Cardio-metabolic risk can occur at normal BMIs

Meaningless.

"Patients with a normal body mass index (BMI) can still have a high body fat content, which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, a Mayo Clinic team announced here during the American College of Cardiology's 57th Annual Scientific Session."

To say that something is not perfect is not an indictment.

Imperfection is a fact of life.

There will be no perfect indicator.

But the BMI is remarkably useful, based on easily accessible data and easy to calculate.

Plus, it offers a roadmap to a "healthy" weight.

All around, it is the best we currently have.

Chronic illness main factor in supplement use

Not really. Stupid is the main factor.

"Having one or more chronic illness is the primary factor associated with the use of dietary supplements."

Stupid on at least a couple of levels.

Level One is stupid for having gotten the chronic illness when one did.

Most chronic illnesses develop earlier than they might otherwise because people are too fat.

They are stupid for getting so fat and giving themselves these diseases of choice.

Perhaps if they developed later in life, they could not become chronic.

Level Two is stupid for using the supplements, anyway.

They are clearly unproven to benefit and really represent a catch-up approach with more than a hint of too little, too late.

It is clearly smarter to not be fat and avoid as many chronic illnesses as possible, than attempt repair or rescue by taking supplements.

Drinking Loads Of Water Does Not Seem To Improve Health

On second thought, maybe it does.

"There is little evidence that drinking loads of water, a recommended 8 glasses of 8 ounces (8x8) per day, improves your health, say scientists from the University of Pennsylvania. The two kidney experts explained that unless you are an athlete or live in a hot place, drinking extra water may be a waste of time...

It has been claimed that consuming lots of water clears toxins, keeps organs in best condition, improves skin tone and prevents you from putting on weight. The researchers say the evidence to support these claims is very far from compelling.

The researchers explain that we all know what effect dehydration can have on us - as humans, we cannot survive more than several days without water. However, very little research has been carried out on what affect (sic) drinking extra water (fluids) may have on human health."

Water might help us swallow and flush through the other crap they feed us about health, diet, weight loss and fitness.

VIVINLINEA(R) Announces Results Of Clinical Study -- Burn Up To 5,000 Calories From Localized Fat Deposits Without Exercise

The next time you hear about a "clinical study" that reports something, think of this crap.

"A new clinical study reports that significant weight loss can be obtained by burning up to 5,000 calories per week using a non-invasive and safe technology called UNIQUE5000 Thermo-Wrap. This application is part of the Unique Science for Body Reshaping™ program by VIVINLINEA®."

Wonder if the stuff smells like the sh** it is.

Shoppers scrimp as food prices rise

Good. A way to cut back on Calories.

"With money tight and food prices rising, Norris can no longer afford to buy beef and chicken on a regular basis.

'We buy meat only for special occasions. Like for Easter, we had a ham,' she said after a shopping trip at her local Wal-Mart in Romeoville, a mixed blue- and white-collar suburb of Chicago.

Norris must purchase only what is on her shopping list, to avoid spending more than she can afford."

She shouldn't spend more than she can afford, anyway.

"'Sometimes I cry,' she said, when she passes items on store shelves she can no longer buy."

Poor baby.

I wonder if she cried for all the fat, abused children who were overfed Calories by irresponsible adults who spent more on food than they can or should afford.

"Across the United States, consumers like Norris are finding that grocery shopping has become a sobering experience as their budgets fail to keep pace with food costs."

More good.

"'I don't buy anything I don't have to,' Norris said."

Even more good.

Maybe they have found a way out of the overweight/obesity issue.

"'It needs to get better,' she said of the economic situation. 'I hope we've hit rock bottom.'"

I hope you are wrong.

Obesity in Pregnancy Weighs Heavily on Healthcare Services

The costs of calving.

"Pregnant women who were overweight were more likely to use all levels of healthcare services -- from prenatal testing, to Caesarean section, to phone calls -- than normal-weight women, a study found.

Among pregnant women in a large U.S. group-practice HMO, those who were overweight or obese before pregnancy had higher rates of gestational diabetes, pre-existing diabetes, and hypertensive disorders, Susan Y. Chu, Ph.D., of the CDC here, and colleagues, reported in the April 3 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

As a result, the researchers said, these women made greater use of healthcare services, had significantly longer hospital stays, and had higher rates of prenatal testing, outpatient medications, telephone calls, and prenatal visits than did normal-weight women.

Obesity during pregnancy is now a common high-risk obstetrical condition affecting about one woman in five who give birth in the U.S., the researchers said."

And this problem posed by these big women is how big?

"According to a recent estimate, the researchers said, about 22% of pregnant women in nine states are obese. This can be extrapolated to indicate that of the four million U.S. births each year, approximately one million involve obese women.

'Thus even a small increase in the cost of heath care associated with obesity will have substantial economic implications,' they concluded."

All this wasted moo-lah depriving the rest of us.

Fight back.

