Bolder Action Needed From Government On Obesity, Says Heart Charity, UK

Now there's a (bad) concept, unfortunately.

In response to the Department of Health's 'Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives Strategy Two Years On' report looking at the Government's progress on tackling rising levels of obesity in children and adults, Peter Hollins, Chief Executive for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) says:

"Unfortunately childhood obesity levels in England remain far too high and it is too early to trumpet success when the government still hasn't taken the steps it needs to really tackle this problem.

If you read the whole piece, you will discover that the "fix" is providing consumers with the "right information."

For weight control, the "right information," i.e., Calorie content, has been there all along.

Yes, bolder action is needed.

No, to the way this article proposes it be done (in the absence of other measures, e.g., see here)

U.S. fish oil makers sued over supplements

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

A group including a California nonprofit organization is suing fish oil manufacturers and pharmacies that sell the popular supplements over their purported toxicity.

They don't.

Oops.

The Pig Is Clever Like A Fox

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

Well, the pig is clever like a fox.

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

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

She is clearly spewing the slop in which she rolls.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Liar.

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

Double liar.

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

Triple liar.)

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

Quadruple liar.

And other places on the web:



Quintuple liar.

And at a "discount":



Sextuple liar.

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

Septuple liar.

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

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

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

You can check out the Exhibits here.

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

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

What to do?

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

That is integrity.

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

"All you have to do is…eat less!"

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

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

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

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

You can make a difference.

Oprah and Bob Greene Scamming The Public - Again

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

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

Oprah and Bob and

Oprah and her diet expert's books and

Oprah, Jorge Cruise and David Katz.

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



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

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

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

The pig is in charge.

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

This is how Oprah really looks.

Big and fat and with chinny chin chins.

And big thighs and fat ass.

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

here

here

here

here

here

here

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



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

However, "Sale Pricing" does not.

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



One look at the real Oprah - same faked image.

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

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

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

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

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

Shame on her.

She should be ashamed but I suspect she is not.

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

In Oprah's own words:

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

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

Right.

And Oprah is the multi-layered liar.

Laughing all the way to the bank with your money.

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

Consumer Reports - Profile In Incompetence (Update)

Today is March 31, 2010. No response from CR since June 11, 2007.

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

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

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

Read it all.

Then, you decide.

To me, these folks are dangerously incompetent.

Caveat subscriber.

To access all the Fitness Rants, click here.

Obesity and Alcohol Act Together to Increase the Risk of Liver Disease

Multitasking the fatso way.

Two studies published online in the British Medical Journal show that obesity and alcohol act together to increase the risk of liver disease in both men and women.

Together, these findings have important clinical and public health implications.

Rates of liver disease and obesity are increasing in the UK. While alcohol is a major cause of liver cirrhosis, recent evidence suggests that excess body weight may also play a role.

In the first study, researchers from the University of Oxford examined the link between body mass index (BMI) and liver cirrhosis in 1.2 million middle-aged UK women as part of the Million Women Study.

Each woman was tracked for an average of 6.2 years, and risks were adjusted for factors such as age, alcohol consumption, smoking, socioeconomic status and physical activity.

Compared to women of a healthy weight, women who were overweight or obese had an increased relative risk of liver cirrhosis. Although this relative risk did not differ significantly by alcohol consumption, the absolute risk did.

For example, among women who reported drinking an average of about a third to half a drink a day, 0.8 in 1000 will be admitted to hospital with or will die from liver cirrhosis over five years if they are of healthy weight compared with 1 in 1000 women who are obese.

However, among women who reported drinking an average of two and a half drinks a day, 2.7 in 1000 will be admitted to hospital with or will die from liver cirrhosis over five years if they are of healthy weight compared with 5 in 1000 women who are obese.

In the second study, researchers from the Universities of Glasgow and Bristol investigated the joint effects of BMI and alcohol consumption on liver disease in more than 9,000 men in Scotland. Participants were tracked for an average of 29 years.

Both factors were related to liver disease and, more importantly, the combination of high BMI and alcohol consumption was greater than the additive effect of the two separate factors.

Kudos, fatsos.

Belgian coma 'writer' Rom Houben can't communicate

Another expired shelf life.

A Belgian man who stunned the world last year by apparently communicating after 23 years in a coma cannot in fact communicate, researchers say.

The doctor who believed that Rom Houben was communicating through a facilitator now says the method does not work.

One more victory for the same people who cannot tell if a person is communicating and cannot reliably, safely and inexpensively cure toenail fungus.

The Pig Is Clever Like A Fox

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

Well, the pig is clever like a fox.

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

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

She is clearly spewing the slop in which she rolls.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Liar.

