Odds and Ends

Well this week I am ensconsed in my very own chair in my very own living room and I like that better. I just have a few points to offer, and I have to say, the majority are owed to ONE source - a friend and blog reader, JESS, who kept me busy with her "need to see" links this week. She knows me and this blog...

Let's start then with what she sent me:

Pop the Pig: I am not a parent and may have missed this if not for someone sending it to me. It was an advertisement for an actual toy. I cannot believe this isn't an SNL skit. Nope, instead of Kerplunk, which is what I played, we have Pop the Pig. Children take turns, maybe by rolling the dice, to put little plastic cheeseburgers or burgers into a pigs mouth until eventually, someone will put the one burger in that POPS the pig. OMG, you just cannot be serious>>>>>

FEASTING: Again, I didn't find this on my own, but my friend did while watching Mary Poppins. I assure you, I watched the musical when I was young. In the show there is a line that is VERY relevant not just for this Thursday but for ANY day and it is, "Sometimes enough IS a feast." Amen sister. Let me add, sometimes the conversation is the feast!

Sesame Street: Well, I could be wrong, but I think it was from SS. They have little skits about healthy eating, drinking and exercise, so there is hope. The skits are by the Organ Wise Guys.

Meridia: Another FDA alert reached my mailbox in the last two days. This warns of some adverse cardiovascular outcomes with the weight loss drug Meridia. Let me copy the message right in the text:
FDA notified healthcare professionals and patients that it is reviewing preliminary data from a recent study suggesting that patients using sibutramine have a higher number of cardiovascular events (heart attack, stroke, resuscitated cardiac arrest, or death) than patients using a placebo (sugar pill). Sibutramine is marketed as Meridia, a prescription drug, in the United States. Meridia was approved by FDA in 1997 for the management of obesity, including weight loss and maintenance of weight loss, in conjunction with a reduced calorie diet. Meridia is only recommended for obese patients with an initial body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m2, or BMI ≥ 27 kg/m2 with other risk factors (e.g., diabetes, high cholesterol, controlled high blood pressure).The analysis of these data is ongoing and FDA is making no conclusions about the preliminary findings at this time. These findings highlight the importance of avoiding the use of sibutramine in patients with a history of coronary artery disease (heart disease), congestive heart failure (CHF), arrhythmias, or stroke, as recommended in the current sibutramine labeling.

Smoking and Weight Control: The above blurb reminded me of something else that occured to me this week. A report was released with the most recent rates of obesity per state. I noticed that the states with the highest rates of obesity, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee - were ALSO the states with the highest smoking prevelance. Which begs the question or challenge- "If smoking keeps you thin, why are the states with the most smokers the fattest?" And the answer is .....Because - food makes you fat or thin - PERIOD>

Testing: This week recommendations regarding mammograms and Pap smears were released and the former still has everyone in an uproar and the latter, less so. Now the politicians are getting involved. You know, we have to do this research and we have to let people tell us the results without fear of being blackballed over it.

Nails: One of few indulgences that I allow myself, and only in the last two years, is an eyebrow wax. [i am Italian and unibrows are NOT attractive]. I never have my nails done, no mannis and peddis for me... I do not always go to the same shop, but the women seem to all be Asian and often Vietnamese. I went today. The young girl exclaimed that she remembered me. I was the one that liked to exercise (once I went there after a run at the beach). She gave me lots of compliments about looking young and healthy, etc. She said not everybody was like that. I knew what she meant, though she did struggle finding her words. I summed it up for her with this observation, "Some people care more about their nails then their bodies."

I may not post on Thanksgiving - but I will try to keep it up till then. Be mindful to exercise and eat right before AND after your holiday - it is just a day.... all bets should not be off because of it.