anywhere near a pool (or toilet). It has noticeably better battery life and low-light camera performance than the 6S. And the 7 Plus model comes with a second lens on the back for zoom shots and the cool blurry-background portrait shots.

The downside: This iPhone 7 was the first to leave out a traditional headphone jack. Apple’s not likely to reverse course on that decision. At least it throws in a new pair of headphones - and an adapter for regular ones.

Wait, what about the 8?This phone is like the upsell on a used car lot.

It’s a big price bump - $700 and up - and you’d have to look very closely to tell the difference from a 7. The big new feature is wireless charg-ing, which requires a special pad (sold separately for $60) where you have to set the phone in just the right spot to get juice.

The iPhone 8 also has Apple’s latest proces-sor (which it shares with the X). That makes it feel slightly snappier, and could help you “future-proof” your purchase. Shutterbugs will appreciate subtle camera improvements.

Is there a better iPhone battery?I wish I had better news. I was very excited

when Apple said the X would last “up to 2 hours longer” than the iPhone 7. But that doesn’t mean what you might think. The X’s battery savings are for activities such as playing music and tak-ing phone calls - not watching video, playing games and repeatedly checking Facebook. In my battery stress test, which makes the phone browse the web for hours, I found little improve-ment at all over the 7 or the 8.

The longest lasting iPhone in my tests is the SE, which is designed to fit smaller hands. The

top contributor to battery drain is the screen, and the SE has a smaller one.I care a lot about having the best camera.

I’m obsessed with photos - my collection has over 100,000 shots. If you’re like me, you’re going to want at least an iPhone 8 Plus ($800 and up), if it isn’t too big for your hands or skinny jeans. It’s got the two back lenses that help you zoom and create portrait shots. The 8’s flash does a much better job at making subjects look bal-anced with their background. And compared to the 7 Plus, the photos have more dynamic range and better color.

Don’t think of the iPhone X as a significant camera upgrade over the 8 Plus. The back cam-eras are very, very similar; the X just adds extra stabilization and wider aperture on the telephoto lens. The X also adds portrait mode to the front selfie camera.What happened to the iPhone 9?

It was banished to the same desert island as Windows 9, which was overlooked on the way to Windows 10. Officially, the X celebrates the iPhone’s tenth anniversary.

I’m over Apple. Is there an Android phone that’s as good?

Android phones have made big leaps. The closest to an iPhone-like experience with Google software and services is the $650 Pixel 2, made by Google directly. While it has an excellent cam-era, the phone’s design is clunky and some early buyers have reported problems with the screen. Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and larger Note 8 phones have a sleek design, amazing screens and very good cameras. Samsung’s software and services aren’t as sleek as Apple, or even Google, but they’re getting better.

Any other advice?If you buy a phone, don’t be afraid to return

it if you don’t like it.

Don't buy a phone you don't need

FOODTUESDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2017 09

SEAFOOD NIGHT

QR 300 per person, with soft drinksQR 425 per person, with selected beveragesWednesdays, 18:30 - 23:00BBQ NIGHT

QR 320 per person, with soft drinksQR 420 per person, with selected beverages Thursdays, 18:30 - 23:00THE ST. REGIS GRAND BRUNCH

QR 350 per person, with soft drinksQR 450 per person, with selected beveragesFridays, 12:30 - 16:00

Savour eclectic international classics from Vine buffet.

For more information or reservations, please call +974 4446 0000 or email dining.reservations@stregis.com

The theme for this week’s recipe is “Stuffed”. Winner will

receive a dinner voucher from The St. Regis Doha. Send

your recipe with ingredients in metric measurements to

editor@pen.com.qa

RECIPE CONTESTWinner

Roasted Eggplant BurgerIngredients

Method:

Sobha N A

Baked Aubergine & EggsIngredients

Method

S S Mehta

Roasted Eggplant

Falafel Bites

Ingredients (serves 6)

For the Roasted Eggplant:

For the Roasted Eggplant Falafel Bites:

Method

Kalyani P

HEALTH TUESDAY 7 NOVEMBER 201710

Reflux drugs tied to kidney disease riskIANS

Regular use of drugs that are commonly used to treat heartburn, acid reflux and

ulcers may increase the risk of kid-ney disease, a study has claimed.

According to the study, regular use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) like pantoprazole or rabeprazole -- the most commonly prescribed medications worldwide to reduce gastric acid production -- have a potential to increase the risk of chronic kidney disease or kidney failure.

To investigate the association, researchers led by Charat Thong-prayoon from Bassett Medical Centre in New York, US conducted a meta-analysis of five studies with 536,902 participants.

