Web MD has an article today, stating that low-carb diets may impair brain function. Read it here.
The article is as interesting as the study, which only followed participants for three weeks. Participants were tested on short- and long-term memory and attention three times during the study. I'm not sure you can come to any firm conclusions on anything after only three weeks, but these scientists have tried.
To me, the study's results are in line with what I know of how carbohydrates affect the human body. Read the fine print on any program recommending low-carb living, and you will see that advocates believe it takes 10 to 14 days to wean the body from reliance on simple carbohydrates. Withdrawal symptoms include irritability, sluggishness, lethargy and difficulty concentrating. Once the body has recovered from its withdrawal, usually people find themselves more alert, energetic and able to multi-task.
So if participants in this study only limited their carb intake for a week, it would stand to reason that they'd be in the midst of withdrawal symptoms when researchers tested their brain function. A week later, after resuming carbohydrate consumption, those symptoms would be gone.
Showing posts with label news article. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news article. Show all posts
Monday, December 15, 2008
Monday, September 08, 2008
AP: Liver Disease Plagues Overweight Kids
This story from the Associated Press is sobering. Docs are finding the need for children to have liver transplants is increasing, thanks to obesity. As a fat kid, I knew the mantra of the time that I would grow out of it, that I was just big-boned or my personal favorite, that I may be big but at least I was healthy, was a gigantic load of crap.
Too bad it's taken 20 years for medical professionals to put two and two together on that one.
Too bad it's taken 20 years for medical professionals to put two and two together on that one.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Maybe We're Doomed Before Birth
An LA Times article suggests we may be predisposed to obesity in utero, depending on our mothers' eating habits and health concerns during pregnancy.
What do you think?
What do you think?
Friday, April 20, 2007
Foundation pledges $500M to battle obesity in kids
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announced early this month that it would commit at least $500 million over the next five years to tackle the problem of childhood obesity, reports ABC News.
The money will be used to fund grants for anyone with ideas on how to fight the nation's growing problem. The concept has prompted me to brainstorm my own solutions to the problem. It's easy to sit back and complain about the epidemic of childhood obesity, but solving it is a different story.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject. If you have an idea, please share it. Maybe we can put our heads together and figure out something to put into practice here in Tracy to improve the health of our children.
The money will be used to fund grants for anyone with ideas on how to fight the nation's growing problem. The concept has prompted me to brainstorm my own solutions to the problem. It's easy to sit back and complain about the epidemic of childhood obesity, but solving it is a different story.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject. If you have an idea, please share it. Maybe we can put our heads together and figure out something to put into practice here in Tracy to improve the health of our children.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Trading vices
A recent story from ABC News reminds me of an emerging side effect of bariatric surgery: cross addiction.
Cross addiction is when a person trades one addiction for another. Sometimes, cross-addiction is considered harmless. If you kick heroin, a two-pack-a-day cigarette habit pales in comparison.
The ABC News story focuses on one woman's shopping addiction, which put her in financial peril. Other addictions bariatric patients need to watch out for include sex, alcohol and drugs. Those addictions are troubling because they bring other health concerns along with them. Sex addiction can lead to sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancy and even issues with self-esteem and depression. Alcohol can irritate the gastric pouch, leading to ulceration and limited absorption of nutrients -- not to mention the risks of losing one's job or family. Drug addiction -- depending on the drug -- also can lead to a variety of health problems and concerns.
The most important thing surgical weight loss patients can do to avoid cross-addiction is to be wary of it. Knowing that it's a danger is the first step. Being self-aware is the next. If you feel that you might be slipping into a cross-addiction, seek out help. Find an addiction specialist in your area -- one that has familiarity with food addiction is best -- and work with him or her to develop healthy coping mechanisms.
Cross addiction is when a person trades one addiction for another. Sometimes, cross-addiction is considered harmless. If you kick heroin, a two-pack-a-day cigarette habit pales in comparison.
