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PT blog: The doctor weighs in

Public health (RSS)


So you can see that ingestion of certain foodstuffs, such as glucose-containing carbohydrates, trigger a number of responses that help to balance food seeking behaviors with whether an individual is fed or fasting. These complex processes interact to help us maintain weight over both the short and the long run. Fructose, unlike glucose, does not turn on these regulatory mechanisms, leaving individuals with high fructose ingestion vulnerable to overeating and weight gain. Read More

posted by: Pat, Wednesday, October 04, 2006 12:00 AM   203 Comments
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Chris was outraged. But he is turning his outrage into action. He has founded a non-profit, “Parents Against Junk Food.” This is a good old-fashioned call-to-action website that aims to get parents riled up about this issue. Chris writes in his editorial: ““One day, mothers and fathers across America are going to wake up, throw open the window, and yell, “We’re mad, and we’re not going to take it anymore!”” Way to go, Chris! Yes, parents need to be responsible for their kids’ health and well-being, but we need to ask for, no demand, that the public institutions that we pay for with our hard-earned tax dollars, support us in our efforts keep our kids healthy and safe. Read More

posted by: Pat, Thursday, September 21, 2006 5:57 PM   200 Comments
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You don't have to go hungry anymore; we can fill you with fats and carbs more cheaply than ever. You don't have to chase your food; we can bring it to you. You don't have to cook it; we can deliver it ready to eat. You don't have to eat it before it spoils; we can pump it full of preservatives so it lasts forever. You don't even have to stop when you're full. We've got so much food to sell, we want you to keep eating. Read More

posted by: Pat, Sunday, September 17, 2006 10:32 PM   216 Comments
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As we started talking about his health insurance, the conversation naturally drifted to health. He is prediabetic, he told me, and his brother is a type 2 diabetic who has already had some toes amputated. He knows he is facing the same future if he doesn't lose weight, but how can he do it? Read More

posted by: Pat, Friday, September 15, 2006 11:42 AM   201 Comments
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While I agree, parents need to be good role models and set limits, I also believe that there are so many influences in kids lives today, ranging from TV, to the internet, to peers in play groups and day care, that placing all of the responsibility and blame on parents seems naive to me. Read More

posted by: Pat, Wednesday, September 13, 2006 5:35 PM   201 Comments
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In fact, at that time, King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV was listed in the Guiness Book of Records as "The Fattest Monarch in the World." He weighted 209.5 kilograms (462 pounds). But. to his royal credit, he decided to make a change and eventually was able to lose 70 kilograms (154 pounds) to end up at about 130 kilograms (or 286 pounds). Quite a credible weight loss. Read More

posted by: Pat, Monday, September 11, 2006 5:26 AM   200 Comments
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Learn more about food and class, and educate others. When you hear someone moralizing about healthy or responsible food choices, don’t be afraid to speak up: seek clarification by asking “healthy for whom?” or “environmentally or socially responsible?” This is an opportunity to help otherwise “aware” individuals learn about the socioeconomic dimension of food and environmental responsibility. Read More

posted by: Pat, Thursday, September 07, 2006 8:17 PM   200 Comments
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Vince and Rob’s research indicates that the ACE Score likely captures the cumulative biologic consequences of these exposures. Multiple, well done analyses of the ACE data have been published in good medical journals. They demonstrate that the ACE score has a strong graded relationship to: Obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, liver disease and other leading causes of death in the United States Smoking, alcohol use and abuse, as well as illicit and IV drug use Early initiation of sexual intercourse, promiscuity, and sexually transmitted disease (STDs) Teen and unintended pregnancy, stillbirths, and spontaneous abortion Suicide attempts, depression and poor health-related quality of life Read More

posted by: Pat, Thursday, August 31, 2006 11:16 PM   206 Comments
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When it comes to absorbing nutrients, it makes a difference how you prepare a food (cooked or raw) and what foods you eat with it. The science of understanding nutrient absorption is an area called “bioavailability.” Read More

posted by: Pat, Tuesday, August 29, 2006 4:02 PM   199 Comments
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Every morning, he has the same cereal for breakfast. It is also a Kellogg’s All-Bran, but it is their “Bran Buds” product. He thought it was lower in calories than the Yogurt Bites version. But when he looked at the serving sizes of the two cereals, he was in for a surprise. Bran Buds lists a serving size of 1/3 cup. That barely covers the bottom of the cereal bowl. The serving size of Yogurt Bites is 1-1/4 cup—a decent amount. Read More

posted by: Pat, Monday, August 28, 2006 7:23 PM   3 Comments
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Well, I don’t know about you, but I would prefer not to have any benzene in the products (or the water) that I drink. I think we, the soda pop drinking public, should advocate zero tolerance for benzene, not just a standard that allows an amount below 5 ppb. There are plenty of other enjoyable ways to get vitamin C in from your diet, such as eating an orange, a grapefruit, or a tomato. Why, then, do we have to have vitamin C in soft drinks if there is any chance that it could react with another ingredient and form a cancer causing substance? Read More

posted by: Pat, Saturday, August 26, 2006 2:00 AM   1 Comments
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Instead of continuing to argue that "all obesity is bad" or "obesity is not all that bad," we should look more closely at the data to determine if there are some easily identifiable subsets of the population who will have devastating health consequences when they gain weight. Let's take this debate to the next level so we can get on with the serious business of promoting health in this country. Read More

posted by: Pat, Wednesday, August 23, 2006 10:43 PM   1 Comments
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Successful strategies for getting it off and keeping it off included Self monitoring (weigh oneself, planning meals, tracking fat and calories) Exercising 30 or more minutes daily Adding physical activity to the daily routine. The odds of being a successful weight loser were 48% - 76% lower for those reporting that aspects of exercise behavior were influencing factors (no time to exercise, too tired to exercise, no one to exercise with, too hard to maintain exercise routine) compared to those who reported little or no barriers to exercise as a weight control measure. Read More

posted by: Pat, Tuesday, August 22, 2006 11:45 PM   2 Comments
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It is fascinating to learn from this document that retailers are now selling significantly larger apples than those represented by serving sizes on the old nutrition labels. Apples are 57% bigger now than in 1975 when the serving size of 154 g rams was established. Large apples today have a serving size of 264 g of which 242 grams are edible. Read More

posted by: Pat, Friday, August 11, 2006 10:17 PM   1 Comments
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Here is a summary of some of the findings in studies of overweight and obese adults: Obesity contributes to significantly lower quality of life. This was true even in obese people who did not have chronic diseases (diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea). Obesity is associated with decreased health status and a higher incidence of depression. Obese people had a significantly higher number of visits to health care providers. Physicians spent less time educating obese patients about their health and more time discussing exercise. Obesity was not related to discussions about nutrition. Read More

posted by: Pat, Wednesday, August 09, 2006 12:54 AM   1 Comments
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