An Oprah threat to your health and the health of your children? Have you been misled?

Find out at www.Oprahcide.com or www.DeathByOprah.com

See FTC complaints about Oprah and her diet experts at www.JailForOprah.com

Friday, February 29, 2008

Gastric Banding and Diabetes Remission

Proof from the stakeholders that the malpractice known as bariatric surgery is unnecessary.
"This is the first randomized trial to compare surgically induced weight loss with conventional therapy for the treatment of obesity in type 2 diabetes patients...

The remarkable findings of the current study are noteworthy for several reasons. As a randomized controlled trial, the results are difficult to argue against. However, as the study authors note, the degree of weight loss, not the method, was responsible for diabetes remission."
Skip the malpractice.

Get fit, instead.

FDA OKs Nexium in children age 1 to 11

Nexium is used to treat GERD.

"The Food and Drug Administration has approved use of the drug Nexium in children aged 1 to 11 who have acid reflux disease."

GERD is more common in fatties.

More fat kids.

More child abuse, both parental and pharmaceutical.

More government sanctioned poisoning of the young.

Such a shame.

Obesity 'may be largely genetic'

"Research Stupidity May Be Largely Genetic."

"Pigs May Be Able To Fly," but they cannot. "Unicorns May Exist," but they do not.
"Becoming overweight as a child is more likely to be the result of your genes than your lifestyle, claims a study.

University College London researchers examined more than 5,000 pairs of identical and non-identical twins.

Their American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study found that differences in body mass index and waist size were 77% governed by genes."

Bulls***.

All they have to do to prove they are right is show one case, just one case on the entire planet, where someone became obese without consuming more Calories than they burned.

Just one.

Until then, shut up.

"Professor Jane Wardle, who led the study, said: 'It is wrong to place all the blame for a child's excessive weight gain on the parents - it is more likely to be due to the child's genetic susceptibility.'"

No. More bulls***.

What is wrong is to lie about the research.

Especially when lives are at stake.
"Children who are overweight are likely to be overweight or obese in adulthood, raising the risk of certain cancers, heart disease, stroke and diabetes later in life."
And when preventable child abuse results.

Stroke risk higher in U.S. than Europe: study

Kudos, fatsos.
"Barriers to health care, bad habits and poor diet put U.S. adults at far greater risk of stroke than Europeans, researchers in the Netherlands said on Friday.

U.S. women are twice as likely to have a stroke as European women, and American men have a 61 percent higher chance compared with European men...

He said Americans have more preventable risk factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.

'Obesity is definitely contributing to these differences, especially when you look at central European countries such as Germany, the Netherlands or Austria. Their prevalence of obesity is much less,' he said."

You put us on top, again.

By the way, in case you all are interested in living and can spare a moment from your busy schedules of eating too much, check these out.

Keeping Active Whilst Aging Curbs Health Care Costs

Save money. Live a better life.
"'Physical activity can help seniors improve their balance to prevent falls; boost cardiovascular health to prevent heart attacks; and improve overall metabolism to help delay diabetes onset and complication of diabetes,' said study co-author Dr. James LoGerfo, a professor of medicine and health services at the UW and an affiliate investigator at the Group Health Center for Health Studies."
"Fitness is the only REAL preventive medicine." (tm)

Get fit at any age.

Number Of Ads For Unhealthy Foods, Beverages On Spanish-Language Channels May Contribute To Obesity Among Hispanic Children, Study Finds

Apparently it is important to misinform, and harm, people of all languages about the myth of "healthy" foods.
"Spanish-language television commercials for foods and beverages with little nutritional value might be contributing to obesity rates among Hispanic children in the U.S...."
Mierda.

‘Identical’ twins? Not according to their DNA

And the fitness angle is...

Overweight/obesity studies are sometimes performed comparing identical twins with fraternal twins assuming that identical twins are identical.

The results are suspect.
"Identical twins may not be nearly as identical as once believed.

Research in 2005 found that identical twins differ in how their genes express themselves. Now scientists have learned that all identical twins may actually differ genetically from their partners to some degree...

In the new study, researchers analyzed 19 pairs of identical twins. Although they did possess nearly identical genomes, closer study revealed they often differed in the number of copies of individual gene segments. For instance, one twin might be missing a segment, or possess more copies of that segment than the other twin.

Such variations could explain why one identical twin can suffer from a disorder while the other remains healthy."

For us, the bottom line remains the same.

We rely on the stablest, i.e., best, science necessary to explain fitness matters and make changes to improve life.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

Because nothing else is needed and everything else is worse and less reliable.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Genes that conquered cold blamed for fat

More insane research.
"Genes that helped early humans adapt to cold climates may be driving metabolism-related diseases such as obesity or diabetes in many countries, U.S. researchers said...

They found a strong correlation between climate and genetic adaptations that influence the risk of metabolic syndrome, a group of related disorders such as obesity, high cholesterol, heart disease and diabetes."
And this still makes no difference.

Even the researchers admit that in the absence of more Calories in than out, there would be no problem.
"'We eat a lot more, we don't exercise nearly as much as our ancestors used to do, and these adaptations that made us cope well to a cold climate now make us prone to a number of metabolic disorders,' Di Rienzo said."
It is not the fault of any alleged genetic "adaptation."

Blame the irresponsibility gene.

When It Comes To Physical Activity, One Size Does Not Fit All

Yes and no.

First, the trash from the researchers:
"A landmark University of Alberta study, analyzing a sample of over 275,000 individuals, has found that when it comes to participation in physical activity, one size does not fit all...

'Our results have important implications for the design of government interventions aimed at increasing physical activity,' says Humphreys. 'When developing these programs, we must take into account North America's diverse population. A program that increases participation in one population, say older adults and retirees, in a particular state, may not have the same effect on young married minority couples in another state.'"
This study is not "landmark."

It is more "skidmark" as in what some people find in their underwear.

Nor does it have "important implications." No matter who or what you are, there are certain criteria anyone must fulfill in order to get fitter.

There is no need to "take into account North America's diverse population."

That thinking is the trash that gets researchers more money, not the population any fitter.

All physical activity to improve fitness is governed by two laws and two laws only.

All of fitness is governed by three laws and three laws only (this includes nutritional fitness).

There is no avoiding this.

So in a very real sense, one size does fit all.

This is akin to "buy low, sell high" as the one principle that results in a profit.

And just as with "buy low, sell high" each person will have a different determination of what is "low" and what is "high."

This is the only area in which there is variation.

BUT, you cannot violate the principles of fitness and succeed. Period. End.

High Calcium Intake May Not Help Prevent Fractures, Reports The Harvard Health Letter

If you are still dumb enough to believe that they know what a "healthy" food or supplement is...
"For years, getting a lot of calcium has been portrayed as one of the best things you could do to prevent osteoporosis and related bone fractures. Small study results supported this view. But when researchers started to crunch the data from large, prospective studies that followed people for many years, the benefits weren't so clear-cut, reports the March 2008 issue of the Harvard Health Letter."
Stop falling for the hype.

Do what works.

Men as well as women need bone tests

Hogwash.
"Bone tests aren't just for women anymore. New guidelines are calling for older men to get a routine check for bone-thinning osteoporosis.

There's news for women, too: A new computerized tool uses more than bone-density tests to predict who is at highest risk of breaking a bone in coming years — by adding in such important risk factors as whether a parent ever broke a hip.

It's an effort to better target who really needs treatment and who can safely skip it, even before someone's bones become thin enough to be officially labeled an osteoporosis patient."

Skip the tests and just do fitness.

"And it promises a major shift in bone care."

Wrong.

It promises a major shift in money from your pocket to the sick care industry.

Avoid the costs and tests.

And the uncertainties of "treatment."

Mothers Given Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation Give Birth To Bigger And Heavier Children

Still more they have no idea what "healthy" food is.
"When mothers are given multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMN,) they tend to give birth to children who are bigger and heavier. This is contrast to mothers given just iron and folic acid supplementation (IFA). The effect continues into the first three years of the children's lives, according to an article in the February 8 issue of The Lancet, which follows up the Lancet Series on Maternal and Child Undernutrition.

While it is already known that low birthweight affects child morbidity and survival rates in developing countries, it is not always clear what effect interventions to increase birthweight can have on child health."
Fatter fetuses, fatter kids, fatter adults, seems to be the pattern.

Software spots 'missed' diabetes

More kudos, fatsos. The diseases of choice you ate so much to develop are even more prevalent than earlier thought.

