Odds and Ends

Weight Watcher's Meals - In the convenience section of my local grocer, i.e. the deli, I noticed  Weight Watchers (TM)  single serving microwavable meals.  Costly, but calorically sensible.  Choose these over sandwiches and you're likely to make the better choice.

Listen - Unlike many people, perhaps some of you included, I am much more likely to follow my health promoting routine or lifestyle as it is encrypted in my head than to make day to day decisions based on how my body feels.  This week, I had two occasions which challenged my rigidity and I listened.  One of them involved feeling that a running related muscle pain (old injury) was speaking a little louder than usual.  I believe that was Wednesday.  It was also forecast to be a cold and rainy day. I listened to my body.  I did not run on Wednesday but chose an alternative cardio activity that would not work my muscles in the same way and which took place inside.  On Thursday, the day I ran in place of Wednesday, I noticed that my DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) from Monday's weight training session had not truly abated.  If my muscles were still that sore, they needed more rest (so that I could work them hard again, as that is how muscles strengthen and grow).  I did my weight routine on Friday instead.  SO- if I can be more attentive and smart, so can you. You may have the opposite problem however - not feeling like sticking to any sort of routine whatsoever, esp. if your body is telling you it is tired.  Sometimes the weary feeling comes from lack of activity - so GET GOING.

Hostess - Ah - the bakery company is filing bankruptcy or bankruptcy protection.  I heard a joke on the radio in regards to the absurdity of a snack food company going bankrupt in AMERICA, but my thoughts on hearing the news were different.  I thought, "Hmm > that is because they charge too darn much for the 100 calorie cupcakes and I cannot afford to but them!"

Vegetables Ahead - Yesterday I roasted (baked in the oven) two bags of frozen cut green beans (with onion powder and thyme), a bag of frozen Brussels sprouts (first time I bought frozen - better price, better quality) with red pepper flakes and curry powder (because I was out of ginger), I cut a yam into three pieces and boiled it, and I cut, cleaned and baked a spaghetti squash (to add garlic powder and Parmesan cheese with I reheat it later) and I think that is about it!  I am ready for the week ahead.  I portioned the veggies out and froze them.

Give the Man... (NO)  Today was a great day in that my favorite football team, the NY Giants won their division and are on their way to the NFC championship.  When the game is on any channel other than NBC (which airs it live online!), I can only listen on the radio. I have a favorite radio station out of NY and I like the announcers.  However, when a NY Giant has a great play, one of the show's sponsors gives them an award - I can't remember the name of the business, but the announcer says that so and so gets the (business name)"Give the Man a Cigar" award.  Boo - cigars are full of toxins and I don't want my awesome men of Big Blue to get a lung disease !!

A Telling Definition

The terms health education and health promotion have several definitions,no agreed upon definition and are sometimes used interchangeably.  

Though I use this blog and other venues to educate people on health related issues - I still consider myself someone who primarily promotes health and wellness.

In a reading for one of my classes, I came across this definition of health education and thought, "Well - that is it then isn't it?"  And I wanted to share:

Attributed to Griffiths(1972) from the text listed below:

" health education attempts to close the gap between what is known about optimum health practice and that which is actually practiced."

In other words - the difference between what we know will keep us healthy and what we actually do.

From : Glanz, K., Rimer, B.K., & Viswanath, K. (eds). (2008). Health behavior and health education: 

Theory,  research and practice (4^th Edition). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.  [page 10]

Odds and Ends

Bone Drugs - The FDA has been reviewing several popular drugs that are used in the prevention of osteoporatic fracture and preventing bone density loss.  Some public health advocates are concerned over the risk of both femur and jaw fractures in women who take these medications.  I believe those in question are Fosomax, Actonel and Boniva.  The medications are classified in general as bisphosphonates.  You may recall my blogging about them in the past.  The FDA panel was debating  whether or not to recommend some type of time limit for taking these pills or a treatment holiday after a certain length of time.  The panel did not come to a conclusion.  Many members felt that the information was conflicting, but most agreed that the labels did need to be updated to warn women of the risk of these fractures.

Lactaid Free and Sugar - At a meeting this week, as we discussed the National School Lunch Program updates, the talk turned to milk.  Someone noted that she had switched to Lactaid Free Milk and that it was a lot sweeter.  I also drink Lactaid Free (skim) and had not noticed this.  One person in the group said that there was more sugar in the lactaid free type.  I compared two brands this weekend - two skims, one lactaid free and one not - they both had 12 grams of sugar.

Weight Watchers - Bone loss pills got bad press this week and the Weight Watchers Program got good.  I did not read the research study that shows a positive weight loss effect from Weight Watchers.  Friends and family have told me about the NEW Weight Watchers and from witnessing their progress I feel that the headline is likely true.  This leads me to continue my endorsement of WW.  And in case you are not sure, it is NOT a diet.

