Odds and Ends

I observed a beach cleanup this weekend which involved a group of children who appeared to be middle school aged. They did a great job and obviously learned about our environment and the effects of littering and pollution. The cleanup occurred at one of Florida’s tobacco free beaches. I was dismayed however when I saw that their reward included French fries, Fritos and soda. I bet they would have loved some water melon and a cool water bottle.

Speaking of food! I made it through airport security in Tampa with all my food this time. I did not try any freezer pack but was happy to eat my Wasa crackers and Laughing Cow 35 calorie cheese wedge on the plane. Other items in my lunch bag included, grapes, an orange, veggie lunch meat, string cheese, two or three cookies (low cal of course), a granola bar and self made peanut butter crackers. Well… I was going from Tampa to Madison WI. Oh and there is a grocery store one half mile from my hotel.

Speaking of traveling J I was rather stunned at the amount of disabled persons at the airport. I guess because it was the second time I have traveled recently and have seen a lot of older persons in wheel chairs. I do not remember it this way. I guess itI could be for a number of reasons. There are more older persons and there are more diseases related to poor lifestyles that can lead to disability. I read today that there were 12 million persons aged 65 and older who were considered disabled.

To follow up on my breastfeeding blog yesterday I want to give the definition of exclusive breastfeeding that is used to conduct the studies. Exclusive breastfeeding, based on the WHO definition , refers to the practice of feeding only breast milk (including expressed breast milk) and allows the baby to receive vitamins, minerals or medicine. Water, breast milk substitutes, other liquids and solid foods are excluded. Also, I failed to mention yesterday that the issue with the infant formula in Vietnam also included advertisements that allude to outcomes of intelligence and height in children who are given the formula……….

In regards to disability, much can be prevented by adopting an exercise routine. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans includes recommendations for every single age group and the disabled. Even older persons are encouraged to do 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity 5 days a week. There is no UPPER limit, the guidelines states that more is better. The minimal 30 x 5, the better 60 x5 and the exchange is vigorous activity instead of moderate at 25 x 3 or 25 x 6. (that is minutes per day but 150 minutes or 300 minutes total of moderate, 75 to 150 vigorous, it is better to spread it out though)

Health Care Reform bills are promoting measures to include wellness programs and disease prevention. It is hoped that after passage of a bill, insurance companies will cover these types of programs and providers will be compensated for encouraging weight maintenance and physical activity. Now, to overcome the providers’ reluctance to “hurt your feelings” we may have to pay a lot… plus an additional reward for providers taking their own advice!