FDA Approves REALIZE(TM) Adjustable Gastric Band For Morbid Obesity

More malpractice.

"The REALIZE Band is an innovative device intended for use in weight reduction for patients with morbid obesity and is indicated for individuals with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of at least 40 kg/m2, or a BMI of at least 35 kg/m2 with one or more co-morbid conditions. It is for use in morbidly obese adult patients who have failed more conservative weight-reduction alternatives, such as supervised diet, exercise and behavior modification programs." (see here, too.)

Access To A Credible Nutrition Expert For Accurate Nutrition And Health Information Is Only A Click Away! Canada

Oxymoron alert! (typos in the original)

"On deadline' and looking for a credible source of nutrition information for a timely story? Dietitians of Canada (DC) makes it easy for journalists to connect with a dietitian - for nutrition information you can trust."

"Dietitian." "Credible source of nutrition information." "Nutrition information you can trust."

Not hardly. Those are words that should never be used together.

"Whether you're looking for general nutrition information or for expertise on a specific nutrition and health topic, the Interview an Expert database allows one to search by skills and practice, location, language, profession and target audience. When you find the expert that meets your needs, you can contact them by e-mail or telephone, "

It is more accurate to call it lies on-line.

To keep your mind as free of their pollution for as long as you can, use a dial-up connection.

Exercising To Excess Bad For Health, Australia

More value judgments and conflicting information.

"A psychological study of gym-goers has found 23 per cent of respondents exercised at excessive levels.

Seventy-five per cent of 'excessive exercisers' were motivated to hit the gym to relieve stress and anxiety, according to the Victoria University study...

The study excluded people with clinical eating disorders and professional or elite athletes."

Of interest, the study excluded people who "exercise" for money, but included those who "exercise" for other reasons.

Just like researchers, if you do it for money it is okay.

Otherwise you are sick.

I wonder how these folks quantify excessive research. Especially lousy research.

"To be defined as an 'excessive exerciser' participants had to score above average on an exercise dependence questionnaire and exercise more than six hours per week. "

Six hours per week, eh?

Are they aware that the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005, the latest and greatest, recommends much more?

"To sustain weight loss in adulthood: Participate in at least 60 to 90 minutes of daily moderate-intensity physical activity while not exceeding caloric intake requirements."

That equals 7 to 10.5 hours per week. (BTW, I think the DGA Guidelines are nonsense. So is this Australian study.)

Clearly this Fletcher lady is pushing for her own nanny state.

"'While exercise is vital to our health and well-being, when people become addicted to and reliant on exercise, it can be damaging to both their physical and psychological health,' said study co-author, Jane Fletcher.

Ms Fletcher, a psychologist, said people who exercise excessively do so even when they are injured, tired or sick.

'Sometimes they will even push themselves harder, because it is a challenge to get through it,' Ms Fletcher said.

'They regularly turn down invitations with friends and family to go to the gym. Exercise makes them feel really good and if they don't do it, they can feel anxious and withdrawn. This can negatively affect their social life and career.'"

As if she should sit in judgment of those who "exercise" for the challenge of it. Or whatever their reasons for doing what they think positively affects their lives.

This lady is nuts.

"Results from the study will be presented at the 42nd Australian Psychological Society national conference, 'Psychology Making an Impact,' at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre from 25 to 29 September."

Too bad the impact psychology is making is negative.

Fattening Carbs—Some Promote Obesity and Worse

More carb crap.

"Rapidly digested carbs aren't healthy for people with diabetes and others watching their blood sugar. A new study by Ludwig and his colleagues at Children's Hospital Boston suggests that such carbs are also problematic for people looking to shed body fat. Indeed, the findings indicate that consumption of the wrong carbs can spur the development of body fat, even with no gain in weight."

The provenance of this trash is similar to that of the dreaded "mini-starvation mode," another favorite fantasy of the experts.

As to the "even with no gain in weight" part. That is also untrue.

Look.

