Joggers targeted in `sick game' of chase

Winnipeg police say teen car thieves tried to hit runners
Mar 14, 2007 04:30 AM
Steve Lambert
Canadian Press

WINNIPEG–Police have arrested three teenagers they say were engaged in a "sick game" of driving around in stolen cars and trying to hit joggers.

Police allege the youths, between the ages of 13 and 16, stole a car last Thursday and made repeated runs at joggers along a posh Winnipeg street.

"It looks ... like it was some sort of sick game where you might just want to hit them with the mirrors," Sgt. Doug Safioles said yesterday. "There's no indication ... someone was trying to deliberately run them down."

One man suffered minor injuries, but a 49-year-old man running just a few blocks away sustained serious head injuries and remains in hospital.

Two of the accused have lengthy records for stealing vehicles and were being monitored by the justice system under a special Manitoba program for youths convicted of repeated vehicle thefts, Safioles said.

One teen disappeared three weeks ago after failing to respond to a curfew check, he said.

The youths were arrested Sunday after one allegedly stole five vehicles in one evening. Because of their ages, none of the accused can be identified. They face many charges, including dangerous driving causing bodily harm, theft and failure to comply with a probation order.

Kids who steal vehicles are looking for kicks and often don't care whether someone gets hurt, suggested Safioles, of the police force's stolen auto unit.

"A lot of these kids suffer from intellectual disabilities," he said. "What they lack is a little voice in the back of their head that tells the rest of us at some point that `this is too dangerous and we should stop.'"

The case has led to a political debate over how to crack down on auto theft. Manitoba's Opposition Conservatives want convicted vehicle thieves to be forced to wear electronic ankle bracelets after they are released from custody, so their movements can be monitored.

The NDP government announced yesterday it will temporarily double the cash rewards in the Crime Stoppers program for information about auto thefts that involve injuries.

More Motivation...

Is Your Weight Hurting Your Career?
By CareerBuilder.com

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that 65 percent of U.S. adults -- or about 129.6 million people -- are either overweight or obese. Does weight have any bearing in the workplace? According to Miriam Berg, president of the Council on Size and Weight Discrimination, it does. "The biggest obstacle larger-than-average workers face is prejudice, and the second biggest obstacle is the fact that many large people believe that prejudice themselves," Berg says. "Our culture is obsessed with weight loss, and there is a tremendous amount of bias against people who do not fit into the narrow definition of what is attractive. "Obesity in current society is a stigmatized condition," notes Cornell University researcher and nutritional sociologist Jeffery Sobal. "People who are obese are rejected and discriminated against." In addition to the emotional cost, the financial costs of being overweight can be high, too. In a study by Charles L. Baum, Ph.D., of Middle Tennessee State University, obesity was found to lower a woman's annual earnings an average of 4.5 percent. Over a lifetime career, that can be as much as $100,000. Baum found that obesity for men could lower annual earnings by as much as 2.3 percent. In a separate study by John H. Cawley, associate professor at Cornell University, a weight increase of 64 pounds above the average for white women was associated with 9 percent lower wages. CSWD says that heavier workers are also not given raises as often as thinner workers, citing a study of more than 2000 adults that found wage growth rates were 6 percent lower in a three-year period for heavier workers. One factor that seems to drive this bias is the cost of health insurance. The CDC has reported that obesity and overweight costs an estimated $117 billion in both direct medical costs and indirect costs, such as lost wages due to illness. Whether conscious or not, some employers may offer less pay to obese workers to offset higher health insurance costs. "The research showing less productivity and more health problems in large size workers is flawed," Berg asserts. "The false idea that larger workers are less productive is a blatant attempt to deny the fact of weight discrimination. Large workers are denied promotions, are paid less, and are subject to being fired simply because of their size, no matter how excellent their qualifications are or how well they do their jobs."In a 2005 survey by TheLadders.com, 75 percent of executives said that being overweight is a "serious career impediment." Berg says she's heard many versions of the same story from her clients: "After reading his or her resume, the company was eager to hire the applicant. The phone interview went very well, and the person was practically assured of the job. But when he or she came face to face with the interviewer, everything changed. Suddenly the job had 'already been filled'." Those who apply for positions that interact with the public may feel the biggest sting. "Many employers are not prejudiced themselves, but are afraid that customers may be put off by a plus-size employee, especially in jobs such as receptionist or salesperson," Berg notes.Jim McSherry, managing partner of McSherry & Associates 2, a recruiting firm in Westchester, IL, says that extremely overweight applicants may indeed struggle in their job search, especially in companies that are very health conscious. "When two competing candidates are equally qualified, often it is not their appearance that ultimately hurts the overweight candidate, it is his or her self-confidence," McSherry says. "[But] if a candidate is really outstanding, their size will not be an issue." "When a large person is looking for a job, we recommend doing your homework, dressing for success, putting your best foot forward, and, most importantly, addressing any potential objections a potential employer might have," Berg suggests. "There is no reason not to bring up your size -- it's the elephant in the room, so to speak. If you are healthy, tell the interviewer that you have not missed a day of work in five years, or however long it is. Point out how strong or fit or flexible you are, or mention that you have great stamina." Being healthy doesn't simply mean losing weight. "Our advice to large size people in general is to be as healthy as they can be," Berg declares. "Some of the ways we suggest are enjoying life, reducing stress, being physically active, and eating a variety of nutritious foods."

