Health & Wellness
Rising obesity, part 2
I reported in my December 14, 2009 blog on a recent study predicting that the effects of increasing obesity in the US are forecast to outweigh any benefits from continued reductions in smoking rates over the next decade. Now WebMD reports on this [1], saying that from 1993 to 2008, the proportion of smokers among U.S. adults declined by 18.5% while the proportion of obese adults increased 85%. Researchers say smoking had a bigger impact on deaths while obesity had a bigger effect on illness.
E. Coli infections; subsidized by the government?
E. Coli infections in humans are on the rise. One of the most pervasive food borne illnesses that causes many illnesses and deaths annually, Escherichia coli (E. coli) contamination is responsible for more than 20,000 infections and 200 deaths each year in the United States. This relatively recent phenomenon begs the question: what’s causing it?
"A vegetarian diet is a positive source of pleasure"
A friend of mine sent me an email today sharing some of her thoughts about a plant based diet and suggested I might like to post it on my blog; so here it is:
Americans with diabetes to double to 44 million
A recent study predicts that the number of Americans with diabetes will double in the next 25 years to a staggering 44 million, leading to annual health care spending on diabetes of an even more staggering $336 billion. Diabetes is linked to obesity, poor diet, and lack of exercise - the modern American diet, full of highly processed and sugar-laden “food” is the main culprit. The answer to this devastating epidemic is simple, and common sense; people need to eat healthy organic and natural foods, and get regular exercise.
Rising obesity is both costly and deadly
A recent study predicts that the effects of increasing obesity in the US are forecast to outweigh any benefits from continued reductions in smoking rates over the next decade.
Stop subsidizing meat, use that money for health care
Johnny nailed it when he commented (in response to my blog post about taxing soda to limit obesity):
"I think a better solution would be for the government to take all the money that it currently uses to subsidize the meat industry and use that to improve the heathcare system.
Pouring on the fat! NYC poster gets the message across
The New York Health department has given up the idea of taxing soda as a weapon in the war against obesity and have instead started a graphic advertising campaign showing a soda being poured into a glass, with the soda turning into liquid fat on its way to the glass. Pretty graphic, and some may even think gross, but it really gets across the message that drinking soda is a major cause of obesity. Pretty creative, and great to see the government actually get serious about getting the message across.
Whole Foods CEO comments on health care debate results in boycotts and picketing
I have been busy lately so not a lot of blogging has been going on. My last blog was that the CEO of Whole Foods, John Mackey, stated in a press interview that "we sell a lot of junk".
The most expensive medical system in the world, yet one of the least effective
Another point we aren't hearing much about in the debate about health care is that in the US we pay more for health care than any other country in the world.
Another cause of the health care crisis we don't hear about
We have been blogging in recent weeks about the debate in Washington and the nation on the health care crisis and how we aren't hearing any discussion about addressing the root causes of the crisis, i.e. the underlying unhealthy diets and lifestyle choices (meat and junk food based diets, lack of physical activity, consumption of tobacco, alcohol, illegal drugs, etc.) and the widespread practice of defensive medicine. Another major cause of the bloated medical system's costs to add to the list is the cost of medical mistakes.