This is how it is.

There is no "mini-starvation mode" that sabotages dieting. There is only the natural and expected metabolic response to a sustained decrease in Calories.

Also, fatty gain occurs anytime unused Calories are absorbed. Calories absorbed more quickly need to be burned more quickly or they are added to the body.

Weight must be gained whenever mass, fatty or lean, is added to the body.

Regulating this is a technique used by successful body builders and athletes.

There is no mystery here despite the fact that this Ludwig character is asking for more money for more research.

More carb crap.

And we are all paying for it.

Some with their lives as the bad and really, really stupid noise (not information) proliferates.

Carbohydrates Make You Fat, and Perhaps Sick

Nope.

Carbs do NOT make you fat. Too many Calories do.

Nope.

Carbs do not make you sick. Stupid reporters cum diet gurus do.

"In a world of fad diets and ever-changing ideas on how to get thin, Gary Taubes is not just another diet guru but a journalist who has covered science for the past 30 years."

Taubes is more than a diet guru, he is a journalist who has apparently squandered the last 30 years.

And a moron.

"Taubes said that after rereading years of scientific research, he has found proof that for the last half century, science has just gotten it wrong: It's not fat that is making Americans fat, he said, it is the base of the food pyramid, the complex carbohydrates, foods such as bread, pasta, potatoes. It's the starches we were told we needed that make us pudgy."

It is a 100% impossibility to become "pudgy," assuming this term is used for any level of overweight, in the absence of excess Calories.

Impossible.

"It's simple chemistry, said Taubes. Carbs spike insulin. Insulin creates sugar. And sugar packs on the pounds."

Nope.

Excess Calories pack on pounds.

It is simply that Taubes is an idiot.

Do not listen to this yet another fool.

Great John vs Big John

How fat are we?

I came across this article that seems to offer some direction to the answer.

"T'he obese now represent the most populous group of people in the U.S.,' points out Bruno Kordic, marketing and sales director for the Great John Toilet Co., which is based in Monterrey, Mexico. 'If they ever organized, they could elect their own president every time.'"

Bill Richardson has hope.

"A survey by Novation found that over the last three years 80% of hospitals are treating more obese patients (called bariatric patients in medical terminology) than ever; 40% have altered their procedures to accommodate the needs of obese patients, and 17% have remodeled their facilities to accommodate obese patients...

One frequent remodeling feature relates to commodes. More hospitals are switching to floor-mounted commodes, which can accommodate heavier individuals.

'Wall-mounted commodes can accommodate patients and visitors up to about 250 lb.,' Wise explains. 'If someone who is heavier than that uses these commodes, they may come off the wall.'"

Timber!

Oops.

"One hospital that has remodeled is Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital in Milwaukee.

'When we remodeled and built new rooms for bariatric patients, part of the remodeling involved replacing wallmounted toilet fixtures with floormounted fixtures,' says Lynne Mueller, R.N., clinical materials resource manager.

All the toilets are a little farther away from the wall than the wall-mounted toilets for additional comfort. The primary reason for shifting to floormounted was not comfort, though.

'The main reason was that some of the wall-mounted toilets were coming off the wall due to frequent use by heavier people, including patients, family members and staff,' Mueller notes."

To paraphrase Tennyson's Charge of the Heavy Brigade, "half a ton, half a ton, half a ton onward."

"For facilities that don't want to shift from wall-to floor-mounted toilets to accommodate obese people, there is another option. Bar Industries manufactures a metal toilet support that fits under wall-mounted toilets, providing support to the floor for up to 1,000 lb."

These mega-loos are not just for institutions.

You can even own the home game.

"Miles Allen, owner of Ray Allen Plumbing in Tyler, Texas, reports that he has a number of obese customers who, when they sit on the toilet, end up falling the last 6 in. or so.

'With that type of mass and acceleration, they're hitting that toilet with more than just their body weight — for some people, maybe up to 1,000 lb. of pressure,' he points out.