The ABC News story focuses on one woman's shopping addiction, which put her in financial peril. Other addictions bariatric patients need to watch out for include sex, alcohol and drugs. Those addictions are troubling because they bring other health concerns along with them. Sex addiction can lead to sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancy and even issues with self-esteem and depression. Alcohol can irritate the gastric pouch, leading to ulceration and limited absorption of nutrients -- not to mention the risks of losing one's job or family. Drug addiction -- depending on the drug -- also can lead to a variety of health problems and concerns.
The most important thing surgical weight loss patients can do to avoid cross-addiction is to be wary of it. Knowing that it's a danger is the first step. Being self-aware is the next. If you feel that you might be slipping into a cross-addiction, seek out help. Find an addiction specialist in your area -- one that has familiarity with food addiction is best -- and work with him or her to develop healthy coping mechanisms.
Monday, February 19, 2007
The Unbearable Thinness of Being a Model
New York Magazine has published an interesting, yet also disturbing look, at the recent controversy surrounding the size of fashion models and its effects on Fashion Week:
http://nymag.com/fashion/07/spring/28149/index.html
http://nymag.com/fashion/07/spring/28149/index.html
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Sweet Drinks Put Kids' Health at Risk
According to a WebMD article, drinking lots of soda and juice sets the stage for health problems later in life for children.
The article, which cites a recent study published in the December issue of "Pediatrics," says children who consume large amounts of surgery drinks may suffer from diabetes and obesity as early as the age of 13.
One nutritionist quoted in the article was quick to say the study doesn't mean that all soda is bad — it's just that kids get too much soda too often.
"There is no kid-sized soda bottle, and few 6-ounce glasses at home," said Leslie Bonci, director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "So kids get used to drinking soda in whatever size glass they have at home, whatever size bottle or can -- and that is not a single serving, it's a tureen.
"And no child needs to be consuming a tureen of soda," she says.
She also said that soda and juice is calorie-dense but doesn't fill kids up.
"Nobody drinks half of a 20-ounce bottle of soda and says, 'Whoa, I'm stuffed!'" Bonci says. "The kids consume a lot of calories and are not feeling full. So every other aspect of food intake may stay the same."
The article, which cites a recent study published in the December issue of "Pediatrics," says children who consume large amounts of surgery drinks may suffer from diabetes and obesity as early as the age of 13.
One nutritionist quoted in the article was quick to say the study doesn't mean that all soda is bad — it's just that kids get too much soda too often.
"There is no kid-sized soda bottle, and few 6-ounce glasses at home," said Leslie Bonci, director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "So kids get used to drinking soda in whatever size glass they have at home, whatever size bottle or can -- and that is not a single serving, it's a tureen.
"And no child needs to be consuming a tureen of soda," she says.
She also said that soda and juice is calorie-dense but doesn't fill kids up.
"Nobody drinks half of a 20-ounce bottle of soda and says, 'Whoa, I'm stuffed!'" Bonci says. "The kids consume a lot of calories and are not feeling full. So every other aspect of food intake may stay the same."
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Essay contest entry
This is the essay I submitted to Quick & Simple Magazine that won me the beautiful sapphire-and-diamond bracelet you see here:
"I'm less than half the woman I used to be, yet in so many ways, I'm twice the woman, wife, friend and employee I ever was.
"I've lost close to 190 pounds in the last 18 months with the help of gastric-bypass surgery. Though many consider it to be a coward's method of weight loss, I've never worked so hard in my life. Surgery has required me to focus on myself and my health for the first time in my life.
"I used to consider exercise a luxury I couldn't afford and used that excuse to remain sedentary. I convinced myself that my job was too demanding to allow for planning and cooking my meals, and I often ate fast food daily. I spent many years hiding behind my job, saying that if only it were less stressful, I would have the time needed to lose weight. Then I was diagnosed with obesity-related infertility after a year of trying to conceive. My weight problem was no longer something I could put off to deal with later when life was less hectic.