New Plan... cause the old one's not working...

So, I didn't lose anything this week. Which is less of a dissapointment than last week because I've been at work a lot, and we had fewer practices this week, and I skipped one due to knee pain (hope I don't have to go back to physio!).
Howver, I was sitting in the lunch room today eating low fat black bean soup and a couple of the other girls came in and started talking about this diet they were planning on doing next week. It's a diet based around brown rice. I've heard about this before from other people. And it's something I'm interested to try. So here goes. This is the info the girls gave me:

Start every day with hot water and lemon, try to eat brown rice at as many meals as possible, and avoid all the following items:

Caffeine (sorry)
Alcohol
Sugar
Salt
Preservatives (no canned/packaged/frozen foods... and that means organic produce only)
Wheat
Dairy
Soy
Bananas
Peanuts
Oranges
Corn
Mushrooms
Tomatoes
Eggs
Known allergens

Some of those things seem random, but it's because these foods (like corn and soy) are in EVERYTHING.

Here are some helpful tips:

Rice milk
Rice cakes
Almond butter
Wheat-free tamari sauce (to flavour your rice with! It's full of salt, but still on the approved list!)
Hummus (add it to everything!)
Dried fruit, specifically those fruit leather bars
Spelt and dark rye breads have no wheat, but you're still not supposed to eat them. Maybe bread in its entirety is out. But I say it's okay to have some when you get the bread craving... and you will.
Honey and maple syrup! Shelley had the vague feeling that these were wrong, but nowhere were they mentioned on the food list.
Lemon and pepper for flavouring.

Does that sound like fun or what?

I'll let you know how it goes. I'm starting Monday.

Holiday Tips

This article is pretty typical, buy part that got me the most was where she points out that the average weight gain for the holidays is just under a pound and that most people never lose it. Gaining a pound a year during your adulthood is not good, especially when you stack that up against the slower weight gain that most people experience over time.

Eat-smart strategies for party season
POSTED: 10:59 a.m. EST, December 12, 2006
By Amelia R. Farquhar
CookingLight.com
Adjust font size:
The conventional wisdom about the holidays is that weight gain is unavoidable. But don't let it scare you away from enjoying your favorite foods at this time of year. Here are thee eat-smart strategies to get you through the season.

Enjoy holiday foods with moderation
Many common holiday foods -- sweet potatoes, dried fruit, and turkey, to name a few -- are nutritious options when enjoyed in moderation. Sneak in a little extra physical activity every day to burn off additional calories and benefit from the stress-reducing effects of exercise.

Also remember, if you want to avoid overindulging with a food you really love, this is not the only time of year you can eat it. "Ask for a recipe from the cook so you can make it at home, and simply opt to prepare it after the holidays," says Milton Stokes, R.D., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.