You are succeeding beyond your wildest dreams.

At least at getting fat and sick.
"A GP has developed a way to find up to 500,000 people with potential diabetes who risk being overlooked by their doctors...

'Identifying people at higher risk of Type 2 diabetes is also a massive step forward. In many cases, leading a healthy lifestyle and managing weight can prevent or delay onset of the condition, so targeting these people is vital.'"
Not exactly.

Since the fat rarely change behavior and even if they tried, the system puts them on a path to certain failure.

Catch-22.

Multiple sclerosis drug linked to liver injury

Oops.
"Drugmakers Biogen Idec Inc. and Elan Corp. Plc. have warned doctors of significant liver injury suffered by some patients taking the multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri, U.S. regulators said..."
Still think their diet drugs are safe?

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Autopsies forecast surge in U.S. heart disease

Kudos fatsos.
"Autopsies of adults who died young of unnatural causes show many already had clogged arteries, U.S. and Canadian researchers said on Monday in a study that suggests heart disease may be on the upswing...

'It is the most definitive evidence I've seen suggesting that today's younger and middle-aged generations may be heading for an increase in their risks of heart disease,' he said...

'In our study, the youngest age group was the age group with the worse disease,' he said. 'This age group will have major problems as they continue to age.'"
Time to stop paying for self-abusers and hold them and child-abusing parents accountable.

Why So Many Children Are On The Road To Heart Disease

Sensible conclusion. Insane approach.
"We teach our children how to walk, talk and go to the bathroom, but do we teach them how to eat right? National statistics show that many of us do not. According to the American Obesity Association, an alarming 15.5 percent of children between the ages of six and 11 are considered obese, putting them on a collision course with the nation's biggest killer: heart disease. The power of preventing such a tragedy lies in the hands of parents, according to pediatric health experts.

'Parents are the gatekeepers and the role models for their children's eating and exercise habits,' says Marjorie Milici, M.D., pediatrician on the medical staff at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas."
With certainty parents are the number one child abusers with nutritional child abuse the number one type.

But bad diet/weight loss advice is the culprit that prevents people from losing weight and, in fact, causes diet failure.

Do weight loss right and help yourself and your kids.

Heart disease diagnosis rarely prompts diet change

If they want to remain sick, let them pay for it. It is their choice.
"To gauge the quality of their diets, the researchers used the Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), which measures several aspects of heart-healthy eating such as fruit and vegetable consumption, amount of trans fat consumed, and ratio of white to red meat eaten."
This is the "who cares?" part. What I believe matters most are the Calories in vs. Calories out part.

Still, what it suggests is that these people are unwilling to make changes that could improve their conditions.

And, what do you know, this is true.
"And while public health guidelines recommend getting less than 0.5 percent of total calories from trans fat, people in the study consumed an average of 3.41 percent of their calories in trans fat form.

Just half had exercised for at least 20 minutes at least once in the past three months.

About 80 percent of people don't go to cardiac rehabilitation programs after having a heart attack, the researcher noted, and even if they do such programs often emphasize exercise over nutrition."

But the nincompoop researchers still don't get it.

"'What this paper indicates is that a lot of work needs to be done to basically translate what we know to practice and make sure the patient gets that message,' Ma told Reuters Health in an interview.

He and his colleagues are now investigating ways to 'deliver a message' about the importance of improving diet for patients with heart disease. Simple messages, like urging people to eat more fiber, may be more effective than complicated guidelines, he added."

This paper indicates nothing of the sort.

The message is out there. It is simple already.

The paper clearly states that the message is being ignored.

Stop wasting resources on these parasites.

Obesity Associated with Pediatric Surgery Complications

More results of nutritional child abuse.
"Obese children and adolescents seem to have an elevated risk of perioperative respiratory complications from common elective operations, researchers here found."
Act to stop the abuse.

25% of 4 and 5-year-olds overweight

More nutritional child abuse.
"Nearly one in four children aged four to five (22.9%) and almost a third of 10 to 11-year-olds (31.6%) are obese or overweight, according to figures released by the Government."
Act now to stop hurting the kids.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Studies detect slew of new genes for prostate risk

More bad news for the idiots who think that there is a "genetic" cause to overweight/obesity and that the "genetic" cure is just around the corner.
"Three studies published on Sunday identify at least ten new genes that raise a man's risk of prostate cancer, information which could lead to better screening and targeted drugs to treat the disease.

The U.S. and European findings add to the number of known genetic variations linked with prostate cancer risk and may help, one day, predict which men are susceptible to the most aggressive forms of the disease, researchers said."

"One day," "could lead," etc.

You will die and die fat before they figure it out.

If ever.

Get it?

British researchers link obesity to more cancers

More ways to eat yourself sick.
"Obesity can double the risk of several cancers, according to a study published on Friday that for the first time also links being overweight with a number of less common forms of the disease.

The analysis of 144 published studies incorporating some 282,000 men and women also showed that gender can make a difference in the relationship between obesity and some cancers, the researchers reported in the Lancet medical journal...

'This study has extended that further and reported specifically on 20 different types of cancer,' he said in a telephone interview. 'We showed an association with less common cancers that had not been shown before.'

These included blood cancers such as adult leukemia, multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma for both men and women, he said."
If you are sick from paying for these diseases of choice, go here.

US cancer deaths rose by 5,400 in 2005

Up or down?
"U.S. cancer deaths rose by more than 5,000 in 2005, a somewhat disappointing reversal of a two-year downward trend, the American Cancer Society said in a report issued Wednesday."
Get the point?

U.S. cancer death rate down but 565,650 seen in 2008

Down or up?
"The U.S. death rate from cancer has continued a steady decline that began in the early 1990s but it will still kill a projected 565,650 Americans this year, the American Cancer Society said on Wednesday."
Get the point?

Monday, February 25, 2008

Society For Adolescent Medicine To Focus On Adolescent Obesity At Annual Meeting In Greensboro, North Carolina

The foxes are watching the chicken house alert!

Here is the perfect doomed to fail trifecta:
1."If a child is obese when they hit adolescence, are they destined to be overweight for life? Is gastric bypass surgery for obese adolescents a reasonable option? How can parents work with schools and the community to stem the rising tide of adolescent obesity? Will the almost 25 million American kids and teenagers who are obese make up the first generation to live sicker and die younger than their parents? These questions and others will be addressed at The Society for Adolescent Medicine's (SAM) annual scientific meeting being held in Greensboro, North Carolina, March 26-29, 2008."
Overweight/obesity are not medical conditions. Medicalizing these issues has led to this, this, this and this.
2. "The keynote speaker for the conference is Kelly Brownell, PhD, MPH, Professor in the Departments of Psychology and Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale University and the Director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. Dr. Brownell is an internationally known expert on weight control. He has written 13 books and more than 200 research papers and book chapters, and holds appointments on 10 editorial boards. Dr. Brownell will discuss opportunities for addressing obesity clinically, as well as ways for health professionals to become active in changing the broader landscape by arguing for changes in schools, communities and the nation."
Kelly is a fat fellow who cannot control his own weight. Here are pictures of him.



3. "Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey plans to address SAM members on what they can do to help create environments for children and adolescents that focus on improving access to affordable healthy foods and provide opportunities for safe physical activity in schools and communities."

There are no "healthy" foods, only healthy eating, and exercise is a terribly inefficient way to lose weight.

More crap from the sick care industry.

USDA Invites Industry To Partner With MyPyramid

What an opportunity! A chance to join in the bad advice.
"The USDA is inviting companies in the food and consumer electronic industries to Partner with MyPyramid -- to step up and help families make nutritious food choices."
USDA has no concept of "nutritious food choices," re: overweight/obesity.

It is a governmental "trade organization" intended to help industry, not citizenry.

The Mission and Vision Statements of the USDA are:

USDA Mission: Enhance the quality of life for the American people by supporting production of agriculture:

ensuring a safe, affordable, nutritious, and accessible food supply,

caring for agricultural, forest, and range lands,

supporting sound development of rural communities,

providing economic opportunities for farm and rural residents,

expanding global markets for agricultural and forest products and services and

working to reduce hunger in America and throughout the world.

USDA Vision: A healthy and productive Nation in harmony with the land.

Beware.

