Large waist may raise death risk for women

Don't fall for it.

"Women with large bellies may die earlier of heart disease and cancer than other women, regardless of their weight, a large U.S. study suggests.

The findings, reported in the medical journal Circulation, add to evidence that when it comes to health risks, overall weight is not as important as where a person carries the fat.

Past studies have found that "apple-shaped" people appear to be at particular risk of clogged arteries, high blood pressure and diabetes. Abdominal obesity has also been linked to certain cancers, such as kidney cancer and colon cancer."

Big ol', fat ol' people of any shape are at higher risk of bad diseases.

If you are overweight/obese, no matter your shape, lose the excess weight.

Too Much Screen Time And Not Enough Physical Activity May Lead To Childhood Obesity

Why bother?

Clearly, by definition, "too much" of one and "too little" of the other must lead to weight gain.

"Childhood obesity is a growing concern for pediatricians and caregivers. In response to this problem, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) created guidelines for children regarding physical activity and screen time, which includes both watching television and playing video games. The AAP has made the following recommendations: 1) boys should take at least 11,000 steps a day; 2) girls should take at least 13,000 steps a day; and 3) children should limit total screen time to two hours a day. A new study soon to be published in The Journal of Pediatrics evaluates these recommendations and the combined influence of screen time and physical activity on a child's risk of being overweight."

However, their supposed happy medium, is not the solution.

"Exercise" is terribly inefficient and easily undone.

It is an inefficient approach to weight control for most people, kids included.

BTW, can you spend more than 2 hours in front of the screen if you do the steps?

Pine Bark Naturally Reduces Osteoarthritis, Lowers Joint Pain, Improves Physical Function

Sez who?

"'The new research in the field of osteoarthritis has been a paradigm shift for Pycnogenol. We were able to demonstrate Pycnogenol's impact on all inflammatory parameters and have succeeded in providing strong clinical evidence of Pycnogenol efficacy in this field. It is obvious that Pycnogenol will have to be considered as an innovative ingredient of choice for the joint health market,' said Victor Ferrari, CEO of Horphag Research, the exclusive worldwide supplier of Pycnogenol."

Puh-leeze.

Obese Women Disadvantaged In Both Breast Cancer Treatment And Diagnosis

Kudos, fatsos.

"Obese women with breast cancer have worse disease outcomes and also tend to present to their doctor for the first time with more advanced disease, two scientists told the 6th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-6) on16 April.

Dr. Evandro de Azambuja and colleagues at the Jules Bordet Institute, Brussels, Belgium, told the conference that his work, which involved 2887 patients, showed that women who had a body mass index (BMI) of more than 30kg/m2 had poorer outcomes in terms of disease-free and overall survival. "Our data once more stress the global problem of obesity," he said."

Breast removal, chemo, etc., are suboptimal ways to lose weight, IMHO.

Try something other than the extreme remedies just mentioned.

Could Boosted Fruit Smoothies Really Help Weight-loss, Improve Memory And Prevent Infections?

Only if you believe people like this about a Nestlé' product...

"With regard to the immunity boost drink containing a probiotic, Nestlé's own senior immunologist Dr Jalil Benyacoub has reviewed the extensive evidence."

Do you smell bias?

Save your money.

Whirlpool suspends 39 workers, says they lied about smoking

Good move, Whirlpool.

"Smoking can be hazardous to your health, and it's turning into a bad career move, too.

A Whirlpool Corp. factory in Evansville, Ind., has suspended 39 workers who signed insurance paperwork claiming they don't use tobacco and then were seen smoking or chewing tobacco on company property. Now, some could be fired for lying, company spokeswoman Debby Castrale said."

Though, this is too light a premium difference.

"In Evansville, the 1,500-employee factory charges tobacco users an extra $500 in annual health insurance premiums. The refrigerator factory has levied the extra premium since 1996, and it depends on employees to honestly fill out forms. It doesn't mandate blood tests to detect nicotine or trail employees outside work, Castrale said."

It should.

"The employees were suspended without pay, and they'll present their case at 'fact-finding' meetings before management determines their fate. Whirlpool had to recall some laid-off workers to keep production running due to the suspensions.

A 2007 national survey showed that 16 percent of all large employers — those with 20,000 or more employees — adjust health care premium contributions according to the worker's smoking status, according to the human resources consulting firm Mercer...

The federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act limits the changes an employer can make to a health premium because of a worker's unhealthy habits. But it doesn't set parameters on punishment if an employee lies about his or her habit, Paton said."

Too bad.

They should be charged more.

FDA cites Chinese firm's manufacturing processes for heparin

What's in your diet pill?

"China and the United States traded charges Monday about whether a contaminant in the blood thinner heparin caused severe allergic reactions linked to as many as 81 deaths."

Is any of this worth the risk when simply consuming fewer Calories than you burn is an absolute remedy?

If your answer is "Yes," then you deserve the side effects.

Brain damage link to cancer drug

Still waiting for a drug to fix your overweight/obesity?

"A drug widely used to treat cancer may cause brain damage, with the effects lasting for years after the end of treatment, research suggests."

What will they find from the crap you want to take?

Nothing good to be sure.

Study Of Dietary Restriction To Slow Down Aging

Whether it works or not is not the issue. The question is, "Should models be penalized" for "caloric restriction?"

"University of Washington scientists have uncovered details about the mechanisms through which dietary restriction slows the aging process."

After all, they are working towards living longer.

Belly Fat May Be Stimulating Appetite

Belly fat makes you lose your appetite.

Especially when you see it in a Speedo.

"The extra fat we carry around our middle could be making us hungrier, so we eat more, which in turn leads to even more belly fat...

The traditional view is that one of the main reasons why overweight people eat more food is because their brains produce the hormone NPY in excessive amounts."

No.

That is the fu**ed up pay-me-to-do-more-useless-research view.

The traditional view, is that the only reason fat people get fatter is that they continue to eat more Calories than they burn.

Morons.

What You Don't Know Could Hurt You

What they think they know does hurt you.

More execution dieting.

" According to the ADA, the first step to making healthy choices is knowing how many calories a day to consume. The daily calorie ranges below are a general guide. Talk to your health care team about your specific dietary goals.

-- 1,200-1,400 calories/day - Women who want to lose weight, are small in size, and/or are sedentary

-- 1,400-1,600 calories/day - Women who are older and smaller, are larger and want to lose weight, and/or are sedentary..."

These ADA people are serious killers, IMHO, like Oprah, Oz, Katz, Cruise, etc.

Listening to them will hurt you.

Prevention Is Better Than Cure: Healthy Food For Healthy Life Taiwan International Senior Lifestyle And Health Care Show

More like thievery.

"As the health regimen spree sweeps the world, a new concept of food emerges. Food is no longer simply for a fill, but for maintaining a healthy life through a balanced diet and dietary supplements."

Overweight and obesity are sweeping the world, not "health."

And so-called "healthy" foods and supplements are parts of the problem, not the solution.

This is a show designed for the pickpockets who operate at conventions.

In this case, the pickpockets are the presenters.

Healthy eating is possible at any age and without "special" foods.

Metabolife Launches New, Two-Stage Weight Management Program To Support Diet Success

More IMHO crap to waste money on.

"In support of the new products, packaging and program, Metabolife is launching a new advertising campaign entitled 'You Deserve' that includes broadcast, print and online executions as part of an extensive re-branding effort."

But at least there is some truth to the product.

You will get what "You Deserve" if you believe this nonsense.

Disease Risk Better Predicted by How And Where Fat Is Stored Rather Than By Weight

Useless.

"How and where the body stores excess, unused calories appears to matter most when determining a person's risk of developing metabolic syndrome, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center suggest."

Overweight/obesity can only result from overeating, i.e., eating more Calories than one burns.

"How" is certain - excess Calories have nowhere to go but on the body.

"Where" is meaningless.

Overweight/obesity result in greater likelihoods of illness no matter where the fat is stored.

This whole avenue of research is a red herring.

The excess weight must come off to reduce the risk of illness.

There is no other way.

Mental Health Improves With Just Twenty Active Minutes Per Week

Nutty.

"Performing as little as twenty minutes of any physical activity, including housework, per week is enough to boost mental health."

Then almost all of us should have boosted mental health already.

Who does not do 20 minutes of housework per WEEK, except for someone comatose, paralyzed, etc.?

Clearly something more is needed for "mental health."

People become happier with age, survey finds

Maybe it's the Alzheimer's or dementia...

"Happiness increases along with age, according to findings from a three-decade-long U.S. survey released on Wednesday.

Between 15 percent and 33 percent of 18-year-old Americans were likely to say they were very happy, with women happier than men and whites happier than blacks, based on findings from the survey conducted between 1972 and 2004.

The older people got, the more likely they were to report being happy, with slightly more than half of respondents in their 80s saying they were very happy."

And they simply forgot how miserable they are.

Mid-life high cholesterol raises Alzheimer's risk

Kudos, fatsos.