The average weight gain during the six-week span from Thanksgiving to New Year's is just under one pound, according to a yearlong study of nearly 200 people published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Even though enjoying delicious holiday dishes might not increase your waistline by as much as you'd expect, calorie consciousness is still important.

"The weight increase isn't dramatic, but the research did reveal something significant -- study participants did not reverse their gains during the following months," says Susan Z. Yanovski, M.D., study coauthor and director of the Obesity and Eating Disorders Program at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. This has led obesity experts to speculate that the small weight gain from the holidays may accumulate from year to year, contributing to the more substantial gains many people experience as they age.

Keep your appetite in check.
One way to avoid a post-meal energy drain is to approach a big dinner with an appetite that's in check. Avoid eating smaller-than-normal portions for breakfast and lunch, which may leave you feeling ravenous at dinner and prompt you to eat more than normal, Stokes says.

The reason a nap is so appealing after any big meal is the large amount of energy required to digest it, Stokes says. During the process, blood is diverted away from the nervous system and to the digestive system -- where it's needed to help break down food and absorb nutrients. "It's no wonder people are left feeling less energetic, fatigued, and even foggy-headed," Stokes says. Your body signals you to rest because it has a lot of work to do.

Maintain your equilibrium during social situations.
Research indicates that it's not the parties that prompt us to eat, but being around friends and family that may lead to diet missteps. In a study conducted at Pennsylvania State University in University Park, researchers found that dining in a group causes the average person to eat 44 percent more calories than he or she normally would eating alone. "When you're socializing, it's natural to lose track of what and how much you're eating," says Barbara Rolls, Ph.D., professor of nutritional sciences at Pennsylvania State University. "Since the number of distractions will most likely be greater, a holiday party can increase the tendency to overeat even more than just going out to dinner with friends."

Being mindful will help you keep a mental checklist of how much you're consuming. Since you don't want to offend by skipping your host's offerings, try taking a smaller serving. Make a conscious effort to balance your plate with plenty of fruits and veggies, and a healthy portion -- about three to four ounces -- of protein, Rolls says. Also, take a second to look at every bite before you eat it. This psychological connection will help you keep your portions under control.

Amelia R. Farquhar writes about health, fitness, and nutrition from her home in Ossining, New York.

'Mindless eating' blamed for obesity

The popcorn example in this one is perfect. I'd have done the same thing. However, last night I was at a party where they had bowls of chips and things, and I had a healthy meal before I went, and then I didn't touch those chips, not even once.

Cook it and they will come eat it, nutrition expert says
Large portions, lousy food are recipe for poor health

