Taxing Sugar-Sweetened Beverages

Porky Kelly Brownell, the advocate for taxing soda and "anti-junk food" activist is taken to the shed by someone other than me. This is a good example of how an IMHO crooked crusader, Kelly, makes an argument. If you can, read the entire original piece. It will take a minute or so.

...They cite a report of a 1-year trial involving students 7 to 11 years of age that showed a lower incidence of obesity in the dietary intervention group, although the difference in body-mass index was not significant. Follow-up 2 years after completion of the trial showed that the difference in the incidence of obesity was not sustained. This dietary intervention apparently only had a transient effect without affecting the long-term propensity for obesity. None of the three other long-term, randomized, controlled trials cited in the article met their primary end points; an analysis of a different subgroup within each trial was made in an attempt to show some benefit...

A good real-life example of why you should not believe what you read about weight loss in the MSM, where Kelly, other Yalies and AdipOprah experts rule the roost.

'Morbidly Obese' Dog Found Frozen to Sidewalk Slims Down

So why can't you, fat person?

A year after a "morbidly obese" dog froze to a Wisconsin sidewalk, the border collie mix has lost 40 pounds and is slowly returning to an active lifestyle.

Jiffy is still portly, but his owner said he's finally moving "like a regular dog." The dog weighed about 120 pounds when he froze to the sidewalk in December 2008 in single-digit temperatures. His dense layers of fat probably helped him survive.

Afterward a court ordered Jiffy's owner to give him up.

Patty and Peter Geise of Sheboygan Falls said when they adopted Jiffy, he could barely step over a 4-inch-high pipe. Even then he had to rest afterward.

The Sheboygan Press reported that now he walks a mile at a normal pace.

Patty Geise said it's rewarding to see how much Jiffy has improved.

Because you are dumber than a morbidly obese dog.

And/or you are foolish enough to follow the advice of AdipOprah and her experts.

Exercise Linked To Healthier Aging: Four New Studies

Not exercise - training. But the principle holds. Physical activity has benefits.

Four new studies published in a leading journal this week link exercise with healthy aging, either through reduced risk or slower progression of several age-related conditions or through improvements in overall health in older age, and detail associations between physical activity and cognitive function, bone density and overall health.

All four studies, and an accompanying editorial commentary appear in the 25 January issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

In the accompanying editorial, Drs Jeff Williamson and Marco Pahor, of the University of Florida, point out that previous studies have linked exercise to beneficial effects on a range of conditions and diseases, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, lung disease, arthritis, falls and fractures, that can hamper older people's ability to get on with their day to day tasks and lead indendepent lives.

They write:

"Regular physical activity has also been associated with greater longevity as well as reduced risk of physical disability and dependence, the most important health outcome, even more than death, for most older people."

And now, they suggest, these four new studies advance the field and help us better understand the "full range of important aging-related outcomes for which exercise has a clinically relevant impact".

Learn how to train.

The Pig Is Clever Like A Fox

Oprah's participation in the weight loss debate is an Orwellian nightmare - the pig is in charge.

Well, the pig is clever like a fox.

Just in time to rollout the new version of the book she co-wrote with Bob Greene, AdipOprah, an IMHO whore-for-the-money and clear threat to people's health, devoted the cover and cover story of her O(bese), The AdipOprah magazine, to her weight woes.

In typical fatso style she basically blames her alleged mere 40-pound weight gain on her poor, defenseless, thyroid gland (again).

She is clearly spewing the slop in which she rolls.

The rollout of her “updated and revised” book together with the rollout of her personal story about why she cannot get the rolls out of her belly are an interesting coincidence.

I will bet, it was not “updated and revised” to tell people it is crap and that she and Bob are liars.

Personally, IMHO, it is nothing more than another attempt by a crooked person to rip-off money from desperate people. (According to the bovine billionaire herself, there are "more than 2.4 million" of them who read the magazine. Add to that the people who watch her TV show, listen to her radio programming, watch her TV network and visit her website and you have an awful lot of impressionable people being fooled.)

