Parents' Perception Of Whether Their Children Are Under Or Overweight: More Than 4 In 10 Are Wrong

Curious. It is surprising that only about 40% of parents are that stupid.

That makes the remainder of the child abusers even more malignant in their treatment of children.

"More than four in 10 parents with underweight and overweight children mistakenly believe their children are in the average weight range, according to University of Melbourne research...

The study, by doctoral researcher Dr Pene Schmidt, also finds that children who are not in the average weight range, are also more likely to over or underestimate their body size."

Apparently, the stupid apple does not fall far from the stupid tree.

Stop the child abuse.

Obesity Likely Contributing To Older, Minority Women's Increased Risk For Arthritis, Study Finds

Kudos, fat ladies.

"Older minority women are more likely than their white counterparts to develop osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, likely because of risk factors such as obesity, according to a study published last month in the Journal of American Geriatrics Society, Reuters Health reports...

According to the study, the findings offer 'strong evidence that body weight and [body mass index] may be large contributing factor[s] to the number and severity of osteoarthritis symptoms, further elaborating the importance of postmenopausal women' -- especially those who are black, Hispanic and American Indian -- to maintain a healthy weight (Reuters Health, 10/17)."

Let's just hope that you end up having to pay for the drugs you demand to treat your diseases of choice.

Two-Fisted Eaters Who Wolf Down Food to Bursting Point May Be Overweight

Duh.

"Those who virtually inhale their food until they are stuffed are more likely to be overweight than those with more moderate eating habits, researchers reported here...

Past studies have found that eating quickly is associated with being overweight, but this research adds that combining it with eating until full could have a substantial impact on being overweight."

Thank (insert whatever spiritual super-being in which you believe, if any), that is finally cleared-up.

And science marches on discovering what is new and meaningful like the above.

This results in new and meaningful approaches like below:

"Drs. Denney-Wilson and Campbell called for several measures, including clinician initiation of behavioral counseling to change patients' eating habits, increased physical activity, and talking to children about good eating habits."

Brilliant.

Both new and a way to fill the pockets of clinicians.

What's that?

Oh, they're not new. They are the same old, same old failed approaches of the past.

Huh.

Go figger.

China recalls another herbal drug after baby death

More traditional Chinese medicine.

"China has recalled a herbal remedy after it was blamed for the death of a newborn baby, state media said on Monday, in the latest health scare to hit the country.

The 9-day-old baby in the northern province of Shaanxi died after being injected with 'Yinzhihuang,' a remedy containing herbal extracts and used to treat liver diseases and infantile jaundice, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Three other infants had suffered 'adverse effects' after being injected and hospitals have been told to stop using the drug, the report said, citing the Ministry of Health."

"Adverse effects"?

I'll say.

Still think they know what a "safe" supplement/alternative "cure" is?

National Anti-Drug Campaign Found Ineffective

Just as the anti-obesity campaign will continue to fail.

"A federally funded anti-drug media campaign during the first half of the decade did little to curb teen marijuana use, and may have increased it, researchers here found."

And the number of people getting fat is increasing.

Because there is no accountability.

Fight back because the system will only continue to make things worse.

Parents 'wrong' on child weight

The abuse of children by ignorant parents continues.

"Many parents overlook their child's unhealthy weight because they believe it is normal, research suggests...

The University of Melbourne researchers said parents would not act to help their children gain or lose weight if they did not see the problem...

For overweight children alone, this rose to nearly half. Remarkably, a very small percentage of parents had even more extreme views, assessing an overweight child as underweight, or vice versa."

Hey, think this is impressive?

Now hear this:

"Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Forum, said that the results were "unsurprising".

He said: 'There was recent research in this country which showed that a similar proportion of health professionals were unable to make the distinction.'"

Or they are unwilling to so they can enrich themselves by malpracticing.

Obesity 'lifts inflammation risk'

It may take obesity to lift the inflammation risk, but it takes a cherry picker to lift the obese.

"Obesity and lack of fitness raise the risk of illness by impacting negatively on the body's internal chemistry, research suggests.

A US team found levels of white blood cells were highest in men who were unfit and overweight.

White blood cells are key to fighting infection, but high levels can be a sign of inflammation, which is linked to coronary heart disease."

But is the risk so great that when the obese lift the inflammation, they have a heart attack?

Stay tuned.

Ethnic differences in arthritis due to obesity

Kudos, fatsos. You make every ethnic group sick.

"Older African-American, Native American and non-white Hispanic women are more likely to develop arthritis than their white counterparts, and the larger prevalence of obesity among these ethnic groups may help explain why, new research shows.

Among 146,494 women participating in the Women's Health Initiative -- an ongoing study of an ethnically diverse group of healthy postmenopausal women -- 44 percent had been diagnosed with osteoarthritis (degeneration of the joints), the most common form of arthritis.

