Cardiovascular Care Costs Rising, Report Says

Kudos, fatsos.

"The new year will ring in record high costs for treating heart disease and stroke, according to an American Heart Association report that projects a 5.8% increase over 2009 spending.

Costs for cardiovascular care will rise to $503.2 billion in the U.S. next year, Donald Lloyd-Jones, MD, ScM, of Northwestern University, and colleagues predicted in the AHA statistics update.

Direct costs will reach an estimated $324.1 billion, putting cardiovascular disease ahead of all other diagnostics groups, they wrote online in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Digestive diseases came in second, with $225.2 billion for 2010, with mental, nervous system, and injury and poisoning closely bunched between $172 billion and $178 billion each.

The biggest contributor to cardiovascular care costs was expected to be coronary heart disease, which at $177.1 billion for direct and indirect costs, was more than double that of stroke or hypertensive disease ($76.6 billion and $73.7 billion, respectively).

Direct costs incurred at the hospital were the biggest component in cardiovascular care, at an estimated $155.7 billion.

The authors said they based their projections on the most recent, nationally-representative data (largely the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) and relevant literature from the past year.

The report was a collaboration with the CDC, the National Institutes of Health, and other government agencies.

Lloyd-Jones' group attributed the rising costs, in part, to poorly controlled risk factors, particularly obesity.

Among the notable findings:

Physical inactivity is rife, with 59% of adults in the 2008 National Health Interview Survey reporting no vigorous activity.

Cholesterol control is poor: fewer than half of treatment candidates, or even of the highest-risk, symptomatic heart disease patients receive lipid-lowering treatment, and only a third of treated patients reach their LDL goal.

Obesity has reached at least 34% prevalence in adults and will likely continue to rise, given that 11.3% of children ages 2 to 19 were at or above the 97th percentile of BMI-for-age in the 2003-2006 NHANES.

Obesity now accounts for almost 10% of all medical spending, an estimated $147 billion per year in 2008, according to Lloyd-Jones' group.

"If current trends in the growth of obesity continue, total healthcare costs attributable to obesity could reach $861 to 957 billion by 2030, which would account for 16% to 18% of U.S. health expenditures," they wrote.

The economic consequences of physical inactivity may account for 1.5% to 3.0% of total direct healthcare expenditures, according to World Health Organization data cited in the report."

You fat folks are eating away at the rest of us in addition to all the food you eat away at.

Stop them.

Getting real with fitness resolutions

More bad fitness advice.

"New Year's resolutions: We make them, we break them, we make them again.

So it's no surprise that 'Get Fit' tops many of the same lists year after year.

Fitness experts say if you're serious about shaping up this time, start by trading in your impossible dreams for some attainable goals."

If you are REALLY serious, your commitment is not to the goal - it is to the process.

As long as you remain on a fitness program that has a real likelihood of succeeding and follow it diligently, the results will come.

Seems as if 2009 is ending on the same bad MSM note as the prior years.

Too bad.

Type-two diabetes limb amputations rise dramatically

Type 2 diabetes is fat person diabetes and if you fatsos are too stupid to limit the Calories you consume, at least you can limit the number of limbs you have.

"The number of people in England having a limb amputated because of type-two diabetes has risen dramatically, a study has shown.

Between 1996 and 2005, below-ankle amputations doubled to more than 2,000, and major amputations increased by 43%."

Kudos, fatsos.

Limp on.

Movement Comes With Appetite

Excusination, BS and a piece of truth (must have been included by mistake).

"A body that is provided with food too often gets caught up in the maelstrom of a lack of exercise, obesity and ultimately diabetes. The trigger is a molecular switch that is controlled by insulin, a new study by scientists from ETH Zurich has revealed...

Hunger makes you active

The key switch player in this is a transcription factor called Foxa2. Transcription factors are proteins that make sure other genes are activated and converted into proteins. Foxa2 is found in the liver, where it influences fatburning, but also in two important neuron populations in the hypothalamus -- the region of the brain that controls the daily rhythm, sleep, intake of food and sexual behavior. The control element for Foxa2 activity is insulin, in both the liver and the hypothalamus.

If a person or animal ingests food, the beta cells in the pancreas release insulin, which blocks Foxa2. When fasting, there is a lack of insulin and Foxa2 is active. In the brain, the scientists have discovered, Foxa2 assists the formation of two proteins: MCH and orexin. These two brain messenger substances trigger different behavior patterns: the intake of food and spontaneous movement. If mammals are hungry, they are more alert and physically active. In short, they hunt and look for food. 'If you watch a cat or a dog before feeding it, you can see this very clearly,' says Stoffel.

Explanation found for lack of movement

The researchers discovered a disorder in obese mice: in these animals, Foxa2 is permanently active, regardless of whether the animals are fasting or full. This explains a well-known but until now unaccountable phenomenon: the lack of movement in obese people and animals.

To prove this, the researchers used a genetic trick to breed mice, in the brains of which Foxa2 is always active, regardless of whether they have just eaten or are fasting. These mice produce more MCH and orexin and move five times more than normal animals, in which insulin deactivates Foxa2 after eating or which are obese. The genetically modified mice lose fatty tissue and form larger muscles. Their sugar and fat metabolism works flat out and their blood values are considerably improved.

Three meals a day suffice

For Stoffel, the study clearly shows that, 'The body needs fasting periods to stay healthy.' Moreover, you should make sure you have a good body weight. He therefore doesn't think much of eating many little meals spread out over the day; it is better to eat less frequently but well, and leave room in between to get hungry. After all, because insulin is released during every meal, thus suppressing Foxa2, the motivation to do physical exercise and burn sugar and fat visibly decreases."

True - if you are hungry, you move to find food. Also, there is no significant weight advantage to spreading Calories out among either more or fewer meals.

Excuse - fat people are not restricted from moving during other times. Even though "exercise" is a terribly ineffective and inefficient way to control weight, there remain no laws prohibiting it.

BS - there simply are no genetics that result in obesity. There is only more Calories in than out, mostly due to laziness and stupidity.

Another 'bad' cholesterol linked to heart disease found

Which is why "Fitness is the only REAL preventive medicine (tm)" since they will find more and more causes of illness.

"Scientists say they have found proof that another "bad" type of cholesterol contributes to heart disease.

Unlike the well-known LDL cholesterol, lipoprotein(a) or Lp(a) cannot be controlled by cutting down on dietary fats or taking a statin drug...

And other drugs might work to minimise its effects, they told the New England Journal of Medicine...

Prof Weissberg said everyone could reduce their risk of heart disease by eating a healthy balanced diet, being physically active and avoiding smoking."

Now the last paragraph contains good advice.

Follow it.

Overweight, Obesity in Teens Linked to Increased Risk for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

More nutritional child abuse.

"Similar to adults, adolescents have an increased risk of having obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in association with overweight and obesity, according to the results of a study reported in the December issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine."

Time to help the kids by holding the parents accountable - it's the law.

Adverse Consequences of Obesity May Be Greater Than Previously Thought

You fat folk cause much more harm to the rest of us than previously thought.

"The link between obesity and cardiovascular mortality may be substantially underestimated, while some of the adverse consequences of being underweight may be overstated, concludes a study published online in the British Medical Journal.

This means that the adverse influence of higher BMI and obesity in a population is of greater magnitude than previously thought, say the authors.

Numerous studies have already investigated the link between body mass index (BMI) and mortality. They show that high BMI is associated with higher rates of death from cardiovascular causes, diabetes, and some cancers, while low BMI is associated with increased mortality from other causes, such as respiratory disease and lung cancer.

But there are inconsistencies in the evidence that low body mass index actually increases the risk of causes of death such as respiratory disease and lung cancer.

Some researchers argue that this association may be biased by a process called reverse causality, where a severe illness, such as lung cancer, leads to both weight loss and higher mortality. Other factors such as smoking and poor socioeconomic circumstances may also lead to biasing estimates. This is known as confounding.

So a team from the University of Bristol and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden set out to obtain a valid estimate of the association between body mass index (BMI) and mortality by comparing, for over one million Swedish parent-son pairs, the BMI of the sons as young adults with mortality among their parents.

Using offspring BMI as an indicator of parental BMI avoids problems of reverse causality and is less influenced by confounding, explain the authors.

Their analysis shows strong associations between high offspring BMI (used as a so-called instrumental variable) and parental mortality from cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and some cancers, as reported in other studies of own BMI with mortality. However, unlike previous studies, there was no evidence of an association between low BMI and an increased risk of respiratory disease and lung cancer mortality.

These findings suggest that the apparent adverse consequences of low BMI on respiratory disease and lung cancer mortality may be overstated, whereas the adverse consequences of higher BMI on cardiovascular disease mortality may be substantially underestimated, say the authors.

These conclusions have important implications for public health practice because they suggest that reducing population levels of overweight and obesity (or preventing their rise) will have a considerable benefit to population health, they add. Suggestions to the contrary, which have received considerable media attention over recent years, are probably misguided."