As a result, Allen has had to replace several toilets because of impact fractures. He is considering the idea of replacing some of these toilets with stainless steel prison-model toilets."

"Prison-model toilets."

Here's a pretty picture.

"That's just one problem Allen faces. He has a 500-lb. customer whose midsection is very large. When he is sitting on the commode, he can't get his hand within 12 in. of his groin area, which ends up hanging over the front of the toilet by 6 to 7 in."

And a solution.

A toilet that:

"...is also built stronger, he adds, to reduce the potential for breakage, using a reinforced structure (ceramic tested to 2,000 lb.). The toilet features additional anchorage points and reinforced steel hinges."

For perspective, 2000 lbs. is about 9 times the weight of an elephant at birth.

Here's a better solution.

Lose weight.

Glycemic Index Values Are Surprisingly Variable, Researchers Report

The uselessness of the glycemic index, or GI, shown again.

"In work investigating the reproducibility of glycemic index values, researchers at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University (USDA HNRCA) have reported that multiple glycemic index value determinations (measure of the rate of glucose absorption into the bloodstream) using a simple test food, white bread, resulted in a relatively high level of inter-individual (among different individuals), and intra-individual (within the same individual) variability."

In other words, you cannot trust the numbers.

No surprise.

"'Using glucose as the control food, previous studies indicate that white bread has a glycemic index of about 70,' says Lichtenstein, who is also the Gershoff professor of nutrition science and policy at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts. 'In our study the combined average was 71, virtually identical to the published value. However, quite strikingly, individual values ranged from 44 to 132. What is critical is to determine why there is such a wide range of responses among individuals.'

In addition, within the same individual, test values varied by as much as 42 percent."

However, the one thing that is NOT "critical is to determine why there is such a wide range of responses among individuals."

That research will likely lead nowhere except to the researcher's banks.

The GI is simply dependent on too many variables.

Still, your money is being wasted.

"Lichtenstein and colleagues have received a five-year grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to further their understanding of the glycemic index and its utilities. The current study was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service."

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

Nothing else.

The GI is really the Garbage Index.

Excessive Multivitamin Use May Raise Risk For Prostate Cancer

Possible.

Even though this is from Harvard, the designer of killer diets.

There has been no real, convincing data that taking vitamins improves health.

That part they got right.

"About a third of American adults take some type of multivitamin on a regular basis. In nearly every case, the goal is better health, even though there is no firm evidence to support this hope."

There have been other data suggesting a link between vitamins and the development of some diseases.

"When scientists further explored this finding, they found no link between multivitamin use and the risk of developing localized prostate cancer. But they did find that men who take multivitamins more than once a day were 32% are more likely to develop advanced prostate cancer and 98% more likely to die from the disease."

Save your money on vitamins.

You just might live longer to spend it.

Weight hitting bottom lines

Fly the flabby skies. (typos and punctuation from the original)

"IN 2000 it was estimated by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine that the increasing 'weight of passengers was costing the US airline industry $275 million for the additional 300 million gallons of fuel required to lift the extra pounds'.

Seven years on, with fuel up 145 per cent, that cost has ballooned to $673 million, but so has the weight of passengers - and not just in the US."

This is apparently one big-butt issue.

"What was once a minor economic and political problem is developing rapidly into a major headache, with significant ramifications for PR departments and airline bottom lines as well as aircraft manufacturers.

Through the 1990s, the average weight of Americans jumped by 10lb (4.5kg), according to the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

From 1990 to 2002, the number of overweight or obese adults jumped from 56 per cent to 65per cent of the population, prompting the Federal Aviation Authority on August 12, 2005 to increase the weighting of passengers. The FAA lifted the male passenger with carry-on weighting from 185lb to 200lb (84kg to 90.7kg) for summer and 190lb to 205lb (86.2kg to 93kg) for winter. The averages for women - who are also weighing in heavier - increased from 145lb to 179lb (65.8kg to 81.2kg) in summer and 150lb to 184lb (68kg to 83.5kg) inwinter."