BJOG Release: Further Risks Highlighted For Obese Pregnant Women, UK

Kudos fatsos. Another way to hurt yourselves and put your fetus at risk.
"New research published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology has reported obesity, and having previously given birth, as the two largest risk factors for blood clots in the lungs during pregnancy (antenatal pulmonary embolism).

Blood clotting in the lungs is the most important cause of death directly related to pregnancy in women in the UK today, and obese women were found to have an increased risk of 165% compared with non-obese women."
Isn't it time you stopped committing nutritional child abuse at any age?

Try being a responsible parent and/or parent-to-be.

Higher Obesity Rates Associated With Lower-Income Neighborhoods

More data that purports to be on some point, but is not on any.
"Obesity prevalence has increased significantly among adults and children in the U.S. over the last two decades. A new study appearing in the journal Nutrition Reviews reveals that characteristics of neighborhoods, including the area's income level, the built environment, and access to healthy food, contribute to the continuing obesity epidemic."
All that contributes to "the continuing obesity epidemic" are too many Calories in relative to Calories out.

Nothing else.
"They also found that residents in low-income urban areas are more likely to report greater neighborhood barriers to physical activity, such as limited opportunities for daily walking or physical activity and reduced access to stores that sell healthy foods, especially large supermarkets."
Completely valueless since physical activity is a terribly inefficient way to lose weight and there are no "healthy" foods, only healthy eating.
"The authors conclude, 'While individual-level characteristics such as income, cultural preferences, and genetic predisposition contribute to geographic disparities in weight, neighborhood-level services and structures that affect physical activity behaviors and dietary choices are emerging as important and potentially modifiable loci for public health intervention.'"
You should conclude that the authors, and their research, are full of crap.

Experimental Gel To Protect Women From HIV Infection Not Effective, Study Finds

This is not an HIV site, still this article is instructive.
"The experimental microbicide Carraguard, a seaweed-based gel that blocked HIV infection of cells in lab tests is safe but does not provide women with protection against HIV infection, according to results from clinical trials conducted in three locations in South Africa, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports (Paulson, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 2/18)."
What works in the lab cannot be presumed to work in the real world.

Beware of lab data.

Herbal remedy helps heart failure symptoms

More media lies in packaging.

Here's the truth:
"Hawthorn extract is used around the world to treat chronic heart failure, in which the heart becomes less and less able to pump blood throughout the body. However, research on the herbal medicine's effectiveness has been mixed."
The research conclusions are "mixed."

Still, even if you want to believe this, isn't is better not to have heart failure?

If you answered "YES," then get fit.

If you answered "NO," then get smart.

Awareness Month Helps Keep Nutrition Top Of Mind

A problem is that nutrition is too often kept at the top of the mind, so people eat.
"Emerging information on diet and nutrition is published on a frequent basis. And, more Americans are aware of and better educated with overall health as they hear new information come through reports and studies."
Another problem is that Americans are not "better educated," they are better propagandized with bull by predatory companies and individuals.
"In an effort to continue helping the advancement of health awareness, Symmetry, the direct selling company known for its products that help improve health and wellness, is promoting National Nutrition Month this March."
Still another problem is that Symmetry is full of it and known for spouting this crap. If it wanted to "help improve health and wellness," it would shut up.
"When Symmetry was originated over a decade ago, founder Rudy Revak's vision was to provide people with a product line to help them reach their full potential. For years, he studied and used nutritional supplements and believed that good nutrition could make a positive impact on an individual's energy, health, and life. Symmetry has been acknowledged for its product called Genesis, a resveratrol infused juice product."
And another problem is that these people have stayed and continue to remain in business.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Nintendo rolls out fitness product: report

Another will not work product.
"Games maker Nintendo Co is planning to launch a new physical fitness product called Wii Fit for U.S. shipping in May..."
Can't wait to see Nintendo's next "health" product called Wii Wee.

It is for prostate enlargement.

Don't forget to clean the controller.

Blood Pressure May Be Eased By Drinking Milk

More self-serving stuff from Big White, (the people who brought you this) and their hired PR guns.
"Women who drank more fat free milk and had higher intakes of calcium and vitamin D from foods, and not supplements, tended to have a lower risk for developing hypertension or high blood pressure..."
Tend to your own fitness, not the fitness of Big White's bank account.

Why Don't The French Get As Fat As Americans, Considering All The Baguettes, Wine, Cheese, Pate And Pastries They Eat?

It's all Calories in, apparently.
"Because they use internal cues -- such as no longer feeling hungry -- to stop eating, reports a new Cornell study. Americans, on the other hand, tend to use external cues -- such as whether their plate is clean, they have run out of their beverage or the TV show they're watching is over."
If it is true about the French, the Calories in part makes sense, since exercise, i.e., Calories out, is a very inefficient way to control weight.

Exercise is the pound of cure for each ounce of overeating.

Obesity 'requires climate plan'

Probably because of all the hot air surrounding the overweight/obesity issue, including this stuff.
"Professor Philip James said the challenge of obesity was so great that action was needed now, even without clear evidence of the best options."
Always a good start (and usual) when one is "without clear evidence of the best options."
"The chairman of the International Obesity Taskforce wants world leaders to agree a global pact to ensure that everyone is fed healthy food."
And an even better foundation since "healthy" food is not the issue.
"A study of 5,000 men and women who lost an average of 70lbs (30kg), and kept the weight off for six years, shows that large lifestyle changes - such as exercising 60 to 90 minutes a day - were needed to keep people slim."
Bull. Not necessary and will not work for most people.

Body fat determines need for weight loss

At first blush. makes sense. But there are the problems. Here are a few.
"Measuring body fat, rather than body mass index, appears to more accurately identify people who need lifestyle interventions to lose weight, study findings suggest."
First, no one really knows what the "right" percentage of body fat is.
"'The use of BMI alone does not discriminate between fat mass and fat-free mass, nor reflect the fat mass distribution,' Colombo told Reuters Health."
Second. Though true, for the majority of us, this is not a problem. Most of us who are overweight or obese according to the BMI, have too much fat.
"'Using criteria based on body adiposity (fatness) rather than body weight would result in a much greater proportion of the study population receiving recommendations for weight loss,' Colombo said."
Third. Body adiposity measurements are more difficult to perform, the equipment needed is either not as accessible to the average person or requires more skill than measuring height and weight, do not offer "distribution" information and have a relatively high margin of error.

Bottom line: it is not as user-friendly.

Further, even if you know the body fat percentage, the BMI has the great value of offering an estimation of how to modify your caloric intake.

Until more body adiposity info, e.g., how much is "right" is known, measuring means that are better/simpler and good correlating data of body fat percentage/distribution with sickness/death become available, BMI is still tops.

March Into Spring With National Nutrition Month

Okay, but not their way.
"'Now's the time to spring into action and chart your course for maintaining a healthy lifestyle,' says The Association for Dressings and Sauces (ADS). There's no better month than National Nutrition Month® (March) to transform your eating regimen into one that is both healthy and rewarding. The Association for Dressings and Sauces (ADS) is excited to join the American Dietetic Association (ADA) in encouraging consumers to look beyond the myths of nutrition, focus on the facts and remember the theme for the month, Nutrition: It's a Matter of Fact."
These dangerous types would not know a nutrition fact if it stared them in the face.

If you want "to look beyond the myths of nutrition, focus on the facts," remember not to listen to the nutrition advice of ADS, ADA or any other self-proclaimed expert, including trade organizations.

Need proof of their dangerousness and incorrectness? Want to know what works and why? See here, here, here, here and here.

Healthy habits key to longer life for men

And women, too.
"Elderly men can improve their chances of having an even longer and healthier life by quitting smoking, controlling their weight, getting their blood pressure and blood glucose under control and exercising regularly, a study shows."
That is to say, get fit.

But the "longer life" stuff is a misdirection since it is what sick care sells and markets aggressively.

Think of "longer life" as a side effect of a "better life."

A chance at a "better life" is what fitness offers.

"Health is a function of participation. Participation is a function of fitness." (tm)

That is the better reason to be fit.

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

Live better and live longer, a winning combination.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Alley to Develop Own Weight Loss Brand


Another Oprah-quality expert offering diet advice.

The fat leading the fat.

"Kirstie Alley and Jenny Craig may have gone their separate ways, but the one-time "Fat Actress" isn't giving up on the weight loss industry...

Alley, 57, told People that...she wants "to create something new that will help millions of people end the seemingly never ending fatty-roller coaster ride.'"

And you, too, can look like her!