These women were older and less active than their arthritis-free peers, and were also less educated, poorer, and heavier, Nicole C. Wright and colleagues from the University of Arizona in Tucson Wright report in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society."

And you are stupider, too.

But we knew that already.

Inflammation May Drive Heart Effects of Fitness and Obesity

So much for fit and fat.

"Fitness had an inverse association with total white blood cell count and white cell subfraction concentrations whereas a higher body mass index correlated with higher white cell levels, Timothy Church, M.D., Ph.D., of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, and colleagues reported online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

The findings add to those from a previous study showing similar associations among fitness, fatness, and total white cell count.

'These findings provide one more potential mechanism whereby higher levels of fitness and lower levels of fatness reduce the risk of [cardiovascular disease],' the authors concluded.

An elevated white-cell count is an independent predictor of coronary morbidity and mortality. The total white count comprises subfractions of neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, basophils, and eosinophils, the authors noted.

Epidemiologic studies have indicated that an elevated neutrophil concentration or total granulocyte concentration may be the strongest predictor of coronary disease incidence, carotid atherosclerosis, and mortality, they continued."

Bummer, fatsos.

Aspirin Fails Again for Primary Prevention

Again, I submit that "Fitness is the only REAL preventive medicine." (tm)

"Aspirin is ineffective for primary prevention of cardiovascular events even in high-risk diabetics, researchers found...

Rates of death from stroke or coronary artery disease were similar between the groups in the randomized trial. The trial, which also looked at coronary disease and antioxidants, found no benefit in primary prevention for that intervention either.

This should come as little surprise, commented William R. Hiatt, M.D., of the University of Colorado in Denver, in an accompanying editorial.

Six other well-controlled trials, including the Women's Health Study and Physicians' Health Study, have shown no benefit for aspirin in primary prevention even for at-risk patients despite the well-established benefits in secondary prevention, he said...

Dr. Hiatt was part of the FDA panel that in 2003 rejected labeling aspirin for primary prevention, citing universally negative primary prevention trials, which also failed to show a significant benefit for high-risk populations, including diabetics.

Although aspirin is cheap, universally available, and recommended in American Heart Association guidelines, the evidence just isn't there for patients without established symptomatic cardiovascular disease, he said."

Seems as if fitness is better than cheap drugs.

Your choice.

If Rats Consume A Lot Of Fructose, And Have A High-calorie, High-fat Diet, They Become Overweight

How is this possible?

"The University of Florida researchers hypothesized that a high-fructose diet could lead to leptin resistance, which in turn could lead to exacerbated weight gain in the face of a high-fat, high-calorie diet, a typical diet in industrialized countries. To test their hypothesis, the research team performed a study with two groups of rats. They fed both groups the same diet, with one important exception: one group consumed a lot of fructose while the other received no fructose.

Two groups similar over six months

During these six months, there were no differences in food intake, body weight, and body fat between rats on the high-fructose and the rats on the fructose-free diets. In addition, there was no difference between the two groups in the levels of leptin, glucose, cholesterol or insulin found in their blood. There was only one difference at the end of the six months: The rats on the high-fructose diet had higher levels of triglycerides in their blood.

The researchers next tested the animals to see if they were leptin resistant. They injected all the animals with leptin, to see if they would respond by eating less. Animals whose leptin response is functioning normally will lower their food intake. The researchers discovered that the rats on the high-fructose diet were leptin resistant, that is, they did not lower their food intake when given leptin. The no-fructose animals responded normally to leptin by eating less.

This first six months of the study showed that leptin resistance can develop silently. 'Usually, leptin resistance is associated with obesity, but in this case, leptin resistance developed without obesity,' Shapiro said. 'This was very surprising.'

Role of diet

Having seen that leptin resistance could develop silently, the researchers next wanted to find out what would happen if they switched the rats to a high-fat, high-calorie diet -- the kind many Americans eat. They found that the animals exposed to the high-fructose diet, the leptin resistant rats, ate more and gained much more weight and fat than the leptin responsive animals on the fructose-free diet."
Clearly there is something odd about this research.

In order to allegedly "prove" their point, the researchers had to inject the animals with exogenous leptin, since naturally produced leptin did not get them the results they wanted, i.e., "there was no difference between the two groups in the levels of leptin, glucose, cholesterol or insulin found in their blood."

The roles leptin and other substances may play in the body remain unclear.

What is clear is that these experts found their results "very surprising," i.e., they have no idea what leptin really does and in a natural setting, i.e., without injecting leptin into the rats, their alleged high-fructose intake, had no real effect.

There remains a bottom line - no one knows what is going on, with one exception.

That exception is Calories in, Calories out.

This will never fail you or anyone or any living creature in altering its weight.