"High cholesterol levels in your 40s may raise the chance of developing Alzheimer's disease decades later, according to a study underscoring the importance of health factors in middle age on risk for the brain ailment...

The findings come just weeks after another study showed that having a big belly in middle age may greatly increase one's risk of later developing Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia."

Are you seeing a pattern yet from your behavior?

Defy Ageing With Exercise

Not true, of course, BUT, you can affect aging with training and end up being able to participate more fully in life for longer.

"'Regular exercise can help slow down the effects of ageing by up to 12 years,' The Daily Telegraph reports. The Daily Mail also covers the story. It says that a study has found aerobic exercise, such as jogging, from middle age onwards can slow and 'even reverse the decline in muscle power, balance, and co-ordination in later life'. The newspapers report that, with age, there is a reduction in "aerobic power". (sic) It falls in men by up to 50% between 20 and 60 years of age, while women begin to lose their fitness at around 35, with a 50% loss by age 60. They say that the study claims that this decrease has an impact on the independence of the elderly and that people would be able to remain independent for "far longer" if they exercise 'throughout middle age and into retirement'". (sic)

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

Kythera Biopharmaceuticals Announces Second Phase II Clinical Trial With Adipolytic Agent For Reduction Of Submental Fat

You have to be submental to fall for this stuff.

"Kythera Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Kythera") announced the initiation of a second Phase II clinical trial evaluating its proprietary product, ATX-101, for the reduction of unwanted submental (under chin) fat. This clinical trial is the second in a series of Phase II studies of ATX-101 in aesthetic applications and is aimed at assessing the safety and effectiveness of ATX-101 as a 'liposculpting' agent. The clinical program aims to lead to registration of ATX-101 as an approved prescription drug in the U.S., Europe and Asia."

Sounds scientific.

Sounds terrific.

It ain't.

It's craperrific.

Significant others can make dieting difficult

Duh.

"A spouse or partner can often help keep your new diet on track, but in some cases they just put up roadblocks, a new study shows.

In interviews with 21 couples in which one partner was trying to make diet changes, Canadian researchers found that the non-dieting significant other was usually supportive. Some kept tabs on the partner's eating, for instance, while others changed their own shopping and eating habits.

In some cases, however, partners were a hindrance, the researchers report in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior."

Did we really need a study to tell us that our partners can affect what we do?

More wasted money and an example of how friggin' stupid the system is.

It pays for any piece of sh** wasted time and resources study in the name of overweight/obesity.

Pathetic.

Lifestyle change key for obesity surgery success

True. And unnecessary.

"Anyone thinking about having weight loss surgery should be sure to do their homework beforehand, and must understand they need to dramatically change the way they eat for the surgery to be successful, advises the head of the U.S. government agency responsible for research on health care quality and patient safety.

'People who succeed and lose weight and keep it off eat very, very differently,' Dr. Carolyn Clancy, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in Rockville, Maryland, told Reuters Health. 'Essentially, you've got to eat a whole lot less.'"

If you just ate a small amount of Calories less than you burned each day, you would not have the surgery and you would not have to change your lifestyle.

And would avoid complications and risks from the malpractice known as bariatric surgery.

"Nevertheless, she added, the surgery'is not risk free, and I think it's really important for all people, women and men, to know about the risks and to be very clear about what they're getting into.'

For example, Clancy said, 7 percent of people who undergo the surgery need to be rehospitalized for complications. Four out of 10 will develop complications within 6 months of the surgery. These complications include nausea, cramps and vomiting due to overeating."

A few Calories less per day is NOT a lifestyle change.

Here are ways to do it.

Obesity Cited in Growth of Joint Replacement Surgery in Younger Patients

Kudos, fatsos.

"Hip and knee arthroplasties are shifting to the pre-Medicare population...

Arthritis is becoming a 'growing public health concern,' she said, as the proportion of persons 65 and older and those who are overweight or obese increases."

Crawling is "exercise," too.

Let them.

Vitamin Supplements Don't Help You Live Longer, Study

Can't emphasize it enough. They have NO idea what a "healthy" food or supplement is.

"After reviewing nearly 70 randomized studies on the effects of vitamin or antioxidant supplements, scientists in Denmark concluded there is no evidence that they prolong life, and even found evidence that some of them, such as beta-carotene, Vitamin A and Vitamin E, may actually shorten it.

The review is the work of Dr Christian Gluud, director of medical science, associate professor and department head of the Copenhagen Trial Unit at the Centre for Clinical Intervention Research and Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, and colleagues. It is published in the latest issue of the The Cochrane Library.

The reviewers warned that healthy people who take antioxidant supplements such as Vitamin A and E to ward off diseases like cancer could be disrupting their body's natural defences and increasing their risk of early death by as much as 16 per cent."

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

Get fit.

Vitamin D found to guard against artery disease

This week. Next week it may be different.

"Vitamin D may protect against an artery disease in which fatty deposits restrict blood flow to the limbs, researchers said on Wednesday...

But Melamed said it would be premature for people to start taking vitamin D supplements because more studies are needed to confirm that it is protective.

Melamed noted that other vitamins that had been thought to possibly help prevent cardiovascular disease such as vitamin E did not pan out after further research."

And it probably will.

Cash to tackle childhood obesity

A missed tackle.

"The Scottish Government has announced plans to spend a further £6m in the fight against childhood obesity."

Why?

"'Yet it is those who are living in less affluent areas who are more likely to find it difficult to access affordable healthy foods and have opportunities to be active.'"

The old bogey person of "healthy foods."

In the weight debate, there are no "healthy foods" so paying for them is loony.

Need living proof?

Take time to visit your local "health foods" store or grocery.

It is impressive to see the number of fat people there. In fact, looks like you are at a "regular" store.

The better way to fight this thing is to stop all of the funding, stop all of the research, remove the IMHO killers from the airwaves, hold the IMHO liars accountable and offer people the proper way to lose weight.

If they choose to follow, great.

If not, don't pay for their bad choices.

Q&A: Drugmaker deceit and the state of science

More lies, lies and lies.

"Questions of scientific integrity and deliberate deception have dogged Merck & Co., manufacturer of the painkiller Vioxx, through courtroom trials and into a $4.85 billion settlement with more than 44,000 of some 47,000 people who claimed they suffered heart attacks or strokes caused by the recalled drug."

And yet the fat buy into the hype around diet drugs and bariatric surgeries.

Heart Healthy Diet Can Include Macadamia Nuts

Just about any food can be part of a "heart healthy" diet.

So why macadamia nuts?

"This study was supported by The Hershey Company, owners of Mauna Loa Macadamia, with partial support from National Institutes of Health."

Oh.

Infant Feeding And The Development Of Obesity

Basically the bull that feeding kids formula may prevent obesity.

It is all about the Calories, so don't fall for this crap from:

"The symposium, 'Infant Feeding and the Development of Obesity: What Does the Science Tell Us?,' sponsored by the International Formula Council (IFC)*...

* This conference was sponsored by IFC, an international association of manufacturers and marketers of formulated nutrition products (e.g., infant formulas and adult nutritionals), whose members are predominantly based in North America. IFC members are: Abbott Nutrition; Mead Johnson Nutritionals; Nestle Nutrition - USA; and Wyeth Nutrition."

Those who will benefit at your expense.

Biological Aging Is Seriously Postponed By Aerobic Fitness

Not quite.

"However, according to evidence shown in this article, regular aerobic exercise can inhibit or even reverse this continuous decline, even later in life. This article combines data from many different sources to conclude that by increasing aerobic capacity, someone's biological aging can be slowed."

Exercise is relatively useless.

To slow or reverse the decline, you have to train.

Five Reasons You're Still Fat

The ABCNews pinhead machine is at it again.

Written by an expert from Men's Health magazine, the article is so full of it, that your brain will need an enema, just to clear your mind from reading the article.

Here are two reasons why you're still fat:

1. Listening to the drivel from ABCNews (see here, here, here, here and here)
2. Listening to the drivel from Men's Health

Remove these two from your life, and you are ahead of the game.

France may outlaw inciting thinness

They should outlaw inciting stupid, first.

It would solve many more issues, like this one, for example.

"The French parliament's lower house adopted a groundbreaking bill Tuesday that would make it illegal for anyone — including fashion magazines, advertisers and Web sites — to publicly incite extreme thinness."

Why would anyone want to do this?

"The bill was the latest and strongest of measures proposed after the 2006 anorexia-linked death of a Brazilian model prompted efforts throughout the international fashion industry to address the repercussions of using ultra-thin models."

One dead model, ban thin.

Millions of dead fatsos, nothing.

Makes sense, in a French sort of way, I guess.

"Fashion industry experts said that, if passed, the law would be the strongest of its kind anywhere. Leaders in French couture are opposed to the idea of legal boundaries on beauty standards."

Seems reasonable.

"Doctors and psychologists treating patients with anorexia nervosa — a disorder characterized by an abnormal fear of becoming overweight — welcomed the government's efforts to fight self-inflicted starvation, but warned that its link with media images remains hazy...