More Knee "research" - I was walking backward up a hill after I finished a run the other day.  It is good for the quadriceps muscles (thighs).  A woman that I often see walking her two dalmatians commented that I wouldn't want to do that in her neighborhood because of the sidewalk disrepair.  I turned and walked with her a block or so.  She said that her husband was a runner but does not do so much these days because of his knee.  Of course, most of you know what I said next, "OH?  what sport did he play?"  She looked at me quizzically, and I said that I was learning that most knee injuries were related to contact sports not running and indeed I was right again!  "football."

Helmet Promotion - In the arboretum this afternoon, I came across a family of four (they seemed a family).  Two small children were on tricycles and the little girl did not have her helmet on.  Her mother had it in her hand and seemed frustrated.  I stopped and said, "I have a pink helmet.  I wear it all the time."  This prompted the mom to say to the little one, "what color is your helmet?"  She pointed to the pink part of her purple and pink helmet.  I said, "Oh, it matches your dress!"  As I walked on, the little boy pointed out that he was wearing his helmet and the little girl let the mom get her helmeted.  The dad mouthed "thank you."  And that was my health promotion activity of the day :)

airlines, fats, and tobacco

Not going to be the post you are imagining!


After several unusual and harrowing tarmac flight delays, regulation was proposed and then passed, which limits the amount of time a plane loaded with passengers can sit idle. In other words, people no longer have to worry about being essential prisoners of the airline. As the rules neared enactment, the airline industry warned of dire consequences for THEM and an increase in cancelled flights for us. It turns out, um, that it is not so bad really. The industry has adapted and consumers are relieved.

I mention this in the health blog because the exact same thing could be said with regard to the legislation to rid foods of TFAs, to lower salt in products, to ban smoking in restaurants and so forth. Industry groups panic. Examples I recall for the TFA initiative include frying capacity, shelf life, and taste. As it turned out – the technology was there and NO ONE misses the TFAs. The sodium content in foods has been lowered once already and I doubt a second round is going to devastate the processed food industry. We will adapt. Moreover, those restaurants forced to ban smoking have had a BOOST in sales, not a reduction. We can be a healthier society and companies can maintain financial health. People balk at change, but change is not always bad.

A current instance, for example, is health care reform. The new law includes a provision for free preventative care in all new health insurance plans. The insurance companies might cringe at the new upfront costs, but the benefit is going to be the money they save by reducing the incidence of chronic disease in their plan participants.

Oh and two more I just thought of – oldies but goodies; lead paint and asbestos.

Tan Tax - outrage

"Study after study has shown that sunbed tanning increases the risk of both melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancers." This statement comes directly from the website of The Skin Cancer Foundation of the USA. Similar concern is noted on the website of the World Health Organization. I have no misgiving about these statements. In graduate school I worked on an awareness campaign regarding the dangers of tanning beds.

This was NOT the post I had planned for today, in fact, that post is already written and on standby because when I was reading the paper with dinner I became incensed. The WSJ has an article in today's paper that discusses a new tax that is now in effect. The tax was written into the Health Care Reform Act and will basically raise the cost of a tan by 10%. There are some exemptions to the tax. If a gym offers tanning in the monthly rate of all memberships then it is not taxed, but if it is an extra that members pay for as they use it - it is taxed. Owners of little tanning shops will be taxed. In the WSJ piece the reporter noted that fitness centers might use this exemption as a way to encourage people to join their gyms. The gym member would have access to tax free tanning. A person quoted in the story said something about it being wrong to try to keep people from becoming healthy. I have no idea what he meant. Yes, exercise improves health - tanning - NO SIR. Oh yes, and in the article it mentioned that people were trying to get more tans in before the price went up. OH MY GOSH> You may be able to view the article here.

The idea for taxing the tan SHOULD be based in the theory that higher prices for a tan would be a deterrent and thus have the potential to reduce the number of cases of melanoma. That was not mentioned in the article. No mention of radiation from tanning beds and the link to cancer was made. I was just aghast and thus had to change my blog.

Please - if you are a tanning bed user- let this be the reason you give it up. Learn more about the link to cancer from The Skin Cancer Foundation.

Diabetes Numbers

(thank you to those who have commented on my recent posts, I appreciate your feedback)

Diabetes Numbers

No I am not going to talk to you about incidence (new cases) or prevalence (all current cases) of diabetes. Not going to talk about how the rate of new cases is trending upwards while new cases in the young are threatening the life span of an entire generation. I am not even going to talk about how diabetes is related to blood sugars that run higher than normal for extended periods of time because the body is unable to produce enough insulin or has a resistance to the insulin that it does produce. (Insulin is the trigger that tells the body to move the sugar out of the bloodstream)

No. I am talking about different numbers. I mean the kind that end in lots of zeros and start with this lovely symbol $. Money Money Money.