Oct. 23, 2006. 08:08 AM

ANNE-MARIE TOBIN

CANADIAN PRESS

People unknowingly "booby-trap" their own homes in a way that can lead to overeating, says a nutritional expert who has conducted hundreds of food studies. Brian Wansink told a joint meeting of the Canadian Diabetes Association and the Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism last week that some people blame obesity on fast food, the government and food companies, but the food fight really begins at home. The solution isn't concentration and willpower, he told more than 3,000 delegates at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. "One thing we can start doing is start re-engineering our environment so it mindlessly works for us, rather than against us," said Wansink, who lives in Ithaca, N.Y., and is director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University. Most people overeat because if food is put in front of them, they'll eat it, said Wansink, whose team has led companies to introduce smaller size 100-calorie portions. Throughout his presentation, he gave details of his research — some of which was to be featured today on Good Morning America. One study involved two groups of graduate students serving themselves Chex snacks from either large serving bowls in one room or smaller serving bowls in another room at a Super Bowl party. Their individual bowls were surreptitiously weighed, and it was found that those who served themselves from large bowls took portions that contained 53 per cent more calories. The bowls were coded, so that leftovers could also be tracked, and it turned out that the group that served themselves from large bowls also ate 59 per cent more food, in general, than the group that served themselves from smaller bowls, Wansink said. Another study, conducted at a Chicago movie theatre, showed that people will even eat food that's not very good if it's in front of them. Moviegoers at the Mel Gibson movie Payback were given buckets of popcorn — either freshly popped, or five-day-old rancid popcorn. "When people ate it, it didn't even crunch, it sort of squeaked," he said as he described the old popcorn, eliciting groans and laughter from his audience. Much of the fresh popcorn was quickly gobbled up before the credits finished running before the movie, he said. As for the recipients of the old popcorn, they would taste it, put it down, wait a few minutes, then try again. "By the end of the movie, they're still nibbling away at this, and wincing every time they have a bite," he said. Wansink also said his research has shown that people can reduce their intake by replacing wide, short drinking glasses with tall narrower ones and using smaller serving spoons. In addition, he said plates should be filled before they're served at the table and serving bowls should be kept off the table to avoid mindless refilling. Sharon Zeiler, senior manager of nutrition for the Canadian Diabetes Association, welcomed Wansink's research and said dietitians have employed many of these techniques. "Anything with science now is becoming extremely evidence-based, and so it's wonderful to have good strong evidence," she said. About 35 to 40 per cent of Canadian meals are eaten in restaurants, Zeiler said, pointing out the research can be applied by restaurant owners as well. Buffet-style restaurants could put salads out in smaller bowls — and that would encourage people to take smaller portions, she said. And for at-home buffets on occasions like Thanksgiving dinner, Zeiler said the hosts could use two small bowls for mashed potatoes, rather than one huge bowl. Food and nutrition were hot topics at the conference. Canada has more than two million diabetics, Zeiler said, and being overweight and not getting enough physical activity can be contributing factors for people with Type 2. Many people have the disease but don't realize it until symptoms like blurry eyesight or hypertension lead to a diagnosis, she added. According to Wansink, every day starts with a series of food choices. At breakfast, decisions might include cereal or a bagel, two-thirds of a bowl or a full bowl, sugar or no sugar, skim milk or 2 per cent. "The typical person believes they make about 30 decisions related to food a day. By the end of the day, most people have made well over 200 decisions," he said. "But the problem is, nobody realizes that. Most of us believe we make a few here, there and wherever. What we're not aware of is how the environment is influencing us again and again in our decisions."

Eating addictive as sex, drugs: Study

Oct. 20, 2006. 05:36 AM

JOSEPH HALL

HEALTH REPORTER

Sex and drugs and guacamole.According to a new study by Yale University, food can be just as addictive as recreational drugs or sex.The hormone most associated with making you hungry affects the same pleasure-inducing, addictive area of the brain that marijuana or cocaine do, said Dr. Tamas Horvath, chair of comparative medicine at Yale University's school of medicine, in New Haven, Conn."And if you think about it, you need to be addicted to eating. It's a must," Horvath said."It has to be (addictive) if you consider it, because without that you would die."The study, partially sponsored by the National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada, will appear today in an online edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.What Horvath found in rats was that the hormone ghrelin — produced in the stomach to promote eating — is actually acting on a part of the brain, the ventral tegmental area (VTA), that has long been associated with the pleasurable effects of things like drugs and sexual activity.Horvath, a veterinarian and neuroscientist, says an addiction mechanism to promote eating would have evolved naturally in our brains to ensure we took the trouble to find food."Not necessarily today, when you can open the refrigerator, but when you consider us as animals, you'd need to go out and be interested in seeking the food and to go and get it," Horvath said."Therefore, it makes sense that it has this type of reward value. It emerged to make you more efficient at survival."The newly discovered neural pathway could lead to treatments for addictive eating, or even to "curb the munchies," said Carlton University psychologist Alfonso Abizaid, who contributed to the study.Abizaid said that knowledge of the neurological mechanism could spur the development of drugs that would interfere with it, adding one more weapon to the arsenal against obesity.Horvath said a new diet drug, known as Rimonabant and available in Europe as an obesity treatment, works on the brain's VTA region.

Coffee drinks loaded with fat and calories: report

A regular latte or cappuccino from a Canadian coffee shop packs a punch in fat and calories, a new report shows.

The Centre for Science in the Public Interest took a close look at the offerings from Canada's big three coffee chains, Tim Hortons, Starbucks and the Second Cup.