Marleen S. Williams, a psychology professor at Brigham Young University in Utah who researches the media's effect on anorexic women, said it was nearly impossible to prove that the media causes eating disorders."

Well, proof cannot stand in the way of politics or public opinion.

"But Boyer insisted in her speech to lawmakers Tuesday that the legislation was much broader and could, in theory, be used against many facets of the fashion industry.

It would give judges the power to imprison and fine offenders up to $47,000 if found guilty of "inciting others to deprive themselves of food" to an 'excessive' degree, Boyer said in a telephone interview before the parliamentary session.

Judges could also sanction those responsible for a magazine photo of a model whose 'excessive thinness ... altered her health,' she said."

A sane reaction:

"Didier Grumbach, president of the influential French Federation of Couture, said he was not aware how broad the proposed legislation was, and made no secret of his strong disapproval of such a sweeping measure.

'Never will we accept in our profession that a judge decides if a young girl is skinny or not skinny,' he said. 'That doesn't exist in the world, and it will certainly not exist in France.'"

Why aren't fat sick care workers, educators, politicians, etc. in jail for inciting fatness?

For another viewpoint, see here. (this link is not an endorsement)

Vioxx studies used drugmaker ghostwriters

Here's the subtitle: "Two new reports raise concerns about influence over medical research"

"Two new reports involving the painkiller Vioxx raise fresh concerns about how drug companies influence the interpretation and publication of medical research."

Take that into account the next time you read about how well diet drugs and bariatric surgery work.

Chubby chick wins Miss Surrey

This editorial, clearly written by a special ed student who achieved the position of editor-in-chief by some sort of affirmative action for the mentally challenged (and not up to that challenge), repeats an old canard that begs brief comment.

"Beauty pageants such as Miss USA and Miss Universe are often criticized for enforcing unrealistic standards of beauty."

Well, that's it.

To what the retarded editor was referring, is "unrealistic standards of" weight, i.e., not fat.

So here it is.

An allegedly college-educated woman denies the universal fact that every creature in every known place in every known galaxy can lose weight by consuming fewer Calories than it/he/she burns.

Yet, we routinely tell kids (and adults) that they can become President of the United States, anything they want to be, editor of a college rag and of low IQ, etc.

Except not-fat.

Shouldn't it be a tad tougher to become Prez than to lose a few pounds?

Especially with the universal, immutable, unconquerable Laws of Thermodynamics watching your back.

The stupidity is monumental.

The denial is insane.

And, well, what do you expect when college students are too idiotic to know basic facts?

Wine

Still think they have any idea about what is "healthy" to eat?

Some recent wine articles offer a clue.

"Moderate wine consumption a breast cancer threat"

"Red wine compound may kill pancreatic cancer cells"

"Women Wine Drinkers Less Likely to Suffer Dementia"

"Kids of substance-using moms have smaller brains"

"Super-wine might boost lifespan"

Clearly if you drink wine the health consequences are favorable:

you will be likelier to get breast cancer, but
might suppress the pancreatic cancer you got from drinking, and
at least you will be aware of the breast cancer destroying your body, while
caring for your child with the mini-brain
for a long time to come

Chug, chug, chug, chug. Glug, glug, glug, glug. Or sip, sip, sip, sip.

Your choice.

After all, it is in the name of "good health."

The experts said so.

Water pills can cause bone loss in older men

And overweight/obesity can cause boner loss in older men.

Younger ones, too.

"The use of potent water pills called "loop diuretics," which include drugs such as furosemide and torsemide, by men over the age of 65 may cause thinning of the bones, investigators report in the Archives of Internal Medicine...

Loop diuretics have been associated with an increased risk of broken bones, according to Lim, at Griffin Hospital in Derby, Connecticut, and other members of the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study Group. Whether this might be related to effects on bone thickness, dizziness leading to falls, or other problems is not clear."

Water pills are used to treat high blood pressure, also associated with overweight/obesity.

But, hey, if you do not care about cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, why would you care about your erection?

Study: Boomers to flood medical system

More like blimpers than boomers.

"'We face an impending crisis as the growing number of older patients, who are living longer with more complex health needs, increasingly outpaces the number of health care providers with the knowledge and skills to care for them capably,' said John W. Rowe, professor of health policy and management at Columbia University."

"Complex health needs" as in chronic disorders from unfitness, i.e., overweight/obesity.

"The American Medical Association responded that seniors' access to Medicare in coming years 'is threatened by looming Medicare physician payment cuts.'"

'This July, the government will begin steep cuts in Medicare physician payments, and 60 percent of physicians say this cut will force them to limit the number of new Medicare patients they can treat,' the AMA said in a statement."

Good.

The fewer doctor visits, the better the chances of surviving sick care.

To get fit, go here.

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

Gaffes and Leaks Invade Journals' Ivory Tower

Still want to trust these folks?

After all, they persist in being the public's executioners in the weight loss domain, arguably the most critical sick care issue we face.

"The integrity of the medical publication process has been called into question by a series of embarrassing incidents over the past two years.

For example, just last month, it was revealed that authors of a high-profile 2006 New England Journal of Medicine paper on CT screening for early-stage lung cancer had failed to disclose patents they held on related technology as well as the fact that a tobacco company had provided much of their funding.

The NEJM is not the only top journal to be embarrassed.

In the space of two months in 2006, authors of three separate papers in the Journal of the American Medical Association -- on arthritis, cancer, and migraine treatment -- belatedly acknowledged funding and consulting relationships with firms selling arthritis, cancer, and migraine drugs, which they had not disclosed to the journal's editors."

And it will not stop, I predict.

Annual Novation Bariatric Report Shows Hospitals Continue To Face Challenges Offering Quality Care For Obese Patients

Here is an easy problem to fix.

"Novation, the leading health care contracting services company of VHA Inc., University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) and Provista, LLC, announced the results of its annual bariatric report. The fifth annual nationwide survey of VHA and UHC hospitals confirms that caring for obese patients continues to challenge hospital staff as they experience escalating costs, increases in worker injuries and higher admissions of obese patients. Twenty percent of respondents saw a significant increase in admissions of obese patients, while 52 percent saw a slight increase. Hospitals said they are meeting this challenge with costly renovations in all areas of their facilities, purchasing specialized equipment and offering specialized training...

'When we looked at the trends over the last five years the biggest 'WOW' was the rising cost of treating obese patients. From 2007 to 2008 the cost to treat patients jumped nearly $50,000,' said Joan Roberts, senior director at Novation. 'The percentage of hospitals that have seen costs rise increased from 24 percent in 2003 to 68 percent in 2008. This year the median cost to treat obese patients was nearly $83,000.'"

Stop treating them or make them pay the difference in cost between their care and the costs of caring for intended-size human beings out of pocket.

"When asked if they have invested in physical renovations to accommodate obese patients, 28 percent of respondents said they have had to renovate in all areas of the hospital. The most common renovations included replacing wall hung toilets with floor mounted, increasing doorway size and/or adding complete bariatric suites. Two items on the wish list of many hospitals were seating for patient rooms and whirlpool/soaking tubs.

In addition to investing in physical renovations, hospitals are being compelled to purchase larger-sized supplies throughout the organization to provide quality care for obese patients. Some of the supplies reported being purchased over the last five years include: larger beds, scales, gowns in some cases size 8x, slippers, longer needles, larger diapers, longer surgical gloves, larger SCP sleeves and one hospital reported needing a 1,000 pound surgery bed."

Or just send them to the zoo for care by large animal vets.

I'm sure the vets won't mind.

I suspect they are accustomed to patients that act like pigs.

Caution on cancer exercise link

Yes and no.

"Prostate cancer patients have been told to carry on exercising despite research in mice which appears to suggest it speeds the growth of tumours.

The US study found tumours expanded twice as fast in mice given exercise wheels compared to those without.

The researchers said improved blood flow to the tumour was a possible cause, but encouraged patients to remain active...

The results of the mouse experiment, presented at a US cancer conference, could actually help reveal ways to improve prostate cancer treatments, said researchers from Duke University Medical Center...

However, he said that exercise could be a way to improve treatment by delivering drugs more effectively to prostate tumours, which can generally have a poor blood supply."

No less believable than other bad research in the domain of sick care, because the level of our ignorance is so profound and what we know is so little.

A study, so far, of little value.

There is one point that does have value.

"Sedentary lifestyles raised the risk of other serious diseases, they said."

It is unquestionable that the development of certain bad diseases, e.g., heart disease, stroke, and some cancers are much more common in the fat.

But that does not equate with "sedentary lifestyle."

That equates with more Calories in than out.

Further highlighting that what we "know" beyond fat and health quickly becomes speculative.

The Worst Places for Your Health

They missed the two worst:

ABCNews.com and Prevention (a Rodale publication).

Costs soar for Mass. health care law

Well, what did they expect?

"Two years after the state's landmark health law was signed, the cracks are starting to show.

Costs are soaring and Massachusetts lawmakers are weighing a dollar-a-pack hike in the state's cigarette tax to help pay for a larger-than-expected enrollment in the law's subsidized insurance plans.