The results showed that indi-viduals who used PPIs had a 33 per cent increased relative risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) or kidney failure when compared with non-users.

“This study demonstrates a sig-nificant association between the use of PPIs and increased risks of chronic kidney disease and kidney failure,” Thongprayoon said.

“Although no causal relationship has been proven, providers should consider whether PPI therapy is indicated for patients. Chronic use of PPIs should be avoided if not really indicated,” Thongprayoon added.

The findings of the analysis will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2017 in New Orleans.

In a recent study, published in

the journal Gut, PPIs users were found to be twice at risk of devel-oping stomach cancer.

The study led by researchers from the University of Hong Kong revealed that daily use of PPIs were linked to more than quadrupling in risk of stomach cancer (4.55) com-

pared with weekly use.The “clear dose-response and

time response trend” in the use of PPIs and stomach cancer risk, sug-gests that doctors “should exercise caution when prescribing long-term PPIs...”, the researchers noted.

Obesity is a risk for asthmaReuters

Children with asthma who are also obese are admitted to the hospital more often for asthma complications, according to

a recent study in Japan.Among children ages 3 to 8 hospitalised

for asthma, the obese patients were also more likely to be re-admitted to the hospital within 30 days and to stay at the hospital for a longer period of time, researchers found.

“The prevalence of asthma (in children in developed countries) is high, and it is also one of the major reasons for hospitalizations among children,” said lead author Yusuke Okubo of the National Research Institute for Child Health and Development in Tokyo.

“Asthma is a chronic disorder, and poor control of asthma may result in lower quality of life, school performance and self-confi-dence,” Okubo told Reuters Health by email.

The study team investigated nearly 39,000 hospital discharge records for children between 2010 and 2015, classifying the patients as underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese according to World Health Organi-zation body mass index (BMI) categories. Eight

percent of kids were underweight, 75% nor-mal weight, 9% overweight and 8% obese.

The researchers then compared 30-day hospital readmission, need for intensive care, average total hospital costs and length of hos-pital stay among all patients.

They found that kids in all four weight groups had similar needs for intensive care and total costs for hospitalization. Obese chil-dren hospitalized with acute asthma problems were 26% more likely to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days, however, and their average hospital stays were slightly longer than those of normal-weight kids.

“We assumed that children with obesity were more likely to be hospitalized repeat-edly,” Okubo said. “At this time, we are not sure the exact biological mechanisms for the associations between asthma and obesity.”

Potential risk factors for asthma include age, race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, medication adherence, access to health care and a history of sinusitis, the study authors write online October 18 in Pediatric Allergy and Immunology. A 2013 review of 35 studies also found that gender plays a role, with obese girls more likely to have asthma diagnoses than

obese boys, they note.“The obesity-asthma link appears to be

more prominent in girls, which is consistent with several study findings in adult popula-tions where obese women are more likely to have asthma or worse asthma control,” said Pei-Ching Liu, a researcher at National Tai-wan University in Taipei.

“There is still no satisfactory explanation of the underlying mechanism,” Liu told Reuters Health by email. “However, hormones or chang-ing body composition have been implicated since early onset of puberty in children.”

In a previous study using data on more than 74,000 children in the U.S. who had asthma exacerbations in 2012, Okubo and her colleagues found that obese children had nearly double the odds of using mechanical ventilation, an average of $1,600 more in hos-pital charges and spent a quarter of a day longer in the hospital.

“Pediatric obesity is a public health prob-lem and is associated with infections, chronic disorders, asthma and future heart disease,” Okubo said. “Weight reduction and a healthy lifestyle is important for children to control asthma severity.”

BOLLYWOODTUESDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2017 11

‘The School Bag’ wins in Montreal film festIANS

Indian short film “The School Bag”, which tells a story based in Pakistan, has won the Best Short Film Award at

the South Asian Film Festival of Montreal (SAFFM), says director Dheeraj Jindal.

“While making the film, each member of the team literally put their heart and soul and we didn’t know what will hap-pen with the film. For many people, I included, it was the first experience work-ing on a short film. So it’s a great feeling when your debut work gets international recognition,” Jindal said.

SAFFM concluded on Sunday.The movie’s plot is based in Peshawar

and tells a story about the relationship between a mother and her seven-year-old son who wants a new school bag on his

birthday, but fate has something else in store for him.

The film recreates events that hap-pened in Peshawar in December 2014 when terrorists mowed down hundreds of school children. Actress Rasika Dugal plays the mother in the short film.

Jindal, who is from Delhi, is happy that short films are getting visibility.