Consume more Calories than you burn to gain weight.

Consume fewer Calories than you burn to lose weight.

Consume the same number of Calories that you burn for a stable weight.

Period.

Unless you are David Katz and Jorge Cruise. Then this is not true. They are wrong.

They are endorsed by Oprah. (see here, here and here)

She is wrong.

Regular Exercise Can Help Prevent Chronic Illness, Reduce Health Care Costs, HHS Secretary Leavitt Writes

Can, but won't. "Can" is a broad range.

"'Chronic diseases afflict 100 million Americans, cause seven out of 10 deaths and consume $2 out of every $3 spent on health care,' but 'much of the burden ... can be prevented with simple lifestyle choices' because a 'major contributing factor is physical inactivity,' HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt writes in a Lexington Herald-Leader opinion piece."

There is almost no way that "exercise" can ever lead to the prevention of chronic illness in the absence of caloric intake control.

But, caloric intake control, in the absence of "exercise" can lead to the prevention of chronic illness.

Do not fall for the conventional stupidity.

Experts Say Insufficient Exercise Recommended For Children

Sane. Recall that "exercise" is a terribly inefficient way to lose weight and that "exercise" will almost never improve fitness.

"Researchers from the Peninsula Medical School in Plymouth, UK, have carried out research that suggests the one hour of moderate exercise a day recommended to children from health experts may not be enough to tackle the rising problem of childhood obesity...

The study also found that exercise alone had no positive effect on weight control over time...

However the researchers did believe that improving children's diets, which they claim to have 'changed markedly' over the last two decades, would be likely to have a greater impact on their overall health and weight. "

To do weight loss/fitness right, for you and your children, go here.

Financial Crisis Will Impact Healthcare Heavily

Good news, in spite of all the promises of crooked politicians.

"The worldwide financial crisis and credit crunch will not spare the healthcare and medical communities, and they should brace for some major upheavals, warn economists, executives, and physicians.

Among those potential changes is likely to be a shake-up in the physician workforce as older physicians put off retirement while young would-be doctors meet resistance in securing medical school loans, according to a series of interviews by MedPage Today on the predicted fallout from the sharp economic downturn.

At the same time, medical group practices will have trouble making payroll or updating technology. And hospitals will be forced to change their "bigger is better" mindset and delay massive construction projects...

The market plummet was only part of the problem. In some cases, conditions leading up to the crash had caused new construction to be put on hold mid-project.

Part of what makes the hospital loan environment particularly shaky is that many institutions refinance a portion of their loans weekly, called 'variable rate debt,' so they are not locked in to a particular date's rate. But now, those hospitals looking to reset their rates will not find favorable rates, possibly for quite some time.

Kirkpatrick said he is hearing reports from hospitals in his state that planned construction projects with loans at low financing rates, but now are confronted with rates that are eight times higher than what they planned."

The less sick care available, the less complications possible and the more people have to practice preventive care.

What luck!

Woman Suffers Serious Vitamin Deficiency After Gastric Bypass Surgery

More consequences of the malpractice known as bariatric surgery.

"A woman developed disease because, after her weight-loss surgery, she did not take her multivitamin, as reported in a Case Report released on October 10, 2008 in The Lancet.

The obesity epidemic is well documented around the world, and has affected developed countries in great magnitude. One treatment for obesity is gastric bypass surgery, which actually limits the size of the stomach cavity to help curb the patient's appetite.

The woman, 27 years old, was admitted the hospital after three weeks of reported dizziness, loss of appetite, and vomiting. She had undergone gastric bypass surgery, without complications, at University College Hospital, London, UK.She was prescribed a standard treatment of multivitamins and lansoprazole, which prevents stomach acid production, upon discharge from the hospital.

When she was examined, she had lost almost 20 kilograms (44 pounds) and presented with a rapid heartbeat and dehydration. This led to an initial diagnosis of gastric outflow obstruction, but this diagnosis could not be confirmed by endoscopic examination. Blood tests were consistent with dehydration, so she was ultimately administered intravenous fluids with glucose and drank high-sugar energy drinks.

The following day, she collapsed in the shower due to light-headedness, and had an extremely low blood pressure. She was later observed to show abnormal eye movement, hyper-reflexia in her arms, weakness in thighs, and reduced touch sensation. This led to the ultimate diagnosis: thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency. After administration of intravenous thiamine, the patient recovered. By her admission, she had not been taking her multivitamins.

This highlights an important health care guideline that must be carefully observed after gastric bypass surgery. Thymine storage in the body can last only 18 to 60 days, and deficiency causes the disorder known as Beriberi or Wernicke's encephalopathy, both of which were shown by the woman described in the report."

Oops.

Better to lose the weight properly than place yourself at risk of any complications.

