Taxing Unhealthy Foods May Encourage Healthier Eating Habits

If you can, read the entire article that follows. It is important. (For the entire study as published in Psychological Science, go here.)

It explains, among other things, why:

Michellesie "The First Cow" Obama is a friggin' ignoramus and her hubby has s**t for brains (apparently a matched pair) on this matter (at least)

why "junk food taxes" simply will not work and

why we should not allow ourselves to be tyrannized by the fat and cave in to their caloric irresponsibility by agreeing to pay more for our food which we consume responsibly.

Here is how and why this form of collective punishment will not succeed (unless prices on foods are raised hugely - in this study, 12.5 and 25%):

Recently, the Obama administration called for a total ban on candy and soda in the nation’s schools. States are beginning to impose “sin taxes” on fat and sugar to dissuade people from eating junk food. Pricing strategies may well be a key to changing behavior, but others favor subsidies over punitive taxes, as a way to encourage people to eat fruits and vegetables and whole grains. The thought is that if you make it cheaper, people will eat more of it, more expensive and people will eat less.

Decades of behavioral economics research argues that consumers are not always so rational and the two strategies have never been tested head to head, to see which one most effectively alters calorie consumption. So, psychological scientist Leonard Epstein at University of Buffalo, decided to explore the persuasiveness of sin taxes and subsides in the laboratory.

Epstein and colleagues simulated a grocery store, “stocked” with images of everything from bananas and whole wheat bread to Dr. Pepper and nachos. A group of volunteers — all mothers — were given laboratory “money” to shop for a week’s groceries for the family. Each food item was priced the same as groceries at a real grocery nearby, and each food came with basic nutritional information.

The mother-volunteers went shopping several times in the simulated grocery. First they shopped with the regular prices, but afterward the researchers imposed either taxes or subsidies on the foods. That is, they either raised the prices of unhealthy foods by 12.5%, and then by 25%; or they discounted the price of healthy foods comparably. Then they watched what the mothers purchased.

To define healthy and unhealthy foods, the scientists used a calorie-for-nutrition value, or CFN, which is the number of calories one must eat to get the same nutritional payoff. For example, nonfat cottage cheese has a very low CFN, because it is high on nutrition but not on calories; chocolate chip cookies have a much higher CFN. The researchers also measured the energy density- essentially calories- in every food.

The results, just published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, show that taxes were more effective in reducing calories purchased over subsides. Specifically, taxing unhealthy foods reduced overall calories purchased, while cutting the proportion of fat and carbohydrates and upping the proportion of protein in a typical week’s groceries. By contrast, subsidizing the prices of healthy food actually increased overall calories purchased without changing the nutritional value at all. It appears that mothers took the money they saved on subsidized fruits and vegetables and treated the family to less healthy alternatives, such as chips and soda pop. Taxes had basically the opposite effect, shifting spending from less healthy to healthier choices. On the basis of this laboratory research, the scientists conclude that subsidizing broccoli and yogurt- as appealing as that idea might be to some- may be unlikely to bring about the massive weight loss the nation now requires. (hyperlink added)

These findings are consistent with the results of another study where people paid to behave "good," in a health-wise sort of way, took the money and bought Calories.

The better way to effect change is targeted, i.e., to tax those items used by fat people and not the rest of us and in other ways, such as having fat people:

pay more for having kids if they cannot be dissuaded from reproducing,

refused access to assisted reproductive technologies

pay much higher health insurance premiums to reflect their higher risk and

receive less income at work since they cost businesses more and are less productive.

And the sooner we do these types of things, the better.

(BTW, by citing this piece, it does not mean that I am in agreement with the way the authors categorized foods using their CFN indicator or what they claim is "more healthy" vs. "less healthy.")

Michellesie "The Cow" Obama, big (literally) weight loss advocate, in pictures:

More and More Kids Have Chronic Health Problems

Kudos, fatsos.

The prevalence of chronic conditions in childhood has increased over time, with much variation in how long the conditions persist, researchers found.

In three cohorts of children followed from 1988 through 2006, the number of children who had a chronic condition at any time increased from 27.8% in the earliest cohort to 51.5% in the latest, according to Jeanne Van Cleave, MD, of MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston, and colleagues.

But the presence of the conditions, which included obesity, asthma, other physical impairments, and behavior/learning problems, was fluid during each study period, they reported in the Feb. 17 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association...

The mean age of the mothers and the rate of maternal obesity increased with each progressive cohort.

When all cohorts were pooled together, all categories of chronic conditions increased from baseline to the end of the study (P<0.001 for all):

Obesity: 11.9% to 13.3%
Asthma: 2% to 3.6%
Other physical conditions (such as allergies and chronic ear infections): 3.9% to 5.7%
Behavior/learning problems (such as ADHD and mental retardation): 1% to 4.7%

For obesity, the baseline rate increased significantly with each progressive cohort, from 7% in 1988 to 12.3% in 1994 to 19% in 2000.

You are child abusers making your kids sick.

For Older Women, Exercise May Cut Breast Cancer Risk

What's worth more to you - time spent training or losing a breast or two?

For sedentary postmenopausal women, moderate to vigorous exercise for a year reduced levels of estradiol, researchers said.
The reductions, compared with those achieved by controls, were modest but significant and were consistent with a lower risk for breast cancer, according to Christine Friedenreich, PhD, of Alberta Health Services in Calgary, and colleagues.

The finding, from a randomized trial, is evidence that such women -- sedentary and mostly overweight -- can "achieve and sustain high levels of aerobic exercise," the researchers reported online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Observation suggests that increased physical activity is linked to lower breast cancer risk, but exactly how remains unclear, the researchers noted. One plausible mechanism, they said in the journal, is modification of the sex hormones.

You decide.

Is 2 Years Old A Childhood Obesity Tipping Point?

Early nutritional child abuse.

While many adults consider a chubby baby healthy, too many plump infants grow up to be obese teens, saddling them with Type-2 diabetes, elevated cholesterol and high blood pressure, according to an article published this month in the journal Clinical Pediatrics (published by SAGE).

The research suggests that the "tipping point" in obesity often occurs before two years of age, and sometimes as early as three months, when the child is learning how much and what to eat.

But, I do not agree that this is a "tipping point."

Behavior can be changed subsequent to this and to suggest otherwise is downright stupid.

And trying to pin the point in time at 3 months of age is clearly nuts.

Go here, if you want help.

Diabetes Tied to Poor Impulse Control

Type 2 diabetes, fat person diabetes, is a disease of choice for the weak-willed.

Patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes were significantly more likely to show poor impulse control in psychological testing than healthy people, researchers said.

Time to refuse to pay for people's poor impulse control.

Have them pay for it themselves.

Then watch their impulse control improve.

Exercise may not boost obese teens' metabolism

No surprise here.

A few months of moderate aerobic exercise may not rev up obese teenagers' ability to burn calories, even though it may increase thinner teens' ability to burn dietary fat, new research suggests.

In a study of 28 obese and normal-weight teenagers, researchers found that after 12 weeks of treadmill and exercise-bike sessions, the heavier teens showed no changes in their bodies' calorie- and fat-burning throughout the day.