What she is talking about this 2008 holiday season is, IMHO, nothing more than another attempt at thievery. This is not new for them as Bob and Oprah, IMHO, have a history of using lies and falsified images to scam the public.

(IMHO, Oprah with Bob are every bit as crooked as Oprah is with her other boys, Mehmet and Michael, David and Jorge.)

Despite the fact that the IMHO whore-for-the-money admits that she was gaining weight beginning "in February 2007," she was too greedy to recuse herself from promoting the diet scheme concocted by her and Bob, instead averring how well it worked for her. Even to this day.

I just pulled this (12-14-08) from their diet website. The website is copyright, 2007. The hardcover edition of the book came out December 26, 2006. The paperback edition came out December 26, 2007. The "I" is fatso "O":

I lost weight in stages. First I became active, and I still work out even though I really hate it, but I know if I don’t I will end up 200 pounds again. Then I started working on my eating. I stopped eating past 7:30 at night. When Bob told me it would make a big difference in my weight, I resisted. I thought it was going to be too hard. But I was surprised to find that it wasn’t; even more surprised when it turned out to be one of the most effective changes I made.

I’ve now taken most of the bad foods out of my diet and replaced them with good. I eat smaller portions and I eat healthy foods as a way of life, not a diet to go on and off.

Liar.

And the picture used on the website to promote the diet is:

Double liar.

(Here are real images of Oprah on her/Bob's diet.

Triple liar.)

Which is the same picture (the background was changed) she and Bob used to rip people off in 2008, on their website:

Quadruple liar.

And other places on the web:



Quintuple liar.

And at a "discount":



Sextuple liar.

And they promoted her and still promote her (12-24-08) as a "success" on their diet (enlarge the image if you have to or just click on it to get to the page):

Septuple liar.

Scummy Oprah and Bob are all talk about integrity as if it means something to them. This is from the complaint to the FTC about Bob and Oprah and their false and deceptive advertising:

"As will be seen in Exhibits A, B and M, there is much made of 'truth' and 'truthfulness' by both Mr. Greene and Ms. Winfrey. Likewise, they speak of accepting responsibility for one’s actions. In fact, 'truthfulness' and 'responsibility' appear in the General Index on pages 272 and 271, respectively, in the hardcover edition.

I submit that in the FTC’s taking of its responsibility it has the opportunity to not only protect consumers from what I contend (and what I posit a reasonable consumer would contend if he/she were aware of them) are clearly false and deceptive advertising practices, but also to provide Ms. Winfrey and Mr. Greene with opportunities to accept responsibility for and the consequences of their dishonesty and untruthfulness."

You can check out the Exhibits here.

Here is their chance to stop the talk and do the walk, which, incidentally, Oprah claims is a big part of the fatso "cure":

"All you have to do is work out harder and eat less! Get your 10,000 steps in!"

What to do?

Give back all the money they took under clearly false pretenses (plus interest earned and any damages), apologize to the world, do some jail time for being the IMHO crooks they are, shut their mouths for good (and the mouths of Oprah's other experts), stop publishing/writing on topics at which they are failures, slither off into the sunset and just go away for good.

That is integrity.

Incidentally, there is one truth among all this drivel of hers.

"All you have to do is…eat less!"

If this means fewer Calories in than out, then she is right.

And what is most important is that you do not need their sh**ty book in order to do that.

Complain to the FTC about her, Bob, Mehmet, Michael, David and Jorge, so it will get these IMHO parasites out from the broadcast media.

The sooner the better. Stop them before they harm again.

You can make a difference.

Oprah and Bob Greene Scamming The Public - Again

The headline links to the Oprahcide or Death By Oprah website.

This link will take you to the Jail For Oprah website where you will find FTC complaints filed re:

Oprah and Bob and

Oprah and her diet expert's books and

Oprah, Jorge Cruise and David Katz.

