Of Human Interest: News lite

SPORTS BEATS OUT SEX

A study suggests guys prefer sports over sex, reports the London Daily Telegraph.

Demand for Viagra falls during big sporting events, Isis researchers said, noting that during the World Cup the number of Viagra prescriptions fell by more than half.

The study says either the excitement of the game was a natural stimulant or people were so involved in soccer they did not have the inclination for sex. A panel of 400 doctors suspects the latter, the Telegraph writes.

The drop in Viagra and similar prescriptions during last June's tournament was the only such fall of that size in the past two years.

CELEBRITY WORSHIP SYNDROME

Celebrity worship syndrome in extreme cases could cause people to lie, steal or worse if the object of their admiration asked them, psychologists say.

Researchers at the University of Leicester say celebrity worship is not just for teenage girls or science fiction fans but affected up to 30 percent of people included in a study.

There are three main dimensions to celebrity worship. Low levels involve following a celebrity for entertainment and social reasons, intermediate levels are characterized by more intense and personal feelings, and high levels resemble more social-pathological attitudes and behaviors.

People on the low level were found to be more outgoing, happy and optimistic, compared to those who follow celebrities for intense personal reasons and are likely to be more depressed and anxious. Those who demonstrate high levels of celebrity worship could be solitary, impulsive, anti-social and troublesome, the research shows.

DIET FROZEN DESSERTS BETTER TASTING

Diet frozen desserts haven't been big consumer hits but newer and better-tasting versions are becoming more popular alternatives for health-conscious shoppers.

Food Technology magazine says reformulations to improve the taste of reduced-fat, -sugar and -calorie products are expected to be a big hit with consumers who want to indulge without adding calories.

Some manufacturers have seen sales rise by up to 20 percent while the ice cream market is expanding at a 2-percent rate.

Keeping just enough cream in the product seems to be part of the winning formula but ice cream still has a larger share of the market -- $4 billion in supermarket sales -- compared to $500 million for frozen yogurts and sherbets.

SOAP ON HOLD AFTER PLAGIARISM COMPLAINT

India's most expensive TV soap opera has run into rough weather after best-selling author Barbara Taylor Bradford complained the script was plagiarized from one of her novels.

India's Supreme Court Tuesday halted a lower court order that had approved the broadcast of the 260-episode serial.

Bradford had obtained an injunction from the Calcutta High Court to stop the broadcast of the soap opera, "Karishma: A Miracle of Destiny," saying it was lifted from her book "A Woman of Substance."

The Calcutta High Court had put the show on hold and ordered an investigation but the soap opera producer, Sahara India Media Ltd., got the injunction reversed.

Bradford's lawyers Tuesday appealed to the Supreme Court, which restrained Sahara TV from broadcasting the show -- which is billed as the mother of all soap operas.