Starbucks' blueberry green tea Frappuccino was the worst, weighing in at 560 calories and nine grams of fat per 16-ounce serving.

A Tim Hortons double-double — with two creams and two sugars — has 160 calories per 10-ounce cup. A black coffee had about 10 calories and no fat.

"We're concerned about the public health implications of people consuming food products or beverages that can adversely affect their health," said Bill Jeffery of the Centre for Science in the Public Interest in Ottawa.

One drink could pack the 500 to 600 calories of a healthy dinner of chicken breast, rice and vegetables, said Dana Wilkinson, nutrition research co-ordinator at the University of Alberta.

Starbucks declined to comment on the report's findings. In a statement, the company said they offer "a wide variety of options."

Starbucks started the sweet trend to lure people who don't necessarily like plain coffee, said coffee lover and freelance writer Gilbert Bouchard of Edmonton.

The strategy introduces people to coffee culture through a form they're already familiar with, such as milkshakes and soft drinks, Bouchard said.

The strategy worked, and the high-calorie drinks are among the most popular at coffee kiosks across Canada.

But a single beverage can represent a quarter of your recommended daily caloric intake, with little nutritional value.

A daily double-double or low-fat latte adds up to an extra 17 pounds of fat in one year.

The report's authors recommend avoiding whipped cream and extra sugar and suggest asking for skim milk.

The report, called "Good Cup, Bad Cup," also includes the saturated and trans fat content of the beverages.

Fat people = big problems for hospitals

Jul. 27, 2006. 04:50 PM

CANADIAN PRESS

Hospitals across North America could be failing to diagnose small tumours in obese patients who either can’t fit into an X-ray scanner or have fatty tissue so dense the machine can’t penetrate it, a new study suggests.

The study, published in the August issue of the journal Radiology, found a growing number of patients are too large to fit into the scanner. In other cases, the X-rays have been fuzzy or imprecise because dense fat blocked the machine’s beams.

“There are things that you can miss because the X-ray beams are just not able to penetrate deep enough,” said study author Raul Uppot, a radiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

In some cases, the quality can be so poor that doctors could miss small lung, abdominal and liver tumours, Uppot said.

“We really have to address this issue,” he said.

“Canadians, Americans . . . should all realize that this is another problem they will have if they are obese. When they walk into the hospital, they may not be getting the most adequate care.”

Canadian hospitals are also grappling with the difficulties of diagnosing an increasing number of obese patients.

Stewart McNeil, patient equipment co-ordinator at Hamilton Health Sciences, said older equipment wasn’t designed to accommodate larger patients. He said older MRI scanners are often 46 inches wide.

“People are getting bigger and bigger,” said McNeil. “All hospitals are struggling with it.”

McNeil pointed out that the hospital can rent over-sized equipment when it’s called for, but noted that patients who are very obese are sometimes sent to nearby veterinary colleges.

“The MRI and X-ray machines there are designed for horses,” he said. “How would you feel?”

Ian Doris, board member of the Ontario Association of Radiologists, said sometimes just lifting an unconscious obese patient on to a scanner can take up to eight people.

Many older scanners also can’t support more than 400 pounds of weight, while in other cases, a patient’s sheer girth can touch the sides of the scanner, making it difficult to get a clear image.

It’s a particular problem with ultrasounds and detecting liver disease, said Doris, who noted the importance of ensuring that such patients are treated with the dignity they deserve.

“These people aren’t this way because they sit around eating Tim Hortons all day,” said Doris, a radiologist with Hamilton General Hospital. “It is recognized as an illness.”

While patients are expected to take responsibility for their own health, doctors say hospitals should also be updating their equipment to reflect the increasing weight of their patients.

They say hospitals have difficulty accommodating obese people outside the X-ray room as well — from finding stretchers and beds that are wide enough to providing plus-sized commodes.

Hospitals are supposed to replace their equipment every 10 years — a guideline that’s often ignored when the equipment is still functioning properly, said Robin Hesler, CEO of the Ontario Association of Medical Radiation Technologists.

In the meantime, Hesler said obese patients may be exposed to higher levels of radiation in some scans because more is needed to produce an image.