Their thinner peers likewise showed no changes in daily calorie expenditure.

First, you need to train to improve fitness, exercise will almost never work.

Second, resting metabolism is upregulated when you burn more Calories than previously. Cardio exercise will almost never do that.

Third, the better one gets at aerobic "exercise," the fewer are the Calories that get burned. This is due, among other reasons, to increased efficiency. So more, in this case, is not necessarily better for the intended result.

Prepregnancy, Obesity and Gestational Weight Gain Influence Risk of Preterm Birth

Convince the fat not to reproduce - prevent early nutritional child abuse.

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine's (BUSM) Slone Epidemiology Center and Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) have found that pre-pregnancy obesity and gestational weight gain are associated with an increased risk of preterm birth in African American participants from the Black Women's Health Study. This study currently appears on-line in Epidemiology.

A baby born at less than 37 weeks of gestation is considered preterm. This occurs more often among black women than white women and is a leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality in the United States. Obesity is associated with intrauterine infections, systematic inflammation, dyslipidemia, and hyperinsulinemia, all of which may increase the risk of preterm birth...

The researchers found that obesity increased the risk of medically-indicated preterm birth and very early spontaneous preterm birth (<32 weeks), and that underweight increased risk of both preterm birth subtypes. Among obese women, gestational weight gain within the range recommended by the 2009 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report (0.4-0.6 lbs/week in the second and third trimesters) was optimal in reducing risk of preterm birth. "Our data suggest that it is especially important for obese women to adhere to the IOM guidelines for pregnancy weight gain to reduce their risk of preterm birth," said lead author Lauren A. Wise, ScD, an associate professor of epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health and a senior epidemiologist at the Slone Epidemiology Center.

Do it for the kids.

FDA Clears Hypertension Drug for Youngsters

Well, this is sad.

The FDA has approved the antihypertensive olmesartan (Benicar) for patients ages 6 to 16, manufacturer Daiichi Sankyo announced.

Kudos, fatsos.

You have made your kids sick fat people.

Adverse reactions include back pain, bronchitis, increased creatine phosphokinase, diarrhea, headache, hematuria, hyperglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia, influenza-like symptoms, pharyngitis, rhinitis, and sinusitis.

Plainly and simply, you are disgusting nutritional child abusers.

Start obesity prevention in the cradle, study urges

Really, stop early nutritional child abuse before it starts.

A team of US doctors has urged that obesity screening start in the cradle after a study they conducted showed that half of US children with weight problems became overweight before age two.

The "critical period for preventing childhood obesity" in the children observed in the study would have been in "the first two years of life and for many by three months of age," said the study, published in Clinical Pediatrics.

"Unfortunately, the chubby healthy baby myth is alive and well despite the high prevalence of childhood obesity, with only 20 percent to 50 percent of overweight children being diagnosed and even fewer receiving documented or effective treatments," the authors of the study said.

For the study, which was conducted to try to pinpoint the "tipping point" for when a child first became overweight, researchers looked at 480 medical records for patients between the ages of two and 20 at a private medical practice and a teaching hospital, both in Virginia.

Of those patients, 184 were included in the study because they met the age criteria, their weight and height had been recorded during five visits to the medical practice, and they were overweight during one of the visits.

The researchers found that the median age for when the children became overweight was 22 months. They also found that a quarter of the children reached their overweight "tipping point" at or before five months of age.

I am pretty sure that the dates are not as certain as presented, however, the principle remains true:

Do not abuse children nutritionally at any time and if you do, stop as soon as possible.

The Focus Of Childhood Obesity Study Is The Use Of Food To Sooth Infants

A likely mechanism, except the "genetics" part, explaining how some parents fatten up their kids for the kill.

Both genetics and parents who comfort their infants with food are the focus of a study funded for $1 million by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestion and Kidney Disease investigating risk factors for childhood obesity. The grant is part of the National Institutes of Health American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding.

"When the infant cries, parents typically have a set of soothing techniques they'll use to comfort their child -- if one doesn't work, they move to the next -- and somewhere on that list is feeding," said Cynthia Stifter, professor of human development and family studies and principal investigator on the project. "It may be, with some children, that using food as a means of soothing distress promotes the association of food with emotional comfort, a characteristic of emotional eaters that is associated with adult obesity."

A way to early nutritional child abuse.

Maternal obesity predisposes baby to Alzheimer's

Early nutritional child abuse - the gift that keeps on giving.

Maternal obesity causes cellular programming in utero that predisposes offspring to inflammation-related disorders, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart disease, from the day that they are born, say Duke University researchers.

Duke researchers reported the finding in the FASEB Journal.

The study was based on rats.

"We hope these data will eventually lead to treatments for obesity-associated problems, by the identification of novel targets within the immune system," said Staci D. Bilbo, Ph.D., co-author of the study, from the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University in Durham, N.C. "Our hope is also that these data will lead people to consider the consequences of their dietary intakes not only for their own health, but also for their children;s health, and potentially even their grand children's health."

To reach the conclusion, Bilbo and colleagues placed rats on one of three diets (low-fat, high-saturated fat, and high-trans fat) four weeks prior to mating and throughout pregnancy and lactation. The high-fat diets rendered the mice clinically obese. Researchers analyzed the brains of the newborn pups after challenge by inflammatory stimuli.

Offspring born to mothers on the high-fat diets showed increased immune cell activation and release of injurious products (cytokines). This overshoot was already apparent on the day after birth. When the scientists continued to analyze the pup brains through their juvenile and adult years, and even after the rats were put on healthy low-fat diets, this hyper-response to inflammation remained dramatically increased compared to rats born to normal-weight mothers.

"If there ever was a maternal hex, obesity might be it," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal , "and as it turns out, even after the weight comes off, the biggest loser isn’t a mother, but her child."

Stop the fat from having kids.

American Nurses Association Supports Nation's First Lady In Combating Childhood Obesity

The ANA are hitching their wagon to a big horse's ass. (see below for images of the big ass.)

The American Nurses Association (ANA) is eager to support the First Lady Michelle Obama in her critical efforts to combat childhood obesity. As the largest nursing organization in the U.S., ANA stands ready to assist the First Lady to address this significant health problem through her program, "Let's Move" America's Move for a Healthier Generation.

This is a reason why you should not trust nurses to help solve the matter.

Here is what they support to "cure" overweight and obesity - the First Fatty, Michellesie "The First Cow" Obama:

Maternal Obesity Puts A Load On Her Offspring That Lasts A Lifetime

More early nutritional child abuse - dissuade the fat from reproducing.

Duke researchers report in the FASEB Journal that maternal obesity dramatically increases the risk of diseases related to inflammation gone awry: heart disease, stroke and more

As if there are not enough reasons for obese people to lose weight, a new research report published online in The FASEB Journal, adds several more. In a study involving rats, researchers from Duke University found that obesity in mothers causes cellular programming in utero that predisposes offspring to inflammation-related disorders (such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and more) from the day that they are born, regardless of whether or not the offspring are obese themselves.

