Obesity
Higher U.S. arthritis due to obesity
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The higher prevalence of arthritis in the United States may be a consequence of greater U.S. obesity and physical inactivity, Canadian researchers say.
Researchers from the Toronto Western Research Institute noted a higher prevalence of arthritis and arthritis-attributable activity limitations in the U.S. population versus the Canadian population.
The National Arthritis Data Workgroup said that in 2005 more than 21 percent of U.S. adults had arthritis or another rheumatic condition and more than 60 percent of arthritis patients were women.
State hosts obesity prevention hearing
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Obesity and how to prevent it in Illinois will be the subject of a state hearing.
Friday’s hearing will be the first of three in the state.
The Illinois Department of Public Health wants to talk hear from people about policy and personal changes that are needed to help people get to and maintain a healthy weight.
Ca. Gov. Schwarzenegger Announces Actions to Fight Obesity, Promote Healthy Living
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Following a moderated discussion with President Clinton at the Governor’s 2010 Summit on Health, Nutrition and Obesity: Actions for Healthy Living, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced eight specific actions he will pursue to support healthy living in California. The actions announced by the Governor will fight childhood obesity and encourage all Californians to live a healthy, active lifestyle through promoting healthy beverages, increasing physical activity and incorporating the idea of “health in all policies.”
“My top priorities include the health and well-being of our children and all Californians, and reducing obesity will help improve both,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “At the 2010 Summit on Health, Nutrition and Obesity, we discussed the link between fitness and educational success, the importance of making sure kids have healthy beverages and water available at school and the relationship between the environments that we live, work, study and play in and access to physical activities, like walking and riding bikes, and healthy food choices. Now I want to take what was discussed at the Summit and turn our state goals into action that will attack obesity on every level and create a healthy foundation for California’s future.”
Since taking office, Governor Schwarzenegger has led the fight against California’s obesity epidemic and the actions he announced today will continue the state’s legacy of promoting healthy living and active lifestyles. The Governor’s 2010 Summit on Health, Nutrition and Obesity brought together a cross-section of public health, education, community and local government leaders from around the state who have been active in promoting healthy eating, physical fitness and community-level health efforts.
ChildCare Education Institute Supports the First Lady’s Efforts to Reduce Childhood Obesity
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ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI) gives child care professionals the opportunity to aid the campaign against childhood obesity. Child care staff can enroll in HLTH100: Early Childhood Obesity, at no cost, and learn strategies for combating childhood obesity.
Child care providers are responsible for ensuring the health of the children in their care, including providing healthy food choices. HLTH100: Early Childhood Obesity provides child care staff with practical strategies to address childhood obesity in the early care setting. Students will learn to define obesity, identify the causes of obesity and determine risk factors. Students completing the course will be awarded 0.1 IACET CEU and receive a certificate of completion.
“This is an outstanding opportunity for child care staff to learn new skills and aid in the campaign to reduce childhood obesity. The knowledge gained from completing HLTH100: Early Childhood Obesity has the potential to affect over 14 million children currently in early child care settings. If every child care provider completed the course and implemented the strategies in their classroom, it would make a huge impact on the campaign against childhood obesity,” said Maria C. Taylor, President and CEO of CCEI.
We Need To End the Obesity Epidemic
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Forget the health care crisis.
This country is in the midst of a health crisis—we are simply in worse health now than we were a decade ago. The trend lines are pointing in the wrong direction. And it all starts with obesity.
When you think about it, the U.S. has done a terrific job catering to our worst impulses. Calories are cheap, and so we eat too many burgers and sodas (200 calories of good food are considerably more expensive than 200 calories of processed, fattening foods, as these pictures demonstrate). Entertainment is free and ubiquitous, so we plop down in front of our television sets for hours a day (in fact, researchers have found that the more hours people watch TV, the fatter they tend to be).
Obesity Related Strokes on the Rise in America’s Youth
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Strokes have always been associated with the elderly population but that is changing according to a new study. The study revealed some startling information about the dramatic increase of strokes in people under the age of 45.
The group that saw the biggest increase were young whites between 20 and 45 years old. The statistics show that 25 out of 100,000 individuals are likely to have a stroke. This number is up from just 12 in 100,000. The average age of a stroke victim in 1993 was 71, today it is 68.
Dr. Brett Kissela led the study after treating a high level of stroke patients under the age of 50. Kissela based his results on patient information collected between 1993 and 2005 from five counties in Ohio and Kentucky. Kentucky has one of the highest childhood obesity rates in the country with 38 percent of the youth considered to be obese.
Jamba Juice Jumps onto Child Obesity Bandwagon
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Jamba Juice announced today a new school lunch program to help schools offer their students a better-for-you beverage alternative in the school cafeteria. The Jamba Juice School Lunch Program provides schools with the ability to purchase and sell Jamba Juice’s All Fruit(TM) smoothie line at fixed and reduced prices. Healthy, refreshing All Fruit(TM) smoothies are made with real whole fruit, juice, and ice.