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

Double liar.

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

Triple liar.)

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

Quadruple liar.

And other places on the web:



Quintuple liar.

And at a "discount":



Sextuple liar.

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

Septuple liar.

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

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

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

You can check out the Exhibits here.

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

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

What to do?

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

That is integrity.

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

"All you have to do is…eat less!"

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

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

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

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

You can make a difference.

Oprah and Bob Greene Scamming The Public - Again

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

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

Oprah and Bob and

Oprah and her diet expert's books and

Oprah, Jorge Cruise and David Katz.

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



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

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

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

The pig is in charge.

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

This is how Oprah really looks.

Big and fat and with chinny chin chins.

And big thighs and fat ass.

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

here

here

here

here

here

here

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



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

However, "Sale Pricing" does not.

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



One look at the real Oprah - same faked image.

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

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

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

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

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

Shame on her.

She should be ashamed but I suspect she is not.

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

In Oprah's own words:

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

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

Right.

And Oprah is the multi-layered liar.

Laughing all the way to the bank with your money.

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

Consumer Reports - Profile In Incompetence (Update)

Today is March 30, 2010. No response from CR since June 11, 2007.

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

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

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

Read it all.

Then, you decide.

To me, these folks are dangerously incompetent.

Caveat subscriber.

To access all the Fitness Rants, click here.

IOM Calls for Population-Level Battle Against High Blood Pressure

Time to call for a population-level battle against the IOM.

It's time to shift the burden of hypertension prevention and treatment efforts from individuals to society, according to an Institute of Medicine report.

Prevention of hypertension is in the complete control of the individual, just like overweight/obesity.

Instead of making the rest of us or the government the babysitters of the hypertensive, make the hypertensive contribute more - way more - for their care.

Then watch the hyper numbers of hypertensives go hypo.

Until then, f**k you, IOM.

Inflammation Marker Related to Obesity Is Elevated in Patients With Pancreatic Cancer

Kudos, fatsos.

Studies have shown that obesity is correlated with inflammation. Similarly, studies have also shown that inflammation contributes to the tumor progression of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA). This study looks at the role of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), a marker of inflammation, in obese patients with pancreatic cancer.

Have another helping.

The Pig Is Clever Like A Fox

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

Well, the pig is clever like a fox.

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

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

She is clearly spewing the slop in which she rolls.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Liar.

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

Double liar.

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

Triple liar.)

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

Quadruple liar.

And other places on the web:



Quintuple liar.

And at a "discount":



Sextuple liar.

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

Septuple liar.

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

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

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

You can check out the Exhibits here.

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

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

What to do?

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

That is integrity.

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

"All you have to do is…eat less!"

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

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

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

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

You can make a difference.

Oprah and Bob Greene Scamming The Public - Again

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

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

Oprah and Bob and

Oprah and her diet expert's books and

Oprah, Jorge Cruise and David Katz.

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



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

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

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

The pig is in charge.

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

This is how Oprah really looks.

Big and fat and with chinny chin chins.

And big thighs and fat ass.

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

here

here

here

here

here

here

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



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

However, "Sale Pricing" does not.

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



One look at the real Oprah - same faked image.

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

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

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

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

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

Shame on her.

She should be ashamed but I suspect she is not.

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

In Oprah's own words:

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

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

Right.

And Oprah is the multi-layered liar.

Laughing all the way to the bank with your money.

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

Consumer Reports - Profile In Incompetence (Update)

Today is March 29, 2010. No response from CR since June 11, 2007.

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

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

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

Read it all.

Then, you decide.

To me, these folks are dangerously incompetent.

Caveat subscriber.

To access all the Fitness Rants, click here.

Daily Physical Activity Prevents Weight Gain Only in Women With Normal BMI

Which means that "daily physical activity" does not "prevent weight gain" in fatsos.

This makes sense since "exercise" is a terrible way to control weight.

Daily physical activity is associated with less weight gain only among women whose body mass index (BMI) is lower than 25 kg/m2, according to the results of a prospective cohort study reported in the March 24/31 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Approximately 60 minutes per day of moderate-intensity physical activity was associated with successfully maintaining normal weight.

And the normal weight women apparently "needed" 60 minutes per day.

Here are resources to understand why this "need" for 60 minutes is insane.

The bottom line is that there is absolutely no "need" for any "exercise" in order to control weight as long as one uses the much more efficient and effective means of controlling caloric intake.

Even if one "exercises" for weight loss, he or she still requires caloric intake control.

There is no way around this.

If you want help, see here.

Some Britons Would Prefer Weight-Loss Surgery To Diet And Exercise

Not some. Most.