But that hasn't dampened enthusiasm at the Statehouse."

It is only in the domain of politics that such impossibility can exist and be lauded.

Still.

"One of the most radical fixtures of the law is the so-called 'individual mandate' — the requirement that virtually everyone have health insurance or face tax penalties.

The "individual mandate" should be that, generally speaking, each individual who wants the insurance is mandated to have a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 or they cannot qualify.

That would save costs and the system.

"Michael Tanner, a senior fellow at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute, said the law has been an unqualified failure.

Tanner was critical of the connector authority, a 'super-regulatory agency' which has mandated levels of coverage. He also noted the vast majority of the newly insured are receiving subsidized care.

'They said it would get us universal coverage and reduce costs and it's done neither,' Tanner said.

The biggest challenge is rising costs.

In 2006, a legislative committee estimated the law would cost about $725 million in the fiscal year starting in July. In his budget, Patrick set aside $869 million, but those overseeing the law have already acknowledged costs will rise even higher.

Lawmakers are hoping to close the gap in part with a new cigarette tax expected to generate about $154 million a year."

The biggest boondoggle is sick care reform.

If you fall for it, you are a friggin' moron.

Do not believe the politicians hype and promise.

The only way to improve sick care, is to improve your condition.

And the only way to do that is to get fitter.

Period.

Gene Oppositely Controlled By Dietary Protein, Sugar

Techno-babble of the week award.

"Researchers have discovered a gene in flies whose activity rises and falls depending upon the amount of protein and sugar in the insects' diets. The findings, reported in the April issue of Cell Metabolism, might shed light on the way the insects' bodies - and perhaps those of humans too - handle dietary extremes, including high-protein, low-carb diets like the Atkins, according to the researchers. These findings are also yielding new clues about the links between diet and life span.

The gene, which the researchers call tobi (short for target of brain insulin), encodes an evolutionarily conserved a-glucosidase enzyme that converts stored glycogen into glucose.

The current study indicates that proteins may have a greater effect than sugars on insulin signaling, and evidence is growing that quality and not only quantity of calories taken in has an influence on life span," the researchers said. "Therefore, teasing apart the relative contributions of dietary proteins and sugars in insulin signaling should prove insightful...

'What is novel and exciting in the work of [Pankratz and colleagues] is the combination of gene regulation studies, endocrinology, and physiology in a model genetic organism whose genome and gene regulatory linkages can be readily compared to the human genome,' wrote Eric Rulifson of the University of California, San Francisco, in an accompanying commentary. 'Given the accumulating parallels between the islet-like cells of Drosophila and the pancreatic islets of mammals, it would not be surprising if this homeostatic mechanism, and possibly others yet to be found, is evolutionarily conserved between flies and humans.'"

Oh, shut up.

Real people, just lose weight.

Fewer Calories in than out. That is all.

Dietary Oil May Need Help In Avoiding Side Effects Of Weight Loss

Oops.

"An oil made of natural fatty acids that is sometimes used as a weight-loss supplement may need to be paired with hormones or other substances to prevent health problems that can follow rapid weight loss, a new study suggests.

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a compound naturally found in some meat and dairy products, can reduce body fat in some studies in humans. But a recent study in mice found that the hormone leptin adds an element of protection against side effects that can accompany fat loss with CLA.

Without leptin, fat loss occurs in mice eating a diet containing CLA, but the mice also become insulin resistant. When mice are fed CLA and given leptin, the same fat loss occurs but insulin resistance does not develop."

In other words, this stuff makes you sick.

As I said, oops.

Nutrition Research Unveiled This Week Shows Pistachios Are Smart For The Heart

You will never guess who sponsored this article.

"More good news for pistachio fans! According to new data unveiled this week at the Experimental Biology Conference in San Diego, snacking on pistachios has proved once again to have a positive impact on improving cardiovascular health by significantly reducing inflammation in the body, a prominent cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor."

Er...maybe not.

"'Pistachios contain many important nutrients that contribute to their positive effect on health. Every new study adds another piece to the puzzle of how eating pistachios may benefit heart health,' said Dr. Constance Geiger, nutrition expert for the Western Pistachio Association (WPA)."

Nutrition expert or whore?

Sometimes it gets so confusing.

"'As an organization dedicated to promoting nutrition news about pistachios and health, the WPA is already planning to fund additional research at Penn State and the University of Toronto,' continued Dr. Geiger. 'We hope to learn more about the effects of pistachios on blood pressure in people with diabetes and the effects of pistachios on satiety hormones and hormones that regulate blood sugar.'...

About the Western Pistachio Association

Based in Fresno, California, the WPA is a voluntary association representing pistachio growers throughout the nation. Founded in 1980, it is the only organization representing all U.S. pistachio growers' interests. It is governed by an 18-member board elected from a variety of states with the shared goal of increasing national awareness about the nutritional benefits of U.S pistachios. "

Well, that clears it up.

I vote for the latter.

BTW, the WPA sponsored it.

Surprised?

People With Diabetes May Have All-Natural Citrus Supplement To Help Lower Blood Glucose And Cholesterol Levels

People with diabetes are likely the victims of a con.

"Mal Evans, DVM, MSc, PhD, KGK Synergize Inc.'s Scientific Director, said, "Our scientifically validated testing has consistently shown that Diabetinol(TM) improves blood glucose numbers. This time we saw a sizeable change in glucose intolerance in just a short time. This is good news for many of the 21 million Americans with diabetes."

No.

It is good news from the IMHO parasites selling this crap.

"'Although there were no statistically significant changes in fasting blood glucose levels in either group, the Diabetinol(TM)-treated subjects demonstrated an excellent favorable downward trend in their hemoglobin A1C levels. These results suggest that when administered to people with type 2 diabetes over a longer treatment period, Diabetinol(TM) significantly improves glucose tolerance or the blood glucose numbers following a meal."

Lose the weight, save the money and yourself from getting ripped-off.

'Connecting The Dots' In Path That Leads To Fat

Clearly bullsh**.

"In the April issue of Cell Metabolism, a publication of Cell Press, researchers report the discovery of a critical early player in the path that turns cells to fat. Given that obesity - defined as an excess amount of body fat relative to lean body mass - is a major health concern in the United States and an increasing problem in the developing world, such a fuller understanding of the molecular processes governing fat tissue formation could ultimately hold clinical importance, according to the researchers. "

There are only two dots.

One is on the hands, the other on the mouth.

When the two connect with more Calories in than out, it leads to fat.

End of story.

End the stupid research.

Association Between Low Birth Weight, Excessive Weight Gain And Heart Problems In Later Life: Study Suggests Inflammation May Be The Cause

Inflammation is the culprit du jour.

"Researchers who have followed 5,840 people from before birth to the age of 31 have found evidence suggesting that small size at birth and excessive weight gain during adolescence and young adulthood may lead to low grade inflammation, which, in turn, is associated with an increased risk of developing heart disease...

The researchers used a protein called C-reactive protein (CRP) as a marker for general inflammation. CRP is secreted from the liver, is present in blood, and slightly elevated levels can indicate a chronic inflammatory state (low grade inflammation, as opposed to acute inflammation)."

Recall that the Enhance study showed Vytorin lowered CRP:

"The Enhance trial did show that Vytorin did a much better job of lowering total cholesterol, lowering LDL cholesterol, and lowering CRP levels, a marker of inflammation associated with developing heart disease. From these results, one would guess that combination Vytorin would work better than Zocor alone.

The study proved them resoundingly wrong."

So do not fall for the inflammation CRaP until there is better proof of concept.

Obesity Costs U.S. Companies As Much As 45 Billion Dollars A Year, The Conference Board Reports

Fat people are a clear drain on the economy and the workplace.

It is better not to hire them. Or hire them conditionally upon weight loss.

"The rate of obesity in the United States has doubled in the last 30 years, and those extra pounds weigh on companies' bottom lines, according to a new report from The Conference Board. Today, 34 percent of American adults fit the definition of 'obese.' Obese employees cost U.S. private employers an estimated $45 billion annually in medical expenditures and work loss."

This is not discrimination.

"'Employers need to realize that obesity is not solely a health and wellness issue,' says Labor Economist Linda Barrington, Research Director of The Conference Board Management Excellence Program and co-author of the report. 'Employees' obesity-related health problems in the United States are costing companies billions of dollars each year in medical coverage and absenteeism. Employers need to pay attention to their workers' weights, for the good of the bottom line, as well as the good of the employees and of society.'"

It is a reasonable business practice.

"Among the report's findings:

- Obesity is associated with a 36-percent increase in spending on healthcare services, more than smoking or problem drinking. More than 40 percent of U.S. companies have implemented obesity-reduction programs, and 24 percent more said they plan to do so in 2008.

- Estimates of ROI for wellness programs range from zero to $5 per $1 invested. ROI aside, these programs may give companies an edge in recruiting and retaining desirable employees. Meanwhile, some say it may be more effective just to award employees cash and prizes for weight loss rather than devote resources to long-term wellness programs.