“In India, now there are platforms that are supporting and funding short films and because of that the quality of the films have drastically improved. The acclaimed actors have also started working in them as there are many good stories which don’t need to be long but can be as impacting as a fea-ture film.

“Therefore, short films are becoming a serious business, which is going to grow further,” he said.

Vishal Dadlani reacts on revival songs

IANS

Singer-composer Vishal Dadlani says recreations of old songs is heart-breaking and needs to be

stopped.In a tweet, filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh

had expressed his sadness over a new version of a song originally by late singer-actor Kishore Kumar.

“I just heard a new version of an old Kishore Kumar song. Really ya! There should be a law against these things!”

On this, Dadlani commented: “Agreed. Heart-breaking, the lack of respect with which some classics are treated. Worse, no credit to the orig-inal composer! Needs to stop!”

Over the last two years, Bollywood has witnessed several recreations such as “Pal pal dil ke paas”, “Tumhe apna banane ka”, “Laila main Laila”, “Saara zamana”, “Tamma tamma” and “Tu cheez badi hai mast”.

Kamal Haasan to spend birthday at medical campIANS

Tamil film actor Kamal Haasan, will not cel-ebrate his 63rd birthday today as people are distressed by heavy rains. He will instead

visit a medical camp and a rain-affected area.The actor’s spokesperson said in a statement

that Kamal, who has set his eyes on a political career, will meet the media at 12 noon to share a

“special message”.“This year he has decided not to celebrate his

birthday while Chennai people are distressed by the rains,” the spokesperson said.

“Instead, he will be visiting a medical camp, which is set up by Narpani Iyakkam (Welfare Movement) at Annapoorna Marriage Hall, CTH Road... and rain-affected area at Naryanapuram, S. Kolathur Road, Pallikaranai, next to Balaji Den-tal College.

“He will be reaching out to people with his spe-cial message and plans for the future. Come witness the promise for change,” the spokesper-son said.

There has been a lot of talk regarding Kamal’s political plunge.

Kamal has said the first step towards it will be the launch of a mobile software app on Tuesday as it will enable him to be in touch with the fans and as well as enable book-keeping.

Kamal Haasan will be visiting a medical camp, which is set up by Narpani Iyakkam (Welfare Movement) at Annapoorna Marriage Hall, CTH Road... and rain-affected area at Naryanapuram, S. Kolathur Road, Pallikaranai.

ENTERTAINMENT TUESDAY 7 NOVEMBER 201712

‘Thor: Ragnarok’ rules with $121mAFP

After a dismal October for Hollywood, Disney and Marvel Studio’s “Thor: Ragnarok” proved a smashing success this weekend, pulling in

$121m in North American theatres for a global total of $427m, according to industry estimates.

How big was the film’s three-day opening? Well, the latest “Thor” episode, boosted by strong reviews and the self-mocking humor of Chris Hemsworth as the powerful Norse god (with Cate Blanchett as Hela, goddess of death), netted more than seven times the take of last week’s leader, Lionsgate’s “Jigsaw.”

That movie, which has police investigating a string of horrific murders carried out in the style of suppos-edly long-dead killer Jigsaw, dropped this weekend to third place at $6.7 million, according to website Exhibitor Relations.

In second was “A Bad Mom’s Christmas,” from STX Entertainment, at $17 million. That comedy stars three women -- Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn

-- whose plans change when their mothers (Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines and Susan Sarandon) drop in unexpectedly for the holidays.

In fourth position was Lionsgate’s “Boo 2! A Madea Halloween” at $4.7m. The light comedy has actor/direc-tor Tyler Perry and buddies heading to a campground which -- surprise! -- turns out to be haunted.

In fifth spot was “Geostorm” from Warner Bros., at $3m. The sci-fi disaster thriller follows Gerard But-ler as he struggles to save the world from an apocalyptic storm caused by climate-controlling satellites run amok.

Rounding out the top 10 were: “Happy Death Day” ($2.8m), “Thank You for Your Service” ($2.3m), “Blade Runner: 2049” ($2.2m), “Let There Be Light” ($2.2m) and “Only the Brave” ($1.9m)

Important to be

authentic: Nicole

ScherzingerIANS

Singer-songwriter Nicole Scherzinger says at a time when the music industry is

“over-saturated”, it’s vital to stand out with authenticity in one’s work.

“I’ve become more relaxed about things, that’s for sure. I’ve learnt that it’s important to be authentic because that’s what separates you from everyone else. That’s one of the reasons I’m taking so much time to release new music. It has to come from a truthful and hon-est place because the industry is so over-saturated at the moment,” the singer-songwriter said recently.

