Most Britons feel overweight and unfit

What can they possibly do? Hmmm.....

"Almost three-quarters of Britons in a survey believe they are overweight and have vowed to start a health campaign in the New Year."

Doomed to fail. Why?

"But it appears only the young are concerned about controlling their weight, with just a quarter of older Britons seeing getting fit as a priority, the poll for the Community Service Volunteers (CSV) charity found."

And weight control is all one can really do to improve his/her health.

"Despite almost 70 percent of Britons saying they want to get healthy, experts said other evidence into people's behaviour suggests that repeated warnings about the dangers of obesity is falling on deaf ears."

(Time for earobics.)

You mean like the fact that they are overfat and more and more are getting fatter and fatter?

Good call.

Pressure mounts on overweight Americans

No, the pressure is mounting on the rest of us who have to make up for the overweight, subsidize the consequences of their overeating and their child abuse.

"Obese Americans are less productive than their thinner colleagues, academics have controversially claimed, adding to what is a growing weight of evidence that those who eat too much or don't take enough exercise are rapidly becoming the pariahs of the modern workplace.

A study of 341 manufacturing workers by academics from the University of Cincinnati has suggested this lower productivity means seriously obese workers can cost companies as much an extra $500 each.

The research has been published in the respected medical publication The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine."

How so?

"Specifically such workers often needed more time to complete tasks than their less overweight colleagues, leading to a rise in "presenteeism", where they were at work but performing at less than full capacity.

They were also less able to carry out physical tasks around the workplace.

'These limitations were significantly greater than in the overweight or mildly obese groups,' the research argued.

The latest study adds fuel to an increasingly acrimonious debate within American workplaces about the burden of growing levels of obesity, its impact on corporate life, individuals and the wider economy, and the perceived discrimination many overweight Americans now feel.

A study by Duke University in April last year, for instance, concluded that obese Americans were more likely to get injured at work or take time off and were twice as likely to cost their organisations in injury claims than their thinner colleagues.

Last February, too, research by PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute and the World Economic Forum argued that chronic diseases, many of which were related to obesity and increasingly sedentary lifestyles, were a growing and costly threat to companies and their workers."

And the cost?

"Based on an average hourly wage of $21, the annual cost of presenteeism for moderately to extremely obese workers was nearly $1,800, or $500 higher than for other workers.

Employees with moderate to extreme obesity also had increased health-related absenteeism, compared with other workers, the research found."

Unless you want this to continue, stand up for your rights.

And go after the experts that contribute to this.

Hysterectomy 'linked to obesity'

If so, find your mouth, insert your Calories, lose your uterus.

"The findings were published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Its editor-in-chief, Professor Philip Steer, said: "'There are many health difficulties associated with obesity and the study shows that, particularly after the age of 36, being overweight or obese can be linked to hysterectomy in later life."

And it's a two-fer!

"There are risks associated with hysterectomy and these are heightened if the patient is obese."

Such a deal.

What Is The Stone Age Diet?

The diet for people smart like Neanderthals, that's what - Answer 1.

Crap - Answer 2.

"The Stone Age Diet has many names - the Paleolithic Diet, The Paleo Diet, the Prehistoric Diet, The Caveman diet, or the Hunter-Gatherer Diet...

Our hunter-gather genetic make-up is designed for the consumption of wild plants, animals and seafood."

Average Paleolithic lifespan appears to have been in the range of 20 years.

Let us hope that proponents of this diet will extinct themselves soon so their genes can be removed from the pool.

Election 2008 | AMA To Expand 'Voice for the Uninsured' Campaign Nationwide

More whores alert!

Now who could possibly benefit from having more patients that are paid for by the government?

Hmm....

"The American Medical Association on Tuesday announced the nationwide expansion of a campaign that seeks to focus the health care debate in the presidential election on the issue of the uninsured, The Hill reports. The multimillion-dollar "Voice for the Uninsured" campaign, which includes advertisements and outreach efforts, last year targeted early presidential caucus and primary states -- Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina -- and Washington, D.C.

This week, television ads for the campaign began to air on cable networks, and print ads appeared in U.S. News & World Report. As the presidential election nears, print ads for the campaign will appear in other national magazines, and online ads will appear on MySpace and Facebook.

That's where the AMA dues are going.

Not mine.

I do not belong.

Study: Drug benefit a boon for seniors, costly for U.S.

Where your money is going.

"After a rocky start, Medicare's drug benefit appears to be delivering a lower prescription tab for seniors, along with a whopping bill for the federal government, new research shows."

Who benefits?

Big business.

"Among some controversial Part D options were choices sold by private health insurance and pharmacy benefit firms, whose stock prices have climbed in the last two years in part because of subsidies brought by new Medicare money."

Who loses?

Those of us paying for this entitlement and encouraging irresponsible personal health behavior.

How much do we lose? Lots.

"Full implementation of the new benefit contributed to an 18.7 percent increase in total Medicare spending in 2006.

While such growth is not a surprise given the creation of a new entitlement, it was the fastest growth rate since 1981 and double the increase in 2005, federal officials said in a report announced Tuesday by government officials and published in the January/February issue of the journal Health Affairs."

Those of us who are responsible enough to live a fit life and require fewer entitlements are being abused by the irresponsible.

Let your voice be heard.

Diet affects older men's weight training success

Of course it does. It affects everybody's.

More conflicting data. More they do not know of what they speak. More you should not trust the sick care industry.

"Getting enough protein and moderate amounts of fat from food may help older men's muscles respond better to weight training, a study suggests.

Researchers found that among 45 middle-aged and older men who went through a strength training program, those with more protein in their diets tended to have a greater short-term increase in testosterone levels right after their workouts. This hormonal response, in turn, was related to greater gains in muscle mass over 21 weeks of weight training...

Other studies, the researchers note, have found that high-fiber, low-fat diets may lower men's testosterone levels. However, in this study, men in the counseling groups boosted their fiber and carbohydrate intake and cut their total fat intake without lowering their testosterone concentrations."

The only worthwhile part:

"This does not, however, mean that older men should take protein supplements, Sallinen pointed out. Instead, the study suggests protein from food is enough."

Supplements are a waste of money.

Brits 'now a nation of dieters'

Wrong.

"One in three adults in the UK is now on a permanent diet, research suggests."

"Brits 'now a nation of fat failed dieters.'"

Otherwise they would not be on a permanent diet.

Duh.

Why do they fail?

Expert diets.

If you don't want to fail, go here.

Don't go to the UK. Or to a diet expert.

Here is more crap.

"However, research has suggested that "yo-yo" diets are ineffective, and may actually carry a risk of weight gain in the longer term."

It is not the yo-yo dieting that is the problem or that it is ineffective.

After all, if you have ever seen a bodybuilder over a year or so, they are yo-yo dieting as they cycle through bulking and cutting diet routines.

Yo-yo dieting for the rest of us is simply a string of failed diet attempts. That's all.

The flaw is in the approach to dieting, not in being on a diet. Conventional diets are ineffective, dangerous and, in the end, deadly.

Yo-yo dieting is bad for the amateurs because each cycle is a starvation cycle that leads to overall weight gain as fat.

And the heavier you get from fat, the higher your BMI.

The higher your BMI, the greater your likelihood of developing a bad disease.

This is due to the underlying flaw common to all diets. See here and here.

And to morons/experts like this guy:

"Dr Ian Campbell, medical director of the charity Weight Concern, said he was not surprised by the findings.

'I think it's important that we do take our weight seriously, and monitor our food intake and activity levels regularly.

'Two thirds of us are already overweight. However we need to move away from the concept of 'dieting' towards one of 'healthy diet'.

'The best thing the supermarkets could do to help this would be to place their focus on healthy food choices.'"

Eating to achieve and maintain a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is the only healthy way to eat of which we are aware.

How you get there is a personal choice.

Anything else is voodoo.

UK Is The World's Leading Fast Food Nation

Good news for the fast food industry.

The UK may be the world's leading fast food nation, but it is not the most overweight/obese.

This disconnect demonstrates it is all about Calories in vs. Calories out, not the source of the Calories.

Think about it.

Natural Gut Hormones May Provide A Treatment For Obesity, Australia

"The Laws Of Nature Definitely Provide A Treatment For Obesity AND Overweight."

It is called fewer Calories in than out.

Try it.

Stop paying for stupid research.

