Writing It Down

A SparkPeople member shares her success story about her weight loss journal here.

"The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen."

-Lee Iacocca

Consumer Tools, Privatization

It doesn't sound like much, but it's a step in the right direction:

Aetna Members Gain Access to Care Price, Quality Data

In Canada, a country whose healthcare system is touted as vastly superior to ours, a doctor who operates the nation's largest private hospital (in violation of Canadian law) has just been elected president of the Canadian Medical Association. Read the NY Times article here.

"On average, [Canadian] provinces spend nearly 45 percent of their budgets on health care."

"In the meantime, private health clinics are opening at an average rate of one a week in Canada."

So, let's hope we can get things going in the right direction here in the good ol' US of A.

The 5-Second Rule

I think we've all heard that one. Here's an offbeat article from WebMD about an Ig Nobel Prize-winning nutrition study.

Vroom Vroom

"Motorcyclists' deaths rose for an eighth straight year, the government said. Nearly half the riders were not wearing helmets."

"Fifty-five percent of the passenger vehicle occupants killed were not wearing seat belts."

Traffic deaths in 2005 were up for the first time in 20 years. If you've driven here lately, you will not be surprised to find that the largest increase in fatalities in the nation, 9.2%, was in Florida. Read the entire AP article here. Don't ride motorcycles, and buckle your seat belt.

The Obesity Epidemic and Medicare

"While increases in [Medicare's] cost have been attributed to causes such as medication costs, hospital and doctors fees, 90 percent of the increases can be attributed to people entering the program with diabetes, metabolic syndrome and other diseases associated with obesity, concluded a report published in the Aug. 22 online issue of Health Affairs."

Read the article on Forbes.com.

From the American Obesity Association:

"Each year, obesity causes at least 300,000 excess deaths in the U.S., and healthcare costs of American adults with obesity amount to approximately $100 billion."

More On Obese VS. Malnourished

A slightly more in-depth look at Professor Popkin's study, presented at the International Association of Agricultural Economists, is available here.

The University of Minnesota's Professor Benjamin Senauer compares US dietary habits with those of the Japanese, where obesity rates remain low.

"The average Japanese household spends almost a quarter of its income on food compared to under 14 percent in the U.S."

Cheap, processed foods are blamed by many nutritionists as a prime cause of the West's obesity epidemic.

Hmmm, Is This a Good Thing?

From on of my favorite websites ever, irishhealth.com:

"There are now over one billion overweight people worldwide, compared to 800 million who are undernourished, Professor Barry Popkin of the University of North Carolina, told an International Association of Agricultural Economists, conference in Australia."

While the number of malnourished on the planet is slowly decreasing, those who are overweight and obese represent a rapidly growing population. So, there are now more overweight people than malnourished. That's something.

May You Live for a Hundred Years

Here are some tips from a survey of centenarians.

Broken Record

Sorry to sound like one. More news on soda consumption and its impact on obesity rates in the US.

More from Men's Health

This is really cool, and you could do a lot worse than to stick to the foods listed in this online grocery list of Men's Health's "125 Best Foods." Go "aisle by aisle" and select healthy choices for condiments, drinks, and meats, then print them out and take with you on the way home from work.

Motivation

These really are some good tips to keeping up your workout by Men's Health, including this hilarious tidbit:

20. Blackmail yourself

Take a picture of yourself shirtless, holding a sign that shows your e-mail address. Then e-mail it to a trusted but sadistic friend, with the following instructions: "If I don't send you a new picture that shows serious improvement in 12 weeks, post this photo at hotornot.com and send the link to the addresses listed below...." (Include as many e-mail addresses -- especially of female acquaintances -- as possible.) 'It's nasty, but extremely effective,' says Alwyn Cosgrove.

Other suggestions include burning a workout CD (read: iPod mix), scheduling workouts for the following month, and changing workout partners (your old one lets you slide too easily).

The Post That Madison Avenue Doesn't Want You to Read

Here's a great article from MSN Money that discusses the rampant consumerism that is bankrupting today's young professional.

The author, MP Dunleavy, who has a weekly column entitled "Women in Red," also reviews "Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping," by Judith Levine.

I Told You It Was Poison

The northern Indian state of Rajasthan has made illegal the sale of soft drinks, after Coke and Pepsi have been labeled "toxic." If people don't shape up, the government will be making a lot more decisions in the interest of public health. Drudge pointed out the article on Breitbart.

Protect That Smile

In honor of Dental Awareness Day (I know, I'm excited about it, too), taking place tomorrow, August 4th, I am including a link about the poison know as "soda." If you absolutely must drink one, then sip it through a straw and rinse your mouth with water afterwards. DON'T brush immediately after as your teeth are in a vulnerable state from the acidity of the soda and whose enamel will be harmed.

Everything in moderation:

"Enjoying an occasional soft drink in moderation will likely not cause significant damage," says Dr. Bassiouny. "However, substituting these beverages as a replacement for water may cause significant, irreversible long-term problems and damage."

Dental Awareness Day Hotline:

"For free answers to difficult or embarrassing dental questions, call 1.800.SMILE.33 on Friday, Aug. 4, 2006."

EXTRA EXTRA!

"We Eat Healthily And Exercise A Lot, Say America's Obese"

Quick, Healthy Eats

I got an email from SparkPeople about "making healthy choices when you're low on time." They suggest having "Go-to meals" such as a peas and tuna sandwich or chicken burritos.

Here are some suggestions, courtesy of WebMD. The article focuses on quick meals for the family, but there are good ideas for one-person meals and a checklist of healthy, simply foods one should always buy at the grocery store.

The internet is a great place to go for recipes, without the restrictions of a cookbook recipe. I often look around until I find one that calls only for ingredients that I know I have back at home. Cooks.com is a good resource.