Kudos, fatsos.

And the rest of us can get deserved kudos if we stop supporting these bronto-sapiens.

Enhanced Sweet Taste: Endocannabinoids Act Directly on Tongue Taste Receptors

These researchers must be on drugs.

"New findings from the Monell Center and Kyushu University in Japan report that endocannabinoids act directly on taste receptors on the tongue to enhance sweet taste.

'Our taste cells may be more involved in regulating our appetites than we had previously known,' said study author Robert Margolskee, M.D., Ph.D., a Monell molecular biologist. 'Better understanding of the driving forces for eating and overeating could lead to interventions to stem the burgeoning rise in obesity and related diseases.'

Endocannabinoids are substances similar to THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. Produced in the brain and body, they bind with cannabinoid receptors to help regulate appetite and many other processes involved in health and disease."

Wrongo, friend.

The only interventions needed for fatsos are self-control and leaving the rest of us out of it or the forms of mortality that accompany the choice to be overweight/obese.

Largest-Ever Meta-Analysis Finds CRP Is Unlikely to Be Causal for CVD

Still think they have any idea what is going on?

"In the largest and most comprehensive meta-analysis to date looking at C-reactive-protein (CRP) levels and risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke, British researchers conclude that CRP is unlikely to be a causal factor for cardiovascular disease.

Although CRP concentration was linearly associated with CHD, stroke, and vascular mortality, as well as nonvascular mortality, statistical adjustment for conventional cardiovascular risk factors 'resulted in considerable weakening of associations,' note the scientists of the Cambridge-based Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration (ERFC), who report their findings online December 21, 2009 in the Lancet."

CRP and inflammation are two of the holy biomarker grails of sick care.

They don't.

'Good' cholesterol less protective with diabetes

Still think they have any idea what is going on?

"HDL lowers heart risks because it clears low-density lipoprotein, or LDL cholesterol, away from arteries and back to the liver, where it is passed out of the body.

Several recent studies also suggest HDL protects arteries by promoting cell healing and repair.

But in people with diabetes, HDL may be less protective, researchers at the University Hospital Zurich and the Medical School of Hannover in Germany reported in the journal Circulation."

They don't.

Fitness is your best bet.

Relying on them will fail you more times than not.

Role of Addiction Cannot Be Ignored in Obesity Epidemic

So?

"The causes of obesity are complex and individual, but it is clear that chronic overeating plays a fundamental role. But when this behaviour becomes compulsive and out of control, it is often classified as "food addiction" -- a label that has generated considerable controversy, according to a McMaster University psychiatrist and obesity researcher."

As it should, since it makes no difference anyway in terms of who is responsible for "treatment."

If you are a fat f**k and "addicted" to Calories, pay for your own chosen path to therapy.

Leave the rest of society out of it.

And BTW, there is only one cause of obesity - more Calories in than out.

There are however, many complex and individual excuses.

SABCS: Obesity Hampers Breast Cancer Therapy

End of year. End of your breasts.

"Obesity significantly worsens breast cancer prognosis, including response to therapy and survival, data from a large Danish study showed.

Compared to normal-weight breast cancer patients, obese patients had as much as a 38% greater risk of breast cancer mortality 10 years after diagnosis. Obesity increased the risk of distant metastasis by almost 50%.

Normal-weight women also were as much as 77% more likely to benefit from adjuvant systemic therapy for breast cancer."

Guess that is one way to get rid of some baggage for the new year.

Seems like a rough one to me, though.

Child fitness levels 'declining even in affluent areas'

Yep.

"Sedentary lifestyles are making children less fit - even among those who are not obese, a study suggests.

Essex University staged fitness tests on 600 10-year-olds a decade apart in an area with low levels of obesity.
They found significant falls in fitness levels, concluding the average 10-year-old in 1998 could beat 95% of youngsters in 2008 in running tests.

The researchers said the focus on obesity was obscuring the health risks of wider declines in fitness levels."

There are two main types of fitness - nutritional fitness and physical fitness.

Here the kids are not physically fit, but we do not know if any were nutritionally fit, i.e., not OVERWEIGHT.

We just know that some were not obese.

Still, a sad state of affairs.

Physiologic Factors Linked to Image Quality of Multidetector Computed Tomography Scans

Too fat to image.

"A large multicenter international trial found that the image quality of multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) scans, used for the noninvasive detection of coronary artery disease, can be significantly affected by patient characteristics such as ethnicity, body mass index (BMI), and heart rate, according to a study in the January issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology."

Embarrassing.

Heavy teens at risk for sleep apnea

More nutritional child abuse.

"Obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, occurs when airway passages become blocked during sleep, cutting off breathing for brief but frequent periods. It is often accompanied by heavy snoring.

OSA is increasingly being recognized in children and the sleep disturbances caused by OSA can lead to daytime learning and behavior problems in children, as well as more serious health problems, such as high blood pressure.

In the new study, researchers found that the risk of OSA among a group of white adolescents aged 12 and older increased 3.5-fold with each upward increase in body weight classification."

Hold the parents accountable.

Santa Claus at Risk? Unhealthy Lifestyle, Unreasonable Working Conditions, and Stress

No presents next year, Santa will be dead.

"An unhealthy lifestyle, unreasonable working conditions, and then the stress of having to deliver 152 million Christmas gifts in 24 hours. The extreme accomplishments of Santa Claus are making researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden doubt his very existence.

Santa's quite obvious abdominal obesity and deep red facial complexion are convincing indicators that the man is at risk for both heart attack and stroke. "I'm confident that he would benefit from treatment of both diabetes and high blood pressure. And cholesterol-lowering drugs would probably not hurt either. As if that wasn't enough, new research shows that his abdominal obesity is a risk factor for dementia," says Annika Rosengren, professor at the Department of Emergency and Cardiovascular Medicine.

Too much sugar and fat

Since Santa lives in Lapland (Henrik Aronsson, reader at the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, claims that the North Pole is out of the question due to its apparent lack of reindeer pasture), there is fortunately a potential for healthy cooking using clear spring water, reindeer meat and salmon. Yet, Christmas means bad sleep and lots of stress to the point it may affect him well into the spring. In addition, the holiday rush may make it difficult for Santa to plan his meals.
"Mr. Claus eats too much sugar and saturated fat. The foods that people give him are very energy dense. I'm thinking of candy, rice pudding and high-fat cuts of meat. People generally gain about half a kilo over Christmas," says Mette Axelsen, senior lecturer at the Department of Clinical Nutrition. Now add the tradition of treating Santa to a shot of something strong, and you have some ill effects on his cardiac rhythm as well.

152 million home visits

There are about 2 billion children in the world, but since Santa Claus does not visit Muslims, Hindus, Jews and Buddhists, he has to attend to 'only' about 380 million of them. Assuming that an average family has 2.5 children, we estimate that Santa has to make about 152 million home visits on Christmas Eve. "That equals 900 visits per second, if we suppose that Santa plans his route strategically and travels westbound in order to extend the 24-hour period, so to speak," says Stefan Lemurell, senior lecturer at the Department of Mathematical Sciences.

If we assume that the houses are 100 metres apart on average and that Santa needs time to park his sleigh properly, climb down the chimney, distribute Christmas gifts via stockings or Christmas trees or from his bag, shove the rice pudding and schnapps (or equivalent) down his throat and then leave the building, his sleigh must cruise at a speed of nearly 90 kilometres per second, or roughly 265 times the speed of sound. "The acceleration needed to accomplish this implies a g-force of 14 million times Earth's gravity. Fighter pilots become unconscious at 7g. As a physicist, it would be interesting to learn how Santa manages this feat, since it could lead to significant breakthroughs in the area of space travel," says Maria Sundin, senior lecturer at the Department of Physics.

1.9 million airborne reindeer

If we hypothesise that each child receives a Christmas gift that weighs 1 kilo, the entire heap of gifts must weigh 380 000 tonnes. Add to this that Santa himself is not a small guy. "A reindeer can pull up to 200 kilos, which means that Santa needs 1.9 million airborne reindeer to pull his sleigh, plus some extra for take-off and landing," says Professor Stefan Nilsson at the Department of Zoology.

And this brings us to the number one health risk. If the average gift measures 10x20x20 centimetres, then the volume of all gifts equals 2.5 times the Stockholm Globe Arena, which means that Santa and his reindeer must generate an immense amount of energy as they travel through space. "The estimated speed of Santa's travel would make both him and his reindeer explode and burn up within milliseconds of take-off," Maria Sundin adds.

The conclusion is that Santa's very strenuous living conditions give us reason to question his very existence. But then again, that depends on what you believe in: science or Santa Claus?"

Grinches and idiots.

It's a two-fer.