Here is a picture of Bob and an Oprah that never existed in reality:



I am clear that, IMHO, Oprah and Bob are two of the leaders in the nutritional homicide movement. There are others, like Mehmet Oz, IMHO.

But what is so grossly apparently dishonest, is the Photoshopped image of AdipOprah.

Her entry into the fitness/weight loss domain is like the book Animal Farm.

The pig is in charge.

She claims to be all about integrity, but it is clear to me that she is a dishonest person who has a profit-motivated integrity of convenience that is basically the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help her Photoshop.

This is how Oprah really looks.

Big and fat and with chinny chin chins.

And big thighs and fat ass.

To see more images of AdipOprah and how she really looks following Bob's and Oprah's Best Life Diet, go:

here

here

here

here

here

here

The images above cover the period of time from around the release of their book, December 26, 2006, until just about the present.



But when you are a whore for the money, well, truth in extra-large packaging goes out the door.

However, "Sale Pricing" does not.

Here is a new "deal" Bob and The Killer Queen of Daytime TV are offering.



One look at the real Oprah - same faked image.

One look at the real Oprah - same doomed to fail advice.

One look at the real Oprah - same guaranteed to make you poorer and them richer scam.

This is how The Best Life Diet is described at amazon.com:

"From the bestselling author of Get With the Program! and Bob Greene's Total Body Makeover comes The Best Life Diet, a lifetime plan for losing weight and keeping it off. Bob Greene helped Oprah achieve her dramatic weight loss, and he can help you too. You'll eat the same delicious food that Oprah enjoys, and, just like Oprah, you'll have Bob to encourage you at every step."

Just like he did for Oprah! (see images and image links above, in case you have forgotten how good Bob is and/or how fat Oprah is)

Shame on her.

She should be ashamed but I suspect she is not.

If she ever had an ounce of shame, it has likely been replaced by pounds of fat.

In Oprah's own words:

"Excerpt from The Best Life Diet (sic) - by Oprah Winfrey

You cannot ever live the life of your dreams without coming face to face with the truth. Every unwanted pound creates another layer of lies."

Right.

And Oprah is the multi-layered liar.

Laughing all the way to the bank with your money.

To find out more about what I believe is going on, read the FTC complaint filed regarding her and Bob. It is available here.

Consumer Reports - Profile In Incompetence (Update)

Today is February 08, 2010. No response from CR since June 11, 2007.

Here is a chronicle of my communications with Consumer Reports re: their June 2007 cover story on "Rating the Diets."

The quality of their work is, IMHO, shamefully shoddy and their analytical skills fatally flawed - just like diet programs.

Of particular interest is CR's response, via a Mr. Harzewski speaking for the Editors.

Read it all.

Then, you decide.

To me, these folks are dangerously incompetent.

Caveat subscriber.

To access all the Fitness Rants, click here.

First Lady and Lawmakers Discuss Childhood Obesity

What could go wrong here?

(see larger image below)

First Lady Michelle Obama has announced a four-pronged assault on childhood obesity that focuses on increasing the number of "healthy schools," adding more physical activity to youngsters' lives, encouraging consumers to make smart food choices, and improving access to healthy foods, which she calls a major barrier to healthy eating.

She invited a bipartisan group of lawmakers and leaders to the Old Family Dining Room of the White House Tuesday to ask for suggestions on dealing with the epidemic.

"One of the tougher challenges that we need to look at is improving the accessibility and affordability of foods because there are many food deserts in this nation, which makes it difficult for families trying to access good options," Obama told Senate leaders who oversee agriculture and health, as well as the Secretaries of Agriculture, Education, and Health and Human Services.

By that she referred to low income areas of many cities where there are no supermarkets, and the only food outlets are neighborhood convenience stores whose inventories are high on snacks but almost devoid of fresh fruit, vegetables, protein, and other healthy foodstuffs.