Part of Jamba’s overall commitment to promoting health, wellness and physical activity among the nation’s students, the new program follows the Company’s record breaking “Jamba Jump Day(TM)” event earlier this month. Hosted by Jamba Juice in partnership with the California Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (CAHPERD), the event activated more than 88,000 California children and adults to break the Guinness Book of World Records’ record for “the most people jumping or skipping rope at the same time.” Today’s announcement builds upon the momentum of Jamba Jump Day(TM) with the goal of helping parents, teachers and students successfully address the problem of childhood obesity through nutrition education and healthier choices in school cafeterias.
“Jamba is proud of these innovative programs that provide a unique ability to bring health-oriented choices to our schools and students,” said James D. White, President and CEO, Jamba Juice Company. “These programs also highlight our passion to promote greater physical fitness activities in schools and communities throughout the United States.”
Childhood Obesity
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It was the launch event of ‘Lets Beat It Together’ at the Moreton Community Centre in Maryland Lane today, and was officially opened by the Deputy Mayor. I was invited to attend so went with Cllr Chris Blakeley.
The aim of the event, organised by Slimming World, was to raise awareness of childhood obesity and the outcome if we do not make changes to our lifestyles. There were about 50 people present, with displays from Slimming World, the British Heart Foundation, NHS Wirral, showing ideas how to produce healthy meals on a budget; highlighting changes to a youngsters lunch box to include more healthy snacks and with the help of local leisure centres – how to encourage more activity in our lives. There was a salsa class, yoga exercises and face painting.
Diabetes linked to birth defects, but obesity is not
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A study published in the medical journal Obstetrics & Gynecology has cleared obesity as a condition that causes birth defects, but the news was not so good for diabetics.
The 13 year study looked at the pregnancies of 41,902 women whose weight was at or near obesity to determine if extra pounds were indicative of increased incidence of birth defects. The results of the study showed that obesity in and of itself showed “no significant independent association between maternal obesity” and birth defects.
The study went on to conclude that “diabetes was significantly associated with the increase in the rate” of birth defects.
Obesity ‘tipping point before age 2
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The “tipping point” in obesity often occurs before age 2 and sometimes as early as 3 months, U.S. researchers found.
Principal investigator Dr. John Harrington, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters and of Eastern Virginia Medical School, and colleagues examined records from a pediatric practice of 111 children whose body mass index exceeded 85 percent of that of the general population.
Researchers determined that these children had started gaining weight in infancy at an average rate of .08 excess body mass index units per month. On average, the progression began when the children were 3 months old.
Scientists find protein culprit for obesity
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Researchers have discovered a protein that leads to obesity. Previous studies reveal that one protein - p62 - produced obesity in mice when scientists studied how obesity occurs in the absence of p62. Now scientists have discovered a protein that pairs with p62 and is the real culprit that promotes fat cell growth and leads to obesity.
The new findings show that the ERK protein works in conjunction with p62 to make fat cells in the body that in turn leads to obesity, insulin resistance, and eventually diabetes and other obesity related problems.
In earlier research, Jorge Moscat, PhD, chair of UC’s cancer and cell biology department at the University of Cincinnati found that mice who lack p62 became fat and used less energy, becoming insulin resistant in adulthood, compared to mice who ate the same diet and expended the same amount of energy - an important note for individuals who despite exercise and diet cannot lose weight.
Facing morbid obesity, two ‘big losers’ tell how they achieved extreme weight loss
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In eight years, more than half of Oklahomans are projected to be overweight. And according to the United Health Foundation, that will make Oklahoma the most obese state in the nation. Oklahoma has fallen to next-to-last on a recently released listing of healthiest states, dropping 17 spots since 1990 to No. 49.
The popularity of weight loss reality shows seems to underscore the determination some people have to shed significant amounts of weight. They may not have done it with cameras rolling, but two area residents each have lost more than 100 pounds. Reversing poor physical health requires a willingness to make, and stick with, difficult lifestyle changes.
Here’s how they did it.
Three Routines to Help Cut Obesity Risk in Kids
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Experts say one out of every eight kids under the age of five is overweight or obese in this country.
For the first time, a study in the journal Pediatrics outlines three household routines that can dramatically reduce the risk of obesity in your kids.
The first routine is sitting down to dinner every night as a family.
For obese, vaccine needle size matters
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Our ever-expanding waistlines may have outgrown the doctor’s needle, researchers say, in what could be another casualty of the obesity epidemic.
In a new study, the researchers report that using a standard 1-inch needle to immunize obese adolescents against hepatitis B virus produced a much weaker effect than using a longer needle.
“As obesity rises in the US, we need to be aware that the standard of care may have to change to protect obese youth,” study co-author Dr. Amy Middleman of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston told Reuters Health.
Costs of obesity too high to ignore
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If improving your physical and mental well being isn’t enough to motivate you to get healthy, consider a financial motivation.
Recently, Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, reported that the United States spends nearly $150 billion a year fighting obesity. That’s more than this nation spends on fighting cancer, and double what it spent to fight obesity 10 years ago.
In fact, $650 million of economic stimulus money is earmarked on programs to fight obesity and smoking.