This alley is a dead end. And a fat end to boot.

Shut up.

Health Effects Of Obesity May Be Related To Body Image

From the same researchers who brought you "Height Is Related To How Tall You Think You Are" and "The Color Of Your Eyes Is What You Think They Are."
"'Our preliminary data suggest that some of the obesity epidemic may be partially attributable to social constructs that surround ideal body types,' the study's authors said. [From: I Think Therefore I Am: Perceived Ideal Weight as a Determinant of Health. Contact Peter Muennig, MD, MPH, Department of Health Policy and Management, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, N.Y. pm124@columbia.edu.]"
Your conclusion suggests you are a lousy researcher.

Families Could Spend Less And Eat A Healthier Diet

Clearly. As I have been saying for years.
"Although food prices rose 4.8% last year, eating nutritiously is still well within reach of the American family, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) statistics. Analysis done by USDA's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) indicates that families could, in fact, spend even less on food than what they currently spend and eat a healthier more nutritious diet."
Though I may not agree with the foods they suggest are "healthy," the fact remains that eating healthily is CHEAPER than eating unhealthily or eating "diet" foods.

Button Mushrooms Contain As Much Anti Oxidants As Expensive Ones

Assuming you believe the anti-oxidant stuff, here is a press release that counters the lie that "healthy" foods are more expensive.

Glucosamine Found of No Value for Early Hip Osteoarthritis

More useless crap to waste your money on.
"Glucosamine sulfate appears to be no better than placebo in treating early osteoarthritis of the hip, researchers here concluded after a randomized trial.

In one of the few controlled trials to look at the substance in patients with hip osteoarthritis, glucosamine sulfate did not relieve pain any better than placebo, according to Rianna Rozendaal, M.Sc., of the Erasmus Medical Center, and colleagues.

The substance also had no effect on function, Rozendaal and colleagues wrote in the Feb. 19 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine."

So, do you think they (including those in the so-called health food industry) have any idea what is a "healthy" food or supplement?

If your answer is "Yes," your needless loss of money is clearly by choice.

You have no one to blame but yourself.

Okuma Nutritionals Introduces PolyTeaNx Weight Loss Tea Extract Capsules

How quickly it gets higher and deeper.
"Okuma Nutritionals, the makers of the original Wu-Long Authentic Premium Chinese Slimming Tea, introduce the first diet supplement of its kind Okuma Nutritionals PolyTeaNx Wu-Long tea capsules. This 100% natural, 100% vegan tea diet capsule provides a highly concentrated form of antioxidants, including polyphenols, catechins, and EGCG, in a convenient, highly effective weight loss capsule."
They left out one thing: 100% bulls***.

Now the description is complete.

100%.

Will The New Labelling Proposal Simplify Food Choices For Consumers?

Call on me! I know the answer!

The answer is: "No."
"The Choices International Foundation supports the European Commission's initiative to make food labelling clearer and more relevant, yet the proposal as published seems to miss its target on an important point. Too much information front-of-pack will deter many consumers, who spend little time on reading labels."
More misdirected "healthy" food claptrap.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Researchers At Childrens Hospital Los Angeles Discover Possible Connection Between Changes In Brain Wiring And Predisposition To Obesity

Be very careful about what you claim is hardwired, as in this other article: "Brain wiring link to paedophilia." (and here)
"Research-scientists at The Saban Research Institute of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles have discovered a link between predispositions to obesity and formation of brain connections that likely impact weight regulation and appetite later in life."
It is bull, anyway.

There is no wiring of any organ anywhere on the planet that will make any organism, including humans, fat in the absence of Calories in exceeding Calories out.

A clear attempt to medicalize the non-medical issues of overweight/obesity.
"Founded in 1901, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles has been treating the most seriously ill and injured children in Los Angeles for more than a century, and it is acknowledged throughout the United States and around the world for its leadership in pediatric and adolescent health. Childrens Hospital is one of America's premier teaching hospitals, affiliated with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California since 1932. It is a national leader in pediatric research."
I do not acknowledge these opportunists as leaders in pediatric and adolescent health.

You should not either.

That is, if you care about kids' health.

Weight Watchers And Groupe Danone Establish Weight Management Joint Venture For China

Marketing bull from the truth-challenged folks at Weight Watchers.
"Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE: WTW) and Groupe DANONE (Paris:BN) announced the signing of a joint venture agreement to establish a weight management business in the People's Republic of China based on the successful Weight Watchers approach to weight loss. The joint venture, 51% owned by Weight Watchers International and 49% owned by Groupe DANONE, combines Weight Watchers International's unrivalled expertise, experience and know-how as the world's leading provider of weight management services with Groupe DANONE's world-class expertise in healthy consumer products and extensive knowledge of the China marketplace and the Chinese consumer."
Weight Watchers has a dismal record of success (5 pounds lost in two years) and abysmal record-keeping, for obvious reasons.

Group DANONE, aka Dannon, is arguably another unsavory (no pun intended) player in the weight loss scam industry:
"Dannon heads to courts over 'fraud' probiotic claims

1/24/2008 - The US arm of Danone could be forced to make a multi-million dollar refund to its customers over allegations that it has used fraudulent health claims to sell some of its Activia and DanActive branded yoghurts.

In a class action filed yesterday against the Dannon company in a California court, a legal team have accused the company of spending $100m promoting clinical benefits of products which the company's own testing disproves...

'Deceptive advertising has enabled Dannon to sell hundreds of millions of dollars worth of ordinary yogurt at inflated prices to responsible, health conscious consumers,' he stated.

The class action alleges therefore that claims on advertisements and labelling for Activia pronouncing that the product is 'proven' to improve one's 'intestinal rhythm' and "regulate your digestive system" are all unsubstantiated.

On the back of these claims, the class action accuses Dannon of charging a premium of about 30 per cent on the Activia yoghurt...

Despite these health claims, the civil action accuses Dannon of being aware that numerous scientific studies failed to support their claims on the advertised nutritional benefits.

'A study conducted by leading microbiologists and funded by Dannon determined in 2006 that there was no conclusive evidence' of probiotics providing health benefits,' the action states.

The report entitled Probiotic Microbes: The Scientific Basis was prepared by the American Academy of Microbiology."

Maybe Weight Watchers and Dannon thought it was only fair to retaliate against the Chinese for their tainted food by sending them this crap.

Hospital 'code blue' deadlier at night

Definition: Hospital (noun) 1. the place where fat people spend their nights from diseases of choice and following the malpractice known as bariatric surgery. 2. the place where fat people needlessly die from diseases of choice and following the malpractice known as bariatric surgery.
"Many hospitals call it "code blue," a signal given over the intercom when a patient's heart has stopped. When code blue works well, a team speeds to the bedside and revives the patient. The graveyard shift is the worst time to call code blue, a new study finds. Patients who go into cardiac arrest while in the hospital are more likely to die if it happens after 11 p.m., when staffing may be lower or patients watched less closely.

The study was based on an analysis of more than 86,000 cardiac arrests in more than 500 hospitals over seven years."
Hey, you were right, that meal really was to die for.

Salty snacks mean more sodas for kids

No. Salty snacks mean more thirst.
"Kids who load up on salty meals and snacks get thirsty, and too often they turn to calorie-filled sodas. So maybe cutting back on the salt is a good way to cut the calories. That's the idea coming from a British study published Wednesday in an American Heart Association journal."
If sugar-free beverages were chosen, Poof!, Calories are gone.
"Also, several studies have shown a link between sugary soft drinks and obesity in children."
Hey, lookie there, they agree. Much to their credit.

Also to their credit, I have been okay for years now with reducing salt in foods.

Though the real issue is what people will do at the table with salt.

In any event, reducing the salt in food gives people more control over how quickly they want to kill themselves and additional reasons for us not to pay for their diseases of choice.

Are Vitamins In Soda Just A Gimmick?

Yes.
"Crisp, refreshing, effervescent soda has long been an American favorite but not for its nutritional value. According to University of the Sciences in Philadelphia's Ara DerMarderosian, PhD, professor of pharmacognosy, a few leading soft drink companies are trying to change the public's perception of soda by adding vitamins to their soft drinks. With March noted as National Nutrition month, it is a good time for consumers to beware that the perceived benefits of vitamins in soda can be deceiving.

'The shelf life and stability of vitamins in soda is low,' said Dr. DerMarderosian. 'Carbonated drinks are mildly acidic, and water-soluble vitamins will break down over time.'"
Just keep telling yourself "It is only hype. It is only hype."