She said childhood obesity is a problem that is "eminently solvable," adding, "Anyone who has access to children in their lives is going to have to work together. And one of the things that's also very clear is that this problem won't be solved by any single federal solution. This is going to require national action."

Revising federal child nutrition programs, which include school lunch guidelines, will be part the initiative, Obama said, offering "an opportunity to impact more than 30 million kids."

More of the school nutrition crap.

More of the "healthy foods" crap.

More of the "physical activity" crap.

Her stupidity is a "major barrier" to solving childhood overweight/obesity.

So what could go wrong here? Except that the First Fatty/First Sow (though less of one than her hubby's bud AdipOprah) is fat and has s**t for brains in this matter, probably little else - for now.

Doomed from the start.

More images of the First Fatty below...

Journal Of Public Health Publishes EUFIC Study On European Consumers' Use And Understanding Of Nutrition Information On Food Labels

More proof that people are fat by choice.

Results from a European study on consumer use of nutrition information on food labels and their understanding of front-of-pack nutrition information, are now available ahead of print on the website of the Journal of Public Health. The study, conducted by the European Food Information Council (EUFIC) and Professor Klaus Grunert of Aarhus University in Denmark, in six European countries, reveals that the understanding of nutrition information seems to be more widespread than actual use and that there are considerable differences between consumers in different countries in both understanding and use of nutrition labelling...

Low usage does not equate to a lack of understanding

The study shows that there is a significant gap between understanding and use of nutrition labelling; the proportion of consumers who understand the nutrition information on labels is considerably higher than the proportion of those who actually read and make use of the information when making a purchase decision. It is therefore suggested that low use of nutrition labelling could be explained by a lack of motivation among consumers to use the information rather than by their inability to understand and interpret the information.

This also speaks to health illiteracy.

Health literacy is not simply the ability to read. It requires a complex group of reading, listening, analytical, and decision-making skills, and the ability to apply these skills to health situations.

These people know what to do and choose not to do it.

Not much different from the embarrassment of a Surgeon General, worthy of today's Washington, Dr. Regina Benjamin, another health illiterate who (should) know what to do, but chooses not to.

Scared Healthy? Not Quite: Mixed Results for Changing Behavior With Imaging

More diseases of choice.

Does actually seeing the damage caused by an unhealthy lifestyle get individuals to change their risky behavior? Results are mixed, according to researchers, with behavior changing in certain circumstances, such as seeing the arterial damage caused by smoking or the damage to skin caused by prolonged exposure to the sun...

Of these five trials, two tested the effects of feedback from ultrasound results, two tested the effects of feedback from CT, and one used whole-body photography feedback from melanoma skin cancer testing. The key behavioral outcomes included smoking cessation, changes in physical activity, and changes in diet and medication use. Also included in the meta-analysis were four nonclinical studies testing imaging feedback on health behaviors related to sun and tanning-booth exposure and sun-protection behavior.

Of the five clinical trials, three studies assessing smoking cessation and arterial scans did show a significant effect favoring showing the results to patients. Of these three trials, individuals who saw the arterial scans were 2.81 times more likely to quit smoking than those who did not. The clinical trial assessing dietary intake, medication use, and arterial scanning to assess cardiovascular risk showed no statistically significant effect on behavior of showing arterial images to patients.

How typical of fat people whose only lightness of being is flying in the face of incontrovertible evidence.

Study fails to link saturated fat, heart disease

Another "truth" reaching the end of its shelf life?

The saturated fat found mainly in meat and dairy products has a bad reputation, but a new analysis of published studies finds no clear link between people's intake of saturated fat and their risk of developing heart disease.

Research has shown that saturated fat can raise blood levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol, and elevated LDL is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Because of this, experts generally advise people to limit their intake of fatty meat, butter and full-fat dairy.

The American Heart Association (AHA) suggests that adults get no more than 7 percent of their daily calories from the fat; for someone who eats 2,000 calories a day, that translates into fewer than 16 grams of saturated fat per day.