"It was then that I realized something had to change. I knew bariatric surgery would force me to rethink my priorities. Rerouting one's innards leads to an altered perspective. Suddenly, exercise was a necessity instead of a luxury. Planning my meals was as important as breathing, because protein deficiency would lead to serious complications. Rest became something upon which I depended. Before surgery, I would sleep two to four hours a night, figuring the time most people spent in bed was better spent at the office or trying to catch up around the house.
"Surprisingly, focusing on me and my needs didn't make me lazy or put my job in jeopardy (my biggest fear). These changes have made me more productive. It's amazing how much you can accomplish in a standard day when you're operating on eight hours of sleep and are appropriately nourished and hydrated. I've gone from working 18-hour days to 10-hour days, and my husband loves the fact that he finally has a wife who comes home at night and has energy left over to devote to him. And most importantly, my weight loss and change in perspective have prepared me for the challenges of motherhood -- something I hope to experience in the near future.
"Almost" Famous
I won an essay contest from Quick & Simple Magazine last fall by submitting a piece on how bariatric surgery changed my life. A brief article quoting from my essay (see above) is in this week's issue of the magazine, available at most grocery store and Wal-Mart check stands (in Tracy, you can find it at Wal-Mart and Albertsons). The Jan. 2 issue, which costs $1.59, will be available for sale at least through Saturday.
I'll post the essay I entered in its entirety later today.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Friday, September 01, 2006
Does being fat make kids stupid?
A recent study out of the University of Florida links extreme obesity in children with low IQ scores.
According to an article on WebMD, the study found children who were 150% above their ideal body weight by age 4 tended to have lower IQ scores and mysterious spots on their brains later in life.
Click here to read the full article.
According to an article on WebMD, the study found children who were 150% above their ideal body weight by age 4 tended to have lower IQ scores and mysterious spots on their brains later in life.
Click here to read the full article.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Overweight? Asthmatic? Australia's army wants you
Click here to read an interesting story on Australia's army lowering its standards to bolster recruitment numbers.
What do you think about this idea? Post your thoughts in the comments section.
What do you think about this idea? Post your thoughts in the comments section.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Fat Clock's ticking
Diet Detective, a Web site devoted to fitness a nutrition, has now posted the Fat Clock. The clock, in the upper right corner of the site's home page, shows the escalating weight off all Americans combined.
"It's tied to population and changes about 8 pounds a second," says Charles Stuart Platkin, founder of Diet Detective and a syndicated health-fitness-nutrition columnist, in a recent Sacramento Bee article.
Here's the full story.
Fat Clock says it's time to watch our weight
By DAN VIERRA
Sacramento Bee
Actress Kirstie Alley, one-time star of the Showtime comedy series "Fat Actress," may have lost 65 pounds thanks to Jenny Craig, but thanks to the rest of America, the Fat Clock is piling up poundage.
Diet Detective's Web site has posted the Fat Clock, real-time calculations of the aggregate amount of weight gained by American adults ages 20 and older.
"It's tied to population and changes about 8 pounds a second," says Charles Stuart Platkin, founder of Diet Detective and a syndicated health-fitness-nutrition columnist.
Remember the National Debt Clock that was in New York's Times Square? The Fat Clock is similar. Putting on pounds in a blur of numbers, the Fat Clock had a starting weight of more than 39 billion pounds _ impressive but not enough adipose deposits to alter Earth's orbit.
Crunching numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Platkin hatched a formula to confound Einstein. He spent six weeks perfecting his formulation to determine escalating weight gain.
"There's a lot of research behind it," he says. "It can be seen as a public health awareness tool to see how rapidly we're gaining weight."
But do we really want to know?
"I do," says Delores Bartella, sipping coffee at a Starbucks in Carmichael, Calif. "I truly think American children and adults are eating too much junk food and not getting enough exercise. It's a good thing to remind people."
Peggy Howell, spokeswoman for the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, vehemently disagrees.
"It's utterly absurd," she says by telephone from her Las Vegas home. "There was a recent study that said focusing on diets and weight loss is actually counter-productive."