"We hope these data will eventually lead to treatments for obesity-associated problems, by the identification of novel targets within the immune system," said Staci D. Bilbo, Ph.D., co-author of the study, from the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University in Durham, N.C. "Our hope is also that these data will lead people to consider the consequences of their dietary intakes not only for their own health, but also for their children's health, and potentially even their grandchildren's health."

The treatment is here already: eat fewer Calories than one burns.

Butter Leads To Lower Blood Fats Than Olive Oil

Now butter is good for you.

High blood fat levels normally raise the cholesterol values in the blood, which in turn elevates the risk of atherosclerosis and heart attack. Now a new study from Lund University in Sweden shows that butter leads to considerably less elevation of blood fats after a meal compared with olive oil and a new type of canola and flaxseed oil.

Still think they have any idea what they are talking about?

Adolescent Bariatric Surgery Center Passes Surgical Milestone

They have committed IMHO malpractice 100 times! Congrats.

Few treatments are available to help obese adolescents who are unable to lose weight and are already suffering from obesity-related health problems. Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB), an option for adults in the United States since 2001, is showing promise for teens. The Center for Adolescent Bariatric Surgery, which opened at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital in 2006, recently performed its 100th LAGB procedure.

100 reasons why you should lose your licenses to practice.

NFU Angered As New Evidence Reveals Link Between Red Meat And Cancer Was Flawed

Shelf life - expired!

The NFU is furious after learning that the findings of a review, which revealed errors in a report claiming a link between red meat consumption and cancer, have not been shared with policy makers. It has joined livestock levy body Eblex in its concern over flawed figures that are contained in a report from the World Cancer Research Fund.

The initial report, first published in 2007, has been widely used as proof of a link between eating red meat and developing cancer. However, two leading scientists have now highlighted a number of errors which include analytical inconsistencies and data extraction errors in the evidence. These are thought to have contributed to overestimations being made by the WCRF in its conclusions linking red meat and cancer.

Dr Stewart Truswell, of the University of Sydney, and Dr Dominik Alexander, of Exponent, have had their review published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The conclusion of Dr Alexander's review is that "there is no conclusive evidence of a causal relationship" between eating meat and developing colorectal cancer.

NFU livestock board chairman Alistair Mackintosh said: "I am appalled that flawed evidence has been used to draw links between eating red meat and cancer. The NFU is calling for the World Cancer Research Fund to recognise the discrepancies that have been highlighted and accept that these errors could have potentially contributed to an overestimation of the association between eating red meat and the risk of colorectal cancer.

"I understand that the WCRF has privately accepted the flaws but it is unwilling to inform policymakers direct. This is doing a huge disservice to our industry and people must be made aware of the true facts as soon as possible. Future policy-making, which affects us all, could be distorted by these flawed assumptions.

First and importantly, consider the source of the article - the NFU itself. (NFU and Eblex)

Whether this is RedMeatGate, a la ClimateGate, remains to be seen.

Still it does highlight that we still have no real idea of what "healthy food" is.

The best we can do, currently, is eat healthily, which is much different and, thankfully and fortunately, more effective.

Do not get lost in the "healthy foods" distraction. These items will change over time. (and here, too.)

Stick with the concept of eating healthily. It has staying power unrivaled by any "healthy food" fad.

Little Effect Of Soy Isoflavones On Bone Loss In Postmenopausal Women: ISU Multi-Center Study

Another expired shelf life?

A previous six-month study by Iowa State University researchers had indicated that consuming modest amounts of soy protein, rich in isoflavones, lessened lumbar spine bone loss in midlife, perimenopausal women. But now an expanded three-year study by some of those same researchers does not show a bone-sparing effect in postmenopausal women who ingested soy isoflavone tablets, except for a modest effect at the femoral (hip) neck among those who took the highest dosage.

Oops.

The Impact On Children Of Food Product Placements In The Movies

More worthless research.

New research from the Hood Center for Children and Families at Dartmouth Medical School (DMS) for the first time sheds light on the significant potential negative impact that food product placements in the movies could be having on children.

The study, which appears in the current edition of the journal Pediatrics, shows that most of the "brand placements" for food, beverage, and food retail establishments that are frequently portrayed in movies, are for energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods or product lines. In addition, the study shows for the first time that product placements in movies may be a far more potent source of advertising to children in terms of food choices than previously understood.

"The current situation in the United States is very serious in terms of the health of our children, and we have to look seriously at all of the factors that may be contributing to it, including the impact of product placements in movies," says Lisa Sutherland, Ph.D. the lead author of the study. Sutherland says that the diet quality of U.S. children and adolescents has declined markedly during the past 20 years, and current estimates suggest that only one percent of children eat a diet consistent with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) My-Pyramid food guidance. Additionally, fewer than one fifth of adolescents meet the dietary recommendations for fat or fruit and vegetable intakes, and during the last 20 years obesity rates have doubled for children aged 6 to 11 years and tripled for adolescents aged 12 to 19 years.

Hey, adults!

Pretend that you are caring and concerned parents and don't feed the stuff in the flicks to your kids.

It's a movie, fools.

Just say, "No."

Childhood Obesity: It's Not the Amount of TV, It's the Number of Junk Food Commercials

Nuanced knuckleheads.

The association between television viewing and childhood obesity is directly related to children's exposure to commercials that advertise unhealthy foods, according to a new UCLA School of Public Health study published in the American Journal of Public Health.

As if a kid (or adult) could gain a single gram from the act of watching TV, no matter the content.

It is the Calories, you nuts and flakes out West.

Need to test this?

Get a cross-section of kids. Divide them into two groups. Have them watch TV. Have one group see more commercials than the other. In fact, make one group watch ALL commercials.

Then feed them a controlled number of Calories, equal between the groups.

See if one group gets fatter than the other.

I will bet on the outcome.

Will you?

Idiots.

And this is from a University.

What a sad comment on "higher" education.

Bleak Economy Pushing Health Insurers to Raise Rates, Analysts Say

Good news!

Health insurers lately seem more afraid of Wall Street than of Washington.

The nation’s insurers have come under sharp attack by the Obama administration for seeking seemingly staggering rate increases on policies they sell to individuals.

The health and human services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, recently pounced on WellPoint’s Anthem Blue Cross unit for wanting to raise premiums as much as 39 percent in California, and on Thursday she issued a scathing report detailing double-digit increases sought by other insurers last year and so far this year.

Angela F. Braly, WellPoint’s chief executive, was forced to cancel an investor presentation to prepare for the grilling she is likely to receive before Congress next week about the insurer’s rate increases.

But as bad as it may play politically, for insurers like WellPoint, the challenging business environment may leave them little choice but to raise prices if they want to protect profits, analysts and some health economists say.

A huge percentage of sick care costs are attributable to the chronic care of people who develop diseases of choice, i.e., the fatsos with cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, etc.

Make them pay more.

And more. And more.

Until they cannot purchase the Calories needed to stay fat.

Then watch real sick care reform happen.

Overweight In 20s Could Lead To Serious Problems In 40s

Great way to plan for the future.

People who are obese and have type 2 diabetes in their 20s will be at higher risk of having a heart attack or stroke in their 40s if they do not change their lifestyle.

Kudos, fatsos.

U.S. launches program to end 'food deserts'

The First Idiotte starts her program.