Drugs that don't work: a tough pill to swallow

Still think they will find a drug that will safely get you fatsos to slim down?

"When C.W. MacLeod’s cholesterol shot sky-high, the Texas businessman was only too happy to find a drug to bring it down.

For two years, the 57-year-old Houston resident dutifully took Vytorin, relying on his doctor’s assurance that as his levels of so-called "bad" cholesterol dropped, so would his risk of heart attack.

But MacLeod’s confidence was shaken this week, when he and millions of other Vytorin users learned that it and its component drug, Zetia, failed to work as widely expected. Final results of a clinical trial showed the drugs reduced LDL cholesterol, but failed to slow the buildup of artery-clogging plaque, suggesting they’ll do little or nothing to prevent heart attacks."

Oops.

"'It hasn’t hurt my body, but apparently it hasn’t done any good either,' said MacLeod, who wonders why he’s been shelling out $100 a month in co-payments for a brand-name drug that doesn’t work."

How would you know that? You would not. You may very well have been hurt.

“'If lowering your cholesterol doesn’t reduce your risk, then what’s the point?' another Vytorin user wrote...'Maybe I’m dense, but I just don’t understand.'”

The point is to learn from all this. If you do not, then it is not a maybe. You are dense.

People, don't put yourselves in a position where you have to rely on this crap or the crappier alternative/complementary crap.

Rely on what works.

Massage or Massacre? Spa Injuries Exposed

Horrors!

Just a little reminder about ABCNews, the network of IMHO cons Oprah Winfrey, Mehmet Oz, David Katz and Jorge Cruise.

They would rather expose this, than their own complicity in abetting the overweight/obesity problem and its direct extension, nutritional child abuse.

"For most spa-goers, a massage is best followed by a stint in the sauna not a trip to the emergency room.

But for 27-year-old Kellia Rogers of Brooklyn, N.Y., a supposedly relaxing massage last month turned into an excruciating hour of torture on the table of a heavy-handed masseuse.

'Punch, punch, punch," Rogers said. "I felt like she was digging for something & I felt abused.'

Fortunately for spa fanatics, such spa 'abuse' injuries don't happen too often. But some doctors report that they do occur."

Shame on them.

But you can help their day of reckoning arrive.

Fight back.

Germs in soil find antibiotics tasty

Clearly, there will never be a "cure" for the "infectious cause" of overweight/obesity.

Especially since neither is caused by any other organism than the human.

"Antibiotics for breakfast? The drugs are supposed to kill bacteria, not feed them. Yet Harvard researchers have discovered hundreds of germs in soil that literally gobble up antibiotics, able to thrive with the potent drugs as their sole source of nutrition."

If anything, using antibiotics to "cure" overfatness will worsen the problem.

"Several strains of bacteria in the soil can make a meal of the world's most potent antibiotics, researchers said on Thursday, in a startling finding that illustrates the extent to which these germ-fighting drugs are losing the war against superbugs."

In addition to the needless side effects, the overfat will end up weighing even more from all the overweight/obese bacteria feasting on antibiotics that are living in their bodies.

Ashlee's job tips scales in favour of health

Go figure.

"According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' (ABS) Overweight and Obesity in Adults study (2004-05), the hospitality industry has the thinnest workers. The survey found 36% of hospitality workers aged 18 to 64 was overweight or obese.

That was far below the overall overweight and obesity rate amongst Australian adults which the ABS puts at 54%."

You gotta love it.

Obese Moms Have Longer Hospital Stays

More extra expenses, that we have to underwrite, for fat people and their almost sure to get fat kids.

More child abuse, too.

"When obese pregnant women give birth, they typically stay in the hospital longer than new moms who aren't overweight or obese...

They studied 13,442 pregnancies among women aged 18 and older who were Kaiser Permanente Northwest members between 2000 and 2004.

Data included how long the women stayed in the hospital when they gave birth, whether they gave birth vaginally or by C-section, how often they got health care during pregnancy, and whether they had pregnancy risks, including type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, and high blood pressure.

The CDC's Susan Chug, PhD, grouped women based on BMI (body mass index), which relates height to weight, before pregnancy or in early pregnancy.

Extra pounds were tied to longer hospital stays for childbirth. Compared with women of normal BMI, obese women stayed about half a day longer and extremely obese women stayed about one extra day in the hospital.

Overweight and obese women also tended to have more medical appointments during their pregnancies.

Those patterns were due to the fact that obese pregnant women were more likely than other women to have high-risk pregnancies and to have C-sections."

Stand up for your rights and make them pay for their self-created problems.

Neglect, abuse seen in 90,000 infants

Clearly does not include the nutritionally abused kids.

"About 1 in 50 infants in the U.S. have been neglected or abused, according to the first national study of the problem in that age group. Nearly a third of the victims were one week old or younger when the maltreatment was reported, government researchers said Thursday. The study focused on children younger than 1."

Then there would likely be more.

Addicted doctors still treat patients

And fat doctors still treat patients, too.