Howell said she believes people shouldn't focus on "how much weight they're gaining every second of the day," but on a healthy diet and allowing the body to "take care of itself."
Statistically speaking, two out of three adults in the United States now are considered overweight, according to the CDC. The number of overweight people ages 6 to 19 has tripled since 1980.
"I hope people won't feel overwhelmed by the numbers," says Platkin. "But policymakers, politicians and health-awareness campaigns out there should take note."
The news that the world is populated by 1 billion overweight people _ more fat folks than the 850 million undernourished people _ certainly is food for thought.
"Obesity is the norm globally, and undernutrition, while still important in a few countries and in targeted populations in many others, is no longer the dominant disease," professor Barry Popkin of the University of North Carolina told a conference in Australia recently.
Fat Clock founder Platkin knows obesity firsthand. He once carried 220 pounds on his 5-foot-9 frame and says he was obese all his life until he took charge. Twelve years ago he lost 50 pounds and has kept it off.
"I'm tipping the scales at 165 pounds now," he says. "The quality of life can be horrific when you're obese."
(Dan Vierria can be reached at dvierria(at)sacbee.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
"It's tied to population and changes about 8 pounds a second," says Charles Stuart Platkin, founder of Diet Detective and a syndicated health-fitness-nutrition columnist, in a recent Sacramento Bee article.
Here's the full story.
Fat Clock says it's time to watch our weight
By DAN VIERRA
Sacramento Bee
Actress Kirstie Alley, one-time star of the Showtime comedy series "Fat Actress," may have lost 65 pounds thanks to Jenny Craig, but thanks to the rest of America, the Fat Clock is piling up poundage.
Diet Detective's Web site has posted the Fat Clock, real-time calculations of the aggregate amount of weight gained by American adults ages 20 and older.
"It's tied to population and changes about 8 pounds a second," says Charles Stuart Platkin, founder of Diet Detective and a syndicated health-fitness-nutrition columnist.
Remember the National Debt Clock that was in New York's Times Square? The Fat Clock is similar. Putting on pounds in a blur of numbers, the Fat Clock had a starting weight of more than 39 billion pounds _ impressive but not enough adipose deposits to alter Earth's orbit.
Crunching numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Platkin hatched a formula to confound Einstein. He spent six weeks perfecting his formulation to determine escalating weight gain.
"There's a lot of research behind it," he says. "It can be seen as a public health awareness tool to see how rapidly we're gaining weight."
But do we really want to know?
"I do," says Delores Bartella, sipping coffee at a Starbucks in Carmichael, Calif. "I truly think American children and adults are eating too much junk food and not getting enough exercise. It's a good thing to remind people."
Peggy Howell, spokeswoman for the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, vehemently disagrees.
"It's utterly absurd," she says by telephone from her Las Vegas home. "There was a recent study that said focusing on diets and weight loss is actually counter-productive."
Howell said she believes people shouldn't focus on "how much weight they're gaining every second of the day," but on a healthy diet and allowing the body to "take care of itself."
Statistically speaking, two out of three adults in the United States now are considered overweight, according to the CDC. The number of overweight people ages 6 to 19 has tripled since 1980.
"I hope people won't feel overwhelmed by the numbers," says Platkin. "But policymakers, politicians and health-awareness campaigns out there should take note."
The news that the world is populated by 1 billion overweight people _ more fat folks than the 850 million undernourished people _ certainly is food for thought.
"Obesity is the norm globally, and undernutrition, while still important in a few countries and in targeted populations in many others, is no longer the dominant disease," professor Barry Popkin of the University of North Carolina told a conference in Australia recently.
Fat Clock founder Platkin knows obesity firsthand. He once carried 220 pounds on his 5-foot-9 frame and says he was obese all his life until he took charge. Twelve years ago he lost 50 pounds and has kept it off.
"I'm tipping the scales at 165 pounds now," he says. "The quality of life can be horrific when you're obese."