More than half of Britons would rather shift excess weight through drastic surgery than diet or exercise, a new poll has suggested. Women see weight-loss operations as the key to quick results while some men regard it as the "lazy option", it found.

The survey was carried out among 1,305 members of the public on behalf of the Good Surgeon Guide website. When asked how they would like to lose excess weight, liposuction was the most popular with women (34 per cent), followed by gastric bypass (26 per cent) and cutting calories (14 per cent).

Eight per cent would opt for a tummy tuck while just two per cent said they would exercise more and six per cent would combine diet and exercise. Overall, 26 per cent of women said they never exercise and would rather endure the discomfort of surgery than visit a gym once a week.

Weight-loss surgery has serious risks

"Being overweight is one of the biggest risk factors for Type 2 diabetes and we know that lifestyle changes can prevent or delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes," said Natasha Marsland, Care Advisor at Diabetes UK.

"It is important that people manage their weight in order to cut their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and diabetes-related complications such as heart disease, stroke and blindness. However, it is alarming that this survey has found that more than half of Britons would prefer to lose weight through surgery rather than a healthy diet and regular physical activity.

"Diabetes UK recently revealed that gastric surgery can lead to psychological harm such as low self-esteem and relationship problems so it is not always the 'easiest' option. We would always advocate losing weight through diet and physical activity first and foremost.

"Weight-loss surgery does have serious associated risks and should only be considered if sustained attempts to lose through diet and lifestyle changes have been unsuccessful and if the person is obese.

And these people were empire-builders a relatively short while ago.

How the mighty hath fallen.

Fool Britannia.

Fat Brits:

Study casts doubt on virus link to chronic fatigue

Shelf life - expired.

Hopes of discovering treatments for chronic fatigue syndrome dimmed on Friday after a new study cast doubt on previous findings that a virus linked to prostate cancer might also be associated with the condition.

A Dutch research team investigated a possible link in a European group of patients with the fatigue disorder, also known as ME, that affects 17 million people worldwide, but found no evidence of the virus, known as XMRV.

The findings in the British Medical Journal were the latest to contradict a U.S. study published last year that found XMRV in the blood of 68 out of 101 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

That study prompted hopes that CFS patients might benefit from a range of drugs designed to fight AIDS, cancer and inflammation.

Oops.

Obese Colon Cancer Survivors Face Poorer Prognosis

They bet their asses they do.

Colon cancer survivors who are moderately or severely obese face tougher survival odds following treatment compared with their normal-weight peers, a new study reveals.

The finding builds on prior research that established that being obese raises the risk for developing colon cancer in the first place.

"Previous studies have shown that obesity does influence the risk of developing colon cancer, but this study takes it one step further," said study author Dr. Frank A. Sinicrope, a professor of medicine and oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "Because now we know that if you're obese, you have a higher risk of cancer recurrence or death for patients who have established colon cancer."

Don't bet your ass.

Keep it small.

'No evidence' acupuncture boosts chances of IVF baby

Now how is it possible that sticking a needle in you fails to increase fertility?

There is no evidence acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine increase the chance of getting pregnant through IVF, fertility experts say in new guidance.

The methods are increasingly offered as a way of boosting the chances of a baby, but the British Fertility Society suggests couples may be wasting money.

They analysed 14 trials involving 2,670 people before issuing the new guidance...

All the trials involved acupuncture, in which needles were inserted into different areas of the body at different stages in the in vitro fertilisation (IVF) cycle.

No matter at what stage of the process acupuncture was used, it had no impact on the pregnancy or live birth rate, the BFS researchers found...

There were no published trials on the use of Chinese herbs which were rigorous enough for inclusion, so the team concluded that there was "currently no evidence to support the use of this in fertility treatments".

There is one bit of "good" news:

They did however also find it caused no harm, with no difference in miscarriage rates.

Whew.

Americans Pay More Attention to Healthy Foods, Survey Finds

BFD.

Americans are growing more health-conscious while reading food labels and selecting foods to eat, a recently published FDA survey on health and diet found.

Compared with self-reported responses given in 2002, the percentage of Americans who knew diet was related to heart disease rose from 83% from the 2002 survey to 91% in the 2008 FDA Health and Diet Survey.

Additionally, the percentage of those who knew trans fats raised heart disease risk almost doubled, from 32% in the 2004 survey to 62% in the 2008 one.

Respondents in 2008 not only understood more about increased risks than their 2002 counterparts but also understood more about factors reducing the risk of heart disease. Just over half of respondents in 2008 knew omega 3 fatty acids could reduce heart disease risk, up from 31% in 2004.