- Employers need to weigh the risks of being too intrusive in managing obese employees against the risks of not managing them. There is evidence that as weight goes up, wages go down. Employers should be fully aware of any potential discrimination risk before addressing employees' weight, whether for the employee's own good or that of the company.

- The jury is still out on the costs and benefits of paying for employees' weight-loss surgeries. While obese employees medically eligible for bariatric surgery (about 9 percent of the workforce) have sharply higher obesity-related medical costs and absenteeism, some say companies are unlikely to recoup surgery costs before these employees have left for other jobs.

- How employers communicate a wellness or weight-loss program is as important as how they design it. Companies should involve employees in planning health initiatives, rather than working from the top-down, and should make sure personal privacy is protected."

The problem is that wellness programs and EAPs will never work since they are based on the same flawed expert advice as the entire sick care and weight loss industries.

Caveat employer.

Surgery And Drugs Alone Are Not Enough To Combat Obesity

Since when? Duh.

"A review of research examining the effectiveness of different obesity treatments has concluded that no matter what other forms of therapy are offered, changes in lifestyle are imperative if patients want to maximise and maintain their weight loss."

Correct, except for the lifestyle change part.

Unnecessary.

And a bar to success.

Diet drugs and bariatric surgery are malpractice.

And expert diet advice will not work.

So what to do? Go here.

Does Sugar Play A Role In Weight Gain? An International Conference Held In Paris Takes Stock

How stupid are these people?

"As part of the struggle against obesity, where the link between sugar and weight control is subject for debate, Institute Benjamin Delessert hosted an international conference last February 12th in Paris. The conference, chaired by Professor Bernard Guy-Grand (1), invited nine international experts to assess the current state of scientific knowledge on the topic."

It is all about the Calories.

If sugar has Calories and you overeat Calories as sugar, then it is part of the problem.

Excess Fat Around The Waist May Increase Death Risk For Women

As if excess fat elsewhere does not.

"Women who carry excess fat around their waists were at greater risk of dying early from cancer or heart disease than were women with smaller waistlines, even if they were of normal weight, reported researchers from Harvard and the National Institutes of Health.

Previous studies have shown that the tendency to deposit fat around the waist increases the risk for health problems. The current study is the largest, most comprehensive of its kind undertaken to show that accumulation of abdominal fat can increase the risk of death."

So lose weight properly and the fat will go, too.

Children At Highest Risk From Obesity Struggle With Change

Duh.

"A new study shows that children with obesity-related diabetes are reporting serious difficulties in making basic lifestyle changes that could save them from a lifetime of complications."

The first problem is that no lifestyle changes are needed to lose weight.

Once you talk about lifestyle change, you have set the bar way higher than necessary, making success more difficult.

Lifestyle change, for most people, is a completely insane approach.

Don't fall for it.

Majority Of Studies Of High-Fat Diets In Mice Inaccurately Portrayed

Oops.

" tudies in mice provide the foundation for much of the belief that high-fat diets are detrimental to human health. However, the majority of studies on the health effects of high-fat diets in mice published in five respected scientific journals in 2007 were not accurately portrayed, a survey by researchers at UC Davis has found."

Oh-oh.

"'The bottom line is, unless the studies we do on mice are appropriately designed, we can't use the information to give people recommendations on diet,' said study co-author Craig Warden, a professor of pediatrics and neurobiology, physiology and behavior in the Rowe Program on Genomics."

What a concept.

So if you want to lose weight and get fit, then all you need to do is go here because all of the approaches are based on proven, immutable laws of the physical world and no speculation.

FDA investigates transplant drugs' risks

Still waiting for a drug cure for your overweight/obesity?

"Regulators are exploring whether organ transplant drugs made by Roche and Novartis increase the risk of an often-fatal neurological disease."

How stupid are you?

Stupid enough to die waiting or die from the "cure"?

Inflammation, Body Fat, Weight Gain And Blood Cholesterol All Lower In Rats Fed Cherries

Who do you think funded this?

"Tart cherries - frequently sold dried, frozen or in juice - may have more than just good taste and bright red color going for them, according to new animal research from the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center."

Give up?

"The experiments are funded by an unrestricted grant from the Cherry Marketing Institute, a trade association for the cherry industry."

Guess the only things not cherry here are the whores doing the research.

A Shot to Melt Fat? Doctors Concerned

Another cure for the stupid fat people.

Except for the fact it does not cure fat and only proves stupid.

"What if there was a way to get rid of that unwanted fat without going under the knife? How convenient it would be to stop by a clinic during your lunch hour, get a few injections and dissolve away your trouble spots of extra fat.

That's what appealed to 45-year-old Sheila Yee of Riverbank, Calif. A third-degree black belt and martial arts instructor, she works out six days a week and is about as fit as a woman can be.

But like a lot of women her age, she couldn't seem to get rid of the pouch around her belly. 'Who wants to take martial arts from someone who doesn't look like they're in shape?"'she said.

Yee was intrigued by the local advertisements for a new procedure commonly called by the trade name Lipodissolve, which claims to melt away fat with a simple injection of drugs. To avoid surgical liposuction, Yee thought she'd found the answer.

'I just knew that there was no cutting, there was no blood. There's no stitches,' Yee said...

Yee said she also found a nodule in her stomach the size of a tennis ball and went back to the spa. She said she was stunned by the nurse's reaction.

'She looks at it and she's telling me 'oh my goodness that is so wonderful. All your fat cells have all congregated into one area. If all of our patients were like this, we'd be out of business because you know that fat's just going. You're the perfect person for this.''

Disaster struck a few days later when that mass in her stomach nearly doubled to the size of a grapefruit. She had a life-threatening staph infection that required emergency surgery to remove a mass of dead tissue. Sheila says she could have died. 'I contemplated going the next day. I might have died the next day. I might not have lived,' she said. 'They don't realize how serious this is and what they're doing to people. It's dangerous.'...

But Yee said she never expected her stomach would look like this. 'Now I'm lopsided. I'm disfigured. There's dimpling on one side, lopsided. It's a mess.'"

Yep, inject your way to slim.

Morons.

Lawmakers question makers on key Vytorin meeting

Still trust drugs for your overweight/obesity?

"Two U.S. Democrats said on Friday their investigation had raised questions about how Merck & Co Inc and Schering-Plough Corp documented a key meeting about a controversial study of their Vytorin cholesterol drug.

House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell and Rep. Bart Stupak said company documents showed minutes from a November meeting of outside experts reviewing the study were "created after the fact."

The documents showed one of the experts complained the minutes did not reflect all the opinions expressed, although he said a later summary did."

Give up the useless hope and do what works.

Trans-fats linked to breast cancer risk in study

Darn.

"Trans-fats, which are being phased out of food because they clog arteries, may raise the risk of getting breast cancer, European researchers reported on Friday.

They found that women with the highest blood levels of trans-fats had about twice the risk of breast cancer compared to women with the lowest levels."

Why are there trans fats anyway?

"Trans-fats or trans-fatty acids are made in creating artificially hardened fats -- in the process of hydrogenization, for instance.

They were, ironically, meant to be healthful replacements for artery-clogging saturated fats such as butter and lard."

Bummer.

"Obese women are more likely to develop breast cancer, among other types of cancer, and high-fat diets are also linked with breast cancer."

Big, fat, bummer.

Traditional acupuncture may ease migraines

Scam.

"They randomly assigned 160 migraine sufferers to one of four groups...

The participants in all the groups were given medication to treat any migraine attacks."

Next time, try not using the medication.

Recalls: Soup Mix, Robot Toys Nuts

Posted because it caught my eye, not fitness related.

Sorry.

I just did not realize that they were making anatomically correct male robots.

Cleaning 'improves mental health'

If they cleaned the stool from their brains, they could kill two birds in one shot - work up a sweat and stop doing stupid research.

"Working up a sweat while performing household chores may not just improve the cleanliness of your home, but your mental health too, a survey suggests.

Just 20 minutes of sustained exercise a week - from cleaning to jogging - can impact upon depression, the British Journal of Sports Medicine study found."

Just 20 minutes!

In a week!

"Researchers did however concede they were unable to work out the nature of the relationship, and that those with mental health problems may be less likely to exercise in the first place."

Oh, yeah, except for that.

"'The brain is as much a 'physical' organ as the heart or lungs, so perhaps it should not come as a surprise that even little amounts of regular exercise can begin to reduce psychological distress.'"

Clearly, cleaning a toilet bowl is befitting of these researchers.

Cognition-enhancing drugs common among academics

Not hardly.

"A survey of individuals who read the journal Nature, a technical bioscience publication, reveals that roughly one in five use prescription drugs to improve their focus, concentration, or memory."

Given the level of research we see here in the fitness domain, it is way more likely that we are dealing with academics on mind-altering drugs.

They must be lying.

Just like they do in their research.

No More Bare-Bone Top Models in France?

This is the weight equivalent of penny wise and dollar foolish.