In an effort to fight childhood obesity, the U.S. government launched a program on Friday to encourage supermarkets in low-income areas to increase access to healthy food.

The Obama Administration said it would provide $400 million for its Healthy Food Financing Initiative, which is modeled on a successful Pennsylvania program that in the last five years has led to more than 80 supermarkets being set up in "food deserts" - areas that were previously underserved by sellers of healthy food.

First Lady Michelle Obama said the new national program aims to eliminate food deserts - where the only food sources are typically convenience stores or gas stations - in the next seven years.

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

Second, here is what you too can look like if you eat healthy foods, just like the First Idiotte aka First Fatty aka First Cow, Michellesie Obama:

Changes in Diet and Exercise Can Make a Big Difference Within Six Months of ACS

And if the fat people and/or smokers who took money from the public coffers for their treatment do not make those changes, make them pay it back.

Changes to a patient's eating, exercise, and smoking habits should be prioritized as high as adherence to a drug regimen following an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), according to the authors of a new international study on lifestyle changes following ACS [1].

The study shows that the benefits of improving diet, exercising more, and quitting smoking are additive and can reduce a patient's risk within six months if the patient sticks with it, "justifying a significant investment in establishing programs that systematically enhance early lifestyle modification and secondary prevention," study authors Dr Clara Chow (McMaster University, Hamilton, ON) and colleagues report in the February 1, 2010 issue of Circulation.

The rest of us should not be burdened with the costs of the irresponsible behaviors of the fat, the fat smokers and the smokers.

Exercise 'cuts risk of developing painful gallstones'

Being fat is a risk factor for gallstones.

A University of East Anglia study of 25,000 men and women found those who were the most active had a 70% reduced risk of those complaints.

The team, writing in the European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, said one reason might be reduced cholesterol levels in the bile.

They said exercise also raised levels of "good" cholesterol and help improves movement through the gut, all of which could contribute to the lowered risk.

Lose the weight and practice preventive medicine the way it should be done.

Review Calls for Reevaluation of the Fat-CVD Link

Shelf life city.

Emphasis on reducing dietary saturated fat may miss the target of preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the epidemic of obesity and associated metabolic disturbances, authors of a critical review of the issues concluded...

"There is little evidence from [clinical] trials or from epidemiologic studies that a reduction in saturated fat intake below about 9% of total energy intake is associated with a reduced CVD risk," they added.

In a meta-analysis published in the same issue of the journal, Siri-Tarino and colleagues concluded that the evidence does not support "the conventional wisdom that reduced dietary saturated fat intake is beneficial for cardiovascular health."

Now for how many decades have we heard about the horrors of saturated fats?

Still think they have any idea what they are talking about?

Study shows why it is so scary to lose money

Another reason why fat people should pay for their sick care, pay for the nutritional child abuse they heap on their kids, pay more for fat person stuff and leave the rest of us alone from subsidizing them.

People are afraid to lose money and an unusual study released on Monday explains why - the brain's fear center controls the response to a gamble.

Make them stop gambling with our money and use their own - poof! end of the overweight/obesity issue.

Heavier boys more likely to hit puberty later

Which explains the small size of their, ahem, members, during those formative years.

Overweight boys may start puberty later than their leaner peers, new research shows.

The link between higher body mass index (BMI) -- a standard measure of the relationship between height and weight used to gauge how fat or thin a person is -- and earlier puberty is fairly well established in girls, Dr. Joyce M. Lee of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and her team note in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. However, much less research has been done on BMI and age at puberty in boys.

To investigate, they looked at 401 boys enrolled in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. The boys' height and weights had been measured at several points, beginning when they were two years old and ending when they were eleven and a half.

Lee and her colleagues divided the boys into three groups based on how quickly their BMI increased during that time span. Fourteen percent of boys in the heaviest group had not started puberty by 11 and a half, compared to around 13 percent of boys in the middle group and 8 percent of boys in the lowest BMI group.

Growth in penis size is just one part of puberty, which also includes such changes as pubic hair development, testicular growth, muscle development, and a growth spurt.

Maxi-you, meet mini-you.

Aren't they cute when they're little?

Winning the War on Weight

Almost too stupid to be believed.

A Monash University-led nationwide study into the health beliefs and behaviours of obese people has found that the more severely obese a person is, the less likely they feel they can reduce their weight.

The research, funded by the Australian Research Council Discovery Grant Scheme, is the first of its kind in Australia. 141 obese Australians were extensively interviewed to try to gauge how they perceived their weight and ability to manage it.

Co-author and Head of Monash University's Consumer Health Research Group (CHaRGe) Dr Samantha Thomas said those in the severely obese category with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of more than 40, blamed themselves for their weight and often described themselves as at war with their bodies.

"Severely obese individuals felt an urgent and desperate need to change their health behaviours, but felt completely powerless to do so. Most felt worried and scared about the potential health consequences of their weight. Most felt blamed and ashamed by public health and education campaigns about obesity, which did little to actually help them address their weight," Dr Thomas said.

Dr Thomas said in contrast, people whose weight fell within the mild to moderately obese range understood they were significantly overweight but did not believe they needed to lose weight to improve their health and wellbeing.

"Those individuals, with a BMI between 30 and 40, believed they could lose weight if they needed to, but did not feel this was an urgent health priority as most felt physically healthy," Dr Thomas said.

"Most of the study participants in this category deliberately sought to distance themselves from public health messages about obesity and the word obesity because of the social stigma attached to the condition. They also stigmatised those who were fatter than themselves."

Dr Thomas said it appeared the public health messages were not getting through to those who needed it most.
"The campaigns don't seem to be having much of an effect. Those in the mild-moderately obese category said their weight creates feelings of social isolation or discrimination, yet don't fully understand the health risks associated with the extra kilos," Dr Thomas.

"In contrast, people with a significant weight issue realised they were at an extremely high risk of disease but didn't feel they could change. Further confirmation that the stigma and social stereotyping associated with obesity -- including from government campaigns -- is vastly impacting on individuals' beliefs and behaviours.

"Society's attitudes need to change, governments need to refocus health messages and we need to accept obesity as a serious health issue that addresses a person's well-being not just the added kilos."

The problems are with the rest of us.

Fat people are too sensitive to lose weight because the message that "being too fat is harmful" hurts their feelings.

Fat people are too cocky to lose the weight, but can if they want to.

Fat people know they are fat, realize there is a health link, but think that it is no danger to their health.

Fat people intentionally distance themselves from reality because they are off-put.

And since they are almost always knowingly remaining too fat, it is the fault of the messages.

These researchers are excusinators gone wild.

Want to send a message the fat will eventually understand?

Cut-off or substantially reduce sick care funding and let them enjoy the consequences of their behavior.

Then you will quickly see change.

Quick summer sunbaths make for adequate vitamin D

So much for Vitamin D supplements.

A few minutes a day of midday summer sun can raise most fair-skinned people's vitamin D levels to sufficient, but not optimal, levels, according to new research from the UK...

UK health authorities say "casual exposures to summer sunlight" will allow the body to produce adequate amounts of vitamin D. They also recommend limiting sun exposure beyond a brief amount of time.