However, the proportion of respondents who knew certain foods and drinks could help prevent heart problems remained unchanged at 81%.

On the down side, the percentage who knew about the preventive effects of fruits and vegetables actually dipped between surveys (49% versus 34% for vegetables, and 36% versus and 32% for fruits).

The survey also showed consumers became more conscious of food labels and claims made on food packaging between the 2002 and 2008 surveys.

The proportion of consumers who said they read a product nutrition label often before buying for the first time increased from 44% in 2002 to 54% in 2008.

Similar gains showed up in the proportion who read labels to see how healthy the food was (55% in 2008 versus 48% in 2002) and to check vitamin, fat, sodium, and calorie content (66% versus 59%).

And what difference has this "attention" made?

You decide - the USA is still getting fatter.

Weight Fluctuations Among Normal-Weight Individuals Increases CVD Risk

May as well give it all up.

Weight cycling, where an individual's body-mass index (BMI) fluctuates during a two-year period, is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease among normal-weight individuals, according to the results of a new study [1]. These weight cyclers have a risk of adverse events similar to individuals who are overweight, while overweight individuals who cycled did not experience an additional increased risk of cardiovascular events over and above the risk associated with their increased weight, report investigators.

And how much weight do you have to cycle to seal your fate?

...weight cycling was defined as a change of one BMI unit within the two-year period. That works out to be about five pounds for an individual who is five feet tall and seven pounds for six-foot tall male, said Waring.

Perfection is a tough standard.

This research seems a bit dubious.

Just keep the weight down and do your best to keep it reasonably stable.

Obese Kids as Young as Three Have Raised CRP

Fat parents = fat kids. Fat kids = nutritional child abuse.

A new study has found that abnormal levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and two other inflammatory markers are associated with increasing weight in children, starting at a young age. Dr Asheley Cockrell Skinner (University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill) and colleagues' findings are published online March 1, 2010 in Pediatrics.

"We found this is a remarkably consistent story, and it starts as young as age three, something that was surprising to us," senior author Dr Eliana M Perrin (University of North Carolina School of Medicine) told heartwire . "But whether this portends increased cardiac risk down the road, we don't know. We also don't know if the effects are cumulative or whether they are reversible with weight loss or lifestyle changes. More research is needed."

Perrin says although other studies have shown a link between abnormal CRP levels and obesity in children, this is, to her knowledge, the first to look at multiple inflammatory markers in children at such a young age and from a large representative US sample.

Kudos, fatsos = child abusers.

Students' Physical Fitness Associated With Academic Achievement; Organized Physical Activity Linked To Lower Body Fat In Girls

Yet another manifestation of the nutritional child abuse heaped on these kids by their folks and enabled by teachers and principals.

Physical fitness is associated with academic performance in young people, according to a report presented at the American Heart Association's 2010 Conference on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism.

"As children's health continues to be a concern - especially when it comes to obesity - some have suggested that children's physical fitness is associated with their academic performance," said Lesley A. Cottrell, Ph.D., study presenting author and associate professor of pediatrics at West Virginia University in Morgantown, W.Va. "The research, however, had not developed enough to define the nature of that relationship."...

Children who had the best average scores in standardized tests in reading, math, science and social studies were fit at the start and end of the study, researchers found. The next best group, academically, in all four subjects, was made up of children who were not fit in fifth grade but had become fit by seventh grade. The children who had lost their fitness levels between fifth and seventh grades were third in academic performance. Children who were not physically fit in either the fifth or seventh grades had the lowest academic performance.

"The take-home message from this study is that we want our kids to be fit as long as possible and it will show in their academic performance," Cottrell said. "But if we can intervene on those children who are not necessarily fit and get them to physically fit levels, we may also see their academic performance increase."

More data in support of fat people being stupid.

Over exercising: Too much of a good thing

Besides needing to fear this "problem" on a population basis similar to needing to fear an attack by rogue unicorns, the gross ignorance of another "expert," this time from Equinox Fitness, is typical.

Breaking up your fitness routine is hard to do. But it's crucial for avoiding the bigger heartache of overuse injury, fitness experts say.

"People tend to do the same thing over and over again, without varying it, without taking adequate rest, without building slowly, and they end up with an overuse injury," said Geralyn Coopersmith, national manager for the Equinox Fitness Training Institute.

"Tendonitis, bursitis, fasciitis, these kinds of inflammations are pretty much guaranteed if you don't' vary your training," said Coopersmith, who oversees the training of 1400 personal trainers in 48 Equinox clubs nationwide.

Hogwash.

Look at the real athletes and what they do.

They do a training routine.

The operative word is "routine."

Not "training surprise" or "training switcheroo." Training routine.