“This is a potential issue down the road,” Hesler said, adding obesity is on the rise. “This is a growing issue.”

Statistics Canada shows the nation’s obesity rate has almost doubled in the last 20 years — jumping from 13 per cent in 1978 to 23 per cent in 2004. The agency said obese adults are more likely to suffer health problems such as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, some cancers and gall bladder disease.

Lara Trifiletti, lead researcher at Columbus Children's Research Institute, poses near a child car seat that fits overweight children. (Kiichiro Sato/Associated Press)

U.S. kids getting too bulky for car seats
Last Updated Mon, 03 Apr 2006 11:38:27 EDT
CBC News
Thousands of obese American toddlers are too fat to be properly protected by their car-safety seats in a crash, a new study suggests.

The research concludes that at least 283,000 U.S. children aged one to six are too heavy for standards seats, including booster seats commonly used for children aged four and up.

The study appears in the April issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. It does not deal with obesity rates in Canada or elsewhere.

It says the problem is most noticeable among youngsters who exceed the weight limit for seats with built-in harnesses rated at up to 40 pounds (18 kilograms).

An estimated 182,000 three-year-old children in the U.S. fall into that category.

The danger is that the momentum of a crash could overpower the harness, allowing the child to spring free from the seat's restraining belt.

Lead author Lara Trifiletti said researchers at a Baltimore safety centre got interested in the topic because they saw children "who were very obese and our car-seat technicians were having a hard time finding car seats to fit them," the Associated Press reported.

Responding to the demand for larger seats, manufacturers are now producing super-sized versions priced at $240 US and up, news services reported.

Sleep may be the key to weightloss....

Want your children to lose weight? Send them to bed
SCOTT DEVEAU
Globe and Mail Update
Hitting the hay may be just as good as hitting the gym in the fight against childhood obesity, a new study suggests.

The risk of becoming overweight is 3.5 times higher in children who get less sleep than in those who sleep a lot, according to the research.

“It's ironic that part of the solution to obesity might lie in sleep, the most sedentary of all human activities,” according to Angelo Tremblay, one of three co-authors of the study, which is published in the March issue of the International Journal of Obesity,

Researchers from the Université Laval's Faculty of Medicine measured the weight, height, and waist size of 422 children aged 5 to 10. After taking body mass index readings, they found that those children who slept less than 10 hours a night were 3.5 times more at risk of being overweight than those who slept for more than 12 hours.

“No other factor analyzed in the study — parental obesity, parents' level of education, family income, time spent in front of the TV or computer, regular physical activity — had as much of an impact on obesity than time spent sleeping,” according to the report.

The researchers speculate that hormones produced during sleep, or those produced when the children are deprived of it, are responsible for the differences in weight, Mr. Tremblay said.

“Lack of sleep lowers the level of leptin, a hormone that stimulates metabolism and decreases hunger. In addition, short nights of sleep boost the concentration of ghrelin, a hormone that increases hunger,” Mr. Tremblay said in a statement.

Mr. Tremblay speculates that the relationship between a general loss of sleep and increased rates of obesity in society have broader implications than in just young children.

Between 1960 and 2000, the prevalence of obesity doubled in the population while the average night of sleep lost one to two hours. During the same period, the percentage of young adults who slept less than seven hours went from 16 per cent to 37 per cent, according to the report.

“In light of this study's results, my best prescription against obesity in children would be to encourage them to move more and to make sure they get enough sleep,” Mr. Tremblay said.

Fatties pay more

Fatter bills for hefty hotel guests
A German hotel has started calculating fees according to the weight of the guest.

The three-star Ostfriesland hotel in the north German town of Norden charges the equivalent of 34p per kilogram.

So a thin man weighing 60 kilos pays just over £20 a night, but a man weighing 100 kilos would be forced to shell out nearly £35.

Owner Juergen Heckroth said: "Slim guests live longer and can therefore come more often and that is why we reward them."

World's biggest burger

A US restaurant has beaten its record for the world's biggest burger with a whopping 15-pounder.

Denny's Beer Barrel Pub, in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, already had the title with a 6lb burger.