Experts warn of cancer linked to certain herbs

More Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

"The consumption of popular Chinese herbal products containing aristolochic acid is associated with an increased risk of urinary tract cancer, a study in Taiwan has found.

Aristolochic acid, known as Mu Tong in Chinese, is found naturally in some herbs that are used in Chinese herbal products to treat hepatitis, urinary tract infection, rhinitis, dysmenorrhea and eczema.

While studies in the past have linked urothelial cancer to the use of aristolochic acid, this is the first study to see if the same association can be made between cancer and herbal products containing aristolochic acid.

In the new study, researchers in Taiwan analyzed the medical history of 4,594 patients with urinary tract cancer and compared the findings with those of 174,701 other people without the disease.

In a paper published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the researchers said those who consumed Mu Tong had a far higher risk of developing urinary tract cancer, and the level of risk rose the higher the dosages prescribed."

Better to stick with the deer penis.

Face looking old? Don't blame your genes

The fatosity and aging looks connection.

"Don't blame genes for aging facial skin. A new study of twins suggests you can blame those coarse wrinkles, brown or pink spots, and dilated blood vessels on too much time in the sun, smoking, and being overweight...

From these data, the researchers noted strong ties, outside of twin status, between smoking, older age, and being overweight, and having facial skin with evidence of environmental damage."

Shed the pounds.

Look younger, feel younger, act younger.

Santa Should Change His Image Says Public Health Expert

The excusinators are on to Santa.

"Santa should change his image: he should get off his sleigh and walk, lose weight, eat the carrots children leave out for the reindeer and forego the sherry and mince pie, and generally stop promoting obesity, drink driving and unhealthy living, suggests a public health expert from Australia.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, BMJ Christmas issue, Dr Nathan Grills, from Monash University asks 'is Santa Claus a public health pariah?'

Grills writes that:

'Santa only needs to affect health by 0.1 per cent to damage millions of lives.'

We should be using his popularity to promote healthy living urges Grills, who backs up his argument with a review of literature and web-based material on the jolly fat man's potential negative impact on public health (funnily enough he found no peer-reviewed papers on this).

Grills concluded there is a high level of awareness of Santa among children: for instance he is more familiar to American schoolchildren than Ronald McDonald, an image that is heavily promoted in US and other countries to make children associate McDonald's food with happiness.

Santa's image is also used to sell, and sometimes he is depicted promoting products that cause harm, says Grills, and the impact is global.

'Like Coca-Cola, Santa has become a major export item to the developing world', (sic) he writes.

Grills also points out that:

Christmas cards often portray Santa smoking a pipe or cigar.

Santa promotes drink-driving: since he must sup gallons of brandy as he does his rounds on Christmas Eve.

Despite portraying himself as a high speed air traveller, you never see him wearing a seat belt or helmet.

As well as high speed travel, Santa could be accused of promoting other dangerous activities such as roof surfing and chimney jumping.

The jolly man spreads diseases: assuming he sneezes or coughs around 10 times a day, think of how many children may end up with swine flu after sitting on his lap making their Christmas wishes.

Grills suggests it's about time we update Santa's image and start portraying him differently: how about walking on a treadmill?"

How about screw you, Grills?

As if kids spend all year trying to become Santa look alikes, influenced daily by constant thoughts of Claus.

Shut up.

'Burn off' Christmas with a walk

Must be too much Xmas cheer resulting in this insanity.

"The public have been urged to have an active festive break, by going for a walk on Christmas Day to burn off the calories consumed during lunch.

The typical Christmas menu of turkey and pudding adds up to 1,500 calories - half of a man's recommended daily intake and three-quarters of a woman's.

The government urged people to take to the streets, fields and beaches and take a stroll after eating."

Traveling a mile on foot burns an average of 100 Calories.

To burn off the 1500 Calories, which is a low estimate compared to the number of Calories people allegedly add to their bodies over the holidays, one has to walk 15 miles.

Good luck with that stroll.

Pack a lunch.

Christmas Cholesterol Epiphany: 'Myrrh' May Have Cholesterol-Lowering Properties

Not quite good Christmas news.

"Laboratory experiments suggest that the resin of certain trees of the Middle East, known commonly as the "myrrh" of the Christmas story, may have cholesterol-lowering properties. Research published in the International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health discusses the hypocholesterolemic effects of myrrh and other plant products...

Al-Amoudi has now investigated the potential of myrrh together with other plant materials to see whether they have any demonstrable hypocholesterolemic effect. Esparto grass leaves, halfa, fenugreek seed powder, myrrh resin (from Commiphara myrrh) and various blends of each were tested on laboratory rodents with high cholesterol. She fed the animals various combinations of the plants as part of their normal daily diet and measured blood concentrations of total cholesterol, LDL (low-density lipoprotein) and VLDL (very-low-density lipoprotein), together with TG (triglycerides). She also recorded HDL (high-density lipoprotein).

The concentrations of LDL (known colloquially as "bad cholesterol"), VLDL, and TG all decreased on this diet, while the HDL levels, so-called "good cholesterol" fell."

Lowering of HDL is, according to the conventional wisdom, not a good thing.

Parents 'misled' by food nutrition labels

More likely, parents are either too stupid or do not care enough to understand the labels.

"Nine out of 10 mothers questioned in a British Heart Foundation (BHF) survey misunderstood the nutrition information on children's foods.

The BHF says mothers believe claims such as 'a source of calcium, iron and six vitamins' mean a product is likely to be healthy."

Well, it doesn't.

It means that the food is "a source of calcium, iron and six vitamins."

Parents want to absolve themselves of all responsibility for the harm they are causing their kids.

Better to hold them accountable so they are incentivized to learn responsibility than blame the rest of society for the failings of the stupid.

Inhibiting The Cellular Process Autophagy Makes Mice Leaner

"Autophagy" means eating yourself.

" Recent data have indicated that the more brown fat cells a person has the lower their body mass. This contrasts with what is known for white fat cells, the more white fat cells a person has the greater their body mass. It has been suggested that manipulating the development of fat cells so that they become brown fat cells rather than white fat cells might be an approach to treat obesity.

However, before such an approach can be developed more needs to be learned about the mechanisms regulating the formation, expansion, and interconversion of these two cell types.

New research, performed by Mark Czaja and colleagues, at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, has now identified a cellular process that regulates the formation of the distinct fat cell types in mice. The research appears in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Specifically, in mice with fat cells unable to perform the cellular process known as autophagy, there were fewer white fat cells and more brown fat cells than normal. Further, these mice were leaner than normal.

The authors therefore conclude that autophagy has a critical role in determining the type of fat cell formed and suggest that this information might provide a new avenue to explore for those looking to develop therapies to treat obesity."

Clearly this is a simpler solution than eating fewer Calories than you burn.

Simpler if you are a moron or a fatso, that is.

Hey, researchers! Eat the rest of us, if you know what I mean.

Negative Emotions Outweigh Intent to Exercise at Health Clubs

Though "exercise" is a terribly inefficient and ineffective way to control weight, the poor, poor fatso babies suffer from psychotrauma.

"Time and time again, it has been documented that regular exercise has many health benefits including lowering risks associated with the comorbidities of obesity. With only 30% of Americans trying to lose weight meeting the National Institutes of Health exercise guidelines of 300 minutes/week, a study in the January/February 2010 issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior explores the paradox that exists -- an antidote for obesity and its comorbidities is exercise, but the majority of obese Americans do not exercise...

The researchers found overweight individuals believed exercise improved appearance and self image more than normal weight individuals. In addition, overweight individuals felt more embarrassed and intimidated about exercising, exercising around young people, exercising around fit people, and about health club salespeople than individuals of normal weight. Overweight and normal weight individuals felt the same about exercising with the opposite sex, complicated exercise equipment, exercise boredom, and intention to exercise. The study interestingly found that the demographics of older age and overweight Caucasians (versus overweight non-Caucasians) had more of an effect on exercise intent than did weight. Most notably, the heavier the subject's weight, the lower his or her perception of health. In other words, for the overweight, sedentary person, the negative emotions associated with health club exercise may be stronger in controlling regular exercise than the intellectual facts."

It is all their fault that they got fat and that they are too embarrassed to go to a fitness facility. (There is no such thing as a "health club.")

While many of the rest of us have to live with our poor decision-making and pay the price, the fat are among the exempt as the rest of us are expected to pay for them.

Stop the madness and fight back.

This is an ongoing problem and we need to realize that the solution is found within the fat person and nowhere else.

Broad Study On Child Obesity

Time (still) for Gram Shop Acts, as I have been saying for years.

"Childhood obesity is directly related to how close kids live to convenience stores, according to the preliminary findings of a major Canadian study presented at the Entretiens Jacques-Cartier in Lyon, France. The ongoing study is named QUALITY for Quebec Adipose and Lifestyle InvesTigation in Youth.

