Tessa Richards (BMJ’s analysis editor) and Duncan Jarvies (BMJ’s multimedia producer) talk to Veena Rao (adviser at Karnataka Nutrition Mission, India) about the issue of undernutrion in the country (4.42).

And David Payne (BMJ’s web editor) gives us a run-down of the new bmj.com (0.14).

See also:
Commentary: Cultural change is essential
Why India needs a national nutrition strategy
A new bmj.com

One way of tackling obesity is by attending a weight loss club, such as WeightWatchers . There are many such schemes available on the NHS, but which one is the most effective? We find out the results of an RCT that aims to find out.  Also this week, ethnographic studies aren’t just limited to lost tribes. We find out what observation of receptionists in general practice surgeries uncovered.

See also:
Comparison of a range of commercial or primary care led weight reduction programmes
Receptionist input to quality and safety in repeat prescribing in UK general practice

In 2001 Portugal abolished all criminal penalties for personal possession of drugs – effectively decriminalising their use. Health journalist Nigel Hawkes talks to João Goulão, Portugal’s drug tsar, to find out how effective this policy change has been (9.53).

Also, the General Medical Council is introducing revalidation for doctors. Part of that revalidation will require input from a doctor’s colleagues and patients. We hear from John Campbell, Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, about possible independent factors that could affect the scores (0.30).

See also:
Variability in the assessment of UK doctors’ professionalism
Highs and lows of drug decriminalisation

Hugh Montgomery, director of the University College London Institute for Human Health & Performance, talks about the space where climate, health, and international security meet.  Christabel Owens, head of mental health research at the Devon Partnership NHS Trust, explains why warning signs for suicidal thoughts may not be visible to those best placed to spot them.

See also:
climatechange.bmj.com
www.youtube.com/bmjmedia
Recognising and responding to suicidal crisis within family and social networks

The Health and Social Care Bill for England has now reached the House of Lords. With the proposed demise of deaneries, questions still remain about how medical training will be carried out in the future. Niall Dickson, chief executive of the General Medical Council, explains how the council hopes to maintain professional standards whatever the outcome, and what changes to postgraduate education are on the horizon. Also this week, James Chalmers takes us through the steps in treating a non-responding presumed lower respiratory tract infection.

See also
BMJ careers - GMC will hold GPs to account for commissioning decisions
Rational Testing - Investigation of “non-responding” presumed lower respiratory tract infection in primary care

Last week BMJ Group held an inaugural global health conference http://globalhealth.bmj.com/ in London, looking at policies for sustainable and effective healthcare. David Heymann, chair of the UK Health Protection Agency, and Martha Gyansa-Lutterodt, Director of Pharmaceuticals at the Ministry of Health, Ghana, discuss how vertical aid programmes can lead to systemic improvements in lower income countries.  And, Kalipso Chalkidou, Director of NICE International, explains a bit more about its work.

Also, smoking is known to increase TB mortality. A modelling study this week suggests that the number of excess deaths from TB, caused by tobacco consumption, could be as high as 40 million over the next 40 years.  Stanton Glantz, Director of the Centre for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco, joins us to set out the numbers.

See also:
http://globalhealth.bmj.com/
Projected effects of tobacco smoking on worldwide tuberculosis control
Donors should be tougher on poor countries that don’t engage in health programmes

Seth Berkley, CEO of GAVI (formerly the “Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation”), talks to Rebecca Coombes about the future of vaccination funding (10.15).  Also this week, the Health and Social Care bill, set to change the English NHS, is about to enter the House of Lords before becoming law.  We find out which areas will receive most scrutiny from members of the Upper House from liberal democrat peer Baroness Shirley Williams of Crosby, a leading critic of the changes (0.25).

See also:
The Health and Social Care Bill: 10 things for the Lords to consider
How should GAVI build on its success?

This week, the UK’s General Medical Council is reviewing its standards of good medical practice. Helen Jaques quizzes Niall Dickson, the council’s chief executive, about the possible changes.

Also this week, Ian Cameron, head of the rehabilitation studies unit at the University of Sydney, explains how doctors should care for the carers of older patients.

See also:
Assessing and helping carers of older people

Research has found that the gap in all-cause mortality between psychiatric patients after discharge, and the general population, is growing. Uy Hoang (Oxford University) tells us what his paper reveals about the trend, and we discuss possible ways to tackle the disparity with Fiona Gaughran and Shubulade Smith  (Institute of Psychiatry, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust).

Also, a UN conference this week aims to tackle non-communicable disease. Rebecca Coombes, BMJ features editor, explains how they’re doing that, and some of the problems with the negotiations.

See also:
Mortality after hospital discharge for people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder
Rebecca Coombes blog: UN summit in New York – a view from the sidelines

John Young, professor of elderly care medicine at Leeds University, gives Mabel Chew tips on carrying out a cognitive assessment of an older person (8.45). Also this week, Harlan Krumholz explains to Deborah Cohen how he got Medtronic to agree to independent scrutiny of their data that is “unprecedented in the medical industry” (0.40).

See also:
Cognitive assessment of older people 
Medtronic submits full data on spinal protein to independent scrutiny