World Leaders Challenged To Agree A Global Pact On Obesity And Healthy Nutrition At AAAS Conference In Boston

The blind leading the blind.
"Obesity must be tackled in the same way as climate change with world leaders agreeing to vital steps to transform the environment that is making us fat, a leading international nutritional scientist warned."
No way this will work.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Weight Is Easier Gained Than Lost When Exercise Is Inconsistent

Insane.
"Weight gain caused by inconsistent exercise cannot be lost by simply resuming a previous exercise routine, suggests a study published in the February 2008 issue Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise®, the official scientific journal of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)."
No one on earth gains an ounce from "inconsistent exercise."

Weight can only be gained from more Calories in than out.

There is no other way.

Even if you never "exercised" a moment in your life, you would not gain weight in the absence of more Calories in than out.
"ACSM and the American Heart Association recommend that healthy adults engage in physical activity for at least 30 minutes, five days per week, at a moderate intensity, or 20 minutes, three days per week, at a vigorous intensity. Individuals striving for weight loss may need to exercise as many as 60 to 90 minutes per day."
There are great reasons for physical activity. None have to do with weight loss.

To lose weight, control Calories in, first.

Any other approach is doomed to failure.

Getting 'off meds' has consequences

That is one interpretation.

The other is getting on meds has consequences.

One of which is going off them.

It is best not to go on meds, especially the useless ones, like diet drugs, which are ineffective and arguably malpractice.

Get fit and free yourself from the tyranny of Big Pharma and Big Sick Care.

Percentage of Insured Adults Using Prescription Drugs Increased, Study Finds

More kudos, fatsos.
"The percentage of U.S. adults taking prescription drugs to treat health conditions such as high cholesterol, diabetes, depression and hypertension increased significantly between 2000 and 2006, according to a study released on Tuesday by Express Scripts, USA Today reports. For the study, researchers analyzed prescription drug use data for three million insured adults in 40 states (Appleby, USA Today, 2/13).

According to the study, the percentage of people taking cholesterol drugs increased from 6.1% in 2000 to 13.2% in 2006; the percentage taking diabetes drugs increased from 3.1% to 5.5% during that time period; and the percentage taking blood pressure medications increased from 8% to 14.1% (USA Today graphic, 2/13). Increases in the use of drugs for diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, stomach problems and depression raised health care costs by 50%, or $12 billion, from 2000 to 2006, the study found...

The study also found that some differences in prescription drug use might be linked to health factors in states, such as smoking rates, diet and exercise. The study found:
  • States with high rates of obesity, including Mississippi and West Virginia, had high use of cholesterol, diabetes and blood pressure medications;

  • Diabetes drug use in Mississippi was nearly double that in Minnesota;...
The study report is available online (.pdf)."
To stop paying for these diseases of choice, go here.

Risk Of Chronic Disease Lowered By Whole Grain Diets

It's the weight loss, stupid.
"Diets with high amounts of whole grains may help achieve significant weight loss, and also reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to a team of Penn State researchers at University Park and the College of Medicine...

'Consumption of whole grains has been associated with a lower body weight and lower blood pressure,' said co-author Penny Kris-Etherton, distinguished professor of nutritional sciences at Penn State. 'We thought that incorporating whole grains into a heart-healthy weight loss diet may provide the same benefits to people at risk from chronic diseases.'"
BTW, who funded the study?
"The General Mills Bell Institute of Health and Human Nutrition and the NIH supported this study."
Any monetary incentive to highlight the grains, true or not?

You decide.

Whole grains help deflate belly rolls

Maybe yes, maybe no. But here is what is really important:
"The study included 50 obese men and women who had metabolic syndrome, a collection of several risk factors for diabetes, heart disease and stroke — such as abdominal obesity, high blood pressure and high blood sugar...

In the end, the average weight loss was about 8 to 11 pounds in both groups. However, the average CRP level dropped by 38 percent in the whole-grain group, while remaining unchanged in the refined-grain group. In addition, while both groups showed a similar change in waistline size..."

The for-sure bottom line of this study is the similar weight loss and similar change in waistline.

The rest is speculation.

For simple weight loss, it is all about Calories in and Calories out.

Nothing else.

An unhealthy trend: Obesity can’t be solved by legislation

A moron with a bullhorn.
"Although the lawmaker who proposed it claims his aim was only to 'shed light' on obesity in his home state, Mississippi state Rep. John Read’s attempt to shed the public’s pounds were little more than a waste of his fellow lawmakers’ time.

Mississippi has the highest obesity rate in the nation, according to a report in USA Today. Mr. Read, one of three Republicans to sponsor a measure that would force restaurants to refuse to serve obese customers, demonstrated nothing so much as how society is increasingly discriminatory about fat for all the wrong reasons. Obesity is a health issue, not an appearance one, yet jokes are made at the expense of the obese without a thought to their quality of life. This proposal is just one more jab."
Perhaps this moron can explain how society can become "increasingly discriminatory about fat for all the RIGHT reasons."

Now that is loony.
"Nutrition experts don’t like the idea, either, citing improvements in diet that are the result of efforts to 'stop blaming obesity on the people who have it and address the social and political conditions that drive it.'”
Experts?

Oh, the ones who did not recognize this mess until too late and did not prevent it when it was not a huge epidemic and who continue to offer bad/impossible/useless/harmful weight loss advice.

Those experts?

Shut up.
"There are societal issues that drive obesity, the primary one being poverty."
Bull.
"The cheapest foods are often the most filling yet the least nutritious, and the financial inability to have a diet high in fresh vegetables and fruits as well as fish and lean meat is a direct contributor to obesity nationwide. Obesity isn’t just a Mississippi problem, of course. And in the South overall, it’s as much a culture and tradition problem as one spurred by money — or its lack."
Clearly this imbecile has no concept of what leads to overweight or obesity and that there are no "healthy" foods.

Yet, there is a platform for this purveyor of crap.
"But passing laws that allow restaurants to refuse service is not just discriminatory and needlessly insulting to the individual. Such action would do nothing to address the problem. We already have enough on our governmental plates, both as states and at the national level, to solve this problem with a network of food spies and enforcers."
More bull.

This remains a familiar approach and is no more discriminatory than Dram Shop Acts.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Lack of sleep unlikely to impact weight over time

Still more who you gonna believe? It is not sleep. It is sleep.
"Regularly getting 5 hours or less of shut eye a night does not appear to have a considerable influence on body weight or waist size over time, according to findings from a long-term study of British workers.

While some past research has identified a relationship between obesity and a lack of sleep, this research could not affirm which came first -- the lack of sleep or the weight problem."

Here's the answer:

You should believe none of them.

Eat fewer Calories than you burn to lose weight.

Sleep as much or as little as you want.

It is all about the Calories, absolutely nothing else.

Childhood Obesity And Sleep Duration Linked

This yawner of a debate lumbers (slumbers?) on.
"'Our analysis of the data shows a clear association between sleep duration and the risk for overweight or obesity in children. The risk declined with more sleep,' said Youfa Wang, MD, PhD, senior author of the study and associate professor with the Bloomberg School's Center for Human Nutrition."
Note only "association," which is neither proof nor cause and effect.

More crap research.
"'Desirable sleep behavior may be an important low cost means for preventing childhood obesity and should be considered in future intervention studies. Our findings may also have important implications in societies where children do not have adequate sleep due to the pressure for academic excellence and where the prevalence of obesity is rising, such as in many East Asian countries.'"
No.

Desirable eating behavior is an important money-making means for preventing all overweight and obesity, i.e., YOU can make money, lots of money, by eating healthily.
"For the study, Wang, Chen and colleague May A. Beydoun, also a postdoctoral fellow at the Bloomberg School, reviewed 17 published studies on sleep duration and childhood obesity and they analyzed 11 of them in their meta-analysis...

The association between increased sleep and reduced obesity risk was strongly associated with boys, but not in girls."
Ask yourself "Why?"

Answer yourself, "Because the research, researchers and their study are bull."

Childhood Obesity Is 'In The Genes'

Crap. Obesity at any age is in one place and one place only - the place where the more Calories in than out go.
"Childhood obesity is down to nature not nurture, reports The Times and other news sources...

Using a complex modelling technique, the researchers compared the physical (BMI, WC) similarities between identical twins with the physical similarities between non-identical twins to determine what contribution "genetics" had on these characteristics."
The modelling technique was clearly too complex for them to get right.

