The Quest for Beauty

Question 1
While skin bleaching is a long-standing cosmetic staple across Sudan, a newer craze is sweeping
the nation. Many young women are turning to prescription pills in order to gain weight, and
hopefully gain the curvaceous figures they see as the standard of beauty. Away from the
regulation of trained pharmacists, fattening pills are illegally dispensed by the same small shops
which sell topical bleaching creams and other popular beauty fixes. Sold individually, in small bags
and emptied sweet containers, they are completely devoid of any information about medical risks.

1. People do not get any information about the dangers to their health when they purchase
unregulated weight gain pills.

 True

 False

 Not Given

Question 2
It is difficult to estimate how many women in Sudan use these products to gain weight, because
many are reluctant to admit to it. "Pills are handed out in the village like penny sweets," says
Imitithal Ahmed, a student at the University of Khartoum. "I've always been scared to use them
because I've seen family members fall ill and close friends become dependent on appetite
stimulants. My aunt is on the brink of kidney failure and has blocked arteries from taking too many
fattening pills, trying to get a bigger bum. Everyone in the family knows why she's sick, but she
won't own up to it. She's had to stop taking the pills on doctor's orders."

2. Since a large number of women in Sudan are not willing to reveal that they take the pills,
the exact number of women using them is not known.

 True

 False

 Not Given

Question 3
Pills are often rebranded and given catchy street names which allude to their effects. From The
Neighbours' Shock to Chicken Thighs and My Mama Suspects, the clinical name of pills are
forgotten and replaced by promises of a bigger bottom, shapely thighs and a belly that will have
your mother concerned that you might be pregnant. Tablets range from standard appetite
stimulants to allergy medicines containing the steroid hormone, cortisone. The side-effects of
taking cortisone are now a cash cow for pill peddlers. It is known to slow the metabolism, increase
appetite, trigger water retention and create extra deposits of fat around the abdomen and face.

3. Promoting the clinical name of the pills helps the sellers to focus on the weight gaining
aspects associated with them.
  True

 False

 Not Given
 

Question 4
(This question is again from paragraph three, so take a look at it again above)

4. Those selling the pills are making more money on them than other types of pills.

 True

 False

 Not Given
 

Question 5
Using unregulated steroids without supervision can damage the heart, liver, kidneys and thyroid,
says Dr Salah Ibrahim, Head of the Pharmacists' Union in Sudan. He explains that cortisone is a
naturally occurring hormone in the body, helping to regulate vital bodily functions. But when a
man-made, concentrated version enters the body in the form of pills or topical bleaching creams,
the brain gives the body a signal to stop production. If a user suddenly stops taking the substance,
their major organs can spiral into dysfunction.

5. The body's cortisone production will eventually return to normal once a person stops
taking the pills.

 True

 False

 Not Given
 

Question 6
Young women in Sudan are dying from kidney and heart failure caused by sudden steroid
withdrawal, medical professionals say. Fatalities are especially common among new brides, who
traditionally undergo a month of intense beautification prior to their wedding day and then abruptly
stop using fattening pills and steroidal bleaching creams. Their deaths are put down to sudden
organ failure. 

6. Intense usage in the month after marriage followed by sudden withdrawal is resulting in
a high death rate for newly wed women.
  True

 False

 Not Given
 
Question 7
Yet these horrifying beauty trends continue to gain traction. Prescription pill abuse is taking off in
Sudan's conservative society, partly because it lacks the social stigma and pungent, giveaway
odour of alcohol and cannabis. University students flock to buy the potent painkiller Tramadol,
which is sold for 20 Sudanese pounds ($1; 80 pence) per pill. Some of Khartoum's roadside tea-
sellers are even known to drop the painkiller in a cup of tea, upon a coded request.

7. Sudanise society does not view the absue of prescription pills as negatively as it does
other drugs such as alcohol and cannabis.

 True

 False

 Not Given
 

Question 8
Awareness campaigns have so far had very little impact. Dr Ibrahim, Head of the Pharmacists
Union, has made numerous appearances on national television to warn of the dangers of
prescription pill abuse. At university level, pharmacists are taught vigilance and trained to act in
keeping with ethics and pharmaceutical law. But in a country where pharmacists and doctors are
paid very little, the temptation to sell pills to illegal vendors is overwhelming for some. "Last time I
went to the beauty shop I go to for my creams, the shop owner brought out a chocolate box full of
different fattening pills," says Ms Ahmed, the Khartoum student. "Girls are too scared to ask
pharmacists and doctors about the pills they buy from beauty shops, for fear of being publicly
shamed."