Scherzinger, who is a cur-rent judge of “The X Factor”, feels artistes such as Sam Smith and Adele are those that “reso-nate” with audiences because of how open they are about their personal life through their music.

George Clooney after the quality of acting projectsIANS

Actor George Clooney (pictured), last seen on the big screen in “Money Monster” last year, says there aren’t “many” roles

now that urge him to face the camera.He says it would take an exciting script for

him to sign on for a new movie these days, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

“Look, I acted for a long time and, you know, I’m 56. I’m not the guy that gets the girl any more... I shouldn’t be the guy that gets the girl. But, look, if somebody’s got Paul Newman in

‘The Verdict’, I’d jump. But there aren’t that many like that,” Clooney told The Sunday Times Culture magazine.

“Acting used to be how I paid the rent, but I sold a tequila company for a billion f***ing dollars. I don’t need money,” added the

56-year-old star.Clooney was paid $50,000 to write, pro-

duce and direct his latest film “Suburbicon”. He is focussed at pushing for projects he believes in than put money ahead of creativity.

“I have money, so I can fight to make mov-ies I want to make. If you look at what I’ve been in over the past 15 years, for the most part they weren’t going to get made if I didn’t do them.

“Nobody was going to make ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’, ‘Michael Clayton’ or ‘Up in the Air’, and I fought to get those out there. (Brad) Pitt’s doing that a lot too. Brad does it, and that’s a good use of celebrity, or whatever.

“I’ll make money other ways if I have to. I used to do coffee commercials.”

BABY BLUES

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE

The Bonifacio siblings reunite when they find out their father is

diagnosed with cancer. In the process, they have to deal with

unresolved issues among themselves before it’s too late.

Note: Programme is subject to change without prior notice.

VILLAGGIO & CITY CENTERNOVO — PearlThor: Ragnarok (2D/Action) 10:15, 10:30am, 12:15, 12:45, 1:10, 3:00, 3:15, 3:50, 5:45, 6:30, 8:15, 8:30, 9:10, 10:45, 11:15 & 11:50pmJigsaw (2D/Horror) 10:00am, 12:00noon, 2:00, 4:00, 6:00, 8:00, 10:00pm & 12:00midnight Geostorm(2D/Thriller) 10:00am, 12:20, 2:40, 5:00, 7:20, 9:40pm & 12:00midnightIt Stains The Sands Red (2D/Horror) 12:30, 4:45 & 9:00pmBeyond Skyline (2D/Action) 10:15am, 2:30, 6:45 & 11:00pmMonster Family (2D/Animation) 10:00am, 12:00noon, 2:00 & 4:00pmBlack Butterfly (2D/Thriller) 6:00, 8:00, 10:00pm & 12:00midnightBrawl In Cell Block 99(2D/Action)10:00am, 2:40, 7:20pm & 12:00midnight 24 Hours To Live (2D/Thriller) 12:40, 5:20 & 10:00pmBoo:2 A Madea(2D/Comedy)10:00am, 12:15, 2:30, 4:45,7:00,9:15&11:30pmThor: Ragnarok (3DIMAX/Action) 10:40am, 1:20, 4:00, 6:40, 9:20 & 12:00midnight

MALL

LANDMARK

ROYAL PLAZA

ROXY

CINEMA PLUSTUESDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2017 13

ASIAN TOWNAval (Tamil) 5:30pm Parava (Malayalam) 3:30pmVillain (Malayalam) 6:00, 6:30, 8:00, 8:45, 9:15, 11:00, 11:30pm Ramleela (Malayalam) 12:45, 8:30pm & 01:45am Ittefaq (Hindi) 6:15 & 11:15pm

AL KHORThor Ragnarok 11:30am, 12:30, 2:15, 3:15, 5:00, 6:00, 7:45, 8:45, 10:30 & 11:30pm Villain (Malayalam) 12:00noon, 2:45, 5:30, 8:15 & 11:00pm Happy Death Day 11:00am, 3:30 & 8:00pm Ramleela 3:00 & 8:00pm Mersal (Tamil) 2:15 & 8:15pm

SEVEN SUNDAYS

Fantastic Journey To Oz (2D/Animation) 12:00noon, 2:00 & 4:00pm Villain (Malayalam) 12:00noon, 3:00, 6:00, 9:00pm & 12:00midnight Aval (Tamil) 12:00noon, 2:45 & 11:55pm Ittefaq (Hindi) 5:30, 7:40 & 9:50pm Thor Ragnarok (Action) 12:00noon, 2:40, 5:20, 6:00, 8:00, 8:40, 10:40 & 11:20pm