The main purpose of the study is to better understand the risk factors for cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes in children. In 2005, some 632 Montreal children and their families were recruited for the investigation. The children came from various neighbourhoods with family incomes ranging from $31,000 to $141,000. Of the underage participants, 42 percent were overweight and 22 percent were outright obese."

Make no mistake.

It is not the fault of the stores.

The bottom line is that the parents are at fault for letting their kids spend money at places were Calories are available.

However, since we all have to sustain the burden of parental nutritional abuse, there is reason to prevent kids from accessing Calories.

Help the kids and advocate for Gram Shop Acts.

US heart disease costs: $503 billion in 2010

Kudos, fatsos.

"* Obesity, risk factors may be fueling rising costs...

Cardiovascular disease and stroke will cost the United States an estimated $503.2 billion in 2010, an increase of nearly 6 percent, and many cases could have been prevented, the American Heart Association said on Thursday.

The figure includes both health care costs and lost productivity due to death and disease, according to an update published online in the journal Circulation.

The heart association says obesity and other risk factors, like too little exercise and poor diet, are fueling the expected increase in health care costs associated with heart disease and stroke."

The fatsos are fueling the cost fire.

Better they should pay for their indiscretions than the rest of us.

Fight back.

Fit Holidays: Eat, drink and be merry in moderation

Grinches.

"With family feasts, office parties and champagne soirees, the temptation to overindulge is everywhere, just as your yoga studio moves to holiday hours, your gym cancels classes and your personal trainer leaves town."

The holidays comprise but 2.46 % of the year, assuming 9 days from Dec. 24 to Jan. 01 inclusive.

The problems arise from the other 97.54% of the year.

Enjoy the holidays.

You have the rest of the year to do it differently.

And different can still be enjoyable if you do differently right.

In Battle Of The Bulge Food Aromas Could Become New Weapon

If, according to these researchers, post-chewing aroma caused people to stop eating when they were full, then they need to explain why there are already so many fat people (assuming not all of them inhale Calories and some actually extract them by chewing).

"A real possibility does exist for developing a new generation of foods that make people feel full by releasing anti-hunger aromas during chewing, scientists in the Netherlands are reporting after a review of research on that topic. Such foods would fight the global epidemic of obesity with aromas that quench hunger and prevent people from overeating. Their article appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication.

Rianne Ruijschop and colleagues note that scientists long have tried to develop tasty foods that trigger or boost the feeling of fullness. Until recently, that research focused on food's effects in stomach after people swallow it. Efforts now have expanded to include foods that release hunger-quenching aromas during chewing. Molecules that make up a food's aroma apparently do so by activating areas of the brain that signal fullness.

Their analysis found that aroma release during chewing does contribute to the feeling of fullness and possibly to consumers' decisions to stop eating. The report cites several possible applications, including developing foods that release more aroma during chewing or developing aromas that have a more powerful effect in triggering feelings of fullness."

The research is crap.

Hey!

Now here is an idea that might just work for these researchers - a food with an aroma (and appearance) that just might "contribute to the possib[ility of] consumers' decisions to stop eating":

Mmmmmmmm...

Calorie Intake Linked To Cell Lifespan, Cancer Development

Exercise for weight loss/control is an idiot's game. (see here, here and here)

"Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have discovered that restricting consumption of glucose, the most common dietary sugar, can extend the life of healthy human-lung cells and speed the death of precancerous human-lung cells, reducing cancer's spread and growth rate.

The research has wide-ranging potential in age-related science, including ways in which calorie-intake restriction can benefit longevity and help prevent diseases like cancer that have been linked to aging, said principal investigator Trygve Tollefsbol, Ph.D., D.O., a professor in the Department of Biology.

'These results further verify the potential health benefits of controlling calorie intake.' Tollefsbol said. 'Our research indicates that calorie reduction extends the lifespan of healthy human cells and aids the body's natural ability to kill off cancer-forming cells.'"

It is all about Calories in when it comes to efficiently and effectively controlling weight.

Psychotherapy May Prevent Obesity in At-Risk Teens

BS Research - the kids were already fat, mostly stayed fat and received payment for their efforts.

"Psychotherapy may help prevent excessive weight gain in teen girls considered at risk for obesity, researchers say...

In a pilot trial, girls who participated in interpersonal psychotherapy saw their body mass index (BMI) stabilize over one year, while those who took traditional health education classes did not, Marian Tanofsky-Kraff, PhD, of the National Institutes of Health, and colleagues reported online in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.

The treatment also curbed binge-eating episodes, the researchers said...

All 38 girls enrolled in the trial were above average in weight, and some had previously reported episodes of loss-of-control of eating, or binge eating.

In loss-of-control eating, patients cannot control their food intake. This, of course, has been tied to risk of weight gain.

Interpersonal psychotherapy focuses on improving interpersonal relationships by targeting the underlying social difficulties that influence patients to engage in loss-of-control of eating, the researchers wrote.

The treatment has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing binge eating in obese adults.

It's 'based on the assumption that binge eating occurs in response to poor social functioning and the consequent negative moods,' Tanofsky-Kraff said in a statement...

The researchers acknowledged that their team 'made a concerted effort to maintain positive rapport and regular contact with study families, and girls were offered modest financial compensation.'

Every participant completed a 12-week program, with 80% attendance required, and had follow-up visits through six months. A total of 35 returned for a complete assessment visit at one year. Two completed survey questionnaires instead, and one was lost to follow-up.

The researchers found that girls who had psychotherapy were more likely to stabilize or reduce their BMI than those who had health education classes (P=0.028)."

More ways to take money from the rest of us to pay for poor parenting resulting in already fat kids.

Exercise in Young Obese Children Reduces BP, Improves Markers of Atherosclerosis

Reversing some of the effects of nutritional child abuse.

"A program of regular physical exercise--one hour three times a week--resulted in significant improvements in blood pressure, total body fat, and markers of atherosclerosis in a small study of obese children aged six to 11 reported online December 11, 2009 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology."

The absolute shame is the age of the kids.

Each an almost certain victim of parental child abuse.

And no one came forward earlier to help them before they became obese.

Terrible.

Low-Carb Diets Hit the Headlines Again

More they have no idea what they are talking about.

"A small study in only 24 patients and lasting just eight weeks has reignited debate over the relative benefits and possible harms of low-carb vs low-fat diets.

In the December 2009 issue of Diabetes, Dr Una Bradley (Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, UK) and colleagues found that the low-carb diet they studied significantly increased a little-known measure of arterial stiffness, the aortic-augmentation index. "This observation is of concern and, if confirmed, would suggest a potentially negative effect of a low-carbohydrate diet on long-term vascular health," they conclude. The findings have prompted media reports with headlines such as 'Low-carb diets hurt hearts.'

One expert contacted by heartwire takes issue with the findings, claiming that the study is being reported as negative for low-carb diets, when in fact there was no difference in weight loss or insulin resistance between the two groups (low-carb diets and low-fat diets). Bradley et al are accused of naivety at best or--to take it to the other extreme--being unduly influenced by the UK Sugar Bureau, which sponsored the study."

Do what is tried and true and don't be distracted by the noise.

Disease-Related Depression And Fatigue Lessened By Mastery Of Physical Goals

Obvious and true.

"Physical activity is known to reduce depression and fatigue in people struggling with chronic illness. A new study indicates that this effect may stem from an individual's sense of mastery over - or belief in his or her ability to achieve - certain physical goals."

Do it and feel better about yourself.

Older Americans Face Increased Disability With Associated Costs to Society

Better prepare now. (see here and here)

"Older Americans face increased disability with associated costs to society, according to the results of 2 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES; 1988-1994 and 1999-2004), published online ahead of print November 12 in the American Journal of Public Health...

Independent of sociodemographic characteristics, health status, relative weight, and health behaviors, there were significant increases with time in each type of disability, except for functional limitations, among respondents aged 60 to 69 years. There were significantly greater increases in disability among nonwhites and persons who were obese or overweight, which were 2 of the fastest-growing subgroups within this population."

Lose weight, get fit.

Your survival is at stake.

Diet-Related Weight Loss in Obese Improves Cardiac Structure, Function

Caloric intake control, i.e., "diet-related weight loss" is far and away easier than shedding pounds by increasing activity. (and here, too.)

"Obese people who shed 7% to 9% of body weight over about a year by following a low-fat or low-carbohydrate diet also showed significant improvements in left-ventricular mass and function, benefits that only partly went away as they regained some of the lost weight during the two-year study, according to a report published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology [1].

The beneficial changes, which included decreased LV mass, improved systolic and diastolic function, and reduced carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) as measured by ultrasound..."

Have a heart, a better heart, and drop the weight.

Physical Activity Linked to Maintenance of Kidney Function in Older Adults

Peeing is good.

"Higher levels of physical activity are associated with a lower risk for rapid decline in renal function among older adults, according to the results of a cohort study reported in the December 14/28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine."

Train so you can drain.

