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6520. wonkers2 - 6/12/2005 9:38:45 PM The liberals on the Supreme Court have been consistent in their interpretation of the commerce clause in support of federal regulations involving worker safety, discrimination, etc. Scalia has been the flip-flopper, supporting federal regulation when it suits him as in the case of medical marijuana and taking a states rights position on other issues when it suits him. 6521. thoughtful - 6/14/2005 10:09:42 PM Article in today's nyt health section that calcium/dairy products seems to help with weight loss, esp weight around the middle. While there are some conflicting studies, there are a few that suggest there is some connection between calcium and fat balance.
Of course, I would certainly lose weight if I added a lot of dairy products to my diet...it gives me the trots!!! 6522. wonkers2 - 6/14/2005 10:15:54 PM Are you among the 50 percent of Americans who have or will experience mental illness? Here. 6523. wonkers2 - 6/18/2005 1:13:15 PM CROOK ALERT!!!
29,000 Implanted Heart Devices Could Short Circuit Guidant 6524. wonkers2 - 6/20/2005 2:34:24 PM Special section in today's NYT on men's health. PSA Test No Longer Considered Valid 6525. thoughtful - 6/20/2005 3:13:53 PM very interesting wonks...so not only do they not know what to do for you if they find you do have prostate cancer, they're not even sure if they can test for it or not. Lovely.
In other health news, Robert F. Kennedy Jr has latched on to the mercury in vaccine issue as a potential cause for autism. He was on Imus this a.m. who has been crusading on this potential for awhile. Despite what they tell you, not all vaccines have had thimerisol(?) removed despite the law requiring that they do so. And while the govt refuses to admit that thimerisol can be a problem, congress has already been working on legislation to indemnify the drug cos against thimerisol-related lawsuits!
So have your children or yourselves innoculated ONLY with single-dose vaccines where the preservative is not used. 6526. thoughtful - 6/29/2005 1:32:48 PM Good article reviewing all the things you can do to help raise the good cholesterol and lower the bad:
Know Your Numbers 6527. wonkers2 - 6/29/2005 3:05:57 PM The article has been clipped and posted on the refrigerator! 6528. judithathome - 6/30/2005 1:05:06 AM I have 112 LDL and a 73 HDL. My doc is thrilled. 6529. PelleNilsson - 7/9/2005 3:54:02 PM Those of you that worry about your weight for other than esthetic reasons need to check out the article Obesity: An overblown Epidemic? in the June edition of Scientific American. 6530. robertjayb - 7/10/2005 1:36:49 AM Universal Health Care pops up again...
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A push for universal health coverage is being rekindled in some states by the soaring cost of health care and the lack of political support in Washington for federal changes.
Advocates of a single-payer system _ where the government would collect taxes and cover everyone, similar to programs in Canada and across Europe _ have introduced bills in at least 18 state legislatures. Some are symbolic gestures, but heated debate is taking place in California and Vermont. 6531. robertjayb - 7/10/2005 1:52:54 AM Physicians for a National Health Program...(pnhp.org)
Physicians for a National Health Program is a not-for-profit organization of physicians, medical students, and other health care professionals that support a national health insurance (NHI) program. Specifically, we believe that a single-payer system (where the government finances health care, but keeps the delivery of health care to mostly private control) is the only solution to solving the United States' many health care problems: 43 million citizens with no health insurance, many more with only limited coverage, skyrocketing health insurance premiums, malpractice costs, long-term care issues, and relatively poor health indicators, when compared to similar industrialized nations. 6532. wonkers2 - 7/10/2005 4:19:58 AM A single payer system has got to come some day. I think I recall that 20 percent of health care costs are unnecessary administrative expenses incurred by insurance companies and providers having to deal with a multitude of payers with complicated plan provisions. 6533. arkymalarky - 7/10/2005 6:07:34 PM Arkansas public school teachers have the fourth highest insurance premiums in the country. It's awful, especially if you have a child, because the cost is the same per family no matter how many children. My surgery, even after insurance, cost me about $1500, which floored Bob and me. 6534. thoughtful - 7/11/2005 6:36:24 PM pelle, just because the studies that have been done have been done poorly doesn't mean there is no evidence that obesity carries health risks. Certainly the correlation between rising obesity rates in children and the run-up in the occurrence of "adult-onset" diabetes among children is compelling. All the work done around 'syndrome X' poor blood lipid readings, diabetes and abdominal weight should not be ignored. The fact that many people with adult onset diabetes are able to control their disease with weight loss, diet and exercise alone strongly suggests the linkage between the two. Clearly there is sufficient evidence of health risks associated with obesity to label people as 'morbidly obese' and to encourage serious surgeries such as gastric bypass in order to attempt to save their lives. And while the data may be skewed by other medical advances such as improvements in the ability to treat diabetes and heart disease may postpone death, it isn't measuring the quality of life issues including kidney disease, blindness, limb amputations associated with diabetes. Obesity alone adds its own health problems including the ability to move, be flexible, not to mention theatre attendance.