All they have to do is show one, just one twin, forget the pair, who will not become overweight or obese in the absence of more Calories in than out and I will believe them.

Besides, don't they think lack of sleep is the cause? Or do they?

Routine Intake Of Dairy Products Can Help Reduce Periodontal Disease

Big White brought you this nonsense so chew on that for a while first.

Combo Drugs Prepare to Tap Underserved Obesity Market

Big Pharma's next attempt to kill the fat and have us pay for it.

"Feeling guilty about all that Valentine's Day chocolate you polished off last weekend?

Chances are you're not the only one who overindulged. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than a third of Americans - about 72 million people - are obese, and another third are overweight. Globally, the World Health Organization projects that 400 million adults are obese and 1.6 billion are overweight. Those figures are expected to grow to 700 million and 2.3 billion, respectively, by 2015.

But most folks don't need convincing that obesity is a problem; one trip to a local shopping mall, airport or restaurant is usually enough to do the trick. The question is why the pharmaceutical industry hasn't found a way to successfully tap this market.

The demand is certainly there. According to a recent report from JPMorgan Securities Inc., the overall U.S. market for weight-loss remedies and diet products was more than $50 billion in 2006. Yet prescription pharmaceutical products accounted for just $200 million in 2007 - less than one percent of the total market."

Why?

"JPMorgan analyst Cory Kasimov said the explanation is 'really quite simple: there are no safe and effective drugs.'"

True.

"Several obesity drugs are now in late stage development, and many have similar mechanisms to the approved drugs. Merck & Co. Inc. and Pfizer Inc. are conducting Phase III trials with the CB1 blockers MK-0364 (taranabant) and CP-945598, respectively. Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. is in Phase III with lorcaserin, which agonizes the 5-HT2c serotonin receptor. And Alizyme Therapeutics Ltd. is in the process of getting special protocol assessments approved and finding a partner for Phase III trials of gastrointestinal lipase inhibitor, cetilistat."

"Similar mechanisms" to the unsafe and ineffective drugs.

"Kasimov projected that as these and other new products gain approval, the market for prescription obesity drugs will grow from $200 million in 2007 to $1.5 billion in 2012 and more than $4.6 billion in 2017."

Both your fat body and fat wallet are fair game to Big Pharma.

But helping you is not.

Get fit.

Or get poorer, sicker and deader.

More GPs Prescribing Exercise For Depression

These people must be crazy and/or liars.

I am all for more physical activity, but these anti-depression people are nuts.
"A leading UK charity has published the results of a survey that shows the number of GPs prescribing exercise as a treatment for depression has gone up in the last three years.

The Mental Health Foundation announced to the press...that it found 22 per cent of GPs now prescribe exercise as one of the three preferred treatments for depression. Three years ago this figure was only 5 per cent."
The real question is, "Is it making a difference?"

The clear inference is "No."

Here is the excuse:
"Unfortunately, although there appears to be a significant rise in interest among patients and their doctors in using this approach, there are not enough facilities to allow all doctors who would like to make exercise therapy referrals to take advantage of them, said the charity. More than half of GPs do not have access to an exercise referral scheme, and yet of these, 66 per cent said they would use one if it were available.

The GPs said they were also noticing an increase in patients' interest in exercise therapy as way to treat depression. 16 per cent of the GPs in the survey said they had patients asking about it.

McCulloch expressed the charity's frustration with the lack of facilities:

'There is a real need for increased availability of exercise on prescription so that it is accessible alongside antidepressant medication and psychological therapies.'"
One can "exercise" in a mall, at home, Big Box store, etc.

That these depressed people need special facilities puts the lie to:
"Chairman of the Royal College of GPs, Professor Steve Field, told the BBC that GPs were increasingly aware of the benefits of exercise for mental illness. There is more evidence that it works, and:

'The overarching feedback from patients is incredibly positive,' he said."
Lies.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Obesity crisis calls for more heavy-duty ambulances



When human transporters fail.
"OBESITY is becoming such a chronic health problem that the Iemma Government has had to buy three more super-size ambulances to cope with those who are so fat they cannot fit inside a standard ambulance."
Three MORE, that is.

Pictures of the new ambulances:










A close-up:


UC scientists pinpoint behaviors that cause obesity in children

More wasteful research.
"UC Cooperative Extension researchers have received a $390,000 grant from the USDA National Research Initiative to document the specific behaviors associated with the growth of overweight and obesity."
There is only one behavior - more Calories in than out.

Shut up, give back the money and get a real job.

Nature and nurture play role in mental illness

Duh.

And the condition of too-fat, too.

Black Raspberries Protect Against Cancer - New Study Finds Black Raspberries Help Barrett's Esophagus Patients

More bad research.
"Now the black raspberry may be one of the weapons Barrett's Esophagus patients have to stay strong and prevent the condition from turning into a deadly cancer.

For more than 10 years, Danny Harris has struggled with heartburn after he eats. He learned his reflux has turned into something more serious - a condition called Barrett's Esophagus. He also learned an interesting thing happened when he ate black raspberries.

'I really didn't have any flare-ups or episodes after I had taken the berries,' says Harris.

Danny was part of a new study, led by a research team at Ohio State University's Comprehensive Cancer Center. For six months he and other Barrett's Esophagus patients drank a black raspberry powder and water mix. Turns out, the fruit helped many patients reverse the negative impact of the reflux acid. Nearly 4 in 10 saw a boost in a protective enzyme and 6 in 10 saw a decline in oxidative stress, which can cause cell damage."
Anecdotal info and results similar to the placebo effect.
"'They're really strong antioxidants. They're also a good source of multi-vitamins and minerals,' says Kresty."
Some data suggest that antioxidants are NOT good for you.

More ways for researchers to make money.
"A larger study is likely the next step to see if black raspberries yield more positive results for patients with Barrett's Esophagus."
Don't buy it.

Don't pay for it.

Exercise To Avoid Gallstones!

Maybe. Maybe not. Probably making too much of themselves and their research.
"A new University of Illinois study shows that exercise-trained mice get far fewer gallstones than sedentary mice and identifies potential mechanisms to explain why this occurs...

Gallbladder disease affects 10 to 25 percent of adults in the United States, although some persons who are affected may not have symptoms. It has the second highest cost of any digestive disease at $5.8 billion annually and results in over 800,000 hospitalizations each year...

In the study, 50 mice from a gallstone-susceptible strain were fed a high-fat diet containing cholic acid, which helps increase cholesterol absorption. They were then divided into two groups. One group of mice ran on treadmills 45 minutes per day five days a week; the other group did not exercise.

After 12 weeks, the scientists removed the animals' gallbladders, pooling the stones from each group and weighing them. The gallstones in the sedentary group weighed two and a half times more than the stones in the exercised group.

'You could see through the gallbladders in the exercise-trained group, whereas the gallbladders in the sedentary group were full of stones,' Wilund said."
For practical purposes, the alleged mechanism matters not and the better issue is whether the high fat diet and likely fatty weight gain due to less physical activity are the causes in people. The researchers hint at this.
"Previous observational studies have suggested that people who are physically fit have fewer gallstones and lower cholesterol, but laboratory studies had not confirmed the link."
Exercise remains a terribly inefficient way to lose weight.

Better to avoid gallstones by avoiding getting fat.

Drug doesn't help prevent migraine after all: study

Surprise! And diet drugs don't really help weight loss.
"Contrary to some reports, the anti-epilepsy drug oxcarbazepine does not appear to prevent migraine headaches, new research suggests.

Anti-epilepsy drugs have been used for the prevention of migraine, Dr. Stephen Silberstein of the Jefferson Headache Center in Philadelphia, and associates note in the journal Neurology -- and reports have suggested that oxcarbazepine would be effective as well.

In a study lasting almost five months, the investigators randomly assigned 170 men and women with a history of migraine to a daily dose of oxcarbazepine or inactive placebo. Both groups included people who had three to nine migraine attacks within a month.

Results showed no difference between the oxcarbazepine and placebo groups in the change in the number of migraine attacks from the beginning to the end of the study."

Still trust the sick care system and its voodoo to slim you down?

Monday, February 18, 2008

L.I. Hospital Scrutinized After Deaths of Patients

An unneeded surgery, same as bariatric surgery.

A dead patient, same as bariatric surgery.

An unnecessary complication, same as bariatric surgery.