Stay Slim, Active, Smoke-Free: Live Long and Free of CVD

But first you have to get there to stay there.

"Everyone agrees: smoking, physical inactivity, and abdominal obesity increase the risks of coronary heart disease (CHD), but just how much are risks reduced in those who can claim 'none of the above'?

A new study appearing in the December 14-28, 2009 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine indicates that men with none of these risk factors had a 59% lower risk of CHD events and a 77% lower risk of dying of cardiovascular disease [1]. The authors say their study may be the first to estimate the "combined health benefits" of not smoking, having good cardiorespiratory fitness (measured by max treadmill test), and a normal waist girth."

Go for it.

Exercise Helps Patients Beat Colorectal Cancer

Your ass is on the line - literally. But you should train, not exercise.

"Men with nonmetastatic colorectal cancer who exercised regularly were less than half as likely to die from the disease as sedentary patients, researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute reported.
Patients whose exercise habits fell into the highest category showed a 53 percent lower colorectal cancer death rate (adjusted HR 0.47, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.92, P=0.002 for trend), and a 41 percent lower death rate overall (HR 0.59, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.86, P<0.001) than men who exercised the least.

The findings, published in Dec. 14/28 Archives of Internal Medicine, suggest that regular physical activity can still have an impact on overall health even after a cancer diagnosis, lead author Jeffrey A. Meyerhardt, MD, MPH, told MedPage Today.

The benefits accrued regardless of patients' age, disease stage, body mass index, year of diagnosis, tumor location, and prediagnosis physical activity status, the researchers reported."

So do it.

Couch Potatoes Who Cut TV Viewing Lose a Little Weight

A realistic take on this non-story.

"Cutting back on TV viewing -- the predominant culprit in adults' sedentary behavior -- could contribute slightly to the national weight loss effort, a small randomized trial suggested."

What would contribute mightily is caloric intake control - by far the best way to manage weight.

Over 90% Of People With Gum Disease Are At Risk For Diabetes; Study Concludes That At Least Half Could Be Screened In Dental Offices

More bad fatso hygiene. (and here)

"An overwhelming majority of people who have periodontal (gum) disease are also at high risk for diabetes and should be screened for diabetes, a New York University nursing-dental research team has found. The researchers also determined that half of those at risk had seen a dentist in the previous year, concluded that dentists should consider offering diabetes screenings in their offices, and described practical approaches to conducting diabetes screenings in dental offices."

Well, why should they care about their teeth when they don't care about the rest of their body?

Low-income Families In BC Can't Afford Healthy Food, Canada

BS.

"Imagine being $127 'in debt' after your monthly rent is paid and you've bought groceries for you and your family, leaving no money for other necessities such as clothing, transportation and school supplies. According to the latest The Cost of Eating in BC report, this is the situation for a family of four living on income assistance in this province.

The Cost of Eating in BC 2009 by the Dietitians of Canada and the Community Nutritionists Council of BC demonstrates that it is impossible for families or individuals on income assistance or earning a low wage to afford enough healthy food."

There are no "healthy" foods, there is only healthy eating.

And it is cheaper to eat healthily than it is to eat unhealthily.

Period.

This article is simply a bunch of political hooey and serves to hurt more than help.

It's Easier To Resist 'Killer Cookies'

More silly research.

"Your ability to resist that tempting cookie depends on how a big a threat you perceive it to be, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research."

Perhaps this explains why it is easier to resist putting your hand into a wood chipper than a glove.

Stupid study.

Americans may live longer and cost more: study

The fixes for this "problem" can be found here and here.

"Americans may live significantly longer in the future than current U.S. government projections, and that could mean sharply higher costs than anticipated for Medicare and other programs, researchers reported on Monday.

The researchers say that by 2050 Americans may live as much as eight years longer than government forecasts and that spending by Medicare and Social Security could rise by $3.2 trillion to $8.3 trillion above current projections."

This is no small matter.

"'If we're right we've got a problem,' Dr. Jack Rowe of Columbia University's School of Public Health and chairman of the MacArthur Research Network said in a telephone interview."

Yes, and you will be paying for it for yourself and others.

Now is the time to protect yourself.

Now is the time to fight back against those who are relying on your coerced/forced largesse.

Risk For Obstructive Sleep Apnea Increased By Obesity In Adolescents, But Not In Younger Children

More nutritional child abuse.

"A study in the Dec. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine shows that being overweight or obese increases the risk for developing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in adolescents but not in younger children.

Results indicate that the risk of OSA among Caucasian adolescents 12 years of age and older increased 3.5 fold with each standard-deviation increase in body mass index (BMI) z-score, while the risk of OSA did not significantly increase with increasing BMI among younger children. According to the authors, the results suggest that the increase in risk among overweight and obese adolescents may result from developmental changes such as reductions in upper airway tone and changes to anatomic structures."

Apparently it takes a little time to measurably harm your children.

Kudos, fatsos, for your persistence in injuring your kids.

Be proud.

Not.

Studies show obesity taking hold in Africa and UK

Kudos, fatsos.

"Obesity is becoming more common among poor city dwellers in Africa...

Researchers looking at data from seven African countries found the number of people overweight or obese increased by nearly 35 percent between the early 1990s and early 2000s and the rate of increase in obesity was higher among poor people."

The reason cited in the article is, of course, all wrong.

People get fat from too many Calories in, not from the source of those Calories.

Still, congrats to those who think globally and eat gluttonously.

Moderate Weight Loss in Obese People Improves Heart Function

And that is all it takes.

"Obese patients who lost a moderate amount of weight by eating less and exercising more improved their cardiovascular health, says a study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

The results of this two-year study, published in the Dec. 15, 2009, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, showed that weight loss led to improvement in four key measures of heart and vascular health. The improvements seen in the study participants included decreased thickness of heart muscle, improved pumping and relaxation functions of the heart and decreased thickness of the carotid artery walls. Heart muscle thickening and impaired pumping and relaxation functions are predictors of heart failure, and increased carotid wall thickness is a predictor of plaque formation."

But they won't do it for as long as the rest of us keep paying for their bad behavior.

Fight back.

BTW, the diet they were on was unsustainable.

"Starting at about six months, most participants slowly regained some of their lost weight. At the end of two years, the participants averaged about nine pounds below their initial weight. Even though they regained some weight, after two years they still retained some of the heart and blood vessel benefit they had received."

They could have done even better.

To learn how to properly lose weight, go here.

Type 2 Diabetes Gene Predisposes Children to Obesity, Study Finds

100% wrong.

"Pediatric researchers have found that a gene already implicated in the development of type 2 diabetes in adults also raises the risk of being overweight during childhood. The finding sheds light on the genetic origins of diabetes and may present an avenue for developing drugs to counteract the disease, which has been on the upswing in childhood and adolescence."

It is a 100% impossibility to gain weight in the absence of more Calories in than out.

There is nothing genetic about it.

More crap from Big Sick Care.

Active lifestyle aids kidneys, colon cancer survivors

Fitness does it again.

"You may know this already, but here's more proof: Leading a physically active life yields multiple health dividends, according to four studies published today in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

One study suggests that physical activity may help keep the kidneys of older adults in tip top shape, while another hints that a combination of a healthy waist size, not smoking, and aerobic fitness protects against heart disease and premature death.

A third study provides some of the first evidence that colon cancer patients who are physical active lower their odds of having their cancer recur."

Get started.

(Even if you do not have cancer.)

Should Guidelines For Weekend And Holiday Eating Be Incorporated Into Food Pyramid?

No.

"The holidays can be challenging for even the most diligent dieters. But are weekends just as detrimental? Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn., found that weekend eating patterns change significantly.

J. Jeffrey Inman, a University of Pittsburgh professor of marketing and associate dean for research in the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, and his coauthor, Adwait Khare, Quinnipiac University professor of marketing, studied two years' worth of data on consumers' eating behavior and found that the quantity and quality of foods eaten during a meal and over the course of the day differs considerably on weekends and holidays."

This will make things needlessly more complicated.

Just eat the proper number of Calories daily.

Eat fewer than you burn to lose weight.

Eat more than you burn to gain weight.

Eat the number you burn to keep your weight stable.

Make life easier by making consumption of the right amount of Calories routine.

Eating Disorder Organizations Join Forces To Urge Focus On Health And Lifestyle Rather Than Weight

Dumb, since weight is a measurement of well-being, i.e., health, i.e., the likelihood of developing certain bad illnesses.

"In an unprecedented show of concern, The Academy for Eating Disorders (AED), Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA), Eating Disorder Coalition (EDC), International Association for Eating Disorder Professionals (IADEP), and National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) have joined forces and are urging focus on health and lifestyle rather than weight as a measurement of well-being."

More like "an unprecedented show of" stupidity.

Soy Does Not Appear To Increase Breast Cancer Deaths, Recurrence, Study Finds

Being fat does.