(Dan Vierria can be reached at dvierria(at)sacbee.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Monday, August 21, 2006
Poll: Widespread delusion among parents about kids' health
A poll of Canadian parents show they drastically discount the size of their children, a Scripps Howard News Service story reports.
"Parents seem to be looking at the health of their own children through rose-colored glasses," said Dr. Ruth Collins-Nakai, president of the Canadian Medical Association, which commissioned the survey.
The poll found that only 9 percent of parents believe their children are overweight. Researchers found that 26 percent of the children of the parents polled were actually overweight or obese.
Here is the full article:
Poll: Widespread delusion among parents about kids' health
By ANDRE PICARD
Toronto Globe and Mail
21-AUG-06
A new poll shows that only 9 percent of Canadian parents believe their children are overweight or obese. That is markedly less than the 26 percent who are, in fact, overweight or obese, according to data collected by a federal agency, Statistics Canada.
"Parents seem to be looking at the health of their own children through rose-colored glasses," said Dr. Ruth Collins-Nakai, president of the Canadian Medical Association, which commissioned the survey.
Over all, Canadian children rated poorly in the eyes of adults, with only 6 percent garnering an "A" for overall health among respondents.
But, again, those surveyed had a much higher opinion about the behavior of their offspring, with 40 percent of them earning top marks.
Collins-Nakai, a pediatric cardiologist, said she worries that the self-delusion of parents is cushioning kids from reality and will lead to poor health outcomes.
"I have a very real fear we are killing our children with kindness by setting them up for a lifetime of inactivity and poor health," she said.
The CMA, which represents the country's 62,000 physicians, releases an annual report card to measure public feelings about the health system.
The overall grades vary little from year to year, with two-thirds of Canadians giving the system high marks (A or B).
What is new this year is the report card's focus on child health, a central issue at the CMA's policy convention this week in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
The group is expected, among other things, to call on Ottawa and the provinces to adopt specific targets for improving child health, and to support the adoption of a Charter of Children's Health.
The survey asked what immediate initiatives should be taken to improve the health of children.
Respondents showed broad support for mandatory physical education from kindergarten to grade 12 (92 percent), a mandatory school curriculum on the benefits of physical activity and healthy diet (87 percent), and removing all junk foods from schools (81 percent).
In the poll, parents showed a desire for better nutritional information and warning labels on food, tax breaks on health foods and tax deductions for the fees paid by children participating in sports. The survey also found lukewarm support for a ban on junk-food advertising and opposition to junk-food taxes.
Guido Van Rosendaal, chair of the council on health care and promotion of the CMA, told the conference that Canada has to begin by setting specific and aggressive public-health goals related to child health.
Delegates were also presented with sobering statistics showing that Canada has an infant mortality rate of 5.3 per 1,000 live births, a perinatal mortality rate of 6.3 per 1,000, and a maternal mortality rate of 4.6 per 100,000 live births. These data place Canada in the middle of the pack among developed countries.
Landon Pearson, a former senator and longtime activist now associated with The Landon Pearson Center for the Study of Childhood and Children's Rights at Carleton University in Ottawa, told delegates that Canada has to move beyond the "vague splendid goal of healthy, happy children" and set real targets to improve childhood health.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
"Parents seem to be looking at the health of their own children through rose-colored glasses," said Dr. Ruth Collins-Nakai, president of the Canadian Medical Association, which commissioned the survey.
The poll found that only 9 percent of parents believe their children are overweight. Researchers found that 26 percent of the children of the parents polled were actually overweight or obese.
Here is the full article:
Poll: Widespread delusion among parents about kids' health
By ANDRE PICARD
Toronto Globe and Mail
21-AUG-06
A new poll shows that only 9 percent of Canadian parents believe their children are overweight or obese. That is markedly less than the 26 percent who are, in fact, overweight or obese, according to data collected by a federal agency, Statistics Canada.