So whether the proper studies have been done or not regarding specifically obesity and death rates, it's foolish, IMO, to ignore the gestalt of the evidence.
And certainly the food industry plays heavily into the argument about obesity...including the fact that the group "Center for Consumer Freedom" which is strongly promoting this 'myth of obesity' argument is funded by the likes of Coca-cola and Wendy's. 6535. alistairconnor - 7/12/2005 9:37:39 AM I have no problem with obesity : whether it be the normal expression of a natural phenotype; a lifestyle choice; or whatever. The normal rules about freedoms apply : as long as it doesn't restrict the freedoms of others, people should be free to smoke, drink alcohol, be fat, indulge in offbeat sexual practices, whatever. I may deem them to be risky or unhealthy things (and I may be right or wrong), but as long as they shoulder the consequences, I have no moral judgement to cast on them.
But obese children. No. That is not normal or natural, and it's an imposition on them, with heavy (ha) consequences. Perhaps not as tragic as imposing sex on children, but as serious as feeding them tobacco, alcohol or drugs. Society has a right, and a responsibility, to address this issue.
The problem is so widespread and systemic that it can't be addressed by constraint. Consciousness raising and social engineering are required. 6536. alistairconnor - 7/12/2005 9:40:58 AM Indeed Tful... follow the money. 6537. thoughtful - 7/12/2005 1:43:10 PM I have mixed feelings about the food industry when it comes to health and obesity issues. Clearly they want to sell product so as soon as they catch wind of what consumers want, they can turn a massive food industry on a dime. To wit, the response to the atkins phenomenon...when they finally figured out the no carb thing was significant, they went about eliminating carbs from even the most carb-laden foods. Of course they were late and now lament that much of that stuff sits on the shelves.
And they are operating in a market place so of course they will do what it takes to sell product including using economic incentives so for a nickle more you get twic as much soda or whatever. So the economics of the food industry encourages larger portions. This is especially true at restaurants where the food is probably the least expensive item the restauranter faces, compared to taxes, heat, wages, social insurance, etc. So far better for them to raise the price and offer incredible amounts of food so the customer feels they're getting 'value'. Heck even this controversy about soda machines in the schools comes about because the school systems are desperate for money and they profit from the coins the kids pop into the soda machines.
But then there are all the ways that they have altered food without regard for the health effects. For example, the data is something like back in 1900 the average person consumed 5 lbs. of sugar a year vs. now it's 150 lbs. of sugar a year. Check the labels sometime and you'll find they add sugar to peanut butter and ketchup! Or the transfats which are seriously damaging to health though they have the property of extending the shelflife of food. And then again there's the difficulty of attaching a name brand to commodities. So pushing green beans is nowhere near as lucrative as pushing fig newtons. So their is a natural bent to produce more and more processed foods which take us further and further from health and nutrition.
The only fix I see is education. But the people who have an incentive to teach proper nutrition don't have the $$ of the food industry. And the docs who make money treating people for all their nutrional deficiencies are too in bed with big pharma to fight it...don't tell your patients to skip the cookies...give them glucophage instead.
It's a conundrum. 6538. arkymalarky - 7/12/2005 4:56:43 PM In the US, we're not going to address childhood obesity, especially among the poor, where it is much more pervasive, until we address what they serve for free lunches in the school cafeterias. I get tired of the blame being placed entirely on businesses (not that it's being done in here, but the government is trying to place all the blame on them), while no one even looks at what kids are being fed at school, where poor children get at least two meals a day, and generally a snack. 6539. arkymalarky - 7/12/2005 5:00:53 PM A typical school lunch meal is some kind of deep-fried, breaded meat patty or hot dog, mashed potatoes or fries, sweetened canned fruit, white bread rolls, and cheese and chili for things like hotdogs. Vegetables are generally canned, and while older kids have the choice of a salad bar, the most little kids get from that is occasionally a few cut vegetables or a small mixed salad. A lot of that stuff tastes good, and I've learned to avoid the lunchroom to avoid gaining weight during the school year.
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