Kids and Cholesterol Drugs

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The American Academy of Pediatrics estimates that under the current guidelines, thirty per cent of the nation’s children are overweight or obese.  Many doctors fear that a rash of early heart attacks and diabetes will strike these children as they grow older.

The nation’s pediatricians are therefore recommending wider cholesterol screening for children - starting at age two - and more aggressive use of cholesterol-lowering drugs starting as early as eight years of age in hopes of preventing adult heart problems.

Because statins (cholesterol drugs) have been around since only the mid-1980s, there really is no evidence to show whether giving statins to children will, indeed, lower the risk for heart attack in middle age.

The main problem is that we live in a culture which is largely hooked into electronic entertainment and spend too much time feeding one end and not moving the other.

Ambulances to Save the Dead

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Breitbart.com revealed that a select group of New York City paramedics may soon have a different kind of task:  saving the dead.  The city is considering creating a special ambulance whose crew would rush to collect the newly deceased and preserve the body so that the organs might be taken for transplant.  Top medical officials in the NYC Fire Department and Bellevue Hospital say it has the potential to save hundreds of lives.

Generally in the United States, only people who die at hospitals are used as organ donors, because doctors are on hand with life-support machinery to preserve the organs and remove them before they are unusable (which can happen after only a few critical hours).

The new transplant ambulance would ideally turn up at the scene of a death minutes after regular paramedics ceased efforts to resuscitate a patient.  They would have to wait for 5 minutes after a formal declaration of death, but then the team would begin work immediately, administering drugs and performing chest compressions intended to keep the organs viable. 

Some of these steps may be taken before getting approval from a relative and without knowledge of the deceased’s wishes regarding organ donation, but any organ removals would only be done at a hospital.  And no organs would be removed without getting the family’s express consent. 

U.S. opinion surveys routinely show that a majority of Americans are willing to donate their organs.  An estimated 22,000 people die at home each year in the United States, and several hundred people die every month waiting for organs.  This seems like a worthy pilot project.

Muscles and Longevity

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I work very hard on fitness.  I’m 61 and can do about one and a half one-handed pushups.  I’m quite proud of that, and thank my trainer, Jason Baker, and my yoga instructor, Pamela Griffin, for years of helping me get in great condition.

A study from the Unit for Preventive Nutrition at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition at Novum Karolinska Institute in Sweden, presented at the American College of Sports Medicine’s 55th annual meeting, found that men with increased muscular strength are likely to live longer.

The men with decreased muscular strength had a 60% higher risk of cardiovascular disease.  This study further challenged the concept that walking and regular physical activity are the best for preventing heart disease and increasing longevity. 

Instead, they suggest that men start by incorporating weight or resistance training into a daily routine.  The benefits of “muscles” extends beyond the risk of dying from all causes, as muscular strength prevents disability from injury, thereby keeping you more independent for a longer period in your life.

I’m just going to assume that the same is true for women, and I’ll keep pumping that iron!

New Global Warming Threat

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“Obese and overweight people require more fuel to transport them and the food they eat, and the problem will worsen as the population literally swells in size,” a team at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine says.  This adds to food shortages and higher energy prices, say the School’s researchers, Phil Edwards and Ian Roberts, who wrote about this subject in the most recent issue of the medical journal Lancet.

At least 400 million adults worldwide are obese.  The World Health Organization (WHO) projects that by the year 2015, 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and more than 700 million will be obese.  The researchers calculate that these fat and obese people require 18% more energy than someone with a stable Body Mass Index (BMI).

Is the next step giving tax breaks to those who are thin and fit?

Fit, Not Fat

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A study by Harvard-affiliated researchers published in the Archives of Internal Medicine challenges the notion that you can be fat and fit.  They found that being active can lower, but not eliminate heart risks faced by women who are fat or obese.

This new study involved nearly 39,000 women, average age of 54, who filled out a questionnaire at the beginning of the study detailing their height, weight and amount of weekly physical activity in the past year, including walking, jogging, bicycling, and swimming.  They were then tracked for approximately 11 years.

Women were considered “active” if they followed government-recommended guidelines, and got at least 30 minutes of moderate activity most days of the week.  Women who got less exercise than that were considered “inactive.” Weight was evaluated by body mass index (BMI):  a BMI between 25 and 29 is considered overweight, and 30 or higher is considered obese.

Compared with normal-weight active women, the risk for developing heart disease was 54% higher in overweight active women, and 87% higher in obese active women.  By contrast, the risk for developing heart disease was 88% higher in overweight inactive women and 2 1/2 times greater in obese inactive women.

About two in five American women at age 50 will eventually develop heart attacks or other cardiovascular problems according to the Associated Press report (4/29/08).  Excess weight can raise those odds in numerous ways, such as increasing blood pressure and increasing the risks for diabetes, as well as increasing “bad” (LDL) cholesterol.  Exercise counteracts all three.

If there’s one place in the world where there is no excuse for being inactive, it’s southern California.  Between the glorious weather, the hiking trails in the mountains, marked bicycle lanes and more, it’s almost impossible to excuse or explain being out of shape.

How About Putting a “Sin Tax” on Fast Food?

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We already have taxes levied on cigarettes, purportedly to pay for education to stop smoking.  So, what’s so wrong with a tax on fast food to subsidize education about “eating less and moving more,” considering that two-thirds of the American population is fat or obese?

Lawmakers in New Jersey are considering such a tax, and planning to use the revenue from it to fund struggling hospitals.  Obviously, the old hat argument comes out that condemns such a tax as specifically aiming at the poor. When you want to budget money for eating, why not consider eating at home and brown-bagging it for lunch?  Everyone knows that this is a cheaper and more nutritious alternative.

As one taxpayer pointed out, “It costs $12.86 for fries and this little chicken wrap….” This taxpayer was complaining about adding a tax.  Yipes.  This taxpayer should have been complaining about how much money he’s wasting on such a menu.  He did also comment that “if they raise it [i.e., the price with a tax], I’ll stop buying it.”    Brilliant!  If it’s unhealthy, he’ll eat it.  If it has a “sin tax,” he’ll stop.  I think that’s a good enough reason for the tax.

Too Much Water, Water Everywhere

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It’s been a well-known, absolute fact that you’re supposed to drink eight 8 oz. glasses of water each day to help flush toxins from the body, prevent weight gain, and improve skin tone.  I’m surprised folks haven’t been walking around with those aluminum hospital poles holding up bags of water for an all-day water drip.  Remember all the recent arguing about those ubiquitous plastic water bottles and whether or not they should be banned?

Well, brace yourself.  Dr. Dan Negoianu and Dr. Stanley Goldfarb of the Renal, Electrolyte and Hypertension Division of the University of Pennsylvania say that not one single study indicates that an average, healthy person needs to drink that much water each day.

They did report the obvious:  that individuals in hot, dry climates, as well as athletes, need to increase the amount of water they drink.  But no studies have found any benefit to the organs of increased water intake.  Evidently, there is little to no data to support that drinking more water curbs your appetite, cures headaches, or improves skin tone.

On the average, the body uses between 1.7 and 2.6 pints (1.0 - 1.5 liters) of water daily, and more in high temperatures or when exercising.  While this can be replaced through drinks, a large amount is also contained in food, so it isn’t necessary to drink an equivalent amount to replace water levels.

Keep in mind that too much water can affect the balance of salts in the body, causing “water intoxication,” which can be fatal - as it was to that woman in the radio contest where contestants were supposed to drink water continually without urinating in order to win a Wii.