And shut down this place that does trashy studies - Gravan Institute.

And then crows about them.

Teens More Likely To Maintain Normal Weight As Adults If They Participate In Physical Education And Active Play

Duh.

More proof of nutritional child abuse's lasting effects.

More crap.

"'These findings underscore the important role that school-based and extracurricular physical activities play in reducing the likelihood of becoming an overweight adult,' said Robert Wm. Blum, MD, MPH, PhD, the study's senior author. 'While physical education was not a good weight-loss mechanism over time, it appears to have a positive impact in helping teenagers maintain a healthy weight into young adulthood,' added Blum, who is the Bloomberg School's William H. Gates Sr. Professor and Chair in Population and Reproductive Health."

The important role comes from the home/parents, not the schools.

"...85 percent of obese teens will become obese adults."

Stop the child abuse.

Healthy Living Probably Gives You 10 More Years, Study

Oh-oh. "Healthy living" now offers 4 fewer years.

"A study of middle aged and older people living in Norfolk, UK, has suggested that not smoking, being active, eating enough fruit and vegetables and drinking only moderate amounts of alcohol can increase lifespan by an average of 10 years compared to people who do none of these things."

Who to believe, who to believe.

Sigh.

Excess Weight Unlikely to Be 'Glandular Problem'

Poor AdipOprah.

All the while trying to convince us into believing that her uber-proportions are due to her unter-thyroid.

Not hardly.

"Explain to interested patients that this study confirms earlier studies in adults that have found little impact on weight with successful treatment of hypothyroidism.

Point out that the implication of this study is that hypothyroidism is not a cause of obesity."

Oink-prah.

The Number One threat to our health. See here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Obesity rises in Sweden in last 3 years

Endangered species:

(This is a non-sexist blog. When I have a similar type of article about men, I will post a picture of fit-looking men. As an offering, if you think I appear fit or want to see if I do, click here.)

"Obesity among women in Sweden rose by almost a third in the last three years, a study by the Swedish National Institute of Public Health has revealed.

The number of women with a so-called body mass index, or BMI, of more than 30 rose to 490,000 this year, compared with 378,000 in 2004, the institute said in a statement on its Web site Dec. 17. That represents 14 percent of Sweden's total female population, compared with 11 percent three years ago, it said. The number of obese men remained at 11 percent of the total, the study said.

"It is a worrisome development, and it looks as if we have a migration from people with a normal weight to overweight and from overweight people to obese among women," Gunnar Johansson, a diet expert at the institute, said in the statement."

C'est la vie.

Strict diet control affects toddlers' weight

Duh.

Cinnamon does not control blood sugar or fat levels

Duh.

Snoring? It could be sleep apnea

Must be part of a new, comprehensive sick care reform plan crafted by insane, out of control politicians to get votes.

Just as sick care will "cure" unfitness, so will it "cure" snoring.

Not.

"Loud snoring doesn't just annoy your spouse. It could signal dangerous sleep apnea, yet millions go undiagnosed."

"Millions go undiagnosed" as in millions are failing to contribute to the incomes of sick care workers.

"A government move may help change that: Medicare is poised to allow at-home testing for sleep apnea — letting people snooze in their own beds instead of spending the night in a sleep laboratory."

Ka-ching.

"For about $500, home tests use primarily breathing monitors to detect only sleep apnea, not other disorders. Hook it up at bedtime, and a doctor checks the recordings later."

Ka-ching. Ka-ching.

"Last month, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, which represents sleep centers, changed its position to say home tests can help certain high-risk patients — but should be administered by sleep specialists."

Now what could their interests be?

Ka-ching. Ka-ching. Ka-ching.

"To comment on the Medicare proposal: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/mcd/viewtrackingsheet.asp?from2viewtrackingsheet.asp"

Stop it before it is too late.

China experts identify drug addiction genes

Another slippery slope article.

Earlier it was the genetically pedophilic, now it is the genetically addicted.

If you think that the genetic approach to problem-solving your overfatness and underfitness is coming, here is some more fiction for you to read.

"Scientists in China have identified about 400 genes that appear to make some people more easily addicted to drugs, opening the way for more effective therapies and addiction control."

"Therapies and addiction control" spelled m-o-n-e-y.

"The researchers focused on four addictive substances -- cocaine, opiate, alcohol and nicotine -- and mapped out five main routes, or "molecular pathways," that lead to addiction, they wrote in the journal PLoS Computational Biology...

The researchers trawled through more than 1,000 peer-reviewed medical publications that linked genes and chromosome regions to drug addiction over the past 30 years and assembled a list of 1,500 addiction-related genes."

Now for the too fat and the unfit, there are the:

"I eat too much" genes,
"I eat the 'wrong' things" genes,
"physical activity does not make me feel great so I will not do it" genes,
"I am too lazy to move my lardass" genes,
"I have an excuse" genes,
"why should I lose weight when the rest of society will pay for my lack of self-esteem/willpower/self-control" genes,
"I cannot help myself, I am a nutritional child abuser" genes, and the
"etc." genes.

What do you think?

Maybe a billion gazillion more genes?

They'll sort them out.

Right.

Study: Anxiety may be bad for your heart

More everything is bad for you news.

"Those Type A go-getters aren't the only ones stressing their hearts. Nervous Nelsons seem to be, too. Researchers reported Monday that chronic anxiety can significantly increase the risk of a heart attack, at least in men. The findings add another trait to a growing list of psychological profiles linked to heart disease, including anger or hostility, Type A behavior, and depression."

Like the anxiety you get from stupid research.

"'There's a connection between the heart and head,' said Dr. Nieca Goldberg of the New York University School of Medicine, a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association who wasn't involved in the study."

There is also a connection between your head and your digestive tract.

The far end of the digestive tract, if you know what I mean.

"'This is very important research because we really are focused very much on prescribing medicine for cholesterol and lowering blood pressure and treating diabetes, but we don't look at the psychological aspect of a patient's care,' she added. Doctors 'need to be aggressive about not only taking care of the traditional risk factors ... but also really getting into their patients' heads.'"

That was the pitch for more drugs to sell you.

Reading this crap would make me anxious, but it doesn't. I tune it out.

I can only tell you this, if you get yourself fitter, at least there will be fewer things to be anxious about.

You might even be able to tune out this crap, too.

Girls who feel unpopular may gain weight

Chicken or egg?

"Where a teenage girl sees herself on her school's social ladder may sway her future weight, a study of more than 4,000 girls finds. Those who believed they were unpopular gained more weight over a two-year period than girls who viewed themselves as more popular."

More poor babies.

Say goodbye to prom queens. Those who were not voted tops will end up fat because they were proven unpopular.

And the schools will be sued, of course. for the trauma they caused.

"'How girls feel about themselves should be part of all obesity prevention strategies,' said the study's lead author, Adina Lemeshow, who began the study as a Harvard School of Public Health graduate student. She now works at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene."

Let's hope she loses this job, too.

"'The reason this paper is so important is it has broader implications beyond weight gain,' said McNeely, who was not involved in the research but wrote an accompanying editorial. 'Subjective social status is not just an uncomfortable experience you grow out of, but can have important health consequences.'"

Wrong.

The only reason this paper could ever be important is if you need something for paper-training a puppy.

BTW, this "study was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health." The same people who brought you this form of child abuse.

Obesity surgery would save public: AMA

Docs gone wild!

"AMA national president Rosanna Capolingua played down media reports the Victorian branch has lodged a submission asking for free lap-band surgery for obese people as young as 14.

The Victorian AMA has lodged the submission with the state government calling for more public funded lap-band surgery - which constricts the stomach to reduce hunger."

When malpractice becomes the standard of care.

"'It's cheaper to stop these people being obese than it is to wait for them to become diabetic and hypertensive.'"

It's even cheaper and better to pay for none of it.

Stand up for your rights now, or pay later.

Cosmetic clinics 'downplay risks'

Imagine what is going on at bariatric surgery clinics.

"Undercover researchers at 19 clinics found the risks of procedures were often played down during sales pitches."

How prevalent is this behavior?

"None of the clinics visited gave all the verbal and written information they should have...

In some, non-medical staff gave inappropriate and inaccurate advice."

Surprised?

Don't be stupid.

Be here because no weight loss clinics give "all the verbal and written information they should" and all give "inappropriate and inaccurate advice."