"Soy foods may not be harmful to breast cancer survivors -- as some animal studies have suggested -- and they could even reduce the risk of recurrence of the disease, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Los Angeles Times reports. Breast cancer survivors have previously been told to avoid soy products in light of animal research showing that soy might increase the odds of a recurrence of the disease. Researchers had believed soy acts like the hormone estrogen, which promotes breast tumor growth.
The new study of more than 5,000 breast cancer survivors in China found that women who had the highest soy intake had a 29% lower risk of dying during the study period and a 32% lower risk of breast cancer recurrence than the women who had the lowest intake."

Lose the weight. Keep your breasts.

Fat in diet won't affect weight gain over time

Absolutely wrong.

"People who want to maintain a healthy weight over time shouldn't obsess about their fat intake, new research shows.

The percentage of calories that a person got from fat, as opposed to protein or carbohydrates, had nothing to do with how much weight they gained in the coming years, the research team found."

If one does not overconsume Calories, this is substantially true.

But most people are fat and they got fat from overeating Calories.

When you overeat Calories as fat, 97% are added to your body as fat.

But when you overeat Calories as carbohydrate, for example, only 75% of the Calories are added to your body as fat.

The difference is the energy cost in converting carbs to body fat which is more than converting dietary fat into body fat.

Therefore, if you overeat Calories, you will add less fat to your body by overeating carbs instead of fat.

The trick, of course, is not to overconsume Calories at all.

Children Overweight When They Start School In England

Proof of parental responsibility.

"New figures released this week show that one fifth of children in England are either obese or overweight when they start school at age four or five, and for those in Year 6, the final year of primary school, the picture is even bleaker, and shows nearly one in three children are overweight or obese in the lead up to secondary school at age ten or eleven.

The figures are part of a new report released by the The NHS Information Centre on Thursday, which shows the results of the government's National Child Measurement Programme 2008/09 that requires reception year children (age four or five) and Year 6 children (age ten and eleven) to be measured and thus establish a national picture of what proportion of pupils are 'underweight', 'healthy weight', 'overweight' and 'obese'.

The figures only reflect children in state schools in England in the school year 2008/09. According to the Independent Schools Council, around 7.2 per cent of children in the UK do not attend state schools: they are educated in the private system."

Hold parents everywhere accountable for their nutritional child abuse.

Obesity Linked With Poorer Breast Cancer Outcomes

Kudos, fatsos.

"Breast cancer patients with a high body mass index (BMI) have a poorer cancer prognosis later in life. Specifically, their treatment effect does not last as long and their risk of death increases."

Lose the weight, save the breast.

A truly sad part, is that I care more about your breasts than you do.

Boobs.

High-fat Low-carb Diets Could Mean Significant Heart Risk

Oops.

"New scientific research has shown that low-carbohydrate high-fat diets, made popular by the likes of the Atkins diet, do not achieve more weight loss than low-fat high-carbohydrate diets. Worryingly, the research, lead by Dr Steven Hunter from the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, also shows significantly increased risks of cardiovascular disease for people following low-carbohydrate high-fat diets.

The research shows that the risks of low-carbohydrate high-fat diets far outweigh the potential benefits gained by overweight and obese people through weight loss, including improvements in blood pressure and risk factors for coronary heart disease."

Fact is, there is conflicting data on these diets and cardiovascular risk. (e.g., see here. I know that this linked-to site is biased. Check out the May 22 NEJM articles if you are so inclined. They are now available as free, full-text downloads.)

Clearly, the "scientific" community has no idea what is going on.

The absolute key in all of this is weight reduction.

However, by and large, these diets (Atkins and the others) are unsustainable. (e.g., see here, here, here and here)

If you want to lose/control weight on a regimen that is likely to be more sustainable, go here.

You need to give yourself a fighting chance to succeed.

Devices for pelvic disorder often have side effects

Kudos, fatsos. You are so fat your innards are falling out.

"Vaginal inserts designed to treat a condition called pelvic organ prolapse may have high rates of complications in the long term, a new study suggests.

Pelvic organ prolapse is a disorder in which weakened muscles and supporting tissue in the pelvis allow one or more organs, including the uterus, bladder or rectum, to move from their normal positions and protrude into the vagina...

More-severe cases may require surgery, but conservative treatments can also work. For women who are overweight, weight loss might help.."

Timber!

Research Yields Fitness Motivation Tips For A Healthy New Year

More crap from the ACSM. For this they needed "research"? Note the plugs at the end.

"As the weather chills and the economy starts getting back into shape, many wannabe exercisers hope to invest in themselves by becoming healthier in 2010.

Research from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) provides tips and tricks for staying resolute on those fitness resolutions and enjoying a healthy, happy holiday season.

- Plan ahead. The holidays are stressful - but a few lifestyle tweaks can ease the angst, according to a study in ACSM's official journal, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise®. Researchers found that those who combated anxiety and weight gain with regular, moderate exercise (30 minutes per day of walking can suffice) and stress management techniques reported boosted mood and reduced body weight.

- Find your own reason to get fit. Research shows that men and women decide to exercise for different reasons. A study of 83 men and women found that men typically begin or continue an exercise program to improve their physique, while women hit the gym to help maintain a healthy lifestyle. Both genders, however, experienced similar levels of exercise "addiction" (the healthy kind!) and commitment from their exercise regimens.

- Test your competitive side. Another ACSM study showed that motivation to be physically active was higher when sports - instead of just exercise - were involved. Check at local health clubs to see if there are intramural leagues in your area.

- Stay fit in short bouts. Researchers found that those who exercised in three, 10-minute segments per day were more likely to stay physically active compared to those who exercised continuously for 30 minutes.

- Determine your barriers. Roadblocks to exercise are common - you don't have enough time, lack the right resources, or just don't know what to do to stay fit. Take ACSM's free assessment of exercise barriers at http://www.acsm.org/physicalactivity ("Keys to Exercise" tab).

ACSM notes that exercise and proper nutrition are the best combination for weight loss and weight management. In addition, the holiday season is the perfect time to give the gift of fitness. Sessions with an ACSM-certified personal trainer (find one here), a health club membership, fitness equipment or DVDs, or group exercise classes for several friends are all health-friendly gift ideas."

If this is "research," no wonder ACSM is so much worse than useless.

Coffee May Cut Risk of Prostate Cancer

Or it may not.

"Drinking coffee regularly may help lower the risk of advanced prostate cancer, a study shows.

The study, presented this week at a conference of the American Association for Cancer Research in Houston, shows men who drank the most coffee were nearly 60% less likely to develop advanced prostate cancer than non-coffee drinkers.

Researchers say it's too early to start recommending that men start drinking coffee to help prevent prostate cancer, but the results are encouraging.

"Well, if "it's too early to start recommending that men start drinking coffee to help prevent prostate cancer," then maybe it is just the right time for this.

Patients With Type 2 Diabetes and Major Depression at Greater Risk for Significant Cardiovascular Complications

The hits just keep on coming for the fatsos.

"Adults with type 2 diabetes who have major depression face a greater risk for life-altering microvascular and macrovascular complications regardless of their self-care habits or the degree to which their disease is controlled, according to a study published online November 23 in Diabetes Care."

So if you look like this and are unhappy about it, you are eating your heart out. Literally.

Physical activity linked to school girls' grades

Gender equality (almost).

"Girls who spend more time in vigorous physical activity may do better in school...

The link between vigorous physical activity and academic achievement in girls was evident after the investigators allowed for numerous social and family factors potentially associated with academic achievement, and also for girls' individual measures of fitness."

Fair is fair.

Fit Teenage Boys Are Smarter

Yep.

"In the first study to demonstrate a clear positive association between adolescent fitness and adult cognitive performance, Nancy Pedersen of the University of Southern California and colleagues in Sweden find that better cardiovascular health among teenage boys correlates to higher scores on a range of intelligence tests - and more education and income later in life."

Actually, it has been known, and should be obvious, that fat kids (and adults) are stupider than fit ones. (e.g., see here and here)

Pistachios May Reduce Lung Cancer Risk

A good example of really crappy research.

"A diet that incorporates a daily dose of pistachios may help reduce the risk of lung and other cancers, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, held Dec. 6-9...

'It is known that vitamin E provides a degree of protection against certain forms of cancer. Higher intakes of gamma-tocopherol, which is a form of vitamin E, may reduce the risk of lung cancer,' said Ladia M. Hernandez, M.S., R.D., L.D., senior research dietitian in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, and doctoral candidate at Texas Woman's University -- Houston Center.

The study, conducted at Texas Woman's University -- Houston Center, included 36 healthy participants who were randomized into either a control group or the intervention group consisting of a pistachio diet. There were 18 participants in the control group and 18 in the intervention group. There was a two-week baseline period, followed by a four-week intervention period in which the intervention group was provided with 68 grams (about 2 ounces or 117 kernels) of pistachios per day; the control group continued with their normal diet.
The effect on the intake and serum cholesterol-adjusted gamma-tocopherol was investigated. Intake was calculated using the Nutrition Data System for Research Version 2007, and consumption was monitored using diet diaries and by measuring the weights of the returned pistachios.