But in the new analysis, which combined the results of 21 previous studies, researchers found no clear evidence that higher saturated fat intakes led to higher risks of heart disease or stroke.

Wait and see.

No matter how this pans out, "Fitness is the only REAL preventive medicine." (tm)

Get fit.

Multiple Benefits Seen for Exercise in Seniors

Don't exercise. Train.

Regular exercise can help stave off the cognitive and physical impairments of aging that many people dread more than death, a series of new studies found.

Ability to walk and perform other daily tasks, avoidance of major chronic diseases, and overall good quality of life -- all were more common in people who exercised at least three times a week, according to four studies published in the Jan. 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

Then you will really benefit.

Cognitive Function In Seniors Improved By Weight Training

More good from training.

Weight-bearing exercises may help minimize cognitive decline and impaired mobility in seniors, according to a new study conducted by the Centre for Hip Health and Mobility at Vancouver Coastal Health and the University of British Columbia.

The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, is one of the first randomized controlled trials of progressively intensive resistance training in senior women. Led by Dr. Teresa Liu-Ambrose, researcher at the Centre and assistant professor in the Faculty of Medicine at UBC, the research team found that 12 months of once-weekly or twice-weekly resistance training improved executive cognitive function in senior women aged 65 to 75 years old. Executive cognitive functions are cognitive abilities necessary for independent living.

Learn how to train.

Lancet retracts MMR link to autism

Shelf life of this "truth" = 12 years.

The research paper that triggered claims linking autism to the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella was formally retracted on Tuesday by the Lancet, the medical journal that published it more than a decade ago.

Following a ruling last week by the General Medical Council that Dr Andrew Wakefield had breached his professional duties, the Lancet said in a statement on its website that he had made false claims in his 1998 paper and concluded: “We fully retract this paper from the published record.”

As if "retract[ing] this paper from the published record,” fixes the damage caused.

"Fitness is the only REAL preventive medicine." (tm)

How Many Calories in that Happy Meal?

The primary result almost could not be less important. Don't be fooled by the apparent good outcome. It will not prove to be worthwhile.

Putting nutrition labels on fast food may lead parents to pick lower-calorie meals for their children, researchers say.

In a small waiting room study, parents ordered about 20% fewer calories for their kids when they chose from a menu with nutrition information on it, Pooja Tandon, MD, of the University of Washington, and colleagues reported online in Pediatrics.

The secondary finding is important.

Interestingly, Tandon said, there were no differences between the groups when it came to parents' choices for themselves. Both ordered about the same number of calories.

Here is the real value of the study.

Parents cannot control their own Calories in.

When away from the remarkable QC of major fast food chains and left to preparing foods at home, it is more than likely that they overfeed their kids Calories.

And this will always be the undoing of these studies by real life.

Until the parents get it right, there will be almost no way for the kids to learn the skill of caloric intake control.

Anti-Obesity Drug Banned In Europe

Not yet.

The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has recommended that the appetite suppressant sibutramine, also known as Reductil, should no longer be prescribed by doctors and that pharmacists should no longer dispense the drug...

The regulator has been conducting a review of safety and has concluded the increased risks of heart attacks and strokes do not outweigh the benefits.

A trial of 10,000 patients followed for six years comparing sibutramine to a placebo has not yet been reported but the regulator warned that heart attacks and strokes were more common in those taking the drug. People taking the drug only achieved modest weight loss when compared to those on a placebo, the report from the European Medicines Agency said.

Diabetes UK Care Advisor Caroline Butler said: "Following recommendations from the EMEA, we would advise people with diabetes who are overweight and taking sibutramine to see their GP or healthcare professional to discuss an alternative weight loss drug.

Too bad.

Alabamians Gear Up For Fourth Statewide Weight-loss Campaign

Alabamians Gear Up For More Failure.