Health-spending growth up slightly in '06: government

In the age of ED, it is good to see that some things can still go up.

"Total U.S. health-care spending hit $2.1 trillion in 2006, a 6.7 percent rise from 2005, analysts with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said. That was up from a 6.5 percent increase in 2005 and amounted to $7,026 per person...

The share of the U.S. economy devoted to health care remained steady in 2006 at about 16 percent of gross domestic product, the same level as the previous two years."

That is one dollar in every six spent on sick care.

More sun is healthy, despite skin cancer risk, study says

Cut the SPF! Burn, baby, burn!

"'The skin cancer risk is there but the health benefits from some sun exposure is far larger than the risk,' said Johan Moan, a researcher at the Institute for Cancer Research in Oslo, who led the study."

Well there you have it.

Clarity worthy of the sick care system.

I repeat, you have to be a serious moron to believe that the sick care system is going to save your fat butt from obesity, that their fat folk drugs won't kill you and that their fat people surgery is safe.

State of the state's children isn't so hot, survey says

The state of the Arnold.

"California received its annual State of the State's Children report card Thursday, bringing home grades few parents would view with pride...

Obesity received the lowest mark, of D+."

Oops.

"At Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland, doctors agreed that the obesity epidemic in children is getting worse.

'We're not simply seeing overweight kids, we're seeing morbidly obese kids and they're sick,' said Dr. Lydia Tinajero-Deck, co-director of the hospital's Healthy Eating, Active Living clinic.

More school-age children are coming in with high blood pressure, prediabetic symptoms or diabetes, sleep apnea and knee and back problems, she said."

Oops, again.

"The Children Now report called for a coordinated effort to bridge the 'fragmented and uncoordinated' policy efforts to address obesity.

Fighting obesity requires attacking the problem on several fronts, including food marketing and school meals, Lempert said. Those policies need to be funded, Tinajero-Deck said."

Bull.

Funding needs to be withheld.

People need to pay for their own wrongdoings.

The sick care system has to butt out.

Weight loss advice has to be truthful, not expert.

Then you will see change.

Obesity fuelling liver disease

Congrats fat people. You are Number One!

"Obesity has now overtaken alcohol as the number one cause of liver disease.

In some cases the damage is so severe it means patients require a liver transplant.

Doctors say the rise in obesity means the problem will get even worse in years to come."

And you are apparently likely to stay on top for some time to come.

Just don't crush the rest of us.

Down's gene boost fights cancers

This is not a blog dedicated to genetic matters, unless you consider the researchers, docs, diet gurus, media types, government officials and other fitness morons to be genetically stupid.

In which case, who can argue?

I include this article just to highlight how little we really know about the sick care stuff despite the hype pushing it and why it is so important to guide your weight control (and physical fitness) efforts by things that we do know with virtual certainty, e.g., Calories in and Calories out, the Laws of Thermodynamics, Oprah is a fat person and her experts will cause you to fail, etc.

The results of relying on what is known are also virtually certain - get to a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 and your likelihood of developing certain bad diseases diminishes, i.e., you are healthier.

"People with Down's syndrome are less likely to get some cancers - and scientists hope to exploit this to help other people at risk.

Most cases of Down's happen because the baby is carrying an extra chromosome packed with genetic information.

But Johns Hopkins University experts, writing in the journal Nature, say the additional copy of one gene might help block cancers.

But another scientist said boosting the gene might actually help cancer spread."

See?

China offers unproven medical treatments

How Western.

"...doctors warn that patients are serving as guinea pigs in a country that isn't doing the rigorous lab and human tests that are needed to prove a treatment is safe and effective."

Almost like us, except we offer medical treatments that are proven to fail and are malpractice.

Study: Overweight Pregnant Women Nine Times More Likely To Pass Obesity To Unborn Child

Early child abuse, as in fetal abuse, alert!

"The risk of overweight children becoming obese adults is nearly nine times greater than for children who are not overweight, according to a team of researchers from the Arkansas Children's Nutrition Center in Little Rock."

Prevent nutritional child abuse.

Fight nutritional child abuse.

Does milk really do a body good?

More who really knows what "healthy" food is?

But first, I am clear that Men's Health magazine, Rodale (its publisher) and David Zinczenko (its editor-in-chief) are full of crap. In fact, it is my opinion that Rodale is one of the most harmful businesses out there in the fitness arena. You might conclude otherwise. I think you would be wrong.

The article itself is trash and if you read it note that there are no citations, just some dimbulb's assertion that since he is "a nutritionist, [he's] found that most people thrive on milk, whether their goal is to lose fat or build muscle."

Big deal.

For a counterpoint to this bad article, and I am not endorsing this book or the research, read "The China Study" by T. Colin Campbell.

The point is that after all these years, there remains uncertainty as to whether something as ubiquitous as milk is good or bad.

(The milk industry, on the other hand, is IMHO misleading and bad.)

You will drive yourself nuts if you play the "healthy" food game.

You will drive yourself healthy if you play the healthy eating game.

There is a difference and the difference is big and important.

Stop All Obesity Studies And Act Now

Right point, wrong reasons.

"All obesity research, advice on diets, and food labeling should stop and the money saved should be used to create a reliable, integrated public transport network, says a letter in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), this week's issue."

Too bad.

Still closer than most.

Neighborhood linked to diabetes risk factor

But only when the neighborhood in which they live is the neighborhood of eating more Calories than they burn.

"The neighborhood people live in might play a role in their risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a study suggests."

Stupid research.

The excusinators are at it again.

Moderate Exercise Yields Big Benefits

The Brothers Clueless offer this stupid advice.

"What's the key to looking and feeling better and enhancing your health? Exercise.

Moderately strenuous exercise, about 30 minutes a day, can lead to enormous benefits in terms of your mood, health, weight and the ability to live an independent and fulfilling life."

These people would not know the "key to looking and feeling better and enhancing your health" if it meant their lives.

See here to understand how following the advice of Mayo is deadly.

They are simply not to be trusted because you never know when they will put killer info (literally) out there.

Remember: if you want to succeed at fitness and weight loss, do not follow the experts.

Fitness Predictions For 2008 - American Council On Exercise

The American Council on Exercise (ACE) has a rep as the Yugo of trainer organizations.

Here is a real prediction: More fat people, less fit people in 2008.

I am taking bets.

Americans opt for healthy eating, not diets

As if fat people would have the slightest idea of what healthy eating is.

They don't.

If they did, why are they fat?

"Dieting has fallen out of favor while trying to eat more healthfully is in, a marketing research firm that tracks what Americans consume said on Friday."

Proof of stupid:

"Eight out of 10 dieters said their goal was both to lose weight and improve their health -- a sign of growing acceptance that a healthy weight may not equate to slimness."

Actually, they are one and the same.

If you lose the weight, you become healthier.

Until this disconnect is rectified, these efforts will fail, too.

The only way to lose the weight is to consume fewer Calories than you burn.

BTW, "... the survey...was sponsored by the Milk Processor Education Program, promoter of the "Got Milk?" advertising campaign."

See here for some info on these folks.

They are out to get you.

Battle of the Bulge Bucks

Here is the subtitle of this article: "Companies Are Fighting for a Piece of Your New Year's Resolution"

Let's see some of what 2008 will offer:

Some good news.

"NutriSystem has seen new customers drop by 20 percent."

Hopefully, it will go out of business.

These folk charge over 10x more per Calorie than real food and contribute to the difficulty people have dieting. They are not alone. There are others engaged in this (IMHO) rape of the public, which IMHO, I consider criminal.

Some bad news.

"The arrival last year of the over-the-counter diet pill Alli has companies that market diets scrambling."

Alli not only causes, but is, crap. Weight loss is less than minimal and you still have to "eat right" and "exercise." It is a scam, IMHO.

Some true colors coming through.

"Kevin Eberly, executive vice president of Weight Watchers North America, said, 'Consumers told us that increasingly they feel diet weary but weight loss hopeful. And they're looking for options in what they consider to be a culture that is overcome with diet options. Fad diets, quick fixes, restrictive diets. They're looking for things that are more sustainable and manageable over time.'"

IMHO, these folks and other plans are crap, too.

First, they do not work. That is why they have never generated success/failure numbers for all their years in business and despite the fact they had people present at meetings for weigh-ins for years. If what they did worked, you could bet your life that they would have the data to prove it.