Now I suppose you are expecting me to tell you how the rising cost of obesity and its subsequent diseases is straining our health care system - nope. If you REALLY want insight into disease - sometimes you have to look at the profit side.

According to an article from the AP and published by Yahoo Finance, global sales of both treatment (medication, insulin pumps) and testing devices (glucometers, strips) is up double digits year after year starting in 2004. The article also specifically notes sales of products from Johnson and Johnson which have topped two billion each of the last four years. It seems to me that some companies would have a lot to lose if we (health promotion folks) could prevent diabetes. Oh by the way, the article notes global sales for diabetes treatment to have been OVER 30 billion dollars in 2009.

See the numbers yourself here as I am not supposed to republish their info. :)

Men's Health

Though I believe in the campaign goal, I am not certain if the methods for reaching it are appropriate.

I am referring to a health promotion campaign that is a joint effort by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Ad Council. Using recommendations offered by the US Preventative Services Task Force with regard to screening for and preventing disease in men, the AHRQ has posted a checklist on their website and a printable chart to be used to keep track of screenings. This is in response to the fact that men in general die sooner than women and have much more incidence of preventable conditions than women do. It is also known that men visit the doctor less often than women. There is some speculation as to why this might be based on social and behavior theory, but to my knowledge, there has not been a study or broad survey of men to find out what is keeping them away. Behavior experts suggest it has to do with feelings of invincibility and pride. Either way – it would behoove everyone, especially the men, if they did get routine care and screenings. That is the goal of the ad campaign – the intermediate goal. The long term goal is less disease and increased life expectancy for men.

Please see the checklist and recommendations here.

The Ad Council has some print and TV spots that I do not think are going to be effective. I wonder if the ads were pilot tested and created by health communication or social marketing experts. I haven’t a chance to research that just now, but do want to know the answer. The ads seem to use humor or sarcasm in referring to a man’s early demise because they didn’t have screenings etc. But my educational and professional experience point away from that strategy so we’ll see.

Another thing that the proposal doesn’t seem to address is that some men and women for that matter are skeptical over the screenings, prevention methods and medications. I have had many people, especially over age 60 say that they think the tests are needless and just ways to get more money from the patient or insurance company. Now if that is really the perception for a plurality of men, then this campaign won’t work because it is hitting the wrong obstacle.

You can see some of the ads on the Ad Council webpage.

The Get Sick Later Die Quicker Plan

An article regarding company Navistar’s retirement benefits plan caught my attention. Shortly after reading it, I saw another article on retirement plans in general and it appears that they are headed the way of the dinosaur. The Navistar case is not an uncommon one, but it is more specific to changing drug benefit coverage than to axing the plans altogether. Many benefits managers do want people to switch to Medicare part D drug coverage as soon as possible. It is suggested that the Medicare drug plan has improved and will be less of a burden to retirees than it currently is with the infamous donut hole. Medicare D, however, may not cover all drugs or the most expensive ones – of course, that is fine by me, but I am not reliant on those drugs.

In Navistar’s case, again, they are one of many who receive government subsidies because they provide drug coverage. Those subsidies are also going to end with Health Care Reform but even with the subsidy, the cost of buying meds for former employees as well as current ones has just become unsustainable. According to the article that is published in Monday’s WSJ, this subsidy has been 600 dollars per year per person in the plan. Holy COWS. That is about 55 dollars a month on prescription drugs – a lot of drugs if they are the ten dollar generics and one very expensive drug if not.

Here are my main thoughts on this. First, the perk of having lifetime insurance from an employer is fading fast and probably will become extinct. Why it worked and why it won’t work have to do with health, health care and aging. The same issue plagues the Social Security system which had the same business model. People were NOT supposed to live this long. It would be great if they lived long well, but they don’t. We have made advances with medications and testing, which means the younger employees cost a lot of money to insure and the older retirees cost a lot of money to insure and do NOT die.

We must find a way to condense all this sickness into five or ten years, preferable after age 90, instead of living with disease from age 35 to 95. We must also address the incredibly high costs for medication and the use of medication that does not have any direct impact on health. Imaging is another area where too much is received and can actually lead to other unrelated health problems.

As I pondered my blog idea for today out loud to a friend, not yet 65- she brought up still another point. Forget Medicare part D – she doesn’t want A – B or any other letter because she keeps seeing signs that say, No New Medicare Patients…. Well – Medicare and Medicaid don’t pay much – and are riddled with fraud anyways….

There has never been a greater need or reason to pay for prevention. We cannot afford to test, treat and medicate all of these people for diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, heart disease, other obesity related illnesses, chronic lung disease and the like. The only way to salvage these health plans is to prevent the diseases that drain their coffers.