Apr 6, 9:03 PM EDT

By LINDSEY TANNER

CHICAGO (AP) -- A striking new study says almost 1 in 5 American 4-year-olds is obese, and the rate is alarmingly higher among American Indian children, with nearly a third of them obese. Researchers were surprised to see differences by race at so early an age.

Overall, more than half a million 4-year-olds are obese, the study suggests. Obesity is more common in Hispanic and black youngsters, too, but the disparity is most startling in American Indians, whose rate is almost double that of whites.

BEIJING (April 1, 2009): Health officials gathered in Beijing yesterday warned against deadly drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis, which are spreading fastest in developing countries that lack the infrastructure to tackle the disease.

Over half of new cases of tuberculosis are resistant to multiple drugs right from the start, and not as a direct result of substandard treatment, the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned.

2009/04/01

Professor Dr Fatimah Mohamed Arshad Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Institute of Agriculture and Food Policy Studies director

KUALA LUMPUR: Traders, especially wholesalers, are dictating prices because the agriculture sector has not been given attention and the country has to rely on imported food.

Universiti Putra Malaysia's Institute of Agriculture and Food Policy Studies director Professor Dr Fatimah Mohamed Arshad said this was why food prices here were high.

2009/04/01
By : By Lydia Gomez

Shila Dorai Raj Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry’s policy and planning division under-secretary

KUALA LUMPUR: There will always be food at markets and in hypermarkets, but at what price?

Consumer groups, an academician and government authorities believe consumers are being forced to pay high prices although the reason for the hikes since last year is no longer valid as fuel prices have come down.

An academician said this was because wholesalers and retailers were unwilling to give up the "new" profits they were making.