Second, why have they not already after all these years, offered people "things that are more sustainable and manageable over time"? I mean, if they are such experts, why is this a new concept to them?

Some more true colors.

"Randy Sherman, a personal trainer at Results Gym in Washington, D.C., said trainers circle New Year's on their calendars because resolutions often yield new or returning clients to the gym."

"Clients" spelled ka-ching! Money spent on personal trainers is by and large wasted.

Some more bad news coming.

"According to Kim Miller, the vice president for marketing of Kellogg's Morning Foods Division, 'the opportunity to get into the weight management category has gotten to be more and more appealing for a wide range of companies. So what we see is that it really keeps us on our toes every year to up our game in terms of new products we launch.'"

This translates into more predatory big businesses attacking your wallet and pocketbook for hope, hype and failure.

There are no "healthy" foods. The experts wouldn't know a "healthy" food if it bit them in their faces. Plus, the data is always changing. Today's healthy food is tomorrow's unhealthy food and vice versa. To wit, see the Fitness Watch blog entries on nitrites. (here and here)

But you can eat healthfully. There is a difference. If healthy eating is what you want, see here.

Some more lies from the professionals.

Lie 1: "Nutritionists agree there is no way to skip working out and sticking to a diet and exercise plan. Losing weight is simply about eating less calories and exercising."

Exercise is not only unnecessary for weight loss, it can be fatal to it.

Lie 2: "Eberly of Weight Watchers acknowledged, 'There is no magic bullet that we're aware of. We think the only sustainable way of losing and maintaining weight loss is to adopt a healthier lifestyle.'"

Lifestyle change is also unnecessary for weight loss and can be fatal to it.

In sum, 2008 will offer more and different opportunities for dieters to fail. - if you listen to the experts.

You have been warned.

Obesity may worsen asthma symptoms

Who needs to breathe when you can eat?

"A new study shows that obese adults tend to suffer more severe asthma symptoms than their normal-weight counterparts -- suggesting that excess pounds exacerbate the lung condition."

The problem really is that you can still eat while you are out of breath.

And they probably do.

Oklahoma City mayor puts city on a diet

Clueless in the other OC.

"Mick Cornett has challenged the city to shed 1 million pounds as its New Year's resolution.

Prompted in part by his own struggle to lose weight, Cornett wants to end Oklahoma City's dubious distinction as one of America's fattest cities."

Good intentions, bad approach.

"The mayor timed the start of the weight-loss program to the beginning of the new year, when many people begin exercise programs after holiday feasts."

Exercise is the least efficient way to lose weight and will doom most dieters to failure.

"Carrie Snyder-Renfro, a 44-year-old teacher working out at a fitness center Thursday, said she made a resolution last month to eat healthier and exercise. While she was unaware of the mayor's Web site, she said she would consider signing up.

'Last year I dieted and lost about 10 pounds a month for three months, but I left out a key component,' she said, huffing and puffing on an elliptical machine. 'I didn't exercise regularly. I ended up losing muscle mass instead of fat, and I ended up gaining almost all of it back.

'Now I'm making it more of a priority to put everything in balance. I have to get the eye of the tiger back.'"

Carrie is another poor soul misled by the conventional stupidity and has zero understanding of how weight is lost, why she failed and that she is setting herself up for another bout of failure.

"Cornett wants to make exercise more attractive to residents by increasing the number of bike trails and sidewalks in the sprawling city, where public transportation is minimal, most people are wedded to their cars and outdoor activities for some might be limited to watching a football game."

Another well-intentioned but mistaken effort that I predict will fail.

Stay tuned.

Exercise May Ease Menopausal Symptoms

The level of reportage you get. Another example of why you should avoid the fitness noise drowning us all.

"If you are a woman and remain physically active up to and during the menopause, symptoms such as anxiety, depression and stress may be eased as a result of your physically active lifestyle, according to an article published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise (MSSE)."

What kind of reporter would relate "if you are a woman" and "menopause" in the same sentence?

Where is the "if" part?

Dark Chocolate May Not Always Be Good For Your Heart

Startling.

"Dark chocolate is rich in calories, so in order to gain any health benefit from flavenol-rich dark chocolate, you would have to reduce your intake of other foods to balance the calories. The editorial warns, 'The devil in the dark chocolate is the fat, sugar, and calories it contains.'"

Now how is it possible that a high-Calorie, high fat food could not always be good for your heart?

The Health Risk Of High-Fat Foods Could Be Reduced By New Discovery

It's more "Health Risk Could Be Increased By New Discovery."

"Just as additives help gasoline burn cleaner, a research report published in the January 2008 print issue of The FASEB Journal shows that the food industry could take a similar approach toward reducing health risks associated with fatty foods."

But will your bodily exhausts contribute even more to global warming?

Not worth the risk.

But here is an interesting motivation for "scientists."

"'As long as deep fried candy bars are on menus, scientists will need to keep serving up new ways to prevent the cellular damage caused by these very tasty treats,' said Gerald Weissmann, MD, Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. 'This study suggests that the time will come where people can eat french fries without plugging their arteries."'

Maybe we should just let people experience the consequences of their food choices instead and spend time and money and scientific effort on other things - like a pollution free car or something.

It just seems that Dr. Weissmann could apply science to a better and higher purpose than french fries served up with alcohol.

Of course, low-level scientists might not be smart enough to think beyond that.

Healthy food getting more expensive

Needless alarm alert!

"The price of fruits and vegetables is climbing faster than inflation, while junk food is actually becoming cheaper, the findings of a new study suggest.

Using retail prices at major supermarket chains in Seattle, researchers at the University of Washington found that low-calorie, nutrient-rich foods — mainly fruits and vegetables — were far more expensive, calorie for calorie, than sweets and snack foods."

Since there are no "healthy" foods, it makes no difference. There is only a "healthy" weight.

"The findings, published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, highlight a key obstacle to healthy eating. And they may help explain why obesity rates are highest among the poorest Americans, according to the researchers."

Bull.

Healthy eating is any eating that gets your BMI between 18.5 and 24.9. That is all that we know.

How you get there is your business.

If you can get there more cheaply, good for you. If you get there spending more and you can afford it, good for you.

As long as you get between 18.5 and 24.9, good for you.

The rest of the conversation is a distraction.

It is all about Calories in , Calories out.

Nothing else.

Obesity linked to decreased seatbelt use

Incoming!

"Obese people are less likely to use their seatbelts than the rest of the population, adding to the public health risks associated with this rapidly growing problem.

We found that when weight goes up, seatbelt use goes down..."

When pigs fly, make windshields that protect the rest of us.

Brits Love Fast Foods More Than Americans

Proof that obesity and overweight are not medical problems.

"A Synovate study found that the British are the keenest fast food consumers in the world, closely followed by Americans. When asked to comment on the statement "I like the taste of fast food too much to give it up," 45% of the British agreed, compared to 44% of Americans - Canada came third with 37%...

The study found that people have inherently contradictory issues about their body weight. Many people feel better about eating a hamburger or an extra portion of pizza by accompanying their meal with a diet cola...

54% of respondents from all countries said they eat whatever they feel like whenever they feel like it. However, two thirds also said that they watch their food intake carefully and strive to be healthy - a contradiction when compared to the first phrase. Those who carried out the study say that people are torn between food as a necessary fuel and a source of pleasure."

So what do they blame?

"When asked what they thought was the main cause of obesity, 40% of all respondents thought it was food, with unhealthy eating habits, such as eating at irregular hours being a major factor, along with unhealthy food choices. 18% think obesity's main cause is a lack of exercise, 11% blame genetics, while 13% say it is because people have no self discipline."

Good for the 13% who answered the question almost correctly.

The correct answer is too many Calories in and not enough out because "people have no self discipline."

The problems are: what will they do about it and the other 87% in gross denial.

Bring In The New Year With A New Fitness Routine

More drivel from U of Michigan.

"Colleen Greene, wellness coordinator with MFit, the University of Michigan Health System's health promotion division, says that in order for a workout plan to succeed a person must realize that pounds won't come off within the first clutch of a dumbbell. Instead, exercise must become part of a regular routine rather than be thought of as a short-term solution.

'The number one New Year resolution people have is to lose weight...'"

What is suggested?