Villain (2D/Malayalam) 2:00, 6:00 & 11:00pm Ittefaq (Hindi) 4:30pmThe Little Vampire (2D/Animation) 2:30pm Fantastic Journey To Oz (2D/Animation) 2:30pm Boo 2: A Madea (2D/Comedy) 9:00pmBlack Butterfly (2D/Thriller) 4:15pm Beyond Skyline 4:30pmThor: Ragnarok (2D/Action) 6:30, 9:00 & 11:30pm It Stains The Sands Red (2D/Horror) 6:00pm Seven Sundays (2D/Tagalog) 6:30pm Aval (2D/Tamil) 11:00pm

Villain (2D/Malayalam) 2:00, 4:30 & 11:30pm Fantastic Journey To Oz (2D/Animation) 3:00pmSecret Superstar (2D/Hindi) 5:00pm Seven Sundays (2D/Tagalog) 7:15pmThor: Ragnarok (2D/Action) 4:45, 7:00, 9:15 & 11:30pm Boo 2: A Madea (2D/Comedy) 6:15pm Ittefaq (Hindi) 9:30pmBlack Butterfly (2D/Thriller) 8:00pm It Stains The Sands Red (2D/Horror) 9:45pm Aval (2D/Tamil) 11:30pm

Ittefaq (Hindi) 2:15pm The Little Vampire (2D/Animation) 2:30 & 5:00pm Villain (2D/Malayalam) 2:30, 5:00 & 11:15pm The Little Vampire 4:15pmFantastic Journey To Oz (2D/Animation) 2:30pm Aval (2D/Tamil) 11:30pmBoo 2: A Madea (2D/Comedy) 4:30, 6:00 & 7:45pm Beyond Skyline (2D/Action) 5:45pm Seven Sundays(2D/Tagalog) 7:30pmThor: Ragnarok (2D/Action) 6:30, 8:45 & 11:00pm Black Butterfly (2D/Thriller) 9:45pm It Stains The Sands Red (2D/Horror) 9:30pm

CROSSWORD CONCEPTIS SUDOKU

ALL IN THE MIND

08:00 News08:30 Counting the

Cost09:00 Al Jazeera World10:30 Inside Story11:00 News11:30 The Stream12:00 News12:30 My Tunisia13:00 NEWSHOUR14:00 News14:30 Inside Story15:00 Digital

Dissidents 16:00 NEWSHOUR17:00 News17:30 The Stream18:00 Newsgrid19:00 News19:30 AJ Selects20:30 Inside Story21:00 NEWSHOUR22:00 News22:30 The Stream23:00 Al Jazeera World

13:20 Lolirock 15:00 The

Zhuzhus 17:00 Tangled:

The Series 17:25 izaardvark 17:30 Bunk’d 19:10 Star Wars

Forces Of Destiny

20:05 Descendants Wicked World

20:35 Jessie 21:00 Tangled:

The Series 21:50 K.C.

Undercover 22:15 Bizaardvark 22:40 Bunk’d 23:05 Rolling With

The Ronks 23:20 Miraculous

Tales Of Ladybug & Cat Noir

13:50 Catching Monsters

14:45 Bad Dog15:40 North

America16:35 Lone Star

Law17:30 Treehouse

Masters18:25 Pit Bulls &

Parolees19:20 The Lion

Queen20:15 Bad Dog21:10 Going Ape22:05 Pit Bulls &

Parolees23:00 The Lion

Queen23:55 North

America00:50 Lone Star

Law01:45 Treehouse

Masters

13:10 Alaska: The Last Frontier

13:55 Deadliest Catch

14:40 Gold Divers: Under The Ice

16:10 Street Customs 2008

18:50 Deadliest Catch

21:00 Ed Stafford: Left For Dead

21:50 Bear Grylls: Mission Survive

22:40 Boy To Man23:30 Fast N’

Loud01:05 Ed Stafford:

Left For Dead

King Features Syndicate, Inc.

Yesterday’s answer

Conceptis Sudoku: Conceptis Sudoku

is a number-placing puzzle based on a

9×9 grid. The object is to place the

numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so

that each row, each column and each

3×3 box contains the same number

only once.

BOTTICELLI, CANALETTO,

CEZANNE, CONSTABLE,

DALI, DA VINCI, DEGAS,

GAINSBOROUGH, GAUGUIN,

GOYA, HOLBEIN, KLIMT,

MANET, MATISSE,

MICHELANGELO,

MONET, PICASSO,

POLLOCK, RAPHAEL,

REMBRANDT, RENOIR,

TURNER, VAN GOGH.

BRAIN TEASERS TUESDAY 7 NOVEMBER 201714