But owners thought a 15-pound burger would prove an even bigger attraction, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Diners who can finish the £25 burger in under five hours win £200, a T-shirt and have their name posted on the pub's wall of fame.

They also get the burger for free.

"Every restaurant needs a gimmick - ours is big burgers," said Dennis Liegey III, son of the restaurant's owner.

Visitors come from as far away as Australia and California just to see the 6-pounders and try to eat them.

The new burger, dubbed the Beer Barrel Belly Buster, is as big around as the inside of a car tyre.

It comes with a cup and half each of mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup, a head of lettuce, two onions, three tomatoes and 25 slices of cheese.

Atkins dangers

Doctors report rare, 'life-threatening complication of Atkins diet'
Last Updated Fri, 17 Mar 2006 16:57:46 EST
CBC News
A 40-year-old woman on the Atkins diet developed a dangerous buildup of acids in her blood, doctors said Friday.

INDEPTH: Diets

Atkins diet favours proteins.
The diet limits the intake of carbohydrates such as bread and pasta and encourages eating protein, including meat and cheese.

In 2004, the obese woman developed a life-threatening complication called ketoacidosis, Dr. Klaus-Dieter Lessnau, a professor at New York University School of Medicine, and his colleagues report in the March 18 issue of the medical journal The Lancet.

Ketoacidosis, caused by excessively high levels of ketones in the blood, can lead to death if untreated. Ketones are produced by the liver from fatty acids, which result from the breakdown of body fat in response to the absence of sugar in low-carb diets.

The woman was following the Atkins diet and took supplements sold by the company. She spent four days in intensive care, the team reported.

"Our patient had an underlying ketosis caused by the Atkins diet and developed severe ketoacidosis," the authors write in their report, titled, "Life-threatening complication of Atkins diet."

Mild pancreatitis or a stomach infection may have contributed to the problem, they added.

In a letter responding to the report, Lyn Steffen and Jennifer Nettleton of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in Minneapolis concluded: "Low-carbohydrate diets for weight management are far from healthy."

Side-effects can include constipation, diarrhea, headache, bad breath and ketosis. Long-term effects of the diet are unknown, the pair said.

Steffen and Nettleton recommended that doctors keep an eye on people following the diet who may have a wide range of risk factors for disease.

The case is rare and does not represent a health threat linked to low-carb diets, other experts said.

Dr. Robert Atkins developed the low-carb diet based on his research. He died in 2003.

News from the half-ton man

Surgery knocks 81 more pounds off former half-ton man
Last Updated Wed, 08 Mar 2006 17:36:33 EST
CBC News
A Nebraska man who once weighed 1072 pounds has dropped another 81 pounds in surgery that removed a chunk of fat, skin and fluids hanging from his waist.

Patrick Deuel, 43, weighed in at 400 pounds after the operation on Tuesday at a hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Doctors performed the surgery because the extra flesh made it hard for Deuel to walk.

Deuel weighed 1,072 pounds and was dying of heart failure when he checked into the hospital in Sioux Falls in June 2004.

He dropped 457 pounds in seven months, crediting most of the loss to exercise and diet, although he also had gastric bypass surgery in 2004.

Before he entered the facility, he hadn't left his home in seven years and was so big that workers had to cut a hole in his bedroom wall to get him out.

A special ambulance with extra-wide doors and a ramp-and-winch system was used to get him to hospital.

Deuel has said he plans to make public appearances to tell his story once he is more mobile.

Deuel's surgeon says the most recent operation means he could lose even more weight through walking and exercise.

Exercising on the Cheap

I was reading an article in the paper titled "Exercising on the Cheap." I thought it may be helpful for some people who do not have access to a gym. Most of these are common knowledge, but what the hell.