"3. Try things you've never done before. "If you think Pilates is something for dancers only or if you think yoga means standing on your head, most gyms will have some sort of special drop-in rate for either the first week or first few sessions of a class," says Greene. "Go ahead and try it! You may find that you like it."

But you won't lose weight doing these activities.

And these are the experts, folks.

MFit? More like MS**t.

Overeating Could Be Due To Lack Of Brain Chemical Caused By Faulty Gene

It is more likely that "Stupid Research Like This Is Due To Lack Of Brain Chemical Caused By Faulty Gene."

This is another foolish slippery slope article that is destined to further litter the weight loss landscape.

Obesity: in statistics

Read and weep.

"People are getting fatter almost everywhere in the world.

The World Health Organization predicts there will be 2.3 billion overweight adults in the world by 2015 and more than 700 million of them will be obese."

And then there are the child killing parents.

"But obesity is not just a problem for adults - the spread of obesity among children is also alarming experts.

At least 20 million children under the age of 5 years were overweight globally in 2005, according to the WHO."

Stop the global problem of nutritional child abuse.

Tips To Get Into Shape Without Leaving The House

Self-contradictory info alert!

There's this:

"Don't have the time, money or the desire to sign up for a gym membership? That shouldn't keep you from making a New Year's resolution to get fit."

Then this:

"By purchasing the right equipment, adding creativity to your workouts, and keeping your motivation up, you can start an exercise program around the house that will last. Greene offers the following tips:..."

"Don't have the money..." then "By purchasing..."

Here's a tip for Greene - read what you write.

Here's another tip - shut up.

UK and US 'keenest on fast food'

Some fat people display a sudden attack of not totally stupid! Stop the presses!

"People in the UK and the US were the most likely to nominate 'no self discipline' as the leading factor in obesity."

They are not too stupid to realize it is their own faults.

They are still too stupid to change.

"These two nations also had the most respondents who said they would be unable to give up fast food.

Some 45% in the UK agreed with the statement 'I like the taste of fast food too much to give it up', while 44% of Americans said they would be unable to give up their burgers, pizzas and chicken wings."

And the rest of us are stupid enough to pay for them.

"Health analysts warn that obesity-related illness threatens to overwhelm healthcare systems around the world."

And blame the food, not the consumers.

"Peter Hollins, chief executive of the British Heart Foundation said: 'If we are to tackle the growing obesity crisis it is vital that Britain's junk food addiction is addressed.

'But this isn't going to happen whilst a junk-dominated diet is being normalised through the constant barrage of advertising and promotions.'"

Peter's type of thinking will never succeed.

This will. So will this.

Sleep disruptions may up diabetes risk

Creating reasons to make more drugs.

"Researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center report that disrupting sleep damages the body's ability to regulate blood sugar levels, potentially raising the risk of developing type 2 diabetes."

You can bet that the anti-diabetes sleep drugs are in the offing.

Their hook?

"More than 18 million Americans have diabetes and the most common form is type 2, in which the body either becomes resistant to insulin or doesn't produce enough of it to regulate sugar in the bloodstream."

So now they will create the sleep cure of diabetes, obesity and aging.

"'This decrease in slow-wave sleep resembles the changes in sleep patterns caused by 40 years of aging," Tasali said in a statement. Young adults spend 80 to 100 minutes per night in slow-wave sleep, while people over age 60 generally have less than 20 minutes. "In this experiment,' she said, 'we gave people in their 20s the sleep of those in their 60s.'

'Since reduced amounts of deep sleep are typical of aging and of common obesity-related sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea, these results suggest that strategies to improve sleep quality, as well as quantity, may help to prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes in populations at risk,' said co-author Dr. Eve Van Cauter, a professor of medicine."

The outcome will be killing us with their drugs so we cannot age 40 years.

There's the cure.

Waistline as diabetes flag differs by race

Things get uncertainter and uncertainter.

"Currently recommended waist circumference thresholds for identifying people with an increase likelihood of having type 2 diabetes should be modified for Asian and white women and men, a new study suggests."

The sick care industry cannot even get something as simple as waist measurement right.

Do you really think it can get the consequences of its drugs and surgeries right?

I'll answer that.

No way.

Get fit and stay away from the sick care industry for as long as you can.

Enter it only when you need and not from diseases of choice.

More Than One Third Of Americans Cannot Separate Help From Hype

So what else is new? And notice how the unsavory folks at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) are capitalizing on the issue by spreading their own hype and no help.

"According to a new survey of 2,058 adults, conducted in late November by Harris Interactive® on behalf of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (NYSE: GSK), 52 percent of Americans say they plan to make a serious attempt to lose weight in 2008. But as January approaches and the drumbeat of quick and easy weight-loss promises grows louder, these individuals can become increasingly confused about what to believe."

Here is the con.

"To help overweight adults distinguish fact from fiction at this pivotal time of year, alli® is providing free access to thousands of hours worth of weight-loss advice from healthcare professionals."

Too bad that it is the "weight-loss advice from healthcare professionals" that causes diet failure and is killing us and our children.

Does GSK care about you?

Nope. This caring is just a form of ad for their pharmaceutical malpractice drug alli®:

"GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare announced in October that it had sold more than 2 million alli starter packs at retail, and that alli users are enthusiastically embracing alli..."

GSK is taking advantage of your inability to separate help from hype. Also, notice that they dropped the "®" from alli® to make it appear as if ALL "users are enthusiastically embracing alli®."

Crooked, I would submit.

Beware! It is more of the same sickening hype (both literally and figuratively).

As You Try To Find A Weight Loss Plan For 2008, Here's What You Need To Know

Don't believe a word of it.

"People who want to lose weight in 2008 but can't decide which weight-loss plan to follow may want to ask their health care provider about the American Diabetes Association's (ADA) new Clinical Practice Recommendations, issued today."

If you are serious about losing weight do not speak with a health care provider.

These people and the rest of the sick care industry will only harm you.

Detox Diets Are A Waste Of Money And Time, Says Andrew Wadge, Chief Scientist, Food Standards Agency, UK

A rare piece of truth.

"Come January 1st and millions of us feel we have been overdoing the feasting and would like to purify our bodies. It is tempting to go for the latest detox diets, but they are a waste of time and money..."

Take a gander at how stupid these things are:

" A popular detoxification method is the detox foot patch which is presented with various herbal formulations. You apply the patch to the sole of the foot at bedtime. The toxins are said to come out of the body and into the patch. This foot patch is popular in Japan and is starting to make inroads into the US market."

And people fall for this rubbish. Perhaps from tripping over the patch.

Do what works. See here, here, here, here and here.

Eating More Fruit And Veggies Can Help You Lose Those Pounds You Put On During The Holidays

Just plain untrue.

Only eating fewer Calories than you burn will "help you lose the pounds you put on during the holidays"

How you do it makes no difference at all.

ADA Issues New Clinical Practice Recommendations

The clueless American Diabetes Association has issued more garbage.

"'The risks of overweight and obesity are well known. We recognize that people are looking for realistic ways to lose weight,' said Ann Albright, PhD, RD, President, Health Care & Education, American Diabetes Association."

"Realistic ways"?

Not.

Then explain the popularity of deadly diets pushed by the talk show hosts, diet gurus, diet docs, etc., and why ADA has not come out against them.

Maybe it is the money.

The Recommendations are a way to get more money for the diabetes industry by continuing the medicalization of weight loss. This is from the Introduction. It is the very first sentence:

"Medical nutrition therapy (MNT) is important in preventing diabetes, managing existing diabetes, and preventing, or at least slowing, the rate of development of diabetes complications. It is, therefore, important at all levels of diabetes prevention."

Medicalizing weight loss will never work.

If you never cure the problem, then you can continue to request income under the guise of claiming to help.

Then the Recommendations move on to this stuff which clearly places weight loss beyond the reach of individuals and into the hands of the sick care industry:

"Because of the effects of obesity on insulin resistance, weight loss is an important therapeutic objective for individuals with pre-diabetes or diabetes. However, long-term weight loss is difficult for most people to accomplish. This is probably because the central nervous system plays an important role in regulating energy intake and expenditure...

Evidence demonstrates that structured, intensive lifestyle programs involving participant education, individualized counseling, reduced dietary energy and fat (30% of total energy) intake, regular physical activity, and frequent participant contact are necessary to produce long-term weight loss of 5–7% of starting weight."