A needless death, same as bariatric surgery.

Malpractice, same as bariatric surgery.
"On May 25, she had a double mastectomy. The next day, she died of complications from the surgery.

As it turned out, the woman did not have cancer. According to the State Department of Health, the pathology report from the woman’s surgery had found no tumors in her breasts. The hospital’s lab had mixed up her test with another woman’s...

The error, which was reported by The New York Post and News 12 Long Island, the cable news channel, has brought more scrutiny to Mercy Medical Center, in Rockville Centre. In October, the Health Department concluded that the hospital had taken proper “corrective action” after the mix-up in the mastectomy case. But it is investigating the hospital over the deaths of three other patients."

Caveat eator.

Reduced "exercise capacity" an ominous sign

Not new. Wasted research money. Still has some meaning as a reminder.
"People who have trouble exercising on a treadmill are at increased risk of suffering a heart attack or other heart-related event and of dying, according to results of a study...

According to Peterson's team, people with low exercise capacity, relative to those with normal exercise capacity, on the treadmill test, had more than a twofold increased risk of having a heart attack, experiencing chest pain, or needing a revascularization procedure.

Low exercise capacity was also significantly associated with an increased risk of dying from any cause.

Peterson's team also found that individuals with lower exercise capacity were more likely to be female and to have other comorbid conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure compared to individuals with greater exercise capacity."

Can you guess the fix?

For the answer, click here.

Drug Ads Raise Questions for Heart Pioneer

The con remains on.

So much better to be fit than sorry.
"Dr. Robert Jarvik is best known for the artificial heart he pioneered more than a quarter-century ago. Since then he had toiled in relative obscurity — until he began appearing in television ads two years ago for the Pfizer cholesterol drug Lipitor...

A Congressional committee, concerned that the Lipitor ads could be misleading, has said it wants to interview Dr. Jarvik about his role as the drug’s pitchman.

Some of the questions may involve his credentials. Even though Dr. Jarvik holds a medical degree, for example, he is not a cardiologist and is not licensed to practice medicine. So what, critics ask, qualifies him to recommend Lipitor on television — even if, as he says in some of the ads, he takes the drug himself?

And, for that matter, what qualifies him to pose as a rowing enthusiast? As it turns out, Dr. Jarvik, 61, does not actually practice the sport. The ad agency hired a stunt double for the sculling scenes."

Think about getting fit as the smarter alternative to ending up an unfitness cripple, drugged into poverty and suffering before you are dead.

“It seems that Pfizer’s No. 1 priority is to sell lots of Lipitor, by whatever means necessary, including misleading the American people,” Mr. Dingell said."

Duh.

Of course, the irony of a politician calling anything else "misleading" is rich. Especially when it comes to health and fitness as the government's own health and fitness information is "misleading the American people."

"Lipitor, the world’s single best-selling drug, is Pfizer’s biggest product, generating sales of $12.7 billion last year. But as it has come under competition from cheaper generic alternatives, Pfizer has used the Jarvik campaign, introduced in early 2006, to help protect its Lipitor franchise.

Pfizer spent $258 million from January 2006 to September 2007 advertising Lipitor, according to TNS Media Intelligence. Much of that went for the Jarvik campaign."

Stop being conned. Get fit.

Study Finds Patients Diagnosed With Coronary Heart Disease Continue Poor Diets

Their right to choose. Our right not to pay for it.
"More than 13 million Americans have survived a heart attack or have been diagnosed with coronary heart disease (CHD), the number one cause of death in the United States. In addition to medications, lifestyle changes, such as a healthy diet and exercise, are known to reduce the risk for subsequent cardiac events. Despite this evidence, a high proportion of heart attack survivors do not follow their doctor's advice to adhere to a healthy diet, according to researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS)...

'This study found that CHD patients' diets had not improved in the year after being diagnosed,' said Yunsheng Ma, MD, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine and one of the study's lead authors. 'We know that a healthy diet is one of the most important components of a healthy lifestyle, especially for patients following a cardiac event, and yet patients are not acting on this knowledge.'"
You can take the horse to water, but you cannot make it think.

Stopping Plavix may carry early clotting risk

Plavix has been around for a long time and they are still discovering new hazards.

This should make you think about the malpractice interventions of diet drugs and bariatric surgery.
"Patients given the blood-clot preventer Plavix after a heart attack or after receiving a stent have a far higher risk of heart attack or death in the three months after they stop taking the drug, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday."
The cure is as bad as the disease.

Just like the surgeries and drugs for the too fat. (Though overweight and obesity are not diseases.)

Wise up and cut down on the Calories.

Track and field donated to fight childhood obesity

Waste of money. Waste of effort.
"Behind Ivey Ranch Elementary School is a brand new track and field – a labor of love for a local foundation dedicated to fighting childhood obesity.

For Karen Johnson, co-founder of the Gibraltar Foundation and an Ivey Ranch parent, building the track with the help of numerous donors has been part of a personal mission to help children exercise more and improve their nutrition."

"Exercise, " is a terribly inefficient approach to weight loss.

"'A first-class facility like this makes a statement,' said Larry Perondi, Oceanside Unified School District's superintendent. 'It says we think fitness is important.'”

No.

It says you are a moron who has no concept of exercise, fitness, weight loss and the relationships among them.

"Ivey Ranch classmates Anashea Atempa, 9, Catherine Bowen, 9, McKenna Fix, 9, and Alex Espinosa, 10, said the track and field will augment an already active play schedule."

If these kids had "an already active play schedule. " why wasn't that working?

"The new track is made from sealed decomposed granite and the infield is synthetic turf. Thirty companies and organizations donated $200,000 in material and expertise for the project...

Before the track and field was built, students had to run their laps on a grass field."

Poor babies.

Apparently running laps on a natural surface causes childhood obesity in California.

"'Now at PE, we're going to start running more often,' Anashea said of using the track."

Wanna bet?

Website Calculates Snacks To Help Kids Make Healthy Choices

Hospital hos.
"A team at Nationwide Children's Hospital developed the Snackwise system because not all snacks are created equal."
These IMHO crooks not only presume to tell you what snacks are "healthy," but they charge you for it, too.

By subscription so you can keep paying for it.

Forget about them.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Obesity growing to be top cancer cause

Consequences for the flabicidal fatsos who develop illnesses that are soooey generis.
"Obesity is on its way to being deadlier than smoking as a cause of cancer, a leading researcher said Friday. Being obese is currently associated with about 14 percent of cancer deaths in men and 20 percent in women, compared with about 30 percent each for smoking, Dr. Walter C. Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health, told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

'As smoking goes down and obesity goes up it won't be long before obesity is the No. 1 cancer killer,' Willett said at a symposium on cancer prevention."

Collectively termed, "oinkomas," "flabomas" and "fatsomas," these are diseases of choice for which the rest of us will likely have to pay.

Fight back.

A Little Girl With a Big Appetite and Even Bigger Temper

Parental child abuse.
"Just shy of her fifth birthday, Kayla is 105 pounds, twice the average weight for a child her age...

Kayla has been overweight since she was a baby. At 18 months she began sneaking food out of the refrigerator. No one in her family has a problem with obesity, so it never occurred to Kayla's parents to limit her food intake. But by age 2 she weighed 52 pounds  twice the recommended weight."
Now before you think this child has an organic problem causing her obesity:
"'Kayla has been tested from head to toe, from a [CT] scan of the head looking for a trigger of the pituitary gland, every blood test you can mention. [The doctors] tested her for Prader-Willi, thyroid, diabetes and anything you can imagine and all came out negative. Even her hemoglobin is OK. The last blood work was for a genetics disease and [it was] negative...'" (italics in the original)

'It's just nasty,' she [the not quite 5 year old] says in a voice that is both screaming and pleading. 'Give me treats, I don't have time for this!'

Matos struggles to hold her ground. Hovering in the background is Matos' bewildered mother and Kayla's grandmother...

'I've been trying and trying and trying,' she says. 'We try to control her weight, we do exercise, she's a very active child and I don't know where this compulsiveness is coming from.'

A year ago, after extensive testing, doctors in Chicago determined that there was nothing medically wrong with Kayla and that she was simply eating too much and getting too little exercise.

'I believe that Kayla has been rewarded with food,' social worker Sandra Vieyra told ABC News last year, 'and I believe that therefore, emotionally she likes her food and she wants more and more of it. & (sic) It's easier to prevent her tantrum than it is to really stay firm.'