Over the last four years, Alabamians have almost lost 500,000 pounds, but according to health experts, that's just a drop in the bucket when considering the state's problem with obesity. Recent reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention peg Alabama's adults as the second most obese in the nation, a ranking that had dropped to third, but quickly inched back up.

Organizations all across the state are waging war against this trend in a contest called Scale Back Alabama. The 10-week, weight-loss competition is in its fourth year of encouraging the state's adults to exercise more and eat less.

"We began this contest with Alabama's hospitals four years ago," said Dr. Donald Williamson, state health officer. "And while it's a fairly major undertaking, there's no time to let up. A recent update from the CDC provided information on obesity rates by region, and we have some areas of the state with 36 to 48 percent of adults listed as obese, meaning their body mass index is more than 30."

The chairman of the campaign, Donald Jones a hospital CEO from north Alabama, claims hospital employees see firsthand the effects of obesity. "Patients come to us with advanced diabetes and heart disease, and we know they could have prevented much of the disease by being healthier," said Jones.

Scale Back Alabama targets adults in the workplace, with the goal of reaching the families as well. Campaign organizers stress the high cost of obesity not only to employees, but also to their employers pointing to statistics that show health care costs for obese workers are about 21 times higher than they are for employees in the normal weight range.

In four years, this is how well Alabama has done:

There are 4,661,900 people in Alabama,
Assuming an average population of 4,500,000 people over the last four years,
Then a loss of 500,000 pounds in one year would equal about 0.11 pounds lost per person,
Which over 4 years equals 0.0275 pounds lost per person per year,
Which equals about 12.485 grams of weight lost per person per year,
Which is less than one-half ounce per person per year.

With success like this, no wonder Alabama is gearing up for more. It is interesting how exact their data gathering is that they can measure one-half ounce per person.

Whatever.

In any event, success like this is consistent with their old and new state mottoes:

Audemus Jura Nostra Defendere is Alabama's second motto. Alabama's first motto, Here We Rest, was approved by a Republican legislature after the Civil War, during the period referred to as "Reconstruction." It was approved with the adoption of a new state seal, replacing the one that had been used for 50 years. The replaced state seal, a carry-over of the Alabama Territorial Seal, depicted Alabama and its major rivers. The new seal displayed a bald eagle perched on the shield of the United States Seal. In the eagle's beak was a banner that read "Here We Rest".

Over 70 years later, in 1939, the original seal was restored as the Great Seal of Alabama. At the same time, the state legislature adopted an Alabama Coat-of-Arms along with a new state motto: Audemus Jura Nostra Defendere, translated as "We Dare Maintain Our Rights." Act No. 140, to adopt an official Coat-of-Arms for the State of Alabama was approved on March 14, 1939.

The old - they rest and get fat.

The new - apparently they think it is among their rights to get fat and have the rest of society pay for them that they dare to maintain.

European Medicines Agency Recommends Suspension Of Marketing Authorisations For Sibutramine

Another appropriate blow for the IMHO malpractice known as diet drugs.

The European Medicines Agency has finalised a safety review of medicines containing sibutramine. The Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) concluded that the risks of these medicines are greater than their benefits and recommended the suspension of marketing authorisations for these medicines across the European Union.

Sibutramine-containing medicines are authorised as Reductil, Reduxade and Zelium and other tradenames in the European Union. They are used to promote weight-loss in obese patients and in overweight patients who also have other risk factors such as type-2 diabetes or dyslipidaemia (abnormal levels of fat in the blood), together with diet and exercise.

Doctors should no longer prescribe, and pharmacists should no longer dispense the medicine. Patients currently taking sibutramine should make an appointment with their doctor at the next convenient time to discuss alternative measures to lose weight. Patients who wish to stop treatment before seeing their doctor can do so at any time.

The review was initiated because data from the Sibutramine Cardiovascular Outcome Trial (SCOUT) showed an increased risk of serious, non-fatal cardiovascular events, such as stroke or heart attack, with sibutramine compared with placebo. The SCOUT trial, in which nearly 10,000 patients were enrolled for up to six years, was designed to determine the impact of weight loss with sibutramine on cardiovascular problems in a large group of overweight and obese subjects with known or high risk for cardiovascular disease.