And there is the obligatory missing of the forest through the trees:

"Standard weight loss diets provide 500–1,000 fewer calories than estimated to be necessary for weight maintenance and initially result in a loss of 1–2 lb/week. Although many people can lose some weight (as much as 10% of initial weight in 6 months) with such diets, without continued support and follow-up, people usually regain the weight they have lost."

Duh.

"Continued support" that transfers money from us to them.

"Very-low-calorie diets provide 800 calories daily and produce substantial weight loss and rapid improvements in glycemia and lipemia in individuals with type 2 diabetes. When very-low-calorie diets are stopped and self-selected meals are reintroduced, weight regain is common. Thus, very-low-calorie diets appear to have limited utility in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and should only be considered in conjunction with a structured weight loss program."

Starvation dieting is the norm that is recommended by the experts.

And then the Recommendations go on to extol the virtues of diet drugs and bariatric surgery, which are malpractice.

Perhaps your New Year's resolutions should include a cessation of all contributions to organizations like ADA, until they empower the people and not the sick care industry and themselves and come to the realization that pursuing the same path as before will fail as before.

Your money is being wasted.

Stop the nonsense.

Brain disease lurks in minds of most seniors

Real crap for the masses, courtesy of the sick care system and the media.

"Results of a brain autopsy study indicate that most older adults have significant brain disease, regardless of the presence or absence of outward signs of dementia."

First, if it does not manifest itself, is it really disease? If a tree falls in the forest...

"At the time of death, only 20 persons (14.2 percent) were free of brain disease, Dr. Julie A. Schneider, from Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, and colleagues found."

Second, if you did not find it, is it really not there? Maybe you just don't know what to look for.

Third, scrutinize what you read.

The real pathology is coming at you from the outside, not from you on the inside.

Cooking Can Preserve, Boost Nutrient Content Of Vegetables

More proof that no one really knows what "healthy" food is.

"In a finding that defies conventional culinary wisdom, researchers in Italy report that cooking vegetables can preserve or even boost their nutritional value in comparison to their raw counterparts...

a small but growing number of studies suggest that cooking may actually increase the release of some nutrients. However, scientists are seeking more complete data on the nutritional properties of cooked vegetables, the researchers say."

Look, it is 2008 and we still are arguing whether cooking depletes nutrients from food.

Shouldn't we know this by now if we were so smart?

If you want to achieve health, achieve a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9.

Whatever belief system you choose to get there, i.e., vegetarian, vegan, organic, etc., is your business.

For now, given what we know, nothing else works.

Don't fall for the hype.

Children at N&N to get stomachs stapled

More child abuse and growing malpractice.

"Children in Norfolk who are overweight or obese could for the first time be offered surgery under radical plans to stem the growing problem."

This assault, battery and malpractice is a direct result of impossible diet advice. See here and here.

"More than a quarter of children living in the county are classed as overweight or obese, but if they want to lose weight through surgery they cannot do so for free in Norfolk...

However, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital is to submit a plan to county health chiefs to carry out surgery on the most severe cases, although only involving children."

And they will continue to surgerize children until everybody is banded.

“'There are people where nothing else has worked and gastric banding is the only option. We are not talking trivial matters here, we are talking very severe cases.'”

Bull.

It is impossible for a diet to fail.

It is diet advice that fails.

These sick care practitioners are generating income for themselves and causing suffering for the public.

And more and more it will be coming to a community near you.

Do something to stop them.

And save the children.

Viagra ingredient in Chinese supplements

Finally, a supplement that works.

"Dietary supplements marketed to provide male sexual enhancement contain undeclared erectile dysfunction drugs putting users at risk, the Food and Drug Administration warned Friday...

Product testing indicates that some of these so-called supplements contain Viagra's active ingredient, sildenafil, or a compound with a chemical structure that mimics sildenafil.

These chemicals could interact with nitrates in drugs taken for disorders commonly associated with erectile dysfunction, including diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart disease. The result could dangerously lower a user's blood pressure, according to the FDA.

The agency also warned that the safety and purity of these illegal ingredients is unknown."

In some ways this is good news. Here are a few:

This can act as a lesson on how to make an effective supplement - put active ingredients in it.

Other marketers and manufacturers may follow by adding value to their supplements as in "making them work."

Some consumers may actually have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

But, in some ways this is bad news. Here are a few:

Some may alter the traditional carol changing it from "ding-dong, ding-dong" to "dong-dong, dong-dong."

The dish will need to be renamed to Chicken Almond Dong if the supplement is added while cooking.

Since, at last, a supplement is effective, we will have to revisit the labeling issue as it does anything but make things supple.

And in some ways this is no news.

People are still morons for falling for any of this crap.

High-fat, high-carb meals more harmful to obese

You'd think they'd be used to it.

"Eating a high-fat, high-carb fast food meal produces damaging cellular changes that are greater and longer-lasting in obese people than in normal-weight people, a new study shows...

To test whether these increases might be greater in obese people, Dandona and his team had 10 normal-weight and 8 obese people eat a 1,800-calorie meal consisting of a large hamburger, a large serving of fries, a large cola, and a slice of apple pie.

Both groups showed increases in oxidative stress two hours after eating the meal. By three hours, oxidative stress had returned to baseline levels in the normal-weight individuals, but it continued to climb in the obese individuals. The same pattern was seen for inflammation"

Probably because the fat people were still hungry and it stressed them out.

Try 2800 Calories next time.

Either way, iffy study.

Snorting a Brain Chemical Could Replace Sleep

Another way to make you fat.

After all, sleep deprivation is touted as a reason for being overweight/obese.

Cosmetic surgery deals criticised

Get the malpractice known as bariatric surgery sooner and cheaper before prices go back up!

An example of good will on earth and slice all mankind to pieces.

"Cosmetic surgery clinics are rushing people into major procedures by offering limited time money-off deals, according to consumer magazine Which?

Which? says it has found eight clinics that it claims are breaking industry rules by 'pressure advertising.'"

It is clear that sectors of the sick care industry have you last on their holiday list of "what I care about."

"Which? says choosing to have cosmetic surgery is 'a major and potentially life changing decision' and it is 'highly irresponsible' of clinics to rush people with time-sensitive discounts."

Yep.

"'We really hope that they will stop this pressure advertising which can rush people into surgery and treatments which they probably might not need, and also may cost them thousands of pounds and may end up being a waste of money,' she said."

Don't count on it.

More young diabetics being hospitalized

Mostly the young and fat, you can bet.

"There has been a significant increase in the number of young adults hospitalized with diabetes-related conditions in the United States over the last decade or so, according to a new study.'Studies indicate that the burden of diabetes, type 1 and type 2, is substantial and rising among U.S. children,' Dr. Joyce Lee, of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and colleagues write in the medical journal Diabetes Care..."

Inflation-adjusted annual hospital costs for diabetes increased 130 percent, from $1.05 billion in 1993 to $2.42 billion in 2004."

And now onto the younger and fatter:

"With the rising rate of diabetes among youngsters, the researchers see the number of hospitalizations increasing even more over coming years."

The clear result of child-abusing parents.

Stop nutritional child abuse.

Drug reactions 'kill thousands'

Don't forget to take your fat pills because of the condition you voluntarily put yourself in.

Or get fit.

Your choice.

Kids Of Abused Moms Have Greater Health Needs

We will also pay for the progeny of nutritionally abused kids, too.

"Children whose mothers have a history of abuse by intimate partners have higher health care needs than children whose mothers have no history of abuse, according to a study conducted at Group Health, a Seattle-based health plan.

These needs - expressed in terms of the cost of providing care and use of health services - were higher even if the abuse occurred before the children were born, the research team found...

'Children are the other victims when intimate partner violence (IPV) occurs in the home,' said lead author Frederick P. Rivara, MD, MPH. 'This study shows that children require more health care--especially for mental health--when their mothers are victims of such violence.'"

The rest of us "are the other victims when" nutritional child abuse occurs.

Help save the children today and the rest of us, too.

Menopausal hot flashes worse for heavier women

Run for your lives! Pre-menopausal and as big as Babe the Blue Ox!

"Contrary to expectations, the higher a woman's percentage of body fat at menopause, the more likely she is to experience symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats, a new study shows."

And a life-saving suggestion:

"Based on the findings, Thurston and her colleagues add, weight loss -- especially loss of fat -- may help women going through menopause..."