The real reason anybody associated with personal training recommends varying training is so you pay them to churn exercises.

This is like a stock broker churning stocks to make a commission on each purchase and sale.

Do not use a personal trainer unless you have money to burn, a disability and need some help, a dysfunctional brain and think you need some help, etc.

Be Your Own Personal Trainer (BYOPT tm)

Adding Rosemary To Beef Decreases Cancer-Causing Agents

Crap. The research did NOT show what it claims it set out to show.

The addition of rosemary extract to ground beef actually reduces cancer-causing agents that can form upon cooking, according to a recent study in the Journal of Food Science, published by the Institute of Food Technologists.

Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are mutagenic compounds that form when meat and fish are cooked at high temperatures especially meats that are grilled, pan-fried, broiled, or barbecued. The National Toxicology Program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services categorizes HCAs as human carcinogens that can increase the risk of certain types of cancers.

Kansas State University researchers Kanithaporn Puangsombat and J. Scott Smith investigated the idea that reducing the amount of HCAs in meat cooked at high temperatures would reduce the associated health risks.

The study compared five rosemary extracts with varying concentrations of water and ethanol and their ability to inhibit HCA formation in cooked beef patties.

-- Rosemary extracts were isolated with ethanol concentrations ranging from 10 percent to 40 percent

-- The extracts were added directly onto the ground beef patties and cooked at two different temperatures: 400°F for five minutes each side and 375°F for six minutes each side.

Researchers found that all of the concentrations significantly decreased the levels of HCAs at both cooking temperatures.

-- When beef patties were cooked at 400°F for five minutes per side, the rosemary extracted at the lower ethanol concentrations were most effective in inhibiting HCA formation.

-- It should be noted that rosemary extracts prepared at these lower ethanol concentrations contain a mixture of rosmarinic acid, carnosol, and carnosic acid, and these compounds just may work together in inhibiting HCA formation. Thus, rosemary extracts may not be the same depending on what solvents are used.

There is nothing in the above to suggest that the research demonstrated that "reducing the amount of HCAs in meat cooked at high temperatures would reduce the associated health risks."

It merely showed that some levels of some substance can be reduced.

No effect on health was shown.

This is how researchers, who are responsible for the content of the quoted article, mislead the unwary, IMHO.

For women, battle of bulge just got tougher

Crap.

Women need to get at least an hour a day of moderate exercise if they hope to ward off the creep of extra pounds (kilos) that comes with aging, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

The weekly total of 420 minutes is nearly triple the 150 minutes of moderate daily exercise currently recommended by U.S. health officials and illustrates the challenge American women face in maintaining a healthy weight.

Winning that war will require individuals to make changes in their daily routines - like walking or biking to work - but it may also take a shift in policy to make it easier for people in fit exercise into their lives, researchers said.

Two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese, increasing the risk of heart disease, diabetes and other chronic illnesses, and adding about $150 billion a year to U.S. healthcare costs.

"From a public health perspective, it would be better to prevent the weight gain in the first place," said I-Min Lee of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, whose study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Lee said there is ample research on people who are already overweight, but little on how to prevent weight gain as people grow older.

Absolutely untrue.

As long as one eats fewer Calories than on burns, it is IMPOSSIBLE to gain weight.

This is true for any age, either gender and anywhere in the universe.

BTW, did you note the expired shelf life?

The weekly total of 420 minutes is nearly triple the 150 minutes of moderate daily exercise currently recommended by U.S. health officials

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

Arthritis, Activity Limits Worse in U.S. than Canada

Eh?

Americans, and particularly women, have a higher prevalence of arthritis and related activity limitations than their Canadian counterparts, possibly because they're more likely to be obese and inactive, a health survey found.

Kudos, fatsos.

Teen Girls Look To Peers To Gauge Weight Goals

Maybe they will leave the thin models on the runway alone.

Their schoolmates' weight determines whether teenage high school girls will try to lose pounds, new research finds, and the school environment plays a big role in the decision.

Although fashion magazines and celebrity culture equate 'thin' with 'beautiful,' the study in the March issue of Journal of Health and Social Behavior found that girls tend to view their body image in comparison to the peers they see every day in school - and being overweight might be perfectly fine.

The blind leading the blind.

Kids Lose Pounds, Gain Fitness In Houston Study

Wanna bet?

Innovative, kid-friendly strategies for losing weight and gaining nutrition savvy-plus physical fitness skills-are emerging from scientific studies funded by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

For example, investigators Craig A. Johnston, John P. Foreyt and Chermaine Tyler and their colleagues are building upon one of their earlier studies in which many of their Texas middle-school participants achieved weight-management success. The volunteers were primarily Hispanic children who were either overweight or at risk of becoming so.