Hernandez and colleagues found a significant increase in energy-adjusted dietary intake of gamma-tocopherol at weeks three and four in those on the pistachio diet compared with those on the control diet. The similar effect was seen at weeks five and six among those on the pistachio diet compared with those on the control diet. For those on the pistachio diet, cholesterol-adjusted serum gamma-tocopherol was significantly higher at the end of the intervention period compared to baseline."

So what they are saying is that if you eat foods with more Vitamin E in them, your Vitamin E levels will go up.

Then they say that "vitamin E provides a degree of protection against certain forms of cancer."

The next leap is "Higher intakes of gamma-tocopherol, which is a form of vitamin E, may reduce the risk of lung cancer..."

They never connect the two.

Nor do they ever connect the increased levels of Vitamin E from eating the nuts with an actual reduction in any cancer, let alone lung cancer.

The only real nuts here are the researchers.

And they are not good for you.

You ought to wonder who paid for this trash.

Any guesses?

U.S. employers shun health reform despite deal

The biggest sick care costs come from chronic illnesses which for fatsos are mostly diseases of choice - and the expectation is for the rest of us to pay for them.

"Efforts in the U.S. Senate to move away from a government-run insurance option may help win over critical votes but failed to bring around one major bloc - big business.

Business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have long opposed Democratic efforts to expand access to health insurance, including a government alternative to private coverage that they say would undermine the ability of employers to offer health benefits to their workers.

There are enough other weak spots in the bill that employers still cannot back the measure, they said.

'The bill ... is full of costly new mandates on business that will only lead businesses to lower wages on employees, lower working hours on many other employees, reduce hiring and lose jobs,' the chamber's executive vice president Bruce Josten told reporters on Wednesday."

Fight back.

And if you are a businessperson interested in helping your employees get fitter, which by extension can get them healthier, do not follow any government workplace wellness advice.

Go here.

New Data Shows That Coffee Consumption May Be Associated With A Lower Risk Of Coronary Heart Disease In Women

Caffeine is good again!

"A meta-analysis of a number of cohorts studies published in the International Journal of Cardiology1 demonstrates that habitual coffee consumption may be associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in women.

Analysis of data from 21 cohort studies showed that moderate coffee consumption (of up to four cups of coffee per day) were associated with a 18% reduction in risk of CHD in women1. The investigators note that such an effect was unlikely to be caused by chance. "

Or maybe not...

Caffeine is healthy
Caffeine is unhealthy
Caffeine is healthy
Caffeine is unhealthy

Still think they have any idea what a "healthy" food is?

College Football Linemen Take One For The Team In Terms Of Health

More proof that "exercise" is an inefficient and relatively ineffective way to control weight.

"The high-intensity exercise performed by college football linemen does not protect them from obesity, related health problems and the potential for cardiovascular disease later in life, new research suggests.

In an assessment of 90 collegiate football players from a single Division I team, only offensive and defensive linemen were deemed obese because they had 25 percent or more body fat.

Among the obese linemen, almost 60 percent were insulin resistant and 42 percent had metabolic syndrome, or at least three of five risk factors that indicate a person has higher chances of developing heart disease and diabetes than those without the risk factors."

The real key is caloric intake control.

Period.

Temple Study Finds Early Childhood Program Goes Above And Beyond Requirements To Prevent Obesity Among High-Risk Children

So what?

"Almost 1 million preschool children from low-income families are enrolled in Head Start, a national program for young children that readies them for school. While the program provides them with educational and social skill enhancement, a study authored by Temple University researchers finds that it also goes above and beyond the current federal recommendations for promoting healthy eating and exercise habits among this group of children who are at high risk for obesity...

'The obesity epidemic has reached even the youngest children, and many Head Start programs say they are trying to address this problem with practices that go beyond what is required by federal regulation,' said Robert Whitaker, the lead author of the study. 'Some of these regulations might need to be updated, but we still know very little about what challenges programs are facing when they try to put obesity prevention practices in place and maintain them.'"

They do not know if any of this makes a difference and they do not know what does.

Problem.

College drops required fitness class for obese

More "Animal Farm" - the pigs are in charge.

"Obese students at a historically black college near Philadelphia won't have to take a fitness class to graduate after all.

Lincoln University faculty nixed the idea this week amid complaints the so-called "fat course" undermined a school principle of equal treatment.

The school had initiated the policy to address high rates of obesity and diabetes, especially in the African-American community."

Sad.

Another good deed that failed to go unpunished.

Body-mass index and waist circumference equally predictive for CV events, mortality

Now they are equal.

"A large prospective study of more than 20 000 Dutch people has shown that body-mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC)—accurately measured by trained staff—were equally predictive of cardiovascular disease events and mortality over 10 years. The results are published online December 7, 2009 in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation.

'In terms of the predictive value for risk of cardiovascular disease or death, BMI and WC were more or less the same,' lead author Dr Ineke van Dis (Netherlands Heart Foundation, The Hague) told heartwire. She said this is 'the most surprising finding' of the study 'because from the literature, we got the impression that WC was preferable.'"

Still think they have any idea what is going on?

Appetite, Consumption Controlled By Clockwork Genes At Cross-Purposes In Flies

Dueling Drosophila.

"One of the pioneers in research on sleep:wake circadian genes, Amita Sehgal, Ph.D., has discovered that fruit flies' appetite and consumption are controlled by two rival sets of clocks, one in neurons and the other in the fly fat body, which is analogous to the liver."

Rival daily clocks that will give people excuses for being fat for years.

New Childhood Obesity Screening Tools Devized (sic) By Nevada Professor

This is crap and the story was put out by the "professor" himself.

"A University of Nevada, Reno professor who thinks the present weight management charts and screening tools for children are too difficult to understand and use has devised new, simpler charts that pediatricians and parents can use to help combat the increasing rates of obese and overweight children in the United States.

George Fernandez, Nevada professor of applied statistics and director for the Center for Research Design and Analysis, contends that the current charts are difficult to interpret and often require determination of Body Mass Index, or BMI. Calculating BMI involves a complex formula: weight in pounds is multiplied by 703, and then divided by height in inches squared. Charts are then used to show a healthy weight range, given a child's height, sex and age.

'This is way too complicated for the average person,' he said. 'Even pediatricians, nurses and health officials often need special training'."

BMI charts (adult or child) are simple.

You just take a straight-edge and connect two points on a nomogram or, on a chart, look-up your weight and move your finger to your weight or vice versa, or on-line, just enter height and weight.

It this requires sick care workers to have "special training," fire them and/of find another one.

Now spelling "devise"...that takes "special training."

Moron.

Study: Missing DNA can promote childhood obesity

Possibly.

"Some children get severely obese because they lack particular chunks of DNA, which kicks their hunger into overdrive, researchers report.

The British researchers checked the DNA of 300 children who'd become very fat, on the order of 220 pounds by age 10. They looked for deletions or extra copies of DNA segments.

They found evidence that several rare deletions may promote obesity, including one kind they studied further and found in less than 1 percent of about 1,200 severely obese children."

But most likely it has to do with the DNA for intelligence, self-control, self-esteem and stupid parents.

Pleasant Dietary Habits Are Necessary For Health

Making nice to your self. Making no real difference.

"Japanese research group led by Professor Yasuhiko Minokoshi and Dr. Tetsuya Shiuchi, scientists at the National Institute for Physiological Sciences, NIPS, Japan, found that meals stimulated with sweet taste and motivated with its anticipation regularly activates 'orexin' in the brain and it stimulates muscle glucose metabolism via the sympathetic nervous system, thereby reducing blood glucose level in mice. They report their finding in Cell Metabolism published on Dec 2, 2009.

The research group focused on the function of 'orexin' neurons in brain. Orexin is a kind of brain hormones related to sleep/wakefulness and food intake. They found that orexin released in the brain from 'orexin' neurons activates glucose metabolism in muscle but not adipose tissue in mice through the preferential activation of the sympathetic nervous system. Furthermore, they found that a pleasant meal with sweet taste stimulation and its anticipation activates orexin neurons and curbs the rise of blood glucose level by activating muscle metabolism via the sympathetic nervous system.

It is known that orexin plays an important role in the regulation of sleep/wakefulness and autonomic nervous system in human as well as experimental animals. Therefore, this finding implies the strong relationship between habits of diet and our health. Pleasant meal with tasty foods (of course, not high calorie) and with family and friends may prevent hyperglycemia by activating orexin neurons. In contrast, irregular dietary habits, especially eating fast food just before sleeping, may cause hyperglycemia and possibly obesity."

Note the "of course, not high calorie (sic)" caveat.