I wrote about this a way long time ago.

"Those weight and height gains prompted the British Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and European Joint Aviation Authority (JAA) to commission a review of seat size and spacing in 1999.

The report conducted by ICE Ergonomics Ltd found that cramped seating could trap and trip passengers during emergency evacuations and found that more space was needed for today's overweight passengers.

The study was safety-focused and did not comment on the comfort of passengers, but found that 'economy-class passengers are so tightly packed together that they cannot assume a correct brace position for emergency landing'. The study concluded that the minimum dimensions needed to be expanded by 'at least three inches' (7.62cm) in terms of seat pitch - something all passengers would agree with.

The report also said that 'the current widths of typical economy class seats, and in particular the distances between the two armrests, are totally inadequate to accommodate larger-bodied passengers.'"

Get that these cows are safety hazards to the rest of us and putting us at risk, in addition to increasing costs.

"While Southwest is trailblazing the problem - just as it has led the low-cost carrier revolution - by asking larger passengers to pay for two seats, other airlines are quietly selling space in more subtle ways, such as selling the more spacious exit-row seats for a small premium.

More and more airlines are pricing tickets at a base price and passengers pay for additional options. Now some analysts are suggesting some type of weight penalty be introduced.

One analyst, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Australian: 'It's unfair that we charge passengers for excess baggage but not excess weight. What about the poor passenger who weighs just 150lb (68kg) but has 90lb (40kg) of baggage and gets slugged hundreds of dollars for excess baggage, but the guy who weighs in at 220lb (100kg) with a 30lb (13.6kg) bag is fine?'

In 2002, Virgin Atlantic paid pound stg. 13,000 ($30,000) to an English passenger who allegedly suffered a blood clot in her chest, torn leg muscles and acute sciatica after sitting next to a grossly overweight passenger from London to Los Angeles.

Southwest Airlines is the only airline that has a clear policy on its website regarding passengers who are overweight.

That policy has been in place since 1980, but only in the past few years has it been enforced after nine-out-of-10 complaint letters were about passengers being seated next to a 'customer of size'."

Fly Southwestern.

"Southwest's policy is simple. If you do not fit the seat - defined by the two armrests - you have to buy two, but if there is one spare seat on your flight you will get a refund, which means most get a refund. Interestingly, the Oakland based National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance on its website, encourages its members to get around that problem by raising the armrest on boarding.

It states: 'When you get to your seat during pre-boarding, raise the armrest between seats. This may give you the few centimetres of extra space you need. The chances are that the passenger who will be seated next to you won't say anything. If he does, smile pleasantly and say that you'll both be more comfortable if the armrest is up.'"

Keep the armrests down.

And send the NAAFA pigs to hell.

Texas unveils fitness test for students

Addresses less than half the matter.

"State officials believe the Fitnessgram test, which allows physical education teachers to record and compare fitness levels of students, will help change what one health expert called 'the fitness and fatness of our youth in Texas.' The test — which measures aerobic capacity, body composition, muscular strength, muscular endurance and flexibility — will be used in every gym class in the state in grades three and up...

The Legislature required mandatory testing in a bill passed earlier this year. The bill also mandates 30 minutes of daily "moderate to vigorous" physical activity, or 135 minutes a week, for children up to fifth grade. For students in sixth through eighth grades, 30 minutes a day, 125 minutes a week or 225 minutes over two weeks is required."

Not likely to succeed.

Will have to see how they intend to limit the real culprit and the real solution, Calorie intake.

"The results are recorded on a report card that allows parents and teachers to identify the physical strengths and weaknesses of each student."

Of course, the child abusing fat parents will offer resistance.

And food to the kids.

Obesity Threatens Emergency Services: Report

More large animal vets needed to care for fat people.

"Extra wide beds, stronger toilets and special patient lifting devices are becoming more and more common in emergency rooms. The reason for such new equipment? Hospitals across the United States are struggling to handle increasing numbers of extra-large patients."