"Parents seem to be looking at the health of their own children through rose-colored glasses," said Dr. Ruth Collins-Nakai, president of the Canadian Medical Association, which commissioned the survey.
Over all, Canadian children rated poorly in the eyes of adults, with only 6 percent garnering an "A" for overall health among respondents.
But, again, those surveyed had a much higher opinion about the behavior of their offspring, with 40 percent of them earning top marks.
Collins-Nakai, a pediatric cardiologist, said she worries that the self-delusion of parents is cushioning kids from reality and will lead to poor health outcomes.
"I have a very real fear we are killing our children with kindness by setting them up for a lifetime of inactivity and poor health," she said.
The CMA, which represents the country's 62,000 physicians, releases an annual report card to measure public feelings about the health system.
The overall grades vary little from year to year, with two-thirds of Canadians giving the system high marks (A or B).
What is new this year is the report card's focus on child health, a central issue at the CMA's policy convention this week in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
The group is expected, among other things, to call on Ottawa and the provinces to adopt specific targets for improving child health, and to support the adoption of a Charter of Children's Health.
The survey asked what immediate initiatives should be taken to improve the health of children.
Respondents showed broad support for mandatory physical education from kindergarten to grade 12 (92 percent), a mandatory school curriculum on the benefits of physical activity and healthy diet (87 percent), and removing all junk foods from schools (81 percent).
In the poll, parents showed a desire for better nutritional information and warning labels on food, tax breaks on health foods and tax deductions for the fees paid by children participating in sports. The survey also found lukewarm support for a ban on junk-food advertising and opposition to junk-food taxes.
Guido Van Rosendaal, chair of the council on health care and promotion of the CMA, told the conference that Canada has to begin by setting specific and aggressive public-health goals related to child health.
Delegates were also presented with sobering statistics showing that Canada has an infant mortality rate of 5.3 per 1,000 live births, a perinatal mortality rate of 6.3 per 1,000, and a maternal mortality rate of 4.6 per 100,000 live births. These data place Canada in the middle of the pack among developed countries.
Landon Pearson, a former senator and longtime activist now associated with The Landon Pearson Center for the Study of Childhood and Children's Rights at Carleton University in Ottawa, told delegates that Canada has to move beyond the "vague splendid goal of healthy, happy children" and set real targets to improve childhood health.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Risks of dying from obesity higher than that of bariatric surgery
Researchers from the Hospital of Saint Raphael in New Haven, Conn., report that the risk of dying from morbid obesity is 50 to 85 percent higher than the risk of dying from bariatric surgery.Scientists announced the study findings at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery in San Francisco this past week.
“Morbid obesity is a killer disease that requires intervention,” said Dr. Randolph B. Reinhold, lead author and chairman of Saint Raphael’s surgery department, in a prepared statement. “This study puts into perspective that for some people, the risk of not having surgery is higher than having surgery.”
According to a press release from the society, the study evaluated 1,185 morbidly obese patients from 1997 to 2004. Of those people, 908 had bariatric surgery and 112 did not. The remainder were not available for the study. Over the course of the study, 2.9 percent of the surgery recipients died compared to 14.3 of those who did not have surgery.
“Bariatric surgery has been proven to be effective in achieving sustainable weight loss in people with morbid obesity and reducing or eliminating obesity-related diseases,” Reinhold said.
“Morbid obesity is a killer disease that requires intervention,” said Dr. Randolph B. Reinhold, lead author and chairman of Saint Raphael’s surgery department, in a prepared statement. “This study puts into perspective that for some people, the risk of not having surgery is higher than having surgery.”
According to a press release from the society, the study evaluated 1,185 morbidly obese patients from 1997 to 2004. Of those people, 908 had bariatric surgery and 112 did not. The remainder were not available for the study. Over the course of the study, 2.9 percent of the surgery recipients died compared to 14.3 of those who did not have surgery.
“Bariatric surgery has been proven to be effective in achieving sustainable weight loss in people with morbid obesity and reducing or eliminating obesity-related diseases,” Reinhold said.
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