*Take the stairs every chance you get, even if it's just one flight
*Park farther away from work, or the mall or wherever
*Buy a dog from the humane society or borrow one (this one made me giggle, it somehow does not seem as reasonable as the others)
*Turn on your radio and dance in your home
*Go to the library and borrow workout videos/DVD's
*Use the lowest stair in your home and create your own step workout
*Pair a fav tv show with situps (i'd have abs of steel if i did this)
*Check local rec centre for any exercise or team sports you can join for a reasonable price
*Got rope? Jump it for a total body workout
*Laugh
*Carry around a computer bag or backpack weighted with 5 or 10 pounds
*Use a stability ball while at work or watching tv or reading, works core muscles
*Find out if your local gym offers discounts to local grads
*Laugh

Six fruits a day, may keep strokes away

If this is true, then I'm golden...

By SHERYL UBELACKER

Thursday, January 26, 2006 Posted at 7:27 PM EST

Canadian Press

Toronto — When Mom or Dad told you to eat up all your fruits and vegetables “because they're good for you,” they were right — although they may not have known all the reasons why. Now researchers conclude that a daily smorgasbord of fruits and vegetables can dramatically cut the risk of suffering a stroke.

An analysis of international studies involving 257,000 people found that those who ate more than five servings of fruit and vegetables a day had a 26 per cent reduced incidence of stroke, compared with those who ate fewer than three servings daily.

Individuals who consumed three to five servings cut their stroke risk by 11 per cent, said principal investigator Dr. Feng He, a cardiovascular research fellow at the St. George's University School of Medicine in London.

“This is a finding that clearly provides strong support for the current (U.K.) recommendations to increase fruit and vegetable intake to five or more servings per day,” she said Thursday from London, noting that the average Briton eats only 2.8 servings per day.

“Based on these results, I would encourage everybody to increase their fruit and vegetable intake,” said Dr. He.

Health Canada has been advising Canadians to eat five to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day for more than a decade, but a national average of actual consumption hasn't been determined, said Danielle Brule of Health Canada's division of nutrition policy and promotion.

A typical serving of fruit would equal one medium apple or medium banana; a single vegetable serving would consist of 125 millilitres of raw or cooked carrots or beans, for instance, or 250 millilitres of salad.

The British researchers analyzed pooled data from eight major studies that looked at the association between fruit and vegetable consumption and stroke in men and women from Europe, Japan and the United States.

Previous studies had shown that increased fruit and vegetable consumption was related to a diminished risk of stroke — both ischemic (caused by a blood clot in the brain) and hemorrhagic (bleeding in the brain) — but the strength of the association had been uncertain.

Dr. David Spence, director of the Stroke Prevention and Atherosclerosis Research Centre at the University of Western Ontario's Robarts Research Institute, agreed that the British analysis has better quantified the link between fruit and vegetable consumption and stroke reduction.

But the London, Ont., physician said Canadians shouldn't just load up on produce.

“You could do even better if in addition to increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables, you also increase your intake of whole grains and reduce your intake of cholesterol and animal fat,” said Dr. Spence, who advises his patients to follow the Mediterranean diet.

That's because research has shown that the Mediterranean diet, which is rich in whole grains, olive and canola oils as well as fruits and vegetables — but with reduced consumption of meat, chicken and fish — can diminish the risk of stroke and heart attack by about 60 per cent.

Dr. He, whose study is published in this week's edition of The Lancet, said fruits and vegetables are loaded with potassium, antioxidants like vitamin C, folate and fibre. And while researchers aren't sure which one element (or combination) is responsible for chopping the risk of stroke, she said potassium is known to lower elevated blood pressure — a major risk factor for stroke.

That doesn't mean that popping over-the-counter supplements will have the same stroke-preventing effects as eating produce, experts say.

“Disease prevention might not be attributable to single nutrients, but to the interaction of nutrient and non-nutritive components in whole foods,” Dr. Lyn Steffen, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, writes in a commentary accompanying the study. “It is likely that the combination of nutrients and compounds in foods has greater health benefits than the individual nutrient alone.”

So how many different fruits and vegetables should one eat each day?

Since vitamins, minerals and antioxidants differ from fruit to fruit and veg to veg, Dr. Spence advises his patients to put variety on their plates.

“It turns out that the antioxidants tend to be what gives each fruit or vegetable its flavour and its colour, and so eating fruits and vegetables of all different colours gives us combinations of antioxidants that are probably more effective than anything you can get in a pill.”