Overweight People More Likely to Have Bad Breath

In addition to stinky bodies and a need for special hygiene, there is this.

"Add another health condition to the list of problems being overweight causes – smelly breath...

The data shows overweight patients were more likely to have halitosis..."

Probably the least of fat people's worries, and another one of ours.

Active Computer Games Do Not Replace Playing Real Sports For Energy Expenditure

Say it ain't so, Joe.

"New generation active computer games stimulate greater energy expenditure than sedentary games, but are no substitute for playing real sports, according to a study in this week's Christmas issue of the BMJ."

Too bad the article didn't come out the weeks before Christmas so some people could have saved hundreds on their new video game "exercise" devices.

"Time spent in front of television and computer screens has been linked to physical inactivity and obesity. "

"Linked to physical inactivity"?

Almost by definition, "time spent in front of television and computer screens," is physical inactivity.

"The participants first played on the inactive Project Gotham Racing 3 game (XBOX 360). After a five minute rest, they then played competitive bowling, tennis and boxing matches (Nintendo Wii Sports) for 15 minutes each with a five minute rest between sports. Total playing time for each child was 60 minutes.

Energy expenditure was increased by 60 kcal per hour during active compared with sedentary gaming. "

60 kcal is the same as 60 Calories. This is the equivalent of about 1/3 ounce of food. A meaningless number of Calories burned.

Anyway, exercise, as suggested by the experts, is a pathetically inefficient way to burn Calories.

There are much better ways to shed pounds than exercise.

Diabetics more likely to die after heart attack

Must be all that good cholesterol.

"While the treatment of people with diabetes who suffer a heart attack has improved, along with subsequent survival rates, mortality is still higher than in non-diabetics, a study shows...

They report, in the medical journal Heart, that patients with diabetes have higher short- and long-term mortality rates after heart attack than those without diabetes."

And body fat.

"While underlying co-illnesses in part account for the excess mortality in patients with diabetes..."

You really are eating food to die for.

Is Too Much Good Cholesterol, Bad?

More turmoil. Stick with what works. Fitness.

"...a team doing research on high-density lipoprotein, said having high levels of it in the bloodstream might increase the risk of cardiovascular disease."

High-density lipoprotein is also known as HDL, which is the "good cholesterol." Well, until now that is.

Maybe they need more nitrites.

"That seems to fly in the face of more than 20 years of medical wisdom, which has held generally that HDL helps protect us from heart problems.

Reams of medical advice have been written, diets have been devised, and drugs have been developed around the proposition that high levels of 'good' HDL are desirable, and that levels of "bad" LDL, or low density lipoprotein, should be kept low."

In general, the only ream you can count on from the sick care and diet industries is the one that makes you hurt when you sit.

Perhaps it will do the Prince thing and become the Lipoprotein Formerly Known As Good Cholesterol.

"The University of Kentucky research, reported recently in the American Journal of Physiology, suggests that scientists have more work to do on HDL."

That is an understatement.

And by the way, they have way more work to do on lots of things before they proffer advice.

Education Key to Solving Teen Obesity

Not even close.

"The schools, suggests a recent study conducted in Loudoun, might be the ideal place to start educating both children and their parents about nutrition and exercise."

If they "educate" the kids with what is currently being offered as the way to solve the problem, we will have to uneducate them later and put them on diets.

"Obesity can be caused by genetic mutations and an out-of-kilter metabolism..."

Not even close.

Obesity and overweight are caused by one thing and one thing only - more Calories in than out.

A good place to start educating people is at the level of the media since their misinformation drools down on the rest of us.

Many parents of fat kids in denial, study finds

More child abuse.

"A startling number of parents may be in denial about their youngsters' weight.

A survey found that many Americans whose children are obese do not see them that way.

That is worrisome because obese children run the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol problems and other ailments more commonly found in adults. And overweight children are likely to grow up to be overweight adults."

For which the rest of us will be expected to pay.

"...Dr. Matthew M. Davis, a University of Michigan professor of pediatrics and internal medicine who led the study, released earlier this month... [said]

"When I see a child that is obese at these younger ages, I take that as a sign of ways nutrition can be improved, a child's activity level can be improved."

This lead researcher is clearly a lawbreaker under CAPTA.

CAPTA is the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, federal legislation for which states get money. Each state receiving these bucks has its own act that mirrors the federal legislation.

If he, any other physician or sick care worker sees a child in peril of "serious physical or emotional harm," it is their responsibility to report it to the authorities.

What we have here is the intersection of parental, governmental and sick care system neglect and abuse that are deadly to our young.

With little effort, you can act to stop it.

Coffee, tea linked to lower risk of kidney cancer

Bull.

"Coffee and tea lovers may have a slightly reduced risk of developing kidney cancer, research hints."

And if you are about to fall for this, see here.

Tea drinking may not curb ovarian cancer risk

Another pillar of voodoo medicine brought down.

"Tea drinking, in general, does not appear to decrease the risk for ovarian cancer, according to combined data from nine studies."

At some point you should really consider what works for your health.

Maintaining a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 seems to be it.

How you get there is immaterial so far as is currently known.

If you want to do it on the "tea diet," so be it.

But expecting the nutrition superstitions touted by the media and out of control researchers to work is a belief system, not a fact-based system.

Bacon, hot dogs could damage the lungs

More signs of ignorance.

"Men who smoke may be increasing their risk of developing emphysema and chronic bronchitis if they eat lots of cured meat, new research shows.

Cured meats such as sausage, ham, bologna, bacon and hot dogs contain high levels of nitrites, which are added to prevent rancidity and bacterial growth and enhance a meat's pink color.

And just like cigarette smoking and air pollution, nitrites generate molecules known as reactive oxygen and nitrogen species that have been linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Dr. Raphaelle Varraso of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and colleagues note."

Now see here for the great, healthy effects of nitrites.

Isn't it time you stopped relying on any of this crap and just managed Calories first and superstitions second?

Fit workout neighbor harms exercisers' self esteem

Poor unfit babies.

"Young women who exercise next to a fit-looking peer will spend less time working out and feel worse about their bodies, a new study shows."

And the moronic professional solution?

"He added: 'If you want to maximize how you're feeling about yourself, you might want to move to the areas of the gym where people are less fit.'"

Or, get in better shape.

What a concept!

Built-In Exercise Monitor Predicts Fitness

From the University of Exeter. Is "Exeter" a fancy word for "dumb as a doornail"?

"We all hold the secret to getting fit, according to researchers from the University of Exeter. The research team has shown that we each have a built-in ability to judge how hard our bodies are working, often with remarkable precision."

What is this "secret"?

"A series of studies over the last two years, culminating in three academic papers in the past two months, has shown a consistently close correlation between actual and perceived exertion in people of all levels of fitness. The team has found that an individual's own sense of how hard he or she is working corresponds exactly with actual level of exertion, measured by heart-rate and oxygen uptake."

What a discovery!

Now Google "Borg RPE Scale."

Don't these fools read?

Really, the research bucks are going down the tubes.

The "secret to getting fit" is not listening to any of the experts.

Marathons Cut Risk Of Fatal Vehicle Crashes

Painfully stupid study.

"Organised marathons are not associated with an increased risk of sudden death, despite the media attention they attract. In fact, marathons lower the risk of fatal motor vehicle crashes that might otherwise have taken place if the roads had not been closed, finds a study in the Christmas issue of the British Medical Journal."

This is the equivalent to "Being Female Cuts Risk Of Prostate Cancer."

If there are no cars, there are no accidents. If there is no prostate, no prostate cancer.

Duh.

And this is emblematic of much research, especially in the overweight, obesity, fitness and diet domains.

Data About Zetia Risks Was Not Fully Revealed

It's your old friends at Big Phama again.

"New evidence shows that the drug makers Merck and Schering-Plough have conducted several studies of their popular cholesterol medicine Zetia that raise questions about its risks to the liver, but the companies have never published those results."

These people will kill you.

Let's talk.

There is no doubt that overweight and obesity are choices.

There is no doubt that they are reversible.

There is no doubt that a healthy weight can be achieved without drugs, surgery and other forms of malpractice.

Why expose yourself to the risks of the sick care system for a completely soluble problem?

In 2008, gain control of your weight.

NSAIDs won't protect ultra-marathoners' muscles

Old stuff. A waste of time, effort and resources.

"Taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen during endurance events does not help prevent muscle damage or next-day muscle soreness, a study in ultra-marathoners indicates."

Analgesic use for muscle soreness from training or competing has been known to be of questionable effectiveness for years.

FASgen Announces A New Discovery In Obesity Research

Much ado about nothing AND technobabble alerts.

"FASgen is pleased to report the publication of important new research results in the obesity field using FAS89B, one of the Company's proprietary compounds. FASgen is a leader in the field of research into selective inhibition of fatty acid synthase (FASi), and has conducted extensive research in the area of metabolic disease disorders, specifically for the treatment of obesity and fatty liver disease. The Company has a long-standing cooperation with The Johns Hopkins University, and that joint research has produced the new discoveries in the regulation of weight loss by the stimulation of carnitinepalmitoyl-transferase-1 (CPT-1). FAS89B was characterized in vitro as a selective inhibitor of brain CPT-1 and produced in vivo results in mice of decreased feeding for three days and persistent weight loss of six days, with no evidence of conditioned taste aversion. See, "Pharmacological Stimulation of Brain Carnitine-Transerase-1 Decreases Food Intake and Body Weight," Ronnett, et al, Am J Physiol Regul Integr Physiol (December 8, 2007). This new discovery adds another tool for FASgen to use, in addition to FASi and GPATi compounds already in research, in its ongoing program of research into the field of treatment for obesity and fatty liver disease."

This says absolutely nothing.

They are trying to pull a FAS one on you.

Single brain cell's power shown

Creating a new mystery alert!

"There could be enough computing ability in just one brain cell to allow humans and animals to feel, a study suggests...

The Dutch and German study, published in Nature, found that stimulating just one rat neuron could deliver the sensation of touch."

Then why isn't there enough brain power in the entire brain of a fat person to feel when they are getting too fat? Or to give them the sensation of becoming sensible?

Is it:
a. their brain cells are inferior to a rat's
b. the other brain cells get in the way
c. something else
d. all of the above
e. a and b

Now this could become useful research.

"The complexity of the human brain and how it stores countless thoughts, sensations and memories are still not fully understood."

Clearly, this is good reason to let Big Pharma and the sick care industry create and prescribe drugs, especially for fat people since their condition is controllable and reversible sans meds, that work on the brain whose workings they do not understand.

Clearly, this is good reason for fat people to be provided these drugs and at our expense.

Case closed. They seem to have all sides covered.

698-pound man dies after stomach surgery

Caveat eator.

"A man who weighed 698 pounds died Friday of heart failure after undergoing an operation to remove 80 percent of his stomach in a desperate effort to reduce his weight.

Carlos Marroquin, 47, was so heavy at the time of Thursday's operation that hospital workers used a forklift to place him on the operating table, surgeon Isaias Sandigo, who participated in the procedure, told The Associated Press."

A forklift?

What's the big deal?

That's for lightweights.

Daily calcium quota may be too high: study

More evidence that they have no idea what the heck healthy eating is.

"Adults may need half the amount of daily calcium currently recommended, researchers report based on a review of published studies...

This is in contrast to current guidelines that recommend between 1200 to 1500 milligrams calcium per day among older adults, the researcher noted."

If you fall for any of this "healthy" food stuff, please buy my bridge.

BMI Criteria For Obesity Surgery Should Be Lowered, UT Southwestern Researchers Suggest

Downright deadly advice. Happy New Year from the sick care and weight loss industries.

"The study findings show that some morbidly obese patients have better cardiovascular disease risk profiles than those who are less obese. In particular, the researchers found that cardiovascular risk factors can be much worse in many individuals with a BMI as low as 30 than they are for some surgical candidates with higher BMIs.

This suggests that some patients who are obese but not morbidly obese could benefit from bariatric surgery, which can help reduce cardiovascular disease, said Dr. Livingston."

Put them on diets that work instead of subjecting them to your malpractice diets and malpractice surgery and malpractice drugs.

This also suggests that fat person surgery done for potential cardiovascular disease is done needlessly as, 'Our results show that cardiovascular risk factors do not necessarily worsen with increasing obesity,' Dr. Livingston said."

Get rid of this industry.

Updates To Food Guide Pyramid For Older Adults

They needed an update for this? What were they thinking before?

"Tufts University researchers have updated their Food Guide Pyramid for Older Adults to correspond with the USDA food pyramid, now known as MyPyramid. The Tufts version is specifically designed for older adults...The Modified MyPyramid for Older Adults continues to emphasize nutrient-dense food choices and the importance of fluid balance, but has added additional guidance about forms of foods that could best meet the unique needs of older adults and about the importance of regular physical activity."

Here is something really deep to step in:

"'Older adults tend to need fewer calories as they age because they are not as physically active as they once were and their metabolic rates slow down. Nevertheless, their bodies still require the same or higher levels of nutrients for optimal health outcomes..."

Everybody needs fewer Calories when they are "not as physically active as they once were."

This includes college students, fat parents setting fat examples for their fat children, legislators, fat Oprah, thin runway models, Tufts researchers. Everybody includes everybody.

Then the researchers go on to the "optimal health" spiel.

They would not know what is required for "optimal health" if it bit them in their stupid faces.

"Optimal" is a fantasy concept. It is the result of limited and lagging indicators with no proven predictive value or definition that will clearly vary from person to person.

It is bull and a way to con the public into believing the crap spouted by lunatics with a platform.

"The Modified MyPyramid for Older Adults will be published in the January 2008 issue of the Journal of Nutrition."

Another sad part.

They will be killing trees to disseminate this garbage.

Your tax dollars hard at work.

"This study was supported by a grant from the Ross Initiative on Aging at Tufts University and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)."

Medical Gift Cards Bring Well Wishes

CBS News suffers from the same malady as ABCNews - a fistula between the rectum and the cranium. So does the Consumer Federation of America.

This story, which I covered weeks ago, has been resurrected by CBS as a good thing.

"Gift cards are big this holiday season. Americans are expected to spend over $26 billion on them, according to the National Retail Federation.

And now, there's a new arrival on that landscape, medical gift cards, which Jack Gillis of the Consumer Federation of America says enable someone to help give 'the gift of health.'"

It is apparent that the Consumer Federation of America has no concept of what health looks like.

It is apparent that CBS, as other media players, would rather see you sick than well.

This is a gift of repair, not health.

"One of the things the company (Highmark, Inc.) is capitalizing on is the fact healthcare costs have gone through the roof.'"

Health requires no "healthcare costs." Sickness does.

"Gillis noted that the cards could make a good gift from 40-to 50-year-olds faced with the task of helping their parents without having to be too intrusive and without a handout. 'This is a gift,' he says. 'It could enable someone to be proud.'"

"Proud" to be sick.

"He says it 'enables someone to give a gift to someone he or she loves and help them and be discreet. It's really the first of its kind.'"

Discreet as in when everybody else is opening their gifts, the sick person is - doing what?

"You can buy them in amounts from $25 to $5,000, whether or not the recipient has medical insurance."

This guy Gillis makes stupid look smart.

Clearly, the Consumer Federation of America is not to be trusted.

The real gift of "health" is fitness and supporting those about whom you care to become fit.

Holiday Survival Tips From Dietitians Of Canada

"Holiday survival"? Not. It's more like how the dietitians stole the holidays.

"The holiday season is here, and along with it can come lots of festivities and indulgences. However, there are still ways to enjoy get-togethers and not totally lose track of your healthy living goals."

The real issue is not what you do on the holidays.

It is what you do the rest of the year.

In fact, in the real scheme of things, your several days of holiday feting yearly are a mere fat droplet in the fat bucket.

Focus on what matters most.

Have happy holidays, not necessarily Canadian dietitian holidays.

Holiday Health Check

More party poopers, spouting poop.

"'We know we'll likely consume more because it's almost unavoidable with gatherings and gifts of food. So, we should make a conscious effort to balance this with an extra session at the gym, longer walks, or something else that involves movement.' Patrick also recommends taking time out to relax, alone or with someone else to provide support and encouragement during this tempting, sometimes trying, season."

One day or two is not and has never been the issue.

It is the rest of the year.

Enjoy the holidays to your fullest. After all, they are holidays, right?

Make the rest of the year your committed time to nutritional and physical fitness.

As a Rule of Thumb, if you really want to succeed at your fitness goals, do the exact opposite of what the experts suggest.