"Stronger toilets."

You know you are really fat when you need a titanium toilet.

"Some communities have had to invest in special bariatric ambulances -- trucks equipped with hoists and special stretchers to transport patients weighing up to 1,100 pounds. 'Occasionally the fire department may be called in to help remove a patient via cherry picker because they cannot be brought through the stairwell,' said Dr. Shelly Jacobson, chair of emergency medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York"

Money well-spent. Resources well-used.

Not.

Guess cherry pickers are not just for meting out justice anymore. (this link is not for the faint of heart)

Isn't it reasonable to expect that if someone is unable to fit through a doorway or down a stairwell, they should, without requiring assistance, be alerted to the fact that something is wrong here?

And make changes.

Please. Assume and expect some responsibility.

"This rise in obesity causes health problems in and of itself. Obese patients are more likely to have health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and liver disease, all of which can be life threatening. Obese people are likely to become sick and present themselves to emergency rooms, threatening to exceed the capacity."

More sick care costs to the rest of us from fat people who cannot keep their mouths shut, their forked and spooned hands from their pie-holes and just say "No" to swallowing.

Forgotten in the quote above is that "obese people are likely to make the rest of us sick."

"CT scanners and MRIs have weight limits of around 250 pounds. Heavier patients are unable to access these scans prompting calls to local zoos for the use of their animal scanners."

Better make sure your local zoo is in network, fat people.

And that your insurance covers the cost of private cages.

"The strains to the system are also financial. Hospitals have to invest in extra wide beds, wheel chairs, patient lifting devices and extra staff to help lift and transport patients. A special bariatric lifting device, called the Titan X, costs about $18,000. According to the press release, 'global sales in bariatric stretchers and lift systems are expected to soar in the next five years.'

'I'm not certain this is creating a crisis yet, but it is something we need to plan for and address with newer equipment," said Dr. Charles Emerman at the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic.'"

Chuck, get "certain." It is a crisis to those of us who have to pay for these irresponsible fat people.

"'Who will pay for this?' he asked. 'Hospitals may need a new revenue source.'"

News Flash!

Have the fat people pay for it!

Bill Richardson Speech to The Obesity Society

Bill Richardson probably has good qualities.

Sadly, none are displayed in this clearly ignorant speech. In fact, this speech is so full of crap and nonsense, you have to wonder if he had a stroke from his own fatness prior to taking the podium.

One has to ask, "If the guy cannot understand the simple matter of overweight and obesity, how will he be able to understand complex matters?"

Likely he will not.

This is an embarrassment. There is so much misinformation and stupidity in this talk that a complete critique would take too much time.

Here are a few points.

"I noticed that none of the other presidential candidates are here today. I know they may not weigh as much as I do, but I still think you should have invited them.

But, in all seriousness, it's a shame they couldn't join us No matter their weight, every American is affected by this quiet epidemic."

Bill is a fat guy. He cannot lead by example. (This is an older image of a "leaner" Bill.)



That is a matter of some "seriousness."

"As we all know, the prevalence of obesity in this country has skyrocketed in recent years. Nearly 200 million Americans - two-thirds of our population -- are now considered overweight or obese.

The effects of this disease are not cosmetic."

Further he fails to recognize that obesity and overweight are not diseases.

"Make no mistake about it -- this is a critical problem that has the potential to become a nationwide crisis. We must deal with this problem before it is too late. We as a country need to have some long-term vision. We can't afford to continue to put our communities and society at risk."

"The potential to become a nationwide crisis" and "before it is too late"?

Has this guy been asleep? (except to awaken for feedings)

"And I pledge to you that when I am President, we will fight obesity every day.

Our first step must be making sure that every American has access to affordable, quality health coverage. My health care plan provides a common-sense path to achieve that.

It focuses on the three critical issues of coverage, cost, and care. We build on proven programs that already work for millions of Americans..."

