Tuesday Oct 13, 2009
A recent article in USA TODAY reported that extreme obesity can shorten people's lives by 12 years. 2/3 of Americans are overweight or obese. According to the article, excess weight was responsible for the loss of 95 million years of life in the USA in 2008.
As a youngster I grew up in the great midwest.
You can guess my current age by the price of a Coca Cola or Pepsi at the time: 5 cents!
My parents thought that "soft drinks" were good for kids and the price was certainly right.
By the time I was 10, I drank at least one bottle a day. In the summer, when temperatures
hit the 90's, I would guzzle 2 or 3 sixteen ounce bottles a day.
No one gave a thought to the number of massive sugar and calories I stashed away.
By the time I was 12, I was chubby and overweight. That lasted until I hit my growth spurt and changed my soda habits for milk.
Today study after study warns us about the horrible effects of obesity. It is the number
one health concern in America.
We adults have the obligation to establish health habits in our kids. That includes what we drink or eat.
Soda pop has so much sugar it may as well labeled C,12 -H,22-,O,ll. One easy way to strike back against obesity: avoid giving sugary drinks to children.
Category: Miscellaneous
Friday Sep 25, 2009
Cigarette smoking among adolescents is one of the 10 leading health indicators that reflect the major health concerns in the United States. The Center for Disease Control found through a national survey that, although cigarette smoking rates increased among US high school students during most of the 1990s, they have declined significantly since 1997.
When I was a kid, I looked forward to our long family trips from Michigan to Kentucky. My sister, Barbara, and I were a couple of eagle-eyed youngsters. We wanted to be the first to sight a series of the popular Burma Shave billboards. We also looked for the CHEW MAIL POUCH TOBACCO signs that covered the entire back or side of a country barn.
Not until much later would we realize that tobacco products were not only bad for you, but harmful in so many ways. Nearly 300,000 new farms have begun operation since the last census in 2002. And while there¿s no shortage of farms that could use help - only 1 million of the 2.2 million American farms reported positive income from agriculture ¿ I think that it¿s not bad news that over the last decade the number of US tobacco farmers has dropped from 93,500 to 16,234.
The MAIL POUCH barn signs have faded as the years have past, and if I were a kid on a trip today, I would really miss the Burma Shave signs; but I would be whistling and happy over the ABSENCE of the tobacco signs!
Category: Miscellaneous
Thursday Jul 23, 2009
"And That's the Way it is!"
With the passing of television icon Walter Cronkite there is a giant sense of loss.
Millions of Americans will miss the steady assuring delivery of a man whom we all trusted to bring us the evening news.
My most vivid memories of him start with his reporting of the assassination of President Kennedy. As a graduate student at Purdue University, I was walking through the Memorial Union when I noticed a large group of students huddled around a television set.
Just as I arrived, Mr. Cronkite announced -- with a long pause and a lump in his throat -- that President Kennedy had died. I will never forget his delivery of that horrible news: respectfully and with dignity. You could see that he felt what we all felt.
Many years later, when I was President of Marshall University in West Virginia. the Charleston Chamber of Commerce featured him at their annual meeting. That occasion brought a special opportunity for me. There would be no speech. Simply a Question and Answer session. The Presidents of Marshall University and West Virginia University would host and ask the questions.
When Mr. Cronkite arrived his foot was in a cast and his mobility was hampered, but to share the stage with him for the next hour was exhilarating. He responded to every question with warmth, sincerity, humor and was just plain Walter.
Some of you may know that I collect baseballs. Mine are not signatures of baseball players -- but famous Americans. It was a memorable night -- being up close and personal with this man who I had watched on television since 1965. He was exactly the same as on the evening news.
Mine is the only baseball he ever signed.
"And that's the way it is!"
Category: Miscellaneous
Friday Jul 10, 2009
Having just returned from a 16 hour flight this past week, my eyes readily focused on a new medical study relevant to all of us.
For years we have had a suspicion that there is risk involved with sitting in the same position for several hours with no chance to stretch and move.
That suspicion was provided with scientific support this week with the first significant study that puts a research foundation to theory.
Deep Vein Thombosis (DVT) is the culprit. By lack of movement over an extended period of time (2 hours or more), blood clots can form in our deep veins. Those clots can break loose, travel to the heart or lungs and cause a pulmonary embolism.
The threat is real and can eventually lead to death in some instances. Symptoms include swelling, pain, and redness in the legs or pelvis. The longer you sit, the greater the risk. In fact, the risk increases by 18% every 2 hours!
The reality of the risk was highlighted in the Annals of Internal Medicine this week and is based upon research done at the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard Medical School.
People most at risk include the severely obese and estrogen takers.
How to decrease the risk?
Researcher Dariush Mozaffarian advises movement if at all possible and drinking lots of water. Water dilutes the blood, while coffee and alcohol actually dehydrate you.
Thought you could use a "leg up" on this important health finding!
Have you had an experience with DVT?
Category: Miscellaneous
Friday Jun 12, 2009
This past week a young farmer in South Dakota won $232 million in his state lottery.
The staggering size of the jackpot gives me pause -- if the young man had won $1M wouldn't we be just as pleased for him?
Lotteries have become a part of American culture; more than half the states have one. They bring states tax dollars on a voluntary basis.
There are large expenses to running a lottery: tv, radio, newspaper ads and awarding spots. Merchants who sell tickets get a percentage. There are benefits to the economy and the states. People have the possibility of winning and a few experience the thrill of the big win.
There are downsides, such as those who spend too much of their social security check or simply become addicted to this type of gambling.
In the US, we are beyond the question of whether or not we should have lotteries. But one change I'd endorse would be to put a limit on the amount that can be won.
Look around you in today's tough economic times. Would it not be better to have 232 people win $1M each? Somehow, I would feel better about that.
Category: Miscellaneous
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