Parents Might Underestimate Their Child’s Obesity

Your child isn’t obese, right? It’s just “baby weight” that will go away on its own. He’s big for his age, just like his dad was. She has inherited the big bones that run in the family. But, your child certainly couldn’t be obese. Are you sure? A study shows that parents can underestimate their child’s obesity. A study was published in the British Journal of General Practice in April of 2015. It was called “Child obesity cut-offs as derived from parental perceptions: cross-sectional questionnaire”. The purpose was to compare parental perception of their child’s weight with objectively derived assessment … Continue reading →

Global Obesity Bigger Concern than Hunger

I often blog about hunger in my Green blog because not only are people all over the world going without food, there is hunger in America as well. But, I also realize now that sometimes the lack of food also doesn’t mean out-and-out hunger but a lack of healthy food and some people who are from food-insecure homes are actually overweight. That may have something to do with a recent study conducted by almost 500 researchers for the Global Burden of Disease that said that globally, obesity is a bigger health concern than hunger. One of the co-authors of the … Continue reading →

Do Fruits and Veggies Help Cessation?

We all know that eating fruits and vegetables is good for you and smoking is bad for you. But, what if the good could actually help you defeat the bad? That’s right – a study published in the Nicotine and Tobacco Research journal last May suggests that consuming fruits and vegetables may help you put the cigarettes down. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Buffalo, looked at 1,000 smokers who were 25 years and older. Participants had to have smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and smoke daily or at least some days. Telephone surveys … Continue reading →

Obesity Costs $190 Billion

It makes sense that as we get fatter as a nation, our healthcare costs rise as well. But, I was really taken back today when I read that obesity could cost the U.S. $190 billion in healthcare. A new study shows that the rising cost of obesity has doubled from what experts previously expected. The staggering cost of obesity may even exceed the healthcare cost of smoking – yikes. Maybe it is true that when you give up smoking, which has been pushing in our society (and rightfully so), you gain weight. What is all this money being spent on? … Continue reading →

Kidney Removal Part 2

The kidney removal surgery went better than planned but my husband did wake up with 3 one inch incisions on his right side and about a 6 inch one going directly down his abdomen starting above the belly button. This was the first abdominal surgery that my husband has ever had. At this point I have had let us see… the first was an abdominal entry to replace a disc in my back, the second was appendix removal, gallbladder removal and then the TRAM flap reconstruction so I have had 4 abdominal surgeries so far. Hopefully it will not go … Continue reading →

Kidney Removal Surgery

So my husband had his kidney removal surgery and it actually went a little better than I was planning. The surgery was scheduled to last about 3 hours so when the doctor came out 1 ½ hours after the surgery started I was rather concerned. If you ever watch a medical show on TV you know that if a surgery is over too fast it usually means there are complications like the patient dying or having cancer spread throughout their body. So when the waiting room phone rang and the volunteer said the surgery was over and she took me … Continue reading →

Are You Suffering From a Sleep Disorder?

We could all use a bit of extra sleep these days. Sleep is so important because it affects so many aspects of our lives, and no matter how young or old you are, you can escape the results of sleep deprivation. Did you know that there are other long-term health problems that are often associated with sleep disorders? Hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and stroke have been shown to be linked to undiagnosed sleep disorders. This is why it is so important to discuss any sleep problems with your doctor. Take a look at the following signs of difficulty with sleeping. … Continue reading →

Shocking New Cigarette Package Warnings

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is turning up the heat to try to stop Americans from smoking. This week, the agency release nine new graphic warnings that will be required on at least 50 percent of the cigarette packages sold in America within the next two years. The FDA hasn’t added any new labels in more than 20 years and it decided to make these good ones – well, depending on your point of view. One label lists a smoker with smoke coming out of his tracheotomy hole in his throat. The caption reads, “WARNING: Cigarettes are addictive.” Another … Continue reading →

Obese Young Adults in Trouble

You may have noticed that America is getting larger and not in a good way. A study, titled Add Health and conducted by the University of North Carolina showed that young adults between the ages of 24 and 32 are at a higher risk than ever for high blood pressure among other health problems. High blood pressure is defined as that above 140/90. When I was that age, few of us worried about any health problems. But, the expanding waistlines and higher body mass index (BMI) of these young adults is taking its toll. The study, which was published in … Continue reading →

Avoiding Holiday Pounds

It’s that time of year again – no, not the holidays, but the time when everyone seems to come into your office armed with cookies and the office luncheon is filled with enough tryptophan and carbohydrates to choke a horse. The other day, a study was released that showed that the highest number of heart-related deaths occur on Christmas, with the second highest number being recorded on December 26. Now maybe it is family stress that is getting everyone or that last minute shopping, but I know that I personally pack on the pounds during the holidays because I love … Continue reading →