If "As we all know, the prevalence of obesity in this country has skyrocketed in recent years. Nearly 200 million Americans - two-thirds of our population -- are now considered overweight or obese," where are the "proven programs" he will "build on"?

There are none.

"Our next President must take a prominent and public role, joining all of you in your efforts, to increase the public's understanding of obesity and remove the stigma. We must help people understand that it is a disease, not a behavior. And that those of us who are overweight or obese are NOT lazy or undisciplined."

In addition to making excuses for his own ventripotence, the nominee wannabe has not the most fundamental of understandings about the matter.

He needs to "increase HIS understanding of obesity."

"We must also eliminate discrimination of those who are overweight. This is an issue of basic civil rights. There are no federal laws that protect obese Americans from discrimination in the workplace, school, or anywhere else This must change.

As President, I will work with Congress to include federal protections for the obese in the Americans for Disabilities Act and by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

We need to dramatically boost our research efforts associated with obesity and we need to involve the NIH, CDC, FDA, USDA, and others. The more we know about obesity, the more we know how to prevent and treat it. It is imperative that we better understand what works to help overweight and obese people improve their health."

With 100% certainty we know exactly "how to prevent and treat" overweight and obesity.

Further, who will protect the fit from underwriting the costs of this needless research and new layer of alleged "civil rights" bureaucracy?

This guy wants to protect the majority from the minority!

"As Governor of New Mexico, I've attacked this problem head-on."

Bull, Bill.

Look at his body. He certainly has no idea how to "attack the problem head-on" for himself and as per the above, has no idea of the problem, period.

"We also need to ask adults to consider what they can do within their own lives to reduce obesity and its effects. Obesity is not a behavior, but we can adopt lifestyle choices -- such as exercising and eating right - that can mitigate obesity and obesity-related diseases."

"Not a behavior" and "adopting lifestyle choices" will have an effect to reduce obesity?

Bill needs courses in logic and integrity.

"Of course, many Americans do care about their weight and their health -- this is not just about willpower.

Americans and their doctors need the right tools, information, and incentives to make healthy choices and treatment decisions -- and that means that the food and fitness industries, the insurance companies, the schools and government, the individuals and families, all have to do their part. If we work together, we can end this epidemic."

There is no tool of medicine that will work in the matter of overweight and obesity since they are not medical problems.

"Incentives"?

If not being dead prematurely, avoiding cardiovascular disease, not getting diabetes and participating more fully in life are inadequate "incentives," what does Bill propose?

Maybe free pizza, beer and desserts.

Bill is just pandering to his audience and the fat majority as he sucks for votes.

"I'm proud of my record as Governor in fighting obesity..."

Pity pride comes so cheaply.

And if he gets the nod for VP, remember this fellow is only a heartbeat away from the Oval Office.

"All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome." George Orwell

DOV 21,947 Demonstrates Significant Body Weight And BMI Reductions In Drug Compliant Subjects In Phase Ib Clinical Study

Hey, fat people, just eat fewer Calories than you burn.

Otherwise, we will see more and more of this drivel.

If you can, read it all and see what fat people are provoking.

"DOV Pharmaceutical, Inc. ("DOV", or the "Company") (OTCBB and Pink Sheets: DOVP) announced additional Phase Ib results for DOV 21,947, its lead triple reuptake inhibitor ("TRIP") for the treatment of depression and obesity. A preliminary analysis of the study results demonstrated that DOV 21,947 was safe and well tolerated at the doses examined, and produced a statistically significant reduction in plasma triglyceride levels, as described more fully below. Further analyses of these data demonstrate that DOV 21,947 significantly reduces body weight and Body Mass Index ("BMI") in drug compliant subjects compared to placebo. The Company intends to initiate a Phase II study of DOV 21,947 for the treatment of depression in the first quarter of 2008."

Good News For Lovers Of Fish And Chips

The Japanese have gone insane, too.