To test whether such casual exposures would be enough, the researchers exposed 109 fair-skinned men and women to light equivalent to 13 minutes of midday summer sun three times a week for six weeks. Study participants wore shorts and T-shirts during their brief sun baths.

The study was done during the winter months, when people would be getting very little vitamin D from sunlight, to focus on the effects of the sun baths. All of the study participants had low vitamin D intakes, and none were taking vitamin D supplements.

Participants' average blood level of vitamin D rose from around 18 nanograms per milliliter to 28 nanograms per milliliter. Recent studies have suggested that 20 nanograms per milliliter and above is sufficient, while 32 nanograms per milliliter and above is "optimal."

Based on the results, the researchers predicted that with this amount of sun exposure, 90 percent of white adults in Manchester under the age of 65 would have sufficient vitamin D levels, while 26 percent would have optimal levels.

Save your money.

Sun is free. Supplements are costly.

For obese, vaccine needle size matters

Kudos, fatsos.

Our ever-expanding waistlines may have outgrown the doctor's needle, researchers say, in what could be another casualty of the obesity epidemic.

In a new study, the researchers report that using a standard 1-inch needle to immunize obese adolescents against hepatitis B virus produced a much weaker effect than using a longer needle.

"As obesity rises in the US, we need to be aware that the standard of care may have to change to protect obese youth," study co-author Dr. Amy Middleman of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston told Reuters Health.

Over three years her team vaccinated 22 young women and two young men in the shoulder, randomly assigning them to be injected with either a 1-inch or a 1.5-inch needle.

Once injected, vaccines trigger production of small molecules called antibodies, which kick-start our immune system if we are ever attacked by the virus again.

The two groups turned out to have different antibody counts depending on the needle used. In those injected with the short one, the number was almost halved.

Although everyone in the study had enough antibodies to be considered protected against hepatitis B, a lower count generally means a less robust response.

"It gives us more evidence of the importance of choosing the right needle length," said Middleman, "because we just don't know what the impact could be in other vaccines."

But could any needle be long enough to get it through your thick heads that you are too darned fat?

The Loss Of Certain Genes Increases The Risk Of Becoming Overweight By 50 Times

Why? Because they are retarded.

A new cause of obesity due to a defect on chromosome 16 has just been discovered. It is thought to explain close to 1% of obesity cases. For carriers of the defect, the risk of becoming overweight is 50 times higher...

It was identified in 31 adolescents and adults who experienced learning difficulties at school. All carriers of the defect were obese.

A possible explanation for why fat people are stupid.

Fruit And Vegetable Consumption Improved By Online Programs

Where's the beef?

Online programs that provide information and tips about fruits and vegetables may be the key to getting more Americans to eat healthier, say researchers at Henry Ford Hospital.

Researchers found that when given access to an online program about fruits and vegetables, participants increased their daily fruit and vegetable intake by more than two servings. Many of the participants continued using the program after the study concluded, and even reported their family members became involved in the program.

"People already know the health benefits of fruits and vegetables, but they often don't know how to incorporate them into their diet," says study senior author Christine Cole Johnson, Ph.D., M.P.H., chair of Henry Ford's Department of Biostatistics and Research Epidemiology. "That's why our study worked. Using online programs, we were able to offer study participants practical and easy tips to increase their daily fruit and vegetable intake."

First, how stupid do you have to be to not "know how to incorporate [fruits and vegetables] into" your diet?

Here is a hint.

Like all other foods, shove them into your piehole.

More to the point, however, this "study" appears to be a self-reported study.

That means that the investigators relied on the online participants to tell the truth and there was apparently no verification of the responses.

Here is the Abstract:

Objectives. We assessed change in fruit and vegetable intake in a population-based sample, comparing an online untailored program (arm 1) with a tailored behavioral intervention (arm 2) and with a tailored behavioral intervention plus motivational interviewing–based counseling via e-mail (arm 3).

Methods. We conducted a randomized controlled intervention trial, enrolling members aged 21 to 65 years from 5 health plans in Seattle, Washington; Denver, Colorado; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Detroit, Michigan; and Atlanta, Georgia. Participants reported fruit and vegetable intake at baseline and at 3, 6, and 12 months. We assessed mean change in fruit and vegetable servings per day at 12 months after baseline, using a validated self-report fruit and vegetable food frequency questionnaire.

Results. Of 2540 trial participants, 80% were followed up at 12 months. Overall baseline mean fruit and vegetable intake was 4.4 servings per day. Average servings increased by more than 2 servings across all study arms (P<.001), with the greatest increase (+2.8 servings) among participants of arm 3 (P=.05, compared with control). Overall program satisfaction was high.

Conclusions. This online nutritional intervention was well received, convenient, easy to disseminate, and associated with sustained dietary change. Such programs have promise as population-based dietary interventions.

In other words, this is suspect at best.

Target Identified That May Reduce Complications Of Obesity

You almost have to love this one. The way these researchers intend to reduce the complications of obesity is by making people obese.

Although obesity is a risk factor for diabetes and coronary heart disease worldwide, only some obese individuals go on to develop these metabolic complications, while others are relatively protected. Defining these protective factors could help scientists prevent disease in the wider population.

To this end, a research team at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, led by Suneil Koliwad, MD, PhD, recently added new details that link obesity to diabetes and heart disease.

When individuals become obese from overeating, cells called adipocytes located in the fat tissue fill up with dietary fats and begin to die. Immune cells called macrophages move out of the blood stream and into this tissue, where they accumulate around dying adipocytes. As the macrophages work to clear away the dead cells, they are exposed to large amounts of dietary fat that can result in unwanted consequences. Exposure to saturated fats, in particular, causes the macrophages to enter an inflammatory state. In this state, the macrophages secrete cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha, that encourage the development of insulin resistance, diabetes, and heart disease.

The Gladstone team hypothesized that enhancing the capacity of macrophages to store dietary fats might alter this process. To do this, they focused on an enzyme called DGAT1, which makes triglycerides from dietary fats for storage as cellular energy reserves.

They examined a transgenic strain of mice (aP2-Dgat1) that make large amounts of DGAT1 in both adipocytes and macrophages. On a high-fat diet, these mice became obese, but the macrophages in their fat tissue did not undergo inflammatory activation, and the mice were protected from developing systemic inflammation, insulin resistance, and fatty livers, all problems that were profound in the control mice.

The real target is called weight loss to the intended size of a human being.

For most of us, try a BMI of between 18.5 and 24.9.

BJOG Release: The Pregnancy Complications Of Maternal Obesity

Stop the presses! Old news is rediscovered.

New research to be published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology points to a strong association between maternal obesity and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Previous research has shown that maternal obesity is associated with pregnancy complications such as hypertensive disorders, gestational diabetes and maternal death; and fetal/neonatal complications such as stillbirth, birth defects, macrosomia (big baby syndrome) and shoulder dystocia.

The data for this research was from the Hyperglycaemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes study (HAPO) which examined the associations of mild hyperglycaemia with pregnancy outcomes. There was strict selection and researchers looked at the records of 23,316 pregnant women from 15 centres in nine countries. All participants had their BMI measured and underwent a standard oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) between 24 and 32 weeks gestation. Samples of their random plasma glucose (RPG) were taken at 34 - 37 weeks. Ethnicity was recorded and lifestyle data were also collated (eg. smoking levels, alcohol consumption, history of diabetes and hypertension etc) using standardised forms. After delivery (within 72 hours), the size of the babies was assessed using standard measures.

