The first study, “Factor Contributing to the Facial Aging of Identical Twins” published in final form in the April 2009 issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, suggests that despite genetic make-up, certain environmental factors can add years to a person’s perceived age. In this study, divorce and antidepressant use associated with a significantly older appearance. Interestingly in twins who were less than 40 years old, the heavier twin was perceived as being older, while in those groups over 40 years old, the heavier twin appeared younger.

Watch the video clip (after the ad) from the LA Station about this new study, factors such as smoking, sun exposure, stress and dieting play a role in the aging process.

Factors affecting Aging:

• Divorce
• Stress
• Sun Exposure
• Smoking
• Alcohol use
• Weight Gain – varies depending on the age

You can watch another report from ABC news at their website.

Resources

Salamone G. October 2009. Study of identical twins reveals how habits like smoking and tanning can dramatically age skin. NY Daily News.
Cloud J. February 2009. Twins and Aging: How Not to Look Old. Time.com
Press Release. February 2009. Divorce, Antidepressants, or Weight Gain/Loss Can Add Years to Your Face: ASPS Twins Study Finds Environmental Factors Trump Genetics in Facial Aging. Press Release. American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

According to reports for Tyra Banks, what began as a game, a a three month “get fit, get healthy challenge” with seven of her friends has turned into a new lifestyle for her. As noted in the Video clip below, she felt conflicted and decided to say something about her weight loss after the media started to notice:

“The media started taking notice and showing pictures of before and after of me losing weight, and I felt kind of exposed because I wasn’t trying to proclaim to the world, ‘I got fit and I got healthy and I got in shape,’ because I felt kind of conflicted especially after the ‘Kiss my fat ass’ thing,” she says. “It’s still fat by the way.”

As part of the change, Tyra bought an elliptical machine and started exercising while watching Sex and the City. According to People.com Tyra says she:

“…got rid of one of my couches in my living room and I watched Sex and The City episodes on the treadmill or the elliptical. “o Sex and the City lasts 30 minutes – that’s how long I’m on the elliptical.

In addition the started writing down every single thing she ate making her more aware of the calories she consumed especially while eating out.

Key Points to her lifestyle changes:

• Getting off the couch, by getting rid of it
• Exercising
• Tracking calories
• Having fun doing it
• Being accountable to friends about getting healthy

Congratulations on the weight loss and for also setting a healthy example.

Sources:

Parks M. September 2009. Sex and the City Helped Tyra Banks Lose Weight. People.com
Tyra Sheds Pounds — and Furniture! September 2009. Extra TV.
SATC Helped Tyra Banks Shape Up. September 2009. FitSugar.com
Tyra Banks Shows Off Buff New Arms. US Magazine.

More:

Dyer KA. 2008. Tyra Banks Retort on “Fat” Comments. Nutrition and Wellness Blog.

Eat This Not That! for Kids is one of the books I have gotten for my daughters written to teach you how to be the leanest family on the block.

My daughters enjoy going through the book and discovering that many of the foods we are eating are in the “eat this” category and not in the “not that” category. They keep searching for more healthy options from the “eat this” list to add to what we purchase at the store, or health options for eating out.
Eat This Not That! for Kids is available on Amazon.

The government-sponsored study was conducted by researchers at RTI International, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Key findings from the study on Annual Medical Spending Attributable To Obesity: Payer- And Service-Specific Estimates were summarized in the article on Medical News Today. Lead author  Dr Eric Finkelstein and colleagues found:

• In 1998 the medical costs of obesity in the US were estimated at around 78.5 billion dollars a year, half of which was financed by Medicare and Medicaid.
• Between 1998 and 2006, the prevalence of obesity in the US went up by 37 per cent.
• This rise in obesity prevalence added 40 billion dollars to the annual healthcare bill for obesity.
• Obesity is now responsible for 9.1 per cent of annual medical costs compared with 6.5 per cent in 1998.
• The medical costs for an obese person are 42 per cent higher than for a person of normal weight.
• This equates to an additional 1,429 dollars per year: the costs for an obese person on Medicare are even greater.
• Much of the additional Medicare cost for an obese person are the result of the added prescription drug benefit.
• Medicare prescription drug payments for obese recipients are about 600 dollars a year more than for normal weight recipients.
• Obesity accounts for 8.5 per cet of Medicare expenditure, 11.8 per cent of Medicaid expenditure, and 12.9 per cent of private insurance expenditure.
• The annual healthcare costs of obesity could be as high as 147 billion dollars for 2008.

In looking at this information it isn’t hard to see how reducing the health cost due to obesity would significantly reduce our overall healthcare costs.

Focusing on keeping people healthy, keeping children from becoming obese adults, aggressively treating increases in weight gain and those who are in the overweight category would be cost effective ways of helping to reduce these staggering costs due to obesity.

Resources:

Paddock C. July 2009. Obesity Healthcare Costs US 147 Billion Dollars A Year, New Study. Medical News Today.

Finkelstein EA, Trogdon JG, Cohen JW. Dietz W. July 2009. “Annual Medical Spending Attributable To Obesity: Payer- And Service-Specific Estimates.” Health Affairs , Web Exclusive, July 27, 2009

Image: Michal Zacharzewski.  Shadow Fat Man. Royalty Free Use.