7. Awareness campaigns are becoming common on national television.

 True

 False

 Not Given
 

Question 9
(This question is again from the above paragraph, so take a look at it again)

4. The low pay of doctors and pharmacists contributes to the problem of weight pill abuse.

 True

 False

 Not Given
 
Question 10
Police may arrest traders and block smuggling routes, but the profits for rogue pharmacists keep
growing regardless. Fattening pills are poured into the black market, deemed to be the lesser evil.
Sudan isn't the only African society where being overweight is a symbol of prosperity and power,
boosting the "marriageability" of young women. But in this country, it embodies an ideal. It defines
the ultimate Sudanese woman - full-bodied and light-skinned - epitomising beauty and coveted as
a wife. The iconic status of Nada Algalaa, a Sudanese singer whose looks are widely praised and
emulated, is testament in itself. For some women, it is an ideal to be acquired by any means
necessary.

7. Being overweight is a sign of prosperity and power throughout African countries.

 True

 False

 Not Given
UN  warns over impact of rapidly ageing populations
The world needs to do more to prepare for the impact of a rapidly ageing population, the UN has
warned - particularly in developing countries. Within 10 years the number of people aged over 60
will pass one billion, a report by the UN Population Fund said. The demographic shift will present
huge challenges to countries' welfare, pension and healthcare systems. The UN agency also said
more had to be done to tackle "abuse, neglect and violence against older persons".

The number of older people worldwide is growing faster than any other age group. The report,
Ageing in the 21st Century: A Celebration and a Challenge, estimates that one in nine people
around the world are older than 60. The elderly population is expected to swell by 200 million in
the next decade to surpass one billion, and reach two billion by 2050. This rising proportion of
older people is a consequence of success - improved nutrition, sanitation, healthcare, education
and economic well-being are contributing factors, the report says.

But the UN and a charity that also contributed to the report, HelpAge International, say the ageing
population is being widely mismanaged. "In many developing countries with large populations of
young people, the challenge is that governments have not put policies and practices in place to
support their current older populations or made enough preparations for 2050," the agencies said
in a joint statement.

The report warns that the skills and experience of older people are being wasted, with many
under-employed and vulnerable to discrimination. HelpAge said more countries needed to
introduce pension schemes to ensure economic independence and reduce poverty in old age. It
stressed that it was not enough to simply pass legislation - the new schemes needed to be funded
properly.

The UN report used India as an example, saying it needed to take urgent steps in this area.
Almost two-thirds of India's population is under 30. But it also has 100 million elderly people - a
figure that is expected to increase threefold by 2050. Traditionally, people in India live in large,
extended families and elderly people have been well looked after. But the trend now is to have
smaller, nuclear families and many of the country's elderly are finding themselves cast out, says
the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi.

There are more and more cases of physical and mental abuse, including neglect, suffered by the
elderly at the hands of their families. It is slowly becoming a widespread social problem,
particularly in urban areas, one which India still has not got to grips with, our correspondent says.

By contrast, the UN report cited the case of Bolivia as an example of good practice in the
developing world. All Bolivians over the age of 60 get a pension that is the equivalent of about $30
(£19) a month. Bolivia suffers from frequent flooding and landslides, and older people there have
been organised into "Brigadas Blancas" - White Haired Brigades. They help with preparations for
emergencies, and accessing humanitarian aid.

Source: BBC News Website

True

False

Not Given
2. Approximately thirty per cent of the population are over 60 years old

True

False

Not Given
3. Developed countries are much better prepared than developing countries for 2050

True

False

Not Given
4. More financing is necessary to ensure new pension schemes are successful

True

False

Not Given
5. Elderly people in India are not always being looked after as well as they were in the past

True

False

Not GIven
6. India is starting to deal with the neglect of its elderly population

True

False

Not Given
7. Bolivian Families look after their elderly relatives better than any other developing countries
 True

False

Not Given
1. True
2. False
3. Not Given
4. True
5. True
6. False
7. Not Given