Researchers found that increased maternal obesity was strongly related to adverse pregnancy outcomes. For the mother, it includes a higher chance of having pre-eclampsia and delivery by caesarean section. For the newborn, it resulted in having a higher birthweight, increased fat deposits and neonatal hyperinsulinemia (excess levels of insulin in the blood). In this study, preterm delivery was less frequent with higher BMI, a finding that, as researchers note, is consistent with other large studies.

Early nutritional child abuse, plain and simple.

Dissuade fat people from getting pregnant and have them pay more if they do.

Men who eat soy may have lower lung cancer risk

There is a better solution to the lung cancer risk thing.

Men who don't smoke and eat a lot of soy may have a lower risk of lung cancer, according to a new study.

Soy contains isoflavones, which act similarly to the hormone estrogen, and may have anti-cancer qualities in hormone-related cancers of the breast and prostate, the researchers note in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Cells in the lung have properties that suggest they may also respond to isoflavones.

Stop smoking, fools.

Obesity Linked to Clear-Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

A real (not) pisser, eh, fatsos.

Obesity is associated with an increased risk for clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC), according to the results of a case series reported in the January issue of BJU International.

Kudos.

Exercise Program Associated With Denser Bones, Lower Fall Risk In Older Women

Not exercise, but training.

Women age 65 or older assigned to an exercise program for 18 months appeared to have denser bones and a reduced risk of falls, but not a reduced cardiovascular disease risk, compared with women in a control group. Wolfgang Kemmler, Ph.D., and colleagues at Freidrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany, studied a total of 246 older women. Half of the women exercised four days per week with special emphasis on intensity while the other half participated in a wellness program that focused on well-being.

Among the 227 women who completed the study, the 115 who exercised had higher bone density in their spine and hip, and also had a 66 percent reduced rate of falls. Fractures due to falls were twice as common in the controls vs. the exercise group (12 vs. six). However, the 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease-assessed using the Framingham Risk Calculator, which incorporates factors such as cholesterol level, blood pressure and presence of diabetes-decreased in both groups and did not differ between the two.

Learn how to train - then do it.

Insufficient Counseling For Obesity And Smoking Due To Cost To Patients

IMHO, the whole counseling thing is overrated and useless.

Still, the fatsos and smokers would find more money to pay for their counseling if the rest of us paid less to rescue them from their diseases of choice.

And the more they pay for counseling, the less they have to spend on Calories and cancer sticks.

Reducing obesity and smoking have become national priorities in the United States. Research has shown that intensive counseling can positively impact each problem. However, because such counseling is typically not covered by medical insurance, cost can be a barrier. In a study published in the March 2010 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, found that when primary care clinicians and community counselors collaborated to offer free counseling services to patients, there was an overwhelming positive response. Yet, when the same services were offered at a cost to the patient, there was a significant drop in participation.

Drop in participation?

Let them drop dead from lack of participation.

See how well that motivates 'em.

In Light Of Research About Teens' Heart Disease Risk, Lifestyle Changes Critical

Hot off the presses - news! (not)

Pamphlets detailing the warning signs associated with heart disease may soon end up in an unexpected location: your child's pediatrician's office. According to new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in five American teens has at least one risk factor for developing heart disease in adulthood.

With heart health front-and-center this month in honor of American Heart Month, most media coverage will focus on at-risk adults. But that's a mistake according to Sarah Wally, a dietitian with the National Association for Margarine Manufacturers.

Parents who abuse their children and the National Association for Margarine Manufacturers composing the team - what could go wrong?

Male breast reduction gaining popularity; fastest growing cosmetic surgery in U.K., up in U.S.

Rule Titannia or Moob Britannia.

Women aren't the only ones unhappy with too-large breasts. For the second year in a row, male breast reduction surgery was the fastest growing segment of the cosmetic surgery industry in England, according to the BBC News.

And while such a jump in cases hasn't been seen in the U.S., it's definitely a popular operation here, too, cosmetic surgeons say.

"We've seen an increase," says cosmetic surgeon Dr. Robert Cattani, board member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery. "In the last five years, I personally have done 200 to 300 male breast reductions per year."

The number of breast reductions in England went from 323 in 2008 to 581 last year, which is an 80% increase, according to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons.

In the U.S., there were 18,000 male breast reductions for men in 2008, the last year for which figures are available, estimates the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Among cosmetic surgery procedures for men in the U.S. breast reduction ranks fourth, after nose "reshaping," eyelid surgery and liposuction, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Though the number of male breast reductions in the U.S. in 2008 showed a 16% decrease from the previous year, this could be for economic reasons. Male breast reduction is generally not covered by health insurance.

In England, one surgeon said that the pressure on males to have their breasts surgically reduced came from men's magazines.

"Many men are feeling the pressure from men's magazines that weren't even being published five or six years ago," Rajiv Grover, a consultant plastic surgeon, told the BBC. "In addition, they are just realizing that they can get something done about it."

Excess breast tissue, or gynecomastia, can be due to obesity, says Dr. Malcolm Roth, director of plastic surgery at Maimonides Medical Center.

"Obesity impacts the size of a man's breasts," he says. "I caution any patient before they get surgery to make certain they have exhausted all possibilities to try to correct with other means, like trying to lose weight."

Foget the stiff upper lip.

Go for the perky tits, guys.



That's more like it.

Most Adults Go Online for Health Information

What could go wrong here?

Just over half of U.S. adults under 65 used the Internet to look up health information over the course of a year, according to the first National Health Interview Survey to collect data on health information technology...

The study found 51% of adults 18 to 64 used the Internet to look up health information at some point over a 12-month period. Previous research had shown that over 60% of all adults in the U.S. had, at some point, used the Internet to search for health or medical information.

Not surprisingly, 18- to 49-year-olds were more likely than older adults to use health information technology.

Women were more likely than men to use the Internet for health information in all surveyed categories, including:

Chatting online about health topics (2.5% of men versus 4.1% of women)
Researching health information (43.4% versus 58%)
Communicating with healthcare providers (4.2% versus 5.6%) or scheduling an appointment (1.8% versus 3.5%) by e-mail
Refilling prescriptions online (5.3% versus 6.6%)
The survey was conducted by the CDC and the National Center for Health Statistics.

We all know how reliable the Internet is.

Young Adults With Type 2 Diabetes Could Benefit From New Research

Type 2 diabetes is fatso diabetes. Young fatsos WILL benefit from weight loss, there is no reason for "new research."

New research on Type 2 diabetes by Trinity College Dublin researchers could benefit young adults (aged 18-25 years) with the condition. The research led by Professor John Nolan of Trinity College Dublin and St James's Hospital, Dublin, has just been published online in the leading international journal, Diabetes Care¹.

The study findings demonstrate new mechanisms in muscle cells that may explain severe insulin resistance which is the body's decreased ability to respond to the effects of insulin, and a reduced response to aerobic exercise in young obese patients with Type 2 diabetes. These important findings will contribute in the longterm to the development of more specific treatments for young people with Type 2 diabetes.