Kayla spots some snacks for her big brother's school lunch and demands some.

Matos goes to the car to hide the snacks in the trunk. While she is outside Kayla's tantrum continues. Her grandmother gives the girl her own lunch.

Kayla wins."

Time to take the kid from the home and charge the parents for room, board and therapy.
"At the Publix supermarket, Matos tries to choose foods carefully. 'I don't like that!' screams Kayla as her mother selects a healthy cheese."
Cheese is high in Calories and fat.

'Nuff said.

Except for the irony.

Here is ABCNews making it appear as if they care when their stars and broadcasts are among the killers and killing machine behind the overweight/obesity epidemic, IMHO.

Overweight mums have chubby bubs

More early nutritional child abuse.
"Mothers-to-be beware. Women who are overweight during pregnancy may be more likely to have fatter children susceptible to chronic health problems, UNSW research shows.

Research from Professor Margaret Morris, the head of UNSW’s Department of Pharmacology, indicates that obesity in motherhood leads to heavier babies, with more body fat and altered appetite regulators in the brain."
Whatever the reason these kids grow fat, it is preventable.

Beetroot 'may cut blood pressure'

From the Department of Impractical "Solutions."
"Drinking 500ml of beetroot juice a day can significantly reduce blood pressure, UK research suggests...

Victoria Taylor, of the British Heart Foundation, said: "Whilst beetroot juice was used in this study, it is unlikely that people will be able to - or wish to - consume it in the quantities used in the research."
Not to mention that:
"'This shows that beetroot juice lowers blood pressure in the short term in volunteers with normal blood pressure.

'What we need now is research to see whether it has an effect on people with high blood pressure over a much longer period of time.'"
Ain't gonna happen.

Lose the weight, lower the blood pressure, be done with it and move on.

HARC Study Shows Over Half Of Eastern Riverside County Overweight Or Obese

The Rip van Winkles of sick care.

Good morning!
"Healthcare professionals in eastern Riverside County concerned about the expanding waistlines of the population, received weighty evidence of the problem this week with the 2008 release of the Health Assessment Resource Center (HARC) Community Health Monitor.

An estimated 270,000 adults (56.2%) surveyed over the past are overweight or obese, based on their body mass index. The numbers are equally large for children between the ages of 2-17, with 47,441 kids suffering from the problem that has been linked to the onset of a number of illnesses, including diabetes and heart disease."
Sorry to have disturbed your sleep for this breaking story.

And these are the "professionals."

Get fit.

Stay away from the sick care clowns.

Do Big Breasts Up Diabetes Risk?

You are what you research - boobs.
"It might be seen as a vindication for small-breasted women everywhere.

After suffering through decades of bra-cup envy, those with diminutive décolletages in their late teens and early 20s may enjoy a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life than their fuller-chested counterparts — or at least, that's what a new study suggests."

Could it possibly be anything else?

"But many doctors caution that the conclusions of this new research may have more to do with obesity — and therefore bigger breasts — than they do with breast size alone...

'In reality, obesity is a major determinant of risk for diabetes,' said Dr. Lewis Kuller, professor and chair in the department of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh. 'Breast size, generally, is highly correlated with body size and body fatness, since what you're storing in the breast is mainly fat tissue.'

And in light of this, Kuller said, breast size may simply tell us something we already know about diabetes risk.

'It's not like we don't already have a measure for how fat someone is,' he added. 'You can tell just by looking in the mirror. You're not gaining some new knowledge from evaluating your breast size 20 years ago that you couldn't already predict just by looking in the mirror.'"

So why do a study like this?

Possible reasons - here are two:

1. Perversion - a possible result is "...recommending that doctors begin to examine a young woman's breast size as a possible indicator of future diabetes risk." The next step is to subdivide young women into distinct cohorts like cheerleaders and non-cheerleaders.

2. Money - since the criminals in sick care are malpracticing already by surgerizing kids for obesity (a form of child abuse) and falsely claiming that surgery is the cure for the consequences of overweight/obesity (when it is really the weight reduction), the new procedure of mammosuction cannot be far behind. In recommending the procedure, the sick care industry will ignore the fact that people have been sucking on breasts for years. This will set up a new research path. Conservative activists will demand the establishment of research centers for breast suction will be performed by paid volunteers.

Which brings us back to the first possible reason.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Weight loss may not harm obese teens' bones

Whew. Finally, the last obstacle to weight loss for teens has been removed. We all know how fear of early bone loss was holding the piglets back.
"Although adults who lose weight may also lose some bone mass, obese adolescents seem to keep gaining bone density as they shed pounds, a study suggests.

The findings, reported in the medical journal Obesity, offer some reassurance that obese children's weight loss may not come at the expense of their bone health."
Of course, it can only work if you grease the palms of the sick care system.
"'Our findings suggest that successful, medically supervised obesity treatment in adolescents does not cause major problem for bone health,' said lead researcher Dr. Nicolas Stettler of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia."
Otherwise the bones will snap like kindling.

Shut up.

Gout surge blamed on sweet drinks

Harmful "healthy" foods. It is blamed on fruits.
"Diet soft drinks did not increase the risk of gout but fruit juice and fructose rich fruits (apples and oranges) were associated with a higher risk, the researchers said...

Men who consume two or more sugary soft drinks a day have an 85% higher risk of gout compared with those who drink less than one a month, a study suggests.

Cases in the US have doubled in recent decades and it seems fructose, a type of sugar, may be to blame, the British Medical Journal study reports."

Quit playing the "healthy" food here today, gone tomorrow game.

Simply eat healthily and move on to enjoying your life.

22,000 died amid delayed Bayer drug recall: doctor

Still think your diet drugs are safe?
"The lives of 22,000 patients could have been saved if U.S. regulators had been quicker to remove a Bayer AG drug used to stem bleeding during open heart surgery, according to a medical researcher..."
Get fit and avoid the mess altogether.

Bacon, Eggs, Toast: As Many Omega 3´s As A Piece Of Salmon?

More "healthy" food confusion.
"Many of the foods we eat every day, including eggs and bacon, used to be full of these essential nutrients -- when the animals they came from were eating grass, insects, and other green foods. Omega-3s originate in the green leaves of plants (not fish, as many people believe), and they accumulate in animals that eat those leaves, including fish.

Now that our livestock eat mostly seeds and grains, our foods are full of a second family of polyunsaturated fats, omega-6s which are much more prevalent in those parts of plants. This second family of polyunsaturated fats is also essential for health, but it competes with omega-3s for positions in cell membranes and affects cells in different ways."
Seems like a great way to drive yourself insane and sick is trying to keep up with the suggestions du jour for "healthy" eating.

Try doing something stable.

BTW, have not read the book this press release is promoting. I suspect it is a piece of trash, but do not know for sure.

Connection Found Between Inactive Lifestyles And Accelerated Aging

Grow old slower.
"Those who are physically active in their leisure time seem to be younger than those with inactive lifestyles, from a biological perspective.

Generally, people who participate in regular exercise already have lower rates of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, obesity, and osteoporosis. However, according to a report in the January 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals, there might be more to this than just avoiding these diseases. 'A sedentary lifestyle increases the propensity to aging-related disease and premature death," the authors write. "Inactivity may diminish life expectancy not only by predisposing to aging-related diseases but also because it may influence the aging process itself.'"
So now what will you do?

Friday, February 15, 2008

Fast Food: The Fast Track to Organ Damage

More misleading stuff from ABCNews, the same people who brought you Oprah, David Katz and Mehmet Oz.
"In a new study, 18 slim, healthy Swedish men and women took on a fast food diet, eating meals from popular chains twice a day for four weeks while refraining from exercise.

At the end of the experiment, blood tests showed evidence that the subjects eating fast food had liver damage. They also had gained an average of 16 pounds.

The subjects were eating 'an outrageously high amount' of calories, said Keith-Thomas Ayoob, associate professor of pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. Ayoob said the calorie intake was almost double the average daily caloric intake of most Americans, which is about 2,700 calories."

This is similar to "Hammers: The Fast Track to Concussions, " a study where 18 healthy Swedish men and women repeatedly hit themselves on the head daily with a hammer for four weeks without using a pillow to cushion the blows.

The better study is to have these people eat "an outrageously high amount of Calories" from vegan/vegetarian sources (which may contain lots of non-animal sourced oils), Chez HighBrow restaurant, etc., and compare the results.