Now if they would only protect patients and do the same for bariatric surgery.

Five Questions You Should Ask Your Doctor About Losing Weight

Good idea - ask the foxes how to help the chickens.

The ASBP has highlighted five questions everyone who needs to lose weight should ask their physician.

Actually, there is only one question:

1. How much money do you stand to make if I am stupid enough to accept your services?

Done.

BTW, who would write an article like this?

American Society of Bariatric Physicians (ASBP)

Wonder what their interest is in promoting this crap.

USPSTF Recommends Obesity Screening for Children Ages 6 to 18 Years

Hey, it only took them 40 years.

The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends that clinicians screen children ages 6 to 18 years for obesity and refer as appropriate to programs to improve their weight status, according to evidence-based guidelines posted online January 18 and to be published in the February print issue of Pediatrics. The statement, which is an update of the 2005 USPSTF statement about screening for overweight in children and adolescents, is accompanied by a supporting systematic review and commentary.

"Since the 1970s, childhood and adolescent obesity has increased three- to sixfold," write chair Ned Calonge, MD, MPH, from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment in Denver, and colleagues from the USPSTF. "Approximately 12% to 18% of 2- to 19-year-old children and adolescents are obese (defined as having an age- and gender-specific BMI [body mass index] at >95th percentile)....Previously, the USPSTF found adequate evidence that BMI was an acceptable measure for identifying children and adolescents with excess weight."

This, unfortunately, will be useless.

Parents will not do squat, as they have not done squat to date.

To have an effect, society will have to acknowledge that harming and killing kids is bad and that the force of the law, already existing BTW, must be brought to bear on abusive parents and mandatory reporters who fail in performing their duties.

Overweight Pregnant Women May Be Putting Their Infants At Risk

And the early nutritional child abuse goes on.

In recent years, there has been a large increase in the prevalence of overweight and obese women of childbearing age, with approximately 51% of non-pregnant women ages 20 to 39 being classified as overweight or obese.

A new article published in the journal Nursing for Women's Health finds that obesity in pregnant women is associated with pregnancy complications, birth defects, as well as a greater risk of childhood and adult obesity in infants born to obese mothers.

Yet another reason to make fat people pay more for having kids since:

these parents and kids require more sick care from early on,

following the fat parents for evidence of early nutritional child abuse (an appropriate preventive action) will cost,

registering fat pregnant people with Child and Family Services so they can be followed-up as fat parents for evidence of early nutritional child abuse, in this case nutritional child abuse years after the kids are born (another appropriate preventive action since the kids of fat folks are at higher risk of becoming fat) will cost.

It is also an excellent reason to take action against mandatory reporters (e.g., docs and nurses and teachers and principals) if they fail to inform the authorities of the impending child abuse and any fat kids of which they are aware.

These actions would be a good start.

Sibutramine Now Contraindicated in Patients With a History of Cardiovascular Disease

For years, I have been warning about the discoveries over time that will add to the list additional harmful effects of diet pills. Here is more about the IMHO malpractice known as diet drugs.

Sibutramine, marketed as Meridia in the United States by Abbott, is now contraindicated in patients with a history of cardiovascular disease, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today.

According to an alert posted today by MedWatch, the FDA's safety information and adverse event reporting program, the announcement is a follow-up to an ongoing safety review of preliminary results reported in November 2009, which first raised concerns about this issue.