"Organizations representing fashion houses, advertising firms and media outlets  with the backing of the French minister of health  on Wednesday, in Paris, signed a charter of good conduct about the future use of top model body images to stave off growing concerns about anorexia. Several of the signers viewed the formal move as a 'first step' toward helping to combat the eating disorder."

Maybe anorexia and bulimia are deals in the general population. If they are, compared to overweight and obesity, they are minor deals. (I get that if you or a loved one have it/them it is a bigger deal to you. But I am talking population prevalence wise, so if you are insulted, get a life.)

No word on whether the Calorie Restriction Long Life Advocates will be targeted, too.

"On the same day, a law project made the case before a commission at France's National Assembly, to punish those people or organizations that help to propagate unhealthy body images. Parliament members will examine this law project next week."

Now if this is true, then all overweight sick care workers, educators, fat "advocacy" groups, etc. should be punished.

I am in favor of that one.

If you nail the thin, then nail the fat.

Use a longer nail, of course.

And if you don't, well, you are clearly hypocrites and cowards.

Adequate protein intake important for older women

And the crappy research just keeps on coming.

"It's known that age-related muscle loss can contribute to frailty, disability and disease, with women being at greater risk of problems because they have less muscle to begin with...

What's more, the findings suggest that older women, in particular, should be sure to eat adequate protein, from foods like eggs, fish and lean meat, according to the researchers...

Therefore, Mittendorfer said, 'we recommend that women get plenty of protein in their diets.'"

Muscle increase by eating protein does not happen. If that were the case, fools on the Atkins' and South Beach Diets would be winning beefcake contests left and right.

Just like the recent HGH article, one will not improve their frailty or disability from muscle loss by eating more protein.

They will have to train, just like the rest of us, to improve.

Mittendorfer should try eating more protein to strengthen the muscles that shut her mouth.

Of course, "adequate" anything is arguably the right amount. The problems are the suggestions made by these research fools.

Vitamins 'may shorten your life'

Oops.

Still think they know what a "healthy" food or supplement is?

Are you still an idiot?

"Research has suggested certain vitamin supplements do not extend life and could even lead to a premature death.

A review of 67 studies found 'no convincing evidence' that antioxidant supplements cut the risk of dying.

Scientists at Copenhagen University said vitamins A and E could interfere with the body's natural defences.

'Even more, beta-carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E seem to increase mortality,' according to the review by the respected Cochrane Collaboration.

After various factors were taken into account and a further 20 studies excluded, the researchers linked vitamin A supplements to a 16% increased risk of dying, beta-carotene to a 7% increased risk and vitamin E to a 4% increased risk.

Vitamin C did not appear to have any effect one way or the other, and the team said more work was needed into this supplement - as well as into selenium.

In conclusion, 'we found no evidence to support antioxidant supplements for primary or secondary prevention,' they said.

It was unclear exactly why the supplements could have this effect, but the team speculated that they could interfere with how the body works: beta-carotene, for instance, is thought to change the way a body uses fats."

The last sentence is worthless speculation.

The worthwhile part is simple: no one knows what a "healthy" food or supplement is.

But, eating healthily is known.

Do it.

So are the benefits of fitness.

Get fit.

Weight discrimination common, U.S. survey finds

It's back. The same stupid study about fat discrimination getting more press.

The majority is bitching about being discriminated against by the minority.

Shut your fat mouths.

Especially as food approaches.

Maybe then you will lose the weight and the reason for your complaining.

Low-impact exercise helps obese boys burn more fat

Hey, look! It's another sh** for brains study.

"For obese boys, lower-intensity exercise like walking may be better at burning fat than more-vigorous workouts, a small study suggests.

In exercise tests of 30 thin or obese 12-year-old boys, French researchers found that obese boys burned the most fat when they worked out at a modest intensity -- akin to riding a bike on level ground.

Once the activity became more challenging, their bodies began to use substantially less fat compared with normal-weight boys...

During the tests, the researchers measured the amount of oxygen the boys inhaled and the amount of carbon dioxide they exhaled, which allowed them to estimate how much fat the boys were burning at a given exercise intensity.

he researchers found that at lower-intensity levels, thin and obese boys burned fat at a similar rate. But at higher intensity levels, obese boys' fat-burning rate lagged behind the thinner boys' rate. Moreover, obese boys hit their maximum fat-burning potential at a fairly low intensity of exercise.

The reason for the disparity may have to do with muscle, according to Zunquin's team."

Look up the so-called anaerobic threshold, you stupid, stupid researchers.

Increased lung cancer risk from inhaled insulin

Still looking for the "safe" diet drug?

"Pfizer Inc. and Nektar Therapeutics said on Wednesday clinical trials of the inhaled insulin Exubera found increased cases of lung cancer, leading Nektar to end talks with potential partners to market the product."

This is comforting.

"Pfizer updated the Exubera labeling to include a warning with safety information about lung cancer cases found in patients who used Exubera, which U.S. regulators approved in January 2006."

If you are ready to successfully lose the weight, go here.

Heart risk may be set in the womb

Not exactly.

"Researchers compared the metabolic rates of Zebra Finches who had been fed a regular protein diet with finches who had been switched from a low to high protein diet halfway through their period of growth."

Birdbrains.

Estrogen linked to benign breast lumps

Still looking for the "safe" diet drug or the hormonal "cure" for your overweight/obesity?

"Add another risk to hormone therapy after menopause: Benign breast lumps. One type of hormone therapy — estrogen plus progestin — already is well-known to increase the risk of breast cancer. But a major study of women able to use estrogen alone didn't find that link.

Tuesday, researchers reported a new wrinkle: Those estrogen-only users doubled their chances of getting non-cancerous breast lumps. That's a concern not only because of the extra biopsies and worry those lumps cause, but because a particular type — called benign proliferative breast disease — is suspected of being a first step toward developing cancer 10 years or so later."

Look first for your brain, fool.

US Water Pipelines Are Breaking

Another thing breaking as breaking waistlines break the sick care and other banks.

"The infrastructure that delivers water to the nation's cities is badly aging and in need of repairs.

The Environmental Protection Agency says utilities will need to invest more than $277 billion over the next two decades on repairs and improvements to drinking water systems. Water industry engineers put the figure drastically higher, at about $480 billion.

Water utilities, largely managed by city governments, have never faced improvements of this magnitude before. And customers will have to bear the majority of the cost through rate increases, according to the American Water Works Association, an industry group.

Engineers say this is a crucial era for the nation's water systems, especially in older cities like New York, where some pipes and tunnels were built in the 1800s and are now nearing the end of their life expectancies."

Next time your water main busts, you can blame it on the people whose bellies bust.

6 kidneys transplanted at once in MD.

Bet that MD will have to pee a lot.

"Johns Hopkins surgeons transplanted a half-dozen kidneys simultaneously, an operation believed to be the first of its kind, hospital officials announced Tuesday."

Type 2 diabetes self-care challenging for teens

Well, what did you expect? Duh.

"Young people with type 2 diabetes struggle to maintain healthy eating habits and to get enough exercise, with non-white teens appearing to have a particularly tough time, according to what the researchers call the most comprehensive study to date of self-care among adolescents with the disease...

Rothman and his team are now investigating interventions like social networking and motivational communications with families to help adolescents with type 2 diabetes adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles."

And it will never work as long as impossible diets are recommended, the myth of healthy foods is perpetuated and "exercise" is recommended for weight loss - the sure to fail trifecta.

World food shortages to stay, riots a risk: FAO

More good news all around.

"Global food prices, based on United Nations records, rose 35 percent in the year to the end of January, markedly accelerating an upturn that began, gently at first, in 2002.

Since then, prices have risen 65 percent. In 2007 alone, according to the FAO's world food index, dairy prices rose nearly 80 percent and grain 42 percent."

Pay more, eat less.

And this should gladden the "exercise" crowd:

"Food riots which have struck several impoverished countries could spread with shortages and high prices set to continue for some time, the head of the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said."

Rioting burns Calories.

Seven or more eggs a week raises risk of death

Not six. Not five. But seven.

"Middle-aged men who ate seven or more eggs a week had a higher risk of earlier death, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday."

Unless you have diabetes and are male.

"Men with diabetes who ate any eggs at all raised their risk of death during a 20-year period studied, according to the study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition."

Then one will kill you.

What to do when you read stuff like this:

"'Egg consumption was not associated with (heart attack) or stroke,' the researchers wrote.

But the men who ate seven eggs a week or more were 23 percent more likely to have died during the 20-year period.

Diabetic men who ate any eggs at all were twice as likely to die in the 20 years.

Men who ate the most eggs also were older, fatter, ate more vegetables but less breakfast cereal, and were more likely to drink alcohol, smoke and less likely to exercise -- all factors that can affect the risk of heart attack and death."

Pray for bird flu.

Herculean effort needed on obesity - AMA

Kudos, fatsos.

"The use of an RAAF aircraft to fly a morbidly obese and critically ill woman to hospital highlights the pressures the obesity epidemic puts on medical services, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) says.