Article In The Journal Of The American Society Of Hypertension Warns Heart Disease Set To Triple In Obese Teens

Kudos, fatsos. Yet another creative way to harm your kids.

"A recent paper published in the Journal of the American Society of Hypertension projected that the prevalence of premature coronary heart disease (CHD) in young adulthood will more than triple from five percent to 16 percent for currently obese adolescents when they reach 35 years of age. While lifestyle changes and appropriate medications are acknowledged as imperative, the author argues that ultimately, these conventional clinical tools are unlikely to adequately protect such children and young adults from premature death due to CHD and cardiovascular events such as heart attack or stroke.

Childhood obesity is a well-established epidemic in the U.S., with more than 17% of children falling into the obese category and even more categorized as overweight. Furthermore, 30% of obese adolescents have obesity associated with high blood pressure and frequently have other risk factors including components of the metabolic syndrome, which is a cluster of risk factors including dyslipidemia, impaired glucose tolerance and hyperinsulinemia, among others."

Predictably, rather than protect children from nutritionally abusive parents:

"The paper calls for additional clinical research to define disease pathways, improve detection and treatment methods and determine the most beneficial time points for intervention."

Not only will this never work, it is more pound of cure, than ounce of prevention.

It is insane.

To protect kids from nutritional child abuse, go here.

Herbal Remedy Kills 3, Sickens Half Dozen Others

More traditional Chinese medicine.

"China has suspended the sale and use of an injectable herbal remedy after six people suffered adverse reactions, including three who died.

The State Food and Drug Administration said in a notice posted late Wednesday that the six suffered "serious ill effects" after being injected with an extract from an herb called Ciwujia made by Wandashan Pharmaceutical.

The SFDA isolated two batches of the remedy and urged immediate nationwide reporting of any adverse effects. The suspension comes as China is trying to reassure consumers amid a widespread tainted dairy scandal, the latest to mar the country's already troubled product safety record."

Still think they know what a "safe" supplement/herbal remedy is?

New Research: Early Peanut Consumption May Prevent Allergy

Still think they know anything about nutrition?

"New research casts doubt on government health recommendations that infants and new mothers avoid eating peanuts to prevent development of food allergy.

The study, published in the November issue of The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, shows that children who avoided peanut in infancy and early childhood were 10 times as likely to develop peanut allergy as those who were exposed to peanut."

The very fact that "new research" shows this proves what we say here at Fitness Watch - "Truth has a shelf life."

What we accept as true because we are told it's true by the experts, especially in the domain of fitness, is mostly crap.

That is why, at Fitness Watch, we rely only on immutable principles that have never, ever been refuted, nor can they ever be since they are physical laws and hold everywhere in the known universe and for all known species.

Only by adhering to these immutable, insurmountable, overarching laws, is it possible to make real sense out of fitness advice.

And expose the nonsense that most of it is.

With some of it being downright dangerous, IMHO.

If you are serious about fitness, go here.

Give yourself a real chance to succeed.

Re-Emphasiis (sic) That Natural Cocoa Powder Has High Antioxidant Content

"Re-Emphasiis (sic) That Emphasis is Spelled Emphasis."

Here is a silly piece:

"Over the past ten years, dark chocolate and cocoa have become recognized through numerous studies for flavanol antioxidant benefits. In a study published this month in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, scientists from The Hershey Company and Brunswick Laboratories of Norton, MA report on the levels of antioxidants in selected cocoa powders and the effect of processing on the antioxidant levels. The study, which analyzed Hershey's Natural Cocoa Powder and nineteen other cocoa powders, reported that natural cocoa powders have the highest levels of antioxidants. Natural cocoa powders contained an average of 34.6 mg of flavanols per gram of cocoa powder, or about 3.5% of total flavanols by weight. This places cocoa powder among the foods highest in these types of antioxidants."

And what do antioxidants do?

Well, according to some studies, they kill you, give you malignancies, don't help your heart, don't lengthen your life and may shorten it...

So who do you think put this one out?

"Source: Debra Miller
The Hershey Company "

Surprise!

New Target For Obesity-Related Insulin Resistance, Type 2 Diabetes

A new target and a wrong target.

"Building on mounting evidence that implicates infection-fighting cells found in obese fat tissue in the growing problem of insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes, researchers at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine have identified a particular subset of cells that are linked to obesity-associated insulin resistance, and that offer a promising new target for the treatment of diabetes. They showed that depletion of these cells, called CD11c-positive, in obese mice resulted in a reversal of obesity-associated insulin resistance...

'The CD11c+ macrophages appear to cause insulin resistance and diabetes," said Neels. "If the results of our work with mice translate into humans, suppressing this macrophage subset could offer a very promising target for Type II diabetes treatments.'"

There is only one target - the number of Calories in relative to the number of Calories out.

Any other target is a mirage.