Caloric intake control is the best "longterm" treatment.

Obese Kids at Risk for Early Death

How many more reports re: nutritional child abuse do we need to finally act?

Children with obesity, glucose intolerance, or high blood pressure may be at risk of premature death, according to a longitudinal study of Native Americans.
Youngsters from two Arizona tribes who had the highest body mass index (BMI) were more than twice as likely as those with the lowest BMI to die prematurely from endogenous causes, and those with the worst glucose intolerance had a 73% higher risk of death than those with the best control, Paul W. Franks, PhD, now of Umeå Universitet in Umeå, Sweden, and colleagues reported in the Feb. 11 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Sadly, I suspect many, many more.

And even then, the powers that be will be unwilling.

Help save the kids from the abuse.

British People Too Busy To Get Physical

But they are not too busy to have the NHS pay for their fatcare.

Nearly half of adults (44 per cent) are 'too busy' to do physical activity and two out of three are not doing the recommended 30 minutes a day, according to a survey of 2,000 people.

Perhaps they can borrow some time from their legendary dental hygiene routine.

F**k these excusinators.

Resistance Training Programs Appear To Improve Some Cognitive Skills In Older Women

More benefits of training and not much time needed.

One year of once- or twice-weekly resistance training appears to improve attention and conflict resolution skills among older women. Teresa Liu-Ambrose, Ph.D., P.T., of Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, and colleagues studied 155 women age 65 to 75. Participants were randomly assigned to participate in resistance training once (54 women) or twice (52 women) weekly, whereas 49 women in a control group participated in twice-weekly balance and tone training.

After one year, women in both resistance training groups significantly improved their scores on tests of selective attention (maintaining mental focus) and conflict resolution. The program simultaneously improved muscular function in the women.

"This has important clinical implications because cognitive impairment is a major health problem that currently lacks a clearly effective pharmaceutical therapy and because resistance training is not widely adopted by seniors," the authors write.

Train.

HHS Secretary And Surgeon General Join First Lady To Announce Plans To Combat Overweight And Obesity And Support Healthy Choices

Well, this will work. Two fat women and one intended-size woman offering advice on proper weight. What could possibly go wrong?

First Lady Michelle Obama, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin announced plans today to help Americans lead healthier lives through better nutrition, regular physical activity, and by encouraging communities to support healthy choices. At a YMCA in Alexandria, VA, they talked directly with national and local leaders, parents and health professionals about reducing overweight and obesity in adults and children.

The First Lady recently announced that she will launch a major initiative on childhood obesity in the next few weeks and has asked HHS to play a key role. Today, HHS released The Surgeon General's Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation. In her first release to the nation, Dr. Benjamin highlights the alarming trend of overweight and obese Americans, and asks them to join her in a grassroots effort to commit to changes that promote the health and wellness of our families and communities.

The pigs remain in charge.

Health Minister Announces Funding For Outdoor Fitness Trails For Hospital Staff, Wales

Building a pasture for the cows - build it and they will not use it.

Health Minister Edwina Hart has announced almost £50,000 of funding to install fitness trails in the grounds of two Welsh hospitals.

The outdoor schemes are being piloted at Nevill Hall Hospital, Abergavenny and Ysbyty Alltwen, Tremadog to promote healthy lifestyles to NHS staff.

The trails will be made-up of five or six fitness stations which will each have a different piece of equipment such as a cross trainer or Tai Chi spinner.

Mrs Hart said:

"We know the benefits that physical activity can have in improving both physical and mental wellbeing.

"Earlier this month, the Welsh Assembly Government launched a plan to encourage people to become more physically active - Creating an Active Wales. One of the aims of the plan is to develop a physical environment that makes it easier for people to choose to be more physically active.

"These fitness trails will provide NHS staff with the opportunity to improve and maintain their own health while setting a good example for patients and visitors."

If they really wanted to "set a good example for patients and visitors" they would be in shape without the need for a new public works project.

Midlife Exercise Associated With Better Health In Later Years

Duh.

Among women who survive to age 70 or older, those who regularly participated in physical activity during middle age appear more likely to be in better overall health. Qi Sun, M.D., Sc.D., of the Harvard School of Public Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and colleagues analyzed data from 13,535 participants in the Nurses' Health Study.

The women reported their physical activity levels in 1986, at an average age of 60. Among those who had survived to age 70 or older as of 1995 to 2001, those who had higher levels of physical activity at the beginning of the study were less likely to have chronic diseases, heart surgery or any physical, cognitive or mental impairments.

So, get fit.

Michelle Obama Launches Combat Childhood Obesity Campaign

Michellesie the First Cow is gonna tell us how to deal with obesity and overweight.

At the White House on Tuesday, US President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum establishing a task force to address the nation's growing childhood obesity epimedic, turned to his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama and said "it's done honey", and she replied "now we work".

The Taking on Childhood Obesity task force is part of the First Lady's Let's Move campaign to bring together public and private sectors within a generation to help children become more active in their daily lives and have a healthier diet so that children born today reach adulthood at a healthy weight.

The task force has 90 days in which to prepare a plan and submit it to the President. The plan must detail a coordinated strategy, identify key benchmarks, and outline a plan of action.

The First Lady said this was a moment of truth for America and that over the last three decades the rates of childhood obesity in the US had tripled and current figures show that one in three American children is now overweight or obese.

Speaking at an event later, Michelle Obama said that the words "overweight" and "obese" don't tell the full story:

"This isn't just about inches and pounds or how our kids look. It's about how our kids feel, and how they feel about themselves. It's about the impact we're seeing on every aspect of their lives," she said.

Doomed to fail.

As they say: First Fatty, heal thyself.

Childhood Obesity May Contribute To Later Onset Of Puberty For Boys

No wonder so few guys can man up to lose weight - fat guys are retarded in their development as men.

Increasing rates of obese and overweight children in the United States may be contributing to a later onset of puberty in boys, say researchers at the University of Michigan.

In a new study published in the February issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, researchers show that a higher body mass index during early and mid-childhood for boys is associated with later onset of puberty. This is one of the first longitudinal studies in the U.S. to examine the association between weight status and timing of puberty in boys.

"We found that increased body fatness is associated with a later onset of puberty in boys, the opposite of what we have seen in girls, as heavier girls tend to develop earlier, rather than later. Our study shows that the relationship between body fat and timing of puberty is not the same in boys as it is in girls," says U-M pediatric endocrinologist Joyce M. Lee, M.D., M.P.H., the study's lead author.

The explanation, at last.

Some Morbidly Obese People Are Missing Genes, Shows New Research

Thank Heaven. With those extra genes, they would weigh even more.

A small but significant proportion of morbidly obese people are missing a section of their DNA, according to research published February 3 in Nature. The authors of the study, from Imperial College London and ten other European Centres, say that missing DNA such as that identified in this research may be having a dramatic effect on some people's weight.

According to the new findings, around seven in every thousand morbidly obese people are missing a part of their DNA, containing approximately 30 genes. The researchers did not find this kind of genetic variation in any normal weight people.