At least the human condition appears consistent. There's comfort.

"Japanese scientists have come up with the perfect recipe to make a crispy batter which is also lower in fat, reports Joanna Harries in Chemistry & Industry, the magazine of the SCI."

"Perfect." Can't improve on this.

"According to Thanatuksorn's research, larger pores trap less oil during cooking so will reduce the amount of fat in the cooked food. By using a batter with a moisture content of 60% and frying for 5 minutes a highly crisp lower-fat batter is formed. The scientists say the residual moisture should be less than 5%.

Thanatuksorn says this method can be extended to other food types, so next on the menu could be perfect chips. "

Besides other matters (batters?) making this research valueless, the only way that these Japanese "scientists" will find a means to weight loss is by doing what they do best - miniaturize things.

As in miniaturize the amount of Calories people eat.

This approach is "perfectly stupid."

Kaiser Permanente Launches New Tool to Fight Childhood Obesity

Will never work!

Try it yourself.

Isn't it a great way to keep kids sedentary and in front of the monitor?

Scottish obesity 'just behind US'

Despite the killer haggis, we're still Number One!

"Obesity levels in Scotland are the second highest in the developed world behind the USA, new statistics have revealed."

And how quickly are Scottish genetics mutating, hormones going out of whack and bodies being infected by the obesity bacterium/virus?

"Since 1995, obesity in the adult population has increased by 46%."

World beware. Your genetics, hormones and immune systems are next.

Clearly it is time to do the "Overweight/Obesity and Haggis Study" in order to correlate the consumption of this delicacy with the development of genetic mutation, hormonal imbalance and infection-proneness.

What else could it possibly be?

"The report said: 'These figures provide little evidence that current approaches to obesity are having any impact.'"

Could it possibly be that expert diet advice is wrong? (see here, here, here, here and here)

Could it be that fat people consume more Calories than they burn?

Nah. It must be genetics, hormones and bugs.

In a world where no one can do wrong, it must be factors other than human choice.

Like the devastating effects of haggis, genetics, hormones and bugs.

'Fatal Flaw' Found In Vitamin E Trials

Is is me, or does this sound familiar?

"Generations of studies on vitamin E may be largely meaningless, scientists say, because new research has demonstrated that the levels of this micronutrient necessary to reduce oxidative stress are far higher than those that have been commonly used in clinical trials...

This could help explain the inconsistent results of many vitamin E trials for its value in preventing or treating cardiovascular disease, said Balz Frei, professor and director of the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, and co-author of the new commentary along with Jeffrey Blumberg, at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University.

'The methodology used in almost all past clinical trials of vitamin E has been fatally flawed,' said Frei, one of the world's leading experts on antioxidants and disease."

Wasn't there something else that was fatally flawed? Or was it flawed and fatal?

Oh yeah.

Expert diet advice. That was it. (see here, here, here, here and here)

Here is a radical concept from the investigators:

"'Only when we do these studies right will we answer questions about the value of vitamin E in addressing cardiovascular disease,' he said. 'So far we've been flying blind.'"

Doing things right.

Radical. (free radical, for you punsters)

Assuming that you are capable of critical thought, think twice before believing any expert data.

Study questions value of annual medical check-up

Not new, but serves to illustrate a point.

"The customary annual physical check-up at the doctor's office may not be worth the time or money, researchers said on Monday...

The institution of the annual medical check-up, intended to detect or prevent unseen health problems, dates back about a century in the United States, Mehrotra said.

But large studies in 1960s and 1970s failed to show these check-ups provide a significant medical benefit to the patient, and there has been a debate about their value ever since."

Where else but in sick care does "preventive maintenance" fail and still continue to live to see another day and payment?

Similar to expert diet advice, this is another example of a huge mistake in the system that survives like a cockroach.

The difference is that expert diet advice kills directly.

"'Is a physical harmful at all? To the patient, there's likely little harm. The potential downsides of a physical are the money and people's time,' as well eating up a doctor's time that might be better used elsewhere, Mehrotra said."