According to the FDA, the drug label already warns against the use of sibutramine in patients with cardiovascular disease. "However, based on the serious nature of the review findings, FDA requested and the manufacturer agreed to add a new contraindication to the sibutramine drug label," stating that sibutramine should not be used in patients with a history of cardiovascular disease, including patients with a:

History of coronary artery disease (eg, myocardial infarction, angina)
History of stroke or transient ischemic attack
History of heart arrhythmias
History of congestive heart failure
History of peripheral arterial disease
Uncontrolled hypertension (eg, >145/90 mm Hg)

The safety review was based on data from the Sibutramine Cardiovascular Outcomes Trial (SCOUT), which enrolled more than 10,000 overweight or obese patients with diabetes or a history of coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, or stroke, along with other cardiovascular risk factors.

More to follow - you can be sure of that.

Obesity on All Measures Linked to Increased Ischemic Stroke Risk

Kudos, fatsos.

No matter how it is measured, obesity is a significant risk factor for ischemic stroke, not only in men and women but also in both blacks and whites, a new study has found.

The study, which used all 3 measures of obesity — body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and waist to hip ratio (WHR) — was among the first to look at the association between obesity and stroke risk in blacks and whites.

"This was the first study that shows consistently that obesity increases risk of stroke in both blacks and whites," said lead author Hiroshi Yatsuya, MD, PhD, visiting associate professor in the Division of Epidemiology & Community Health at the School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

The study reinforces the message that controlling obesity, which may help prevent hypertension and diabetes, may reduce the risk for stroke, he said.

You are so fat that no measure can justify your condition.

No longer can you hide behind the muumuus of race and gender.

For the rest of us, do not "contribute" a penny towards the sick care of these folks who contract diseases of choice.

Fight back.

No Meds Needed for Two Effective OA Regimens

More good from training.

Middle-aged patients with early knee osteoarthritis can benefit from either a self-managment program or strength training, but a combination of the two did not provide additional gains, a study found.

During a two-year trial, roughly two-thirds of participants randomized to one of three groups achieved clinically meaningful improvements in functioning, defined as a 26% change from baseline, according to a new report in the Jan. 15 Arthritis Care & Research.

Patients also achieved clinically meaningful improvements in pain -- defined as a 40% change from baseline -- regardless of treatment group, wrote Patrick E. McKnight, PhD, of George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., and colleagues.

The functional improvements were 70% for patients in the strength training group, 64% for those in the self-management group, and a 66% improvement in the combined treatment group. For pain, the breakdown was as follows:

Strength training, 65%
Self-management, 56%
Combined treatment, 65%

McKnight and colleagues wrote that studies in older patients have reported positive changes for both strength training and self-management.

Learn how here.

Strong New Evidence Links Retail Meat To Urinary Tract Infections

It appears as if you either have to give-up sex or chicken.

Chicken sold in supermarkets, restaurants and other outlets may place young women at risk of urinary tract infections (UTI), McGill researcher Amee Manges has discovered. Samples taken in the Montreal area between 2005 and 2007, in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada and the University of Guelph, provide strong new evidence that E. coli (Escherichia coli) bacteria originating from these food sources can cause common urinary tract infections.

Eating contaminated meat or food does not directly lead to a UTI. While some E. coli such as O157:H7 can cause serious intestinal disease, these E. coli bacteria can live in the intestine without causing problems. In women however, the bacteria can travel from the anus to the vagina and urethra during sex, which can lead to the infection.

The research team is also investigating whether livestock may be passing antimicrobial-resistant bacteria on to humans. This is due to the use of antibiotics to treat or prevent disease in the animals and to enhance their growth, which may lead them to develop resistance to the medication. When animals are slaughtered and their meat is processed for sale, the meat can be contaminated with these bacteria.

"These studies might open the door to discussions with policymakers," Manges said, "about how antibiotics are used in agriculture in Canada. It's certainly something we need to continue studying".

The public should not be alarmed. Manges advises that consumers should cook meat thoroughly and prevent contamination of other foods in the kitchen. Although some infections caused by these E. coli are resistant to some antibiotics, the infections can still be treated. Manges hopes that understanding how these bacteria are transmitted will help reduce infections.

I suspect most people will continue in their "risky behaviors" of carnivorism and sex, telling the researchers to "Cluck off."