Big deal.

Not.

Overweight Children May Develop Back Pain and Spinal Abnormalities

More nutritional child abuse.

"Being overweight as a child could lead to early degeneration in the spine, according to a new study presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA)."

Kudos, you fat spineless child abusing parents.

You are ruining your kid's spines, too.

Breastfeeding A Child May Protect Women From Metabolic Syndrome, A Condition Linked To Diabetes And Heart Disease In Women

Wanna bet?

"Breastfeeding a child may lower a woman's risk of developing Metabolic Syndrome, a condition linked to heart disease and diabetes in women, according to a Kaiser Permanente study that was published online ahead of print and will appear in the February issue of Diabetes, a journal of the American Diabetes Association. The protective association was even stronger for women who had gestational diabetes during pregnancy, according to the study's lead author, Erica Gunderson, PhD, an epidemiologist and research scientist at Kaiser Permanente's Division of Research in Oakland, Calif."

Just think of all the svelte wet-nurses.

Can Exercise Reduce The Symptoms Of Parkinson's Disease?

See what it did for him?

"Officials at the new Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at Barrow Neurological Institute announced today the center's participation in a novel Parkinson's study aimed at determining the physical and neurological impact of simple exercise on Parkinson's patients. Participants' brains will be monitored to determine if increased physical activity actually helps protect the neurons in the brain from the disease.

The study, "Exercise training in Parkinson's disease: Neural and functional benefits", in partnership with Arizona State University is funded by the National Institutes of Health and begins as Ali, who has suffered from Parkinson's disease for more than 20 years, helped unveil the new Parkinson's center at the Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. The 10,000 square-foot center is the most comprehensive of its kind in the nation and double the size of the original center that first opened in 1997."

I am a fitness proponent, so I wish them good luck with that.

Still not hopeful of substantial success, though.

Studying Ways To Use Robots To Encourage People To Be Active

Although activity is a terribly inefficient way to control weight, here is one candidate for the task:

"Maja Mataric', the USC Viterbi School of Engineering professor and senior associate dean who directs the USC Center for Robotics and Embedded Systems (CRES), will lead an effort to evaluate robots as exercise coaches for adults of all ages, with a particular focus on the elderly..

The grant is one of nine, totaling $1.85 million, announced by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as part of the Foundation's Health Games Research national program, (sic) "

It is a waste of money, but that is the way of the inexorably stupid RWJF.

US Diabetes Cases to Double, Costs Triple by 2034

Kudos, fatsos.

"By 2034, nearly twice as many Americans will have diabetes and spending on the disease will triple, further straining the U.S. health system and testing the viability of Medicare and other government health insurance programs, U.S. researchers said on Friday...

If obesity levels rise, Huang said, the model may actually underestimate the problem."

If you do not want to underwrite the cost of caring for these fat folks, fight back.

Weight Loss Reduces Sleep Problems in Obese Men

And these fatsos are dangers to all of us on the roads.

"Weight loss reduces obstructive sleep apnoea in obese men, with the greatest effect seen in patients with severe disease, according to new research published on the British Medical Journal website.

Obstructive sleep apnoea is a common sleep disorder characterised by pauses in breathing during sleep. Each episode (apnoea) lasts for at least 10 seconds and is caused by the collapse of the upper airways during sleep.
Moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnoea (defined as 15 or more apnoeas per hour) carries an excess risk of motor vehicle crashes, heart disease and death."

Don't let the fat kill or injure you (or your loved ones) head on.

Fight back.

Spending To Treat Obesity's Health Effects Will Quadruple In Next Decade

Feeding the pigs.

"'Spending to treat the health effects of obesity, $86 billion last year, will quadruple over the next decade, and almost half of U.S. adults will be obese by 2018, according to the annual America's Health Rankings study. Doctors who participated in the study warned that if the trends continue and obesity rates keep rising, spending on the health effects of obesity - defined as being 20 percent or more above an individual's recommended weight - will grow to $344 billion by 2018. ... If obesity rates held at current levels, on the other hand, the U.S. would save nearly $200 billion in health care costs, the data show' (Claytor, 11/19)."

Stop spending on their slop and fight back.

Doctors Overlook Signs of Child Abuse

Overlook them? Heck, docs contribute to child abuse!

"Physicians often misdiagnose bone fractures caused by child abuse as accidental breaks, particularly if the child is male and the doctor is not a pediatrician, a new study found."

The number one form of child abuse of which we are aware is nutritional child abuse.

Docs are mandatory reporters which means that by law they are required to inform the appropriate agencies of abused children.

But they don't.

And for that they should be held accountable. The law has ways.

Obesity Will Put the Brakes on Life-Expectancy Gains From Less Smoking

Kudos, fatsos.

"If past trends continue, the effects of increasing obesity in the US are forecast to outweigh any benefits from continued reductions in smoking rates over the next decade, a new study predicts."

You are trend-setters.

Kids should get moving to avoid obesity

Nope. Exercise is a terribly inefficient way to lose or control weight.

"Vigorous exercise may be an especially good way to keep kids lean, but sitting around, in and of itself, doesn't appear to have a major role in making them fat, new research shows."

But the second part of the sentence is true.

"Sitting around" is not the issue.

The best way to control weight is caloric intake control.

And knowing how to do that whether active or not is the key.

Learn how and success is yours.

Health Care Savings Could Start in the Cafeteria

Hey, look! It's an idiot with s**t for brains trying to take your money with a prepared meal program.

"In home offices around Boston, a shoestring operation of three full-time employees is working on an unusual answer to that question. As the wrangling over trillion-dollar price tags continues on Capitol Hill, a start-up company...is undertaking its own version of health care reform by using a simple, low-tech premise: Eat healthier food and you’ll become healthier...

Unlike most corporate nutrition and weight-loss programs, which offer predictable prescriptions about portion size and calorie control, Ms. Totten’s plan allows employees surprising amounts of free rein in deciding how much to eat. 'You can eat when you’re hungry, as much as you want, as long as you pay attention to when you’re full,' she advises. 'And then you can eat again whenever you feel hungry.'”

Isn't that what the fat folks who shop at Whore Foods do?

It is the same old canard, eat all you want as long as it is "healthy" food you will be just fine.

Screw you, you ginormous idiot.

Overweight and obesity result from more Calories in than out and the source matters not.

Anything else, like this Totten's crap is plainly and simply wrong.

You want to lose weight? Go here and learn how to do it on your own. (or see here, here, here, here and here)

You are a business person and want a chance at cutting sick care costs? Go here and learn what you will really need to do.

You are a fool and want to fool yourself more? Listen to Totten and her ilk.

But do not expect the rest of us to pay for your rescue.

Gestational Glucose Intolerance Linked to Metabolic Syndrome

Kudos, fatsos. Gestational diabetes and metabolic syndrome are more common in fat people.

"Even mild impairment in glucose tolerance during pregnancy is associated with a greater risk of postpartum metabolic syndrome, researchers found.

Women who had either gestational glucose intolerance or gestational diabetes were about twice as likely to have metabolic syndrome three months after giving birth than those with normal glucose tolerance, according to Ravi Retnakaran, MD, of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, and colleagues.

The findings were reported online in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

The study raises "the important possibility that [these women] represent a patient population at particularly high risk for the future development of metabolic and vascular disease," Retnakaran said in a statement.

Screening for gestational diabetes may allow for the detection of otherwise unrecognized latent metabolic syndrome and enable the early modification of cardiovascular risk factors, the researchers said.

Further study with long-term follow-up is necessary, they said, to determine whether this would have an effect on rates of disease.

Previous studies have found an association between gestational dysglycemia and increased risks of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, both of which have also been linked to metabolic syndrome, the researchers said."

You put your unborn kids and yourselves at risk.

Herbal supplements may raise blood lead levels

Oops.

"Some herbal supplements may boost the levels of lead in the blood of women, new research shows.

Among 12,807 men and women age 20 and older, Dr. Catherine Buettner, at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, and colleagues found blood lead levels about 10 percent higher in women, but not men, who used specific herbal supplements.

When they examined herbal supplement use among women of reproductive age (age 16 to 45 years old), 'the relationship with lead levels was even stronger, with lead levels 20 percent higher overall, and up to 40 percent higher among users of select herbal supplements compared to non-users,' they report in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Lead accumulates in the body over time and may pass from a woman's placenta and breast milk to developing fetuses and infants. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not specify safe lead limits, or even routinely test for this toxin in herbal supplements.

Buettner's team found that women using Ayurvedic or traditional Chinese medicine herbs had lead levels 24 percent higher than non-users, while those using St. John's wort and 'other' herbs had lead levels 23 percent and 21 percent higher, respectively, than non-users.

When combined with prior studies hinting at excess lead in specific supplements, the evidence strongly suggests use of specific herbal supplements may result in higher lead levels among women, Buettner said."

Still think they have any idea what a "safe" supplement is?