The researchers are with the ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, where Johnston and Tyler are instructors in nutrition and Foreyt is a professor of medicine.

Statistics that the scientists reported for the 6-month study were based on 57 overweight kids who were assigned to either a self- and parent-taught program, or, instead, an intensive, instructor-led regimen.

For instance, kids in the self-taught group spent time in study hall every week for the first 3 months of the investigation, reading a self-help, weight-management textbook for youngsters. Meanwhile, their peers in the instructor-led team spent four class periods a week outdoors, improving their physical fitness, with a fifth session each week-indoors-learning about nutrition, healthy eating, and behavior-change skills essential for living an active lifestyle and making healthful food choices.

When evaluated at the end of the 6-month study, kids in the intensive, instructor-led course had significantly greater weight loss as well as greater "physical quality of life"-as measured by their answers to a standard questionnaire-than did the kids in the self-taught program. What's more, one and two years later, youngsters in the instructor-led team had significantly greater decreases in their body mass index, or BMI, than did the self-taught youngsters.

These preliminary results suggest that a school-based weight-management program might be effective in reaching large numbers of kids, according to the scientists. They published their findings in the journal Obesity in 2009 and in Pediatrics in 2007...

ARS is the chief intramural scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Houston research helps improve children's nutrition and health, a USDA top priority.

The release was from the USDA and nowhere did they mention how much weight was lost.

Really. If you had success in this area, don't you think you would crow about it?

Really.

Physical, academic fitness tied at the hip: study

Fat = stupid. Fit = smart.

Physically fit students tend to score higher on standardized tests than their less fit peers, hint findings from a new study.

But the fat score higher on standardized weight scales.

Kudos, fatsos.

Eliminating Junk Foods At Schools May Help Prevent Childhood Obesity

Not according to the study.

Between 2003 and 2005, Governor Shwarzenegger signed SB 677, SB 965 and SB 12 into law, the first comprehensive set of statewide policies to eliminate sodas and other highly sweetened beverages and restrict the sale of junk foods in all of California's public schools. Although many other states subsequently enacted similar standards, potential effects on childhood obesity were uncertain.

Sanchez-Vaznaugh and co-investigators used eight years of body mass index (BMI) data from fifth and seventh grade students collected as part of California's annual Physical Fitnessgram testing. The study compared BMI trends in the years preceding the enactment of the legislation with the years following the legislation. The data show that before the policies took effect, the rate of overweight students was increasing among all groups in the study (girls and boys in fifth and seventh grades). However, in the three year period after the policies became effective, the increase in the number of overweight children was significantly reduced among fifth-grade boys and seventh-grade students of both sexes throughout California. The pre- and post-policy trends in overweight were not significantly different among fifth-grade girls.

The obesity rates still increased, only, so they claim, more slowly.

Get wool, place over eyes.

"Prevention" like this is not prevention.

Anti-Obesity Drugs Unlikely to Provide Lasting Benefit, According to Scientists

Right conclusion, wrong fix.

Scientists at the University of Liverpool argue that anti-obesity drugs fail to provide lasting benefits for health and wellbeing because they tackle the biological consequences of obesity, and not the important psychological causes of overconsumption and weight gain.

Dr Jason Halford, Reader in Appetite and Obesity at the University of Liverpool, points out that anti-obesity drug developers focus primarily on weight loss as their end goal, and do not take into consideration the motivational and behavioural factors that most commonly cause obesity. Obesity typically results from eating too much food combined with too sedentary a lifestyle. However, obese people may also have a complicated psychological relationship with food that makes it difficult for them to control their appetite sufficiently to manage their weight...

Professor Tim Kirkham, an authority on the biopsychology of appetite at the University of Liverpool, said: "Novel, effective anti-obesity treatments must address these different factors. We need to identify drugs that can selectively affect the desire to eat, the enjoyment of eating, fullness and satisfaction. Interventions designed specifically to modulate these processes could help reduce the aversive experience of dieting, and maximize an individual's capacity to successfully gain control over their appetite.

Forget wasting resources on developing drugs to "cure" obesity.

And then possibly having to force the fat to use them.

Let the natural consequences of overweight/obesity manifest themselves or have the fat pay for their own rescue.

Either approach will lessen the burden of overfatness on the fat and on the rest of us.

Diet drugs did not work for you? Go here. Think about it.

Key Protein In Energy Regulation Identified By Gladstone Scientists

Really, this time they found the key.