The data show it is the "smarts" gene that is missing.

That explains a lot.

Low IQ Among Strongest Predictors of Cardiovascular Disease -- Second Only to Cigarette Smoking in Large Population Study

Absolutely.

While lower intelligence scores -- as reflected by low results on written or oral tests of IQ -- have been associated with a raised risk of cardiovascular disease, no study has so far compared the relative strength of this association with other established risk factors such as obesity, smoking and high blood pressure. Now, a large study funded by Britain's Medical Research Council, which set out to gauge the relative importance of IQ alongside other risk factors, has found that lower intelligence scores were associated with higher rates of cardiovascular disease and total mortality at a greater level of magnitude than found with any other risk factor except smoking.

As with many other societal ills, being fat and placing one's self at greater risk of cardiovascular disease is strongly correlated with diminished intelligence.

Kudos to these researchers.

How much longer the rest of us will cater to the choices of the stupid by paying for their irresponsibility is, in part, up to us.

Fight back. Have your voice heard.

Do not stand for this ascendancy of the stupid.

And if you do, you are stupid, too.

Period.

Overweight, Obesity Up CV Risk Regardless of Metabolic Markers in Long-Term Study

It's not about the markers. It's because you are fat, fool.

Middle-aged men with the metabolic syndrome are at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death regardless of their body-mass index (BMI), new research shows. On the flip side of that combination, investigators also showed that overweight and obese individuals without the metabolic syndrome are at an increased risk of cardiovascular events and death.

Lose the weight. Lose the risk.

SNA Applauds President Obama's Proposed $1 Billion Increase For Child Nutrition Programs

The worse than effete folks at the SNA are at it again.

Following the release of President Barack Obama's Fiscal Year 2011 budget, which incldes a $1 billion increase for child nutrition programs, the School Nutrition Association (SNA) applauded the President and First Lady Michelle Obama for their commitment to strengthening the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs.

President Obama's budget increase for school meals and First Lady Michelle Obama's new childhood obesity initiative highlight the importance of school nutrition issues just as Congress prepares to reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act.

"The President and First Lady recognize how crucial school meals are to the health and academic success of America's children, and school foodservice professionals commend the Administration's commitment to strengthening under-funded school nutrition programs," said School Nutrition Association President Dora Rivas, MS, RD, SNS, and executive director of Food and Child Nutrition Services for the Dallas Independent School District in Texas. "With Child Nutrition Reauthorization approaching, Congress has a critical opportunity to enhance the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs for 31 million American children who benefit from school meals each day."

SNA has been calling on Congress to increase the school meal reimbursement to keep pace with rising costs and provide school lunch rooms with the support they need to expand offerings of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

The SNA folks want the money.

For themselves, at least according to this observer. (SNA would likely benefit, too.)

In this matter, I believe her.

Majority Of Parents Don't Realize Their 4 Or 5 Year-Olds Are Overweight Or Obese

More about severely clueless, nutritionally abusive parents.

Half of the mothers who took part in a study thought that their obese four or five year-old was normal weight, as did 39 per cent of the fathers, according to the February issue of Acta Paediatrica.

When it came to overweight children, 75 per cent of mothers and 77 per cent of fathers thought that their child was normal weight.

Time to hold them accountable so they learn to raise kids that are healthier.

Otherwise, the kids are doomed.

Count On Your Waistline To Increase Your Health Care Costs

Wrong. Count on it to increase OUR health care costs.

Health complications and costs associated with obesity are well known; abdominal obesity, which is characterized by an increased waist has been shown to worsen metabolic and cardiovascular diseases and now, a study has demonstrated that a higher waist circumference is also an independent factor for increasing health care costs.

Fight back.

USPSTF Recommends Obesity Screening for Children Ages 6 to 18 Years

Doomed to fail.

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

This evidence led the USPSTF to issue a grade B recommendation that clinicians screen children 6 years and older for obesity and provide obese children with intensive counseling and behavioral interventions designed to improve weight status, or that they refer them for such counseling and interventions...

Moderate- to high-intensity programs are defined as those in which there are more than 25 hours of contact with the child and/or family during a 6-month period. Low-intensity interventions were not associated with significant improvement in weight status.

Right. Counseling a 6 year-old will effect behavioral change when it is the parent(s) who is/are at fault.

As if.

Switch to Low-Fat Milk in Schools Shows Benefit

Lies.

When New York City public schools made the switch from whole milk to skim or low-fat milk, students cut their annual fat and total calorie consumption, department researchers found.

Milk-drinking students consumed 5,960 fewer calories and 619 fewer grams of fat per year after they made the switch, Philip M. Alberti, PhD, of the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and colleagues reported in the Jan. 29 issue of CDC's Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report.

At 3,500 calories per pound, the reduction would be the equivalent of 1.7 pounds of body weight over the course of a year.

First, there are not 3500 Calories in a pound.

There are 3500 Calories in a pound of fat and it is a physical, physiological, biological and mathematical impossibility to lose one pound if someone is in a 3500 Calorie deficit.

In fact, there has never been a study that proves that a 3500 Calorie deficit will result in one pound of weight loss.

The reason: it is impossible.

To learn why, go here.

Second.

The switch did not show any benefit. All it showed was that school system-wide fewer milk Calories were consumed.

This is not the same as a benefit.

There are no data to show that the incidence of overweight/obesity decreased.

There are no data that kids got fitter or healthier.

And there is reason to believe that it made no difference in the right direction, as they would have noted it, had it.

There are just data demonstrating self-congratulations for nothing substantive.

Overweight Elderly Have Similar Mortality to Normal-Weight Elderly

Not so fast.

Current body mass index (BMI) thresholds for overweight and obesity may be overly restrictive for older people, according to the authors of a cohort study published online January 27 and in the February print edition of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society...

Limitations of this study include observational design, measurement of height and weight only once at study entry, use of BMI as a surrogate measure of body fat, reliance on self-reported height and weight, and lack of generalizability to older people who are frail and at risk for death.

In addition to the limitations which are severe (e.g., weight was measured only at the start of the study which extended for 10 years), there are no data on morbidity, i.e., illness.

Survival is a miserable/misleading end-point when the life is spent confined to a wheelchair, on a ventilator, in a nursing facility, etc.

Though I believe that some extra weight may be good for older persons, whether overweight is good is another story.

And that one is unfinished.

Fatty Liver Raises Risk of Death

Guess who gets non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Hint:

People with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a condition that often accompanies obesity and type 2 diabetes, have higher mortality rates than the general population, a new Swedish study found.

Kudos, fatsos.

Taxing Sugar-Sweetened Beverages

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

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

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

'Morbidly Obese' Dog Found Frozen to Sidewalk Slims Down

So why can't you, fat person?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Because you are dumber than a morbidly obese dog.

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

Exercise Linked To Healthier Aging: Four New Studies

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

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

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

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

They write:

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

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

Learn how to train.

First Lady and Lawmakers Discuss Childhood Obesity

What could go wrong here?

(see larger image below)

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

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

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

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

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

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

More of the school nutrition crap.

More of the "healthy foods" crap.

More of the "physical activity" crap.

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

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

Doomed from the start.

More images of the First Fatty below...