The woman, who weighed about 240kg, had to be flown from Mount Isa to Townsville Hospital last Tuesday in a C-130 Hercules aircraft because she was too heavy for an ambulance or the Royal Flying Doctor Service's aircraft, authorities said.

'She was unable to be transferred by any other means so we enlisted the help of the defence force,' a Queensland Health said.

A defence spokeswoman said the operation was approved because of its 'lifesaving nature'. (sic) The cost of the operation was not available.

AMA Queensland president Ross Cartmill said the obesity epidemic was costing the health system an immeasurable amount of time and money.

'It's not just the expense though - certainly it's the bed occupancy, the prolongation of their hospitalisation and the prolongation of their recovery,' Dr Cartmill said.

But obese patients were much more likely to die of complications during and after surgery, which sometimes had to be undertaken because less invasive procedures were not available to them, he said.

He said some overweight patients had to be turned away from specific procedures, such as removing kidney stones, because medical equipment could not cope with their size.
Others were referred to dieticians before elective surgery...

'There's got to be a thorough attempt at educating the community on the ramifications of being overweight, obviously not just what goes wrong when you have to have surgery, but what's going wrong every day of their lives, shortening their lives.'"

Fly the flabby skies.

Medicine mix-ups harm hospitalized kids

And they are doing the malpractice known as bariatric surgery on kids.

"Medicine mix-ups, accidental overdoses and bad drug reactions harm roughly one out of 15 hospitalized children, according to the first scientific test of a new detection method.

That number is far higher than earlier estimates and bolsters concerns already heightened by well publicized cases like the accidental drug overdose of actor Dennis Quaid's newborn twins last November.

'These data and the Dennis Quaid episode are telling us that ... these kinds of errors and experiencing harm as a result of your health care is much more common than people believe. It's very concerning,' said Dr. Charles Homer of the National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality. His group helped develop the detection tool used in the study.

Researchers found a rate of 11 drug-related harmful events for every 100 hospitalized children. That compares with an earlier estimate of two per 100 hospitalized children, based on traditional detection methods. The rate reflects the fact that some children experienced more than one drug treatment mistake.

The new estimate translates to 7.3 percent of hospitalized children, or about 540,000 kids each year, a calculation based on government data."

Another way nutritionally abused kids get harmed.

Hospital capacity drives costs

Another good reason for the sick care industry to keep you in the dark about their intentionally doomed to fail weight loss advice - if you "need" the malpractice known as bariatric surgery, you fill a bed, or two, or three, or...

"Dr. Elliott Fisher, who led the study, said that more days in the hospital did not necessarily lead to better outcomes. Those patients were usually seen by more specialists, and they spent more time in the intensive care unit, but they did not live longer, on average.

'We know that hospitals are dangerous places if you don't need to be there,' Fisher said."

Amen. As in you never need to be there because you are fat.

"So, what led patients to visit the hospital more often? The report says it's the supply of beds — not how sick patients are — that is the key driver."

And the overweight/obesity issue is the key driver of chronic illnesses today.

You can fix it.

Babies' sleep tied to childhood obesity

More sleep crap claimed to affect younger and younger kids.

Baby abuse by sleep deprivation. Soon it will be fetus abuse by sleep deprivation.

"When the wind blows, the cradle will rock. And when babies sleep less, they may gain too much weight. A new Harvard study finds that babies and toddlers who sleep fewer than 12 hours daily are at greater risk for being overweight in preschool, startling evidence that the link between sleep and obesity may affect even very young children...

Starting when the babies were 6 months old, mothers were asked how long their children napped during the day and how long they slept at night. Moms were asked again when the children were 1 and 2 years old. They were asked about TV time when the children reached age 2.

The researchers combined the sleep answers to find an average pattern for each child during the first two years of life. They found 586 of the children slept an average of 12 or more hours a day and 329 of the children slept less than that.

Among the long sleepers, 7 percent were obese at age 3.

The short sleepers fared worse. Twelve percent of them became obese 3-year-olds. Adding TV to the picture, 17 percent of those who slept less than 12 hours a day and watched two or more hours of television a day were obese by the time they were 3."

Add the TV, for which allegedly the researchers corrected.

"TV viewing is thought to increase the risk of obesity both because it takes time away from calorie-burning play and because of food ads for snacks and fast food."

Clearly, 0-2 year olds are significantly affected; independent thinkers, actors and consumers that they are.

Still, what did the babies do while awake?

How about get fed by their nutritionally child abusing parents?

Then there is this nugget.

"But she cautioned that genetics may play a role in sleep and a person's genetic makeup may limit how much sleep duration can be improved."

So maybe you cannot do anything.

Shut up, already.

Exercise during pregnancy benefits baby too

Oh, yeah?

"'When the mom exercises during pregnancy, the unborn baby gets the same type of training effect that you would see in an adult — so you see the lower heart rate and also improved heart rate variability, which is evidence of improvements in the nervous system of the heart.'"

But does it keep the fetuses awake?

Fatter kids force bigger classroom desks

Trees. Another casualty from overweight/obesity.

"WALES’ obesity crisis is forcing schools to order larger and stronger furniture to cope with fatter children.

Fears of growing class sizes are not just confined to pupil numbers, with teachers worried that desks and chairs are not up to the task of seating a generation which is getting bigger and bigger.

Figures show that 22 per cent of boys and 17 per cent of girls in Wales are overweight or obese, with almost one in five 13-year-olds falling into the same category – higher than in England, Scotland and Ireland.

A report by furniture suppliers, which measured 1,400 pupils, found that children are more than an inch taller and several pounds heavier than a generation ago.

Philip Dixon of ATL Cymru, the union for teachers and university lecturers, said: 'We’ve got to make sure that children are comfortable in the classroom.

'But the underlying thing is we have to tackle childhood obesity because it leads to all sorts of problems. We’ve got to tackle obesity. We can’t go on like this.

'Teachers are reporting a definite problem. Our members are concerned in the rise we have seen in childhood obesity and that’s certainly having an impact in the classroom,' he added. 'We have to act over this. Statistics show that children are overweight and that is why we have to make allowances.

'We need to make arrangements to deal with the effects of this and furniture needs to be adapted, because it has health and safety implications as well.'

A Pembrokeshire County Council spokesman said: 'We have carried out some consultation with pupils and a small number find their chairs too small. In the light of the survey, we will ask for furniture samples from the supplier for the next new school we build to ensure that desks and chairs suit all pupils.'

Graham Hirst, head of sales and marketing for Baglan-based Remploy Furniture said: 'We’ve been making educational furniture since 1946 and have seen pupils’ sizes change with issues such as childhood obesity and they’re growing up fast and they’re a little bit wider as well. There is a need to make a change.

'In primary schools, it might be that the size of furniture that suited a seven year old 10 years ago, would now suit a five or six year old. We are heavily involved in the migration from old size furniture to the new sizes."

Since parents (worldwide, don't blame Wales) cannot rally around themselves and their children, opting instead to abuse, sicken and kill them, perhaps they can rally around this:

Save the trees!

Nutritional Labels: How Precise Are They?

The Reporting at ABCNews: How Precise Are They?

Not very.

In fact, the dimbulbs there do reporting at a level that would make researchers in the overweight/obesity realm proud.

"The 'Nutrition Facts' panels on foods may not be as accurate as you might think.

'Good Morning America' hired a lab to test a dozen packaged food products to see if the nutrients in them matched the labels.

'I don't think anyone knows for sure how accurate the nutrition labels are,' said Delia Hammock from the Good Housekeeping Institute."

That would be this Delia Smith.

Fact is, perfection is a very difficult standard.

The real issues are, over time, do the variations average out and are they really significant, anyhow?

For example:

"In another case of government doublespeak, 'no' means none, but that's not necessarily what 'zero' means. Manufacturers are allowed to list '0' even if their product contains up to half a gram of a nutrient."

Calorically speaking, which is all that matters in the weight debate, the most a serving can be off is 4.5 Calories.

If this, 4.5 Calories, is what's preventing you from losing weight, you are full of it.

Speaking of full of it, here is more from the ABCNews idiots:

"As for total fat, consider Snackwell's Devil's Food Cookies. With '0' fat listed, they're supposed to be a guilt-free treat for dieters, but the lab we hired found more than a quarter of a gram of fat in each one-cookie serving."

Oh my God!

That amounts to a whopping 2.25 Calories.

If this, 2.25 Calories, is what's preventing you from losing weight you are so full of it, you should work for ABCNews.

But what does make a difference is the really important stuff ABCNews will not report:

That it is the the media sponsor of some of the worst offenders in what I opine is the nutritional homicide effort by the IMHO cons Oprah Winfrey, Mehmet Oz, David Katz and Jorge Cruise.

This irresponsible network is using your airways to sicken and kill you, IMHO.

Fight back.

Study on healthier foods at school released

And...

"Five Philadelphia elementary schools replaced sodas with fruit juice.

They scaled back snacks and banished candy. They handed out raffle tickets for wise food choices. They spent hours teaching kids, their parents and teachers about good nutrition.