They were just kidding before, e.g., here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

With obesity and obesity-related diseases epidemic in the developed world, a clear understanding of how metabolism is regulated is crucial. One of the key metabolic pathways involves the oxidation of fat. In the current edition of the journal Nature, scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology report on a new mechanism that governs this pathway and in the process identified a novel potential therapeutic target for controlling fat metabolism. The target is a protein from the mitochondria, or the "power plants" of every cell that are responsible for processing oxygen and converting substances from the foods we eat into energy for essential cell functions.

"Many mitochondrial proteins undergo a small chemical modification known as acetylation, which varies during feeding and fasting conditions," said Eric Verdin, MD, senior investigator and senior author of the study. "From our previous studies, we knew that the enzyme SIRT3 is involved in removing these modifications, and we speculated that SIRT3 might have a role in regulating metabolism and looked for how it might do this."

To study the enzyme's role in mice, the researchers used mice in which both copies of the gene had been deleted. Interestingly, mice that lost both copies of the SIRT3 gene appeared to be completely normal. However, the investigators then tested the mice under fasting conditions. During fasting, expression of SIRT3 was increased in the liver, an organ that helps maintain the body's energy balance. The livers of mice without SIRT3 had higher levels of fat and triglycerides than normal mice, because the mice could not burn fat.

To determine how SIRT3 controls fat burning, the researchers looked at the mitochondrial proteins. They found that the enzyme called LCAD was "hyperacetylated" and contained even more acetyl groups than usual and the enzyme had reduced activity.

The mice that lacked SIRT3 also had many of the key markers of fat oxidation disorders, low energy levels and low tolerance to cold. Further investigation showed that higher levels of SIRT3 expression and activity increase the activity of this key enzyme in fat oxidation. However, a number of other proteins are acetylated in the mitochondria, an observation which suggests that other proteins may be involved.

"We conclude that acetylation is a new mechanism for regulating fatty acid oxidation in mitochondria and that SIRT3 mediates the acetylation state," said Matthew Hirschey, postdoctoral fellow and lead author of the study. "The implication is that SIRT3 may have a pathologic role in some metabolic disorders, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or fatty liver disease. We are excited about exploring these possibilities."

Really.

Soy unlikely to trim body fat after menopause

You mean that neither a pill nor eating food will not trim body fat?

Estrogen-like compounds found in soy won't help limit body fat in post-menopausal women, new research shows.

Animal studies and small studies in humans have offered some evidence that these compounds, known as isoflavones, could help build muscle mass and reduce fat mass, Dr. Oksana A. Matvienko of the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls and her colleagues write in the journal Menopause.

It's unclear why such compounds might have any effect on body composition, but it's possible that they might act as estrogen does, to affect hormones that play a role in fat and sugar metabolism.

To investigate whether isoflavones might help women avoid putting on fat after menopause, the researchers enrolled 229 postmenopausal women in their study, none of whom were severely obese. The women were randomly assigned to take a placebo - also known as a dummy pill -- a tablet containing 80 milligrams of soy isoflavones, or a 120-milligram isoflavone tablet every day for a year.

The isoflavones had no significant effect on women's bodies, the researchers found, nor did they affect levels of insulin, leptin, ghrelin, or adiponectin, hormones that help regulate appetite. The researchers did find a relationship between all of these "appetitive hormones"-aside from insulin-and body composition, but the only factor that predicted changes in fat mass was the amount of fat in a woman's diet.

And the longer it had been since a woman's last period, the higher her fat mass...

For now, though, the researchers say that they "cannot recommend" that healthy women take soy isoflavones to reduce body fat.

Go figger. How can that be?

Until you arrive at the answer, try fewer Calories in than out.

See how that works.

In Immune-Altered Mice Intestinal Bacteria Drive Obesity And Metabolic Disease

Bacteria (heart) making you overeat.

Increased appetite and insulin resistance can be transferred from one mouse to another via intestinal bacteria, according to research being published online this week by Science magazine.

The finding strengthens the case that intestinal bacteria can contribute to human obesity and metabolic disease, since previous research has shown that intestinal bacterial populations differ between obese and lean humans.

"It has been assumed that the obesity epidemic in the developed world is driven by an increasingly sedentary lifestyle and the abundance of low-cost high-calorie foods," says senior author Andrew Gewirtz, PhD, associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Emory University School of Medicine. "However, our results suggest that excess caloric consumption is not only a result of undisciplined eating but that intestinal bacteria contribute to changes in appetite and metabolism."

It has to be about the gut bacteria.

What else could possibly explain fat humans?

Studies have proven that bacteria talk to each other. Now we know that they are conspiring to make you eat more.

Proof positive!

Doctor says heart groups too cozy with industry

Outed? You decide.

