Washington, Apr 1 : Vegetarians may have a healthier diet, but they are at an increased risk of having eating disorders, say researchers.

Researchers from at University of Minnesota, University of Texas and St. John's University have revealed that while vegetarians tend to eat healthier diets and are less likely than non-vegetarians to be overweight or obese, they may be at increased risk for binge eating with loss of control

In addition, former vegetarians may be at increased risk for extreme unhealthful weight-control behaviours.

Beijing  - The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday called for urgent action to halt an "alarming" rise in the spread of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).

"The situation is already alarming, and it is poised to grow much worse, very quickly," said WHO director-general Margaret Chan.

"If MDR-TB is not vigorously addressed, it stands to replace the mainly drug-susceptible strains currently responsible for 95 per cent of the world's TB cases," Chan said.

Washington, April 1 : University of St Andrews researchers in Scotland have shown that there is truth to the received wisdom that a "rosy" complexion of the skin represents healthiness, while a "green" or "pale" colour indicates illness.

Lead researcher Ian Stephen, from the School of Psychology, points out that several monkey species use redness in their faces or sexual skin to advertise their health status and to attract mates.

Washington, April 1  Undergoing CT scans a number of times may increase a patient's risk of cancer, according to a study.

"We found that while most patients accrue small cumulative cancer risks, 7 percent of the patients in our study had enough recurrent CT imaging to raise their estimated cancer risk by 1 percent or more above baseline levels," said Dr. Aaron Sodickson, assistant director of Emergency Radiology at Brigham and Women''s Hospital and researcher at the Center for Evidence-Based Imaging in Boston.

Beijing  - China on Wednesday launched a partnership with the Gates Foundation to fight the growth of drug-resistant tuberculosis and develop a prevention model that could be used in other nations.

The partnership, announced at a World Health Organization ministerial meeting on tuberculosis, will be supported by a 33-million-dollar grant over five years from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

New York - The United Nations programme fighting AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria urged governments on Tuesday to replenish its coffer to make up a shortfall of 4 billion dollars for the 2008- 2010 assistance to victims of the epidemic.

The UNAIDS programme needed 13.5 billion dollars for the three- year period, but so far has only 9.9 billion dollars, which it attributed to the current economic crisis affecting the biggest donors to the global fight against HIV/AIDS.