Something is very wrong.

Anti-HIV drug 'heart attack risk'

Here it is, again. The Law of Unintended Consequences at work.

"A popular anti-HIV drug nearly doubles the risk of heart attack, a study says.

Abacavir works by reducing the amount of the virus in the body and is often used in combination with other drugs.

But Danish researchers said patients may wish to consider changing treatment programmes after studying over 33,000 people, the Lancet reported.

Experts said the research revealed a new risk, but said benefits of the drug may still outweigh risks. The makers said they took the findings seriously.

The Copenhagen University-led team looked at a range of anti-HIV drugs.

All were found to have no effect on heart attack risk with the exception of abacavir and didanosine, which is not commonly used in the UK and had a much smaller risk than abacavir."

The risk for heart attack is nearly doubled.

Are you sure you want to take the malpractice known as diet drugs for overweight/obesity?

Especially since more and more side effects are certain to become known.

Smoking after heart attack lifts risk of second

Make them pay for their treatment out of pocket.

"Young people who continue to smoke after a heart attack are three times more likely to have future heart problems than survivors who kick the habit, Greek researchers said on Saturday.

People who are 35 or younger who keep smoking are far more prone to die from a heart-related event, have a repeat heart attack or need future treatments to clear blocked arteries compared to those who stopped smoking.

The study makes clear that smoking not only promotes a first heart attack, but poses heart risks in younger patients who have survived one, researchers said. The report was presented at the American College of Cardiology meeting in Chicago.

"Patients who have suffered a heart attack very early in life can significantly improve their long-term prognosis by quitting smoking," Dr. Loukianos Rallidis of the University General Hospital Attikon in Greece said in statement."

It it time that we stood up against these system abusers and allowed them the privilege of experiencing the consequences of their actions.

Children Benefit From Drinking Flavored Milk

Simple question. Is this researcher a whore for Big White, or not?

"A new study released in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that children who drink flavored or plain milk consume more nutrients and have a lower or comparable body mass index (BMI a measure of body fatness) than children who don't drink milk.

'Milk contains many nutrients that are important for children. We learned in our research that children who drink milk, including plain and flavored milk, have higher intakes of many nutrients that are low in children's diets, and comparable or lower BMIs compared to children who don't drink milk,' said Mary Murphy, MS, RD, co-author of the study. 'Limiting access to flavored milks in schools and elsewhere may have the undesirable effect of further reducing intakes of many essential nutrients provided by milk.'"

It may have the undesirable effect of further reducing profits of Big White.

I vote in favor of whore.

10 Years Since Targets For The Prevention Of Obesity Were First Published -- What's Working And What's Not?

Easy question.

"Professor Terry Wilkin of the Peninsula Medical School, and who with his team is organising the symposium, said: 'It is now 10 years since targets for the prevention of obesity were first published, but the country's waistlines continue to expand.'"

Nothing's working.

But do you think they will make changes?

"'The intervening period has nevertheless witnessed an enormous growth of research into obesity and its two main co-morbidities - diabetes and heart disease. This year's symposium will see experts from around the country tell us where we are in our understanding of the problem, its causes and its management. This symposium is a must for anyone involved in the research and treatment of conditions related to diabetes, obesity and the metabolic syndrome.'"

Nope.

As "an enormous growth of research into obesity and its two main co-morbidities" means more money for the researchers.

Tai Chi 'helps improve diabetes'

Wrong.

"Two separate studies found a 12-week programme of exercise was enough to boost the immune system, and to cut blood sugar levels."

It's not the Tai Chi.

And the winner for Most Overlooked Contribution To Type 2 Diabetes Improvement is...

Envelope, please.

"As well as a drop in blood sugar levels, the participants lost weight, and recorded significant falls in blood pressure. Insulin resistance was also improved."

Weight loss!

Applause.

Can't quit smoking? Blame your genes

Posted just for the title of the article to highlight that the problems we voluntarily cause ourselves are never our fault.

"Scientists say they have pinpointed a genetic link that makes people more likely to get hooked on tobacco, causing them to smoke more cigarettes, making it harder to quit, and leading more often to deadly lung cancer."

Even if they are correct, here is where it will lead.

Calcium Supplements Increase Vascular Events?

Still think they know what a "healthy" supplement is?

"A new study has shown that calcium supplementation might increase vascular events in elderly women...

'This is quite controversial, given that the worldwide calcium-supplement market is worth $3 billion a year,' says Reid. 'The trial was primarily looking at what calcium supplements do to bone density, but we had a secondary hypothesis right from the outset that calcium might actually prevent heart attack. What we found, to our surprise, was that we didn't see a decrease but an increase, and the findings appear to be quite robust.' Reid added, however, that there have been some clues from three other recent studies, including one from Women's Health Initiative (WHI) in the US: 'these three did not find significant increases in the number of heart attacks [with calcium], but they have found upward trends.'"

Think twice about calcium (and other) supplementation and Big White's products, too.