What have they got to show for it?

The number of kids who got fat during the two-year experiment was half the number of kids who got fat in schools that didn't make those efforts...

The bad news: There were still plenty of new overweight kids in the five schools — over 7 percent of them became overweight compared to the 15 percent in the schools that didn't make changes."

The point?

"For the study, changes were made to the food in vending machines or the cafeteria in five of the schools. Juice, water and low-fat milk replaced sodas."

It is not and never will be about "healthy" foods.

It is and always will be about Calories in vs. Calories out.

"She said the children were also urged to exercise at activity stations during recess. They were measured and weighed periodically and surveyed about food and exercise."

And even with all the efforts obesity did not change.

"There was no difference between school groups in new obese students (6 percent) or the overall number of obese (about 25 percent). Obese children probably benefit more from individually targeted efforts, Foster said."

Incidentally, the report of this "study" did not state many important things like whether there was weight loss (the kids who got fat number was provided; this is different), what happens after 2 years (unknowable from this study) and what the relative contributions to this likely illusory victory were from increased physical activity vs. the food.

Too early to do any back-slapping.

But they did, anyway.

Three rare mutations lower blood pressure: study

More bad news for the morons awaiting the genetic "cure" for overweight/obesity.

"Up to 100 million people globally have genetic mutations that keep their blood pressure low and lower their risk of heart and kidney disease and stroke, U.S. researchers reported on Sunday...

'We find that about two percent of the population has mutations in at least one of these three genes -- although all of the identified mutations are individually very rare...

Lifton's team has found other genetic mutations affecting blood pressure.

'Because these three genes comprise only a small fraction of those in which mutations are known to alter blood pressure, and because there are likely to be many more genes yet to be discovered, it seems probable that the combined effects of rare independent mutations will account for a substantial fraction of blood pressure variation in the population,' they concluded."

In other words, it is too complex for them to figure out in time, if ever, to save your fat ass.

Study ties bedroom TV to unhealthy habits in teens

An opportunity here.

But first...

"The researchers tracked body mass index -- a measure based on height and weight -- and found that having a bedroom TV had no influence on whether teens were obese."

So the overweight/obesity-combating value of any intervention is, according to this article, of questionable value.

Still, likely worthwhile to try, IMHO.

Now this...

"Teenagers with a bedroom television tend to have poorer diet and exercise habits and lower grades in school than those without one, U.S. researchers said on Monday."

Here is the opportunity.

Broadcast TV is going digital next year. Do not upgrade any sets in kid's rooms with converter boxes and limit the number of government subsidized boxes to one per household.

Sure this will not work with households that have cable.

Cut the wire.

Carpe opportunity.

What's Male, Six-Months Pregnant And Smaller Than Oprah?

Thomas Beatie, the transgender man who gets pregnant by artificial insemination, appeared with his wife, Nancy, on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" Thursday. The program included a chat with their obstetrician -- who declared their baby "totally healthy" -- and footage of the baby's ultrasound. Beatie, 34, is six months' pregnant and on target to deliver a healthy girl -- which he is carrying in the womb he kept intact when he became a man 10 years ago, media reports said. (Source: chinadaily.com.cn)

Thomas is the smaller one on the left. Oprah, the weight loss and fitness expert is on the right.

Single virus gene may cause obesity

Wanna bet?

"If obesity seems to be spreading like a virus, that could be because it is. We're now closer to understanding how adenovirus-36 (Ad-36), thought to be responsible for some cases of obesity, causes fat cells to grow."

More likely the Sh**-For-Brains virus is hard at work in this lab.

Study: Obesity, diabetes rates rising faster in NYC than U.S.

The Bigger Apple.

"New York City's obesity and diabetes rates are rising faster than in the rest of the country, a city health department study said.

New York's obesity and diabetes rates each jumped by 17 percent between 2002 and 2004, according to the city Department of Health and Hygiene study. The national obesity rate rose by 6 percent during the same time period, while the diabetes rate held steady nationally at 7 percent, according to the study, published in this month's issue of the journal Preventing Chronic Disease."

Ready to learn how to lose weight properly?

5-year-old Spanish child dies of obesity

Sad.

"A five-year-old child has died of obesity in Murcia city in southeastern Spain, local media reported Saturday.

The Murcia health department said the child weighed 50kg, much more than the 18 to 20 kg of his normal-weight peers."

But not unexpected.

Prosecute these, and other nutritional child abusers.

Pediatric Gymnastics Related Injuries A Concern

Don't move. Stay right where you are.

"More than 600,000 children participate in school-sponsored and club-level gymnastics competitions annually in the United States. Yet gymnastics continues to be overlooked in terms of potential for injury, while having one of the highest injury rates of all girls' sports.

A study, conducted by researchers in the Center for Injury Research and Policy (CIRP) at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital and published in the April electronic issue of Pediatrics, examined data on children 6 to 17 years of age who were treated in hospital emergency departments for gymnastics-related injuries between 1990 and 2005. According to the findings, on average nearly 27,000 injuries are reported each year nearly 426,000 injuries during the 16-year period."

From a weight control standpoint, it seems as if they advocate that controlling Calories in is safer than controlling Calories out.

True, if you want to avoid injury.

It is clear that until life can be made risk-free, it is safer to not be born.

But who can be so lucky?

In the unlucky event that you have been born, it appears safer not to engage in life.

Sveltest Borough Award Goes to . . .

The Pyrrhic victory award goes to...

"A new health department analysis says that New Yorkers are getting fatter and that obesity and diabetes are growing faster in the city than in the rest of the country. But generally, Manhattanites have fared better than residents of other boroughs.

About one in four New Yorkers is overweight. And from 2002 to 2004, according to the analysis, New Yorkers collectively gained 10 million pounds.

Wondering how much more crowded that makes the city? Or, why you’re rubbing up against the next person on the subway or bus?

Think of it this way: 10 million more pounds is the equivalent of adding 20 full-size replicas of the Statue of Liberty."

Victory comes so cheaply these days.

So does misinformation.

"People gain weight for two reasons: They eat more. They exercise less."

Wrong.

People gain weight for one reason. They eat more Calories than they burn.

Then, again, it is the New York Times.

Who expects accuracy from it?

Restaurants may be forced to use 'traffic light' labels on menus

Good idea. Bad implementation.

"Restaurants could be forced to introduce a 'traffic light' labelling system on menus to help curb rising levels of obesity, it was revealed to The Independent on Sunday last night. Diners could be faced with green, amber and red circles to guide them to the healthiest dishes on the menu.

A green circle would show food is safe and advisable to eat, while amber foods should be eaten in moderation. The unhealthiest food would carry a red circle warning of high fat, sugar and salt content and eaten only occasionally."

Since there are no "healthy" foods, the implementation is bad.

All there are, are Calories.

Better just to put a STOP sign on the door for fat people.

Or simply narrow the doorway to prevent ingress.

Will Chinese Medicine Help Yao?

No.

"'I am aware of no scientific evidence that has established that traditional Chinese medicine modalities have any positive effect on stress fractures,' Neviaser says."

Thanks for asking.

But when you have money to burn...

Early-Onset Obesity In Father Linked To Increased Potential For Liver Disease In Child

Possibly another argument in favor of preventing fat people from parenting since their offspring are likely to be sick.

"A history of early-onset paternal obesity increases the odds of elevated liver enzyme levels in offspring and points to the potential for a genetic link between obesity and liver disease, according to a study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.

This new study found that participants with paternal early-onset obesity had higher serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels than those without paternal obesity. These results showed that children with fathers who were defined as clinically obese at an early age were more likely to have increased liver enzyme levels, an indicator of liver disease."

More child abuse by the fat.

Health Benefits Discovered In Natural Trans Fats, University Of Alberta Study Shows

Still think they know what a healthy food is?

"Contrary to popular opinion, not all trans fats are bad for you.

University of Alberta researcher Flora Wang found that a diet with enriched levels of trans vaccenic acid (VA) - a natural animal fat found in dairy and beef products - can reduce risk factors associated with heart disease, diabetes and obesity...

Because VA is the major natural trans fat in dairy and beef products, comprising more than 70 per cent of the proportion of natural trans fat content in those products, the findings support a growing body of evidence that indicates natural animal-based trans fat is different than harmful hydrogenated trans fat created through industrial processing, Wang noted.

'As the VA results illustrate, some natural trans fats are not harmful and may in fact be very good for you,' she said."

This is directly from the University.

You might want to recheck your trans fats.

Backlash Against Big Beauty Queen

More lack of diligence from ABCNews, the media sponsor of IMHO cons Oprah Winfrey, Mehmet Oz, David Katz and Jorge Cruise.

"Body mass index is a measure of an adult's body fat based on height and weight. The normal range of BMI for a woman of Marshall's height and weight is between 20 and 25, according to Wolper. A BMI of 30 indicates obesity.

An estimated 65 percent of all Americans are considered obese."

More like "An estimated 65 percent of all Americans are considered" overweight.

Check your facts.

BTW, the "beauty queen" is fat.