Better it and expert diet advice should die, than you.

Time to make these mainstays of sick care go away.

Study: Money can prod one to lose weight

I told you.

See the previous blog entry.

Just charge the porcine and they will lose rather than pay.

Cover surgery to help in losing weight

Absolutely not.

From the Cincinnutcases in Ohio.

"Why should one disease be treated any differently than others when it comes to insurance coverage?

That's a question more and more Americans should be asking about the disease of obesity."

The answer should be, re: obesity, "It should not."

Further, obesity is NOT a disease. It is a choice.

The stage is set for the spurious editorial argument of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

"The chart on Page E5 divides up the problem into categories - overweight, obese, severely obese, morbidly obese and the newly coined term to deal with the growing problem - super obese.

Excess weight can be a crippling and deadly disease."

There is the conclusory mantra repeated again à la Goebbels. You know (to paraphrase), if you repeat a lie often enough it becomes the truth.

"Some companies, as Lang's report spells out (see article), may approve the surgery, but only after the patient has first spent months or even years trying diets and other weight-loss regimens that statistically have little chance of success with severe cases.

The unfairness of such a policy, and the risks involved, seem obvious."

It is absolutely fair and appropriate to attempt conservative methods before more radical means of therapy.

What the ignoramuses on the editorial staff ignore, is that diet advice is wrong ensuring "little chance of success."

This is what they should investigate, assuming they have the mental capacity to investigate critically. This would appear to be a big assumption.

What seems obvious is that these folk have transitioned from morbidly stupid to severely stupid.

Small wonder newspapers are going the way of the dinosaur.

But even with the bad advice and the malpractice known as bariatric surgery aside, the mini-minds in Cincinnati want to protect us from ourselves and have society pay for the bad decision-making of the fat.

If these pigs cannot see that they are going from overweight to obese to severely obese to morbidly obese to super obese and refuse to make changes, then they are where they intended to be.

Leave them there.

When they are ready to change, they will.

The universal laws of physics are on their side.

It is impossible to fail. If they want to succeed.

But, these morons in Ohio feel differently.

"Increased cost, to the employer and the employees paying for insurance, is the reason most often cited for not including such surgeries under basic coverage plans. But any covered procedure involves costs and as noted above obesity often leads to other serious health problems with even greater costs."

Solution - don't pay or pay a "subsistence amount" for the other stuff until the fat lose weight.

"Accepting obesity as a disease, and covering its treatment as we would most other diseases, is the way to deal with this serious health problem."

Clearly, wrong.

The way to deal with it is to have people experience the results of their behavior and if they are displeased with it, they will change.

Like the psychiatrists and the light bulb.

And without siphoning off additional resources from the rest of us.

"A society that pushes 'super sized' helpings of fat-laden fast food shouldn't be surprised at rising numbers of overweight children who grow into even more overweight adults.

A society that eliminates physical education from school calendars, builds neighborhoods that require car rides instead of walking and has kids playing games on computers instead of ball fields should not be surprised that younger generations grow more sedentary."

I wonder if these idiots would make the same argument if, say, their daughters wore short skirts and were gang-raped. Or their sons wore expensive basketball shoes and were shot while being robbed of them. Something on the order of this:

"A society that pushes hemlines up shouldn't be surprised at rising numbers of rapes by minors who grow into even more rape-prone adults."

Then there is this:

"As today's special report explains, even those who undergo weight-loss surgery must reform their eating and exercise habits if the benefits are to be permanent."

Duh. If the porkers would have done that in the first place, the whole matter would have been obviated.

"The cost to our society of all the unwanted pounds being carried by the millions of us who are overweight is billions of dollars - in insurance and medical expenses and lost productivity and sick time."

Only because we are catering to and paying for these fat people.

If they had to pay for their own treatment, billions would be saved and the overweight and obese would find a way to shed pounds or live the life they chose.