The presentation has gotten a lot of views and downloads, but not a lot of votes for the contest.

This presentation was developed as a patient and student education resource for younger students, high school students, college students and adult patients. In the presentation the common steps that people should follow to life a healthy life are included.

More Information:
Dyer K. Be Healthy 4 Life. Squidoo.com

Woman Challenge is a part of the Office on Women’s Health year-long Woman Activity Tracker program. The challenge runs from May 10 through July 4, 2009. It is a way to get women involved, thinking about their health.

The Challenge kicks off the 10th annual National Women’s Health Week (May 10-16, 2009).

Goals of The Woman Challenge – 8 Weeks for Better Health

The Woman Challenge encourages women to

• Get at least 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity each week.
• Including muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days of each week.

What Does the Women Challenge Include?

According to the Women Challenge Website:

Each week that you meet or exceed your personal physical activity goals, you will receive a virtual Woman Challenge Trophy. Earn 8 trophies in 8 weeks and receive a certificate of completion! From May 10 to August 22, 2009 you will receive weekly e-mail newsletters with tips on staying motivated.

There will also be weekly quizzes to test your knowledge of fitness and nutrition and give you a boost towards your weekly goal.

See the Women’s Health Website for More Information.

I discovered one of my poems, “A Message from an Angel Above,” was being used as a tribute on a Memorial Page set up for a college student, Sam Spady, who died of alcohol poisoning on September 5, 2004.

You can learn more about Sam Spady by watching the Video clips below:

Death By Alcohol: The Sam Spady Story

In June 12, 2006 Sam’s Parents Rick & Patty Spady and film producer Barry Bortnick appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America to discuss binge drinking and the new DVD on Sam’s death.

You can watch the interview with co-anchor Charles Gibson here.

More about the Sam Spady Foundation
The mission of the Sam Spady Foundation is to educate all parents and students on the dangers of alcohol, specifically high risk consumption, and the signs and symptoms of alcohol poisoning.

In addition to making public appearances and having a DVD available on Sam’s unfortunate story, the Sam Spady Foundation also makes SAM Wallet Cards available for students. The foundation advocates that this is the one card that every student needs.

The back of the card has good reminders of what to do in case of suspected Alcohol Poisoning.

You may order up to 10 cards at no charge by sending an email to walletcards@samspadyfoundation.org with your name, shipping address and how you will be using the cards.

More on the Affects of Alcohol

A related post from November 2008 looks at a reporter who is Reporting on Driving Under the Influence.

Michelle Obama shared her thoughts on the garden:

We want to use it as a point of education, to talk about health and how delicious it is to eat fresh food, and how you can take that food and make it part of a healthy diet.

Michelle Obama

This video shows twenty-six elementary schoolchildren wielded shovels, rakes, pitchforks and wheelbarrows to help first lady Michelle Obama break ground on a produce and herb garden on the White House grounds.

Michael Pollen, author of Omnivores Dilemma and advocate for agricultural reform had this to say about the garden.

A garden like this is one of those small gestures that is powerfully symbolic…it teaches important habits of mind — helping people to reconnect with their food, eat more healthily on a budget and recognize that we’re less dependent on the industrial food chain, and cheap fossil fuel, than we assume.

Sources:

Barrett K, Hartman B. March 20, 2009. Foodies Celebrate White House Veggie Garden: Obama’s Shovel-Ready Project Nurtures the Sustainable Food Movement Amid Some Criticism. Abc News.

Stanglin D. March 20, 2009. First lady breaks ground on White House veggie garden. USA Today.

We’re All Winners

Walking in October

Network for a Healthy California

The focus of the 11th Network for a Healthy California Conference s on “Inspiring Healthy Change Together.” The conference held in early March is two days of inspiration and ideas to collectively focus the spotlight on perspectives and actions that lead to positive change. Participants will learn from over 100 speakers and poster presenters who will share their insights, tools, and strategies for making change happen in their community.

Calories In = Calories Out

If you eat more than you burn up for the day, you will gain weight.

If you eat less than you burn up for the day, you will loose weight.

Or in more technical terms, the conclusions of the published study:

Reduced-calorie diets result in clinically meaningful weight loss regardless of which macronutrients they emphasize.

The Study

In the study 811 overweight adults were randomly assigned to one of four diets with varying percentages of energy derived from fat, protein and carbs. Each of the diets consisted of similar foods and all met guidelines for cardiovascular health.

Participants were followed for a period of 2 years. They were also offered group and individual instruction sessions during this time.

The main outcome measured at the end of 2 years was the change in body weight. Among the 80% of participants who completed the study, the average weight loss was 4 kg (8.8 lbs.). A smaller percentage 14 – 15% experienced a reduction of at least 10% of their initial body weight. This study also found that attendance at group sessions was strongly associated with weight loss.

Resources:

Sacks FM, Bray GA. Feburary 26, 2009. Comparison of Weight-Loss Diets with Different Compositions of Fat, Protein, and Carbohydrates. New England Journal of Medicine. 360:859-873

Parker-Pope T. February 25, 2009. Study Zeroes In on Calories, Not Diet, for Loss: Fewer Calories (Carbs, Protein or Fat ) Are Called Weight Loss Key. New York Times.

Image: Modified Microsoft Clipart.