A prominent cardiologist accused leading heart organizations of being too cozy with industry and allowing those ties to influence its policies and education programs for doctors.

Cleveland Clinic cardiology chief Dr. Steven Nissen criticized the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology in a speech at the college's annual scientific conference on Tuesday.

Industry influence has been a growing concern, especially its funding of education programs for doctors. Some high-profile scandals have drawn attention to a problem that some doctors believe has been exaggerated to demonize companies that take big financial risks to develop drugs...

Nissen's criticism of the other group, the cardiology college, scored a hit, however. While noting the group is the gold standard for avoiding industry conflicts, he said it granted continuing medical education credits for a seminar sponsored by Merck in which an experimental Merck drug was touted. All four faculty members for the session consult for Merck.

"That is wrong. It shouldn't happen," admitted the college's chief executive officer, Dr. Jack Lewin. "We can do better than that."

The flap caused a stir at the conference and riled doctors and industry members alike. Dr. Robert Harrington, head of heart research at Duke University, who also spoke at the session, said scientists and professional societies need to do more to have "firewalls" to protect their work from corporate influence. However, most research in the United States is paid for by industry, and fair and ethical partnerships are needed to develop treatments, he said.

"While it's easy to say all of this should be funded by the NIH, that's not the reality," Harrington said.

Outed or not, it remains best for you to get or remain fit and avoid all the improprieties or appearances thereof.

Either can kill you.

The Effectiveness Of Policies In The Battle Against Childhood Obesity Should Be Reviewed Before Implementation

What a concept!

Before developing specific anti-obesity strategies, lawmakers and advocates should review the evidence on program effectiveness and costs in order to avoid policies that either won't work or will waste money, says Cornell economist John Cawley, in "The Economics of Childhood Obesity," published in the peer-reviewed journal Health Affairs, March 2, 2010.

Cawley, associate professor of policy analysis and management, argues that government spending should focus on programs that offer "the biggest bang for the buck." In his paper, Cawley examines recent studies of several youth-focused initiatives to reduce obesity, finding that the Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH), a multistate program that teaches elementary school kids how to eat well and exercise regularly, is the most cost-effective. It costs $900 per "quality-adjusted life-year," a standard measure of the benefits of public health interventions. By comparison, a study of "walking school buses," a popular approach that encourages children and adults to walk to school together, found the program to be ineffective.

"There is widespread recognition that childhood obesity is a problem in need of attention and resources," said Cawley, who has served on the Institute of Medicine's Committee to Prevent Childhood Obesity. "But it's a bit of a wild west, anything-goes environment when it comes to creating anti-obesity programs and policies. With limited resources to spend, it would be counter-productive to rush into programs that are not cost-effective and won't provide the greatest return on investment."

The "walking school bus" sounds like a neat idea, but it doesn't increase kids' physical activity or prevent obesity. "Every county, employer, school, day care and community agency is trying to do something about obesity right now, which is great, but we also need to evaluate these programs so we can learn what works," he said.

Now why didn't anybody think of this before?

HHS Teams Up With Olympic Athletes To Fight Childhood Obesity

Pulling out all the stops. What could go wrong here?

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the first in a series of web videos and public service announcements to promote First Lady Michelle Obama's national initiative, Let's Move, to solve childhood obesity within a generation. Childhood obesity and excess weight threatens the healthy future of one third of American children.

As a member of the U.S. Presidential Delegation for the XXI Olympic Winter Games, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius attended the closing ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. While in Vancouver, Sebelius enlisted the help of more than a dozen Olympic athletes to combat the challenge of childhood obesity by providing the American public with tips to maintain a healthy lifestyle. In the videos, current and former Olympians urge parents and kids to incorporate physical activity and nutritious foods into everyday life.

The new web videos, featured on http://www.LetsMove.gov, remind Americans that you don't have to be an Olympic athlete to be active, eat right, and maintain a healthy weight. The web videos include messages from two-time Olympic medalist figure skater Michelle Kwan, 2010 skeleton racer Noelle Pikus-Pace, and 2010 Olympic snowboarder Louie Vito.

"America's Olympians are some of the finest athletes in the world and our country's best spokespeople on being physically active," said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. "We are pleased that these inspiring Olympians are joining the First Lady's Let's Move effort to tackle this health epidemic. They can help teach kids that eating right and exercising regularly is the way to get moving towards a healthier life."

The Olympian way to eating right and getting exercise:



And celebrating with "good habits":

Let's think about this.

Which behaviors do you think are more likely to be emulated - training 8 hours per day or...?

The US government at work.

Eat right, don't be overweight.

Role model and role modelette:

Role model:





Role modelette: