1) Many Pregnant Women Not Getting Enough Vitamin D (source: Medical News Today)

Seven out of every ten pregnant women in the United States are not getting enough Vitamin D according to a study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. While prenatal vitamins do raise Vitamin D levels during pregnancy, the study shows that higher doses may be needed for many women.

2) Federal School Nutrition Programs Linked To Obesity (source: Medical News Today)

Research reveals that children who eat lunch as part of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) have an increased likelihood of becoming overweight, according to research co-authored by Rusty Tchernis, associate professor with Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. The findings also show that the School Breakfast Program (SBP) is a “valuable tool in the current battle against childhood obesity,” according to the research.

3) Red meat and cancer: dumbing down the science (source: Nutrition Data)

…Dr. Marji McCullough gave an epidemilogist’s-eye view of the relationship between cancer and diet. Her main point was that focusing on overall dietary patterns (such as higher fruit and vegetable intake) rather than individual nutrients and foods (such as broccoli sprouts or soy) appears to be the most effective way to reduce cancer risk.

Dr. Gary Foster is a professor of  medicine and public health at Temple University. In this short audio interview, he shares current issues with obesity and practical solutions to how we, as a nation, can tackle the obesity pandemic.

Realistic Solutions to Obesity: Interview with Dr. Gary Foster

(source: The Obesity Society)

By: Ali Al-Rajhi

My notes from the interview

Is obesity more of lifestyle or medical problem?

Dr. Foster that obesity is more of a medical problem: but what is the source?

• Look at biological and environmental factors…genes haven’t changed much, but people’s environment has changed significantly.

Black Females have the highest rate…we don’t know why but Dr. Foster’s guess is that it may be linked to the environmental they live in, cultural lifestyle, and their socio-economic status.

What can be done to tackle the issue of obesity? Overall message is to “eat less and move more,” and current interventions are focusing on the following approaches:

• Level 1: Behavioral modification; Level 2: pharmaco-therapy; Level 3: Bariatric Surgery
• People must think through the whole process differently – instead of working on the “reinforcement” side, work more on the “antecedent” side (e.g., what are the early triggers that make one overeat or stay sedentary?).
• Think of caloric intake as you do when balancing your finances: Understand how much energy goes into body and how much is burned (energy in and energy out).
• Change your relationship with food and don’t focus on losing pounds (e.g. don’t diet, just eat healthier)
• Change kids preferences at an early age…even pre-uteri as research has shown (e.g., talk to mom about what she eats).

What about diet plans? Generally not effective, but every diet works to some extent if it gets you to eat healthier or eat less then what you did before.

Diabetes is the most costly from a health care point-a-view and closely tied to obesity…both a medical and economic problem

To influence children to eat healthier just change environment at home with healthier selections and don’t point fingers as teens might resist…show by action and not words. Same can be said about school environment (e.g., change what is offered in the cafeteria and vending machines)

What about folks that are biological pre-deposed to be overweight?

• These people might make changes but will quit because they feel defeated if they don’t see changes.
• The solution: Think of it as an endless life-long marathon and just make small changes in your diet (e.g., think of ways to eliminate unhealthy calories like replacing whole milk with fat-free milk).

Where can the public get good information?

• The NIH has practical outlines and patient handouts that are ethnically diverse. Just type in “obesity” into the search.

I’m not sure if this is an achievement, but at least rates are stabilizing. Now we need to see these rates decline, which may be realistic as more Americans are becoming health conscious and  obesity-prevention initiatives are being funded…thank you Michelle Obama.

Original Post

(source: USA Today)

•32.2% of men are obese, up from 27% in 1999, but it has been at the current level since 2003.

•35.5% of women are obese compared with 33.4% in 1999, a slight increase that is not statistically significant.

•Overall, about 31.7% of kids are obese or overweight, compared with 29% in 1999, also not a statistically significant difference.

By: Ali Al-Rajhi

The New Security Threat

After watching Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution on ABC, I’ve began to look at school lunches in a new light and how it is contributing to our nation’s childhood-obesity problems. Across the nation, teachers may be educating their students on proper nutrition; but the issue, in my opinion, arises when that education is not supplemented with schools offering healthy foods during lunch. I’m not surprised to what some people have labeled school lunches: “national security threat.”

When students understand the health benefits of a proper nutrition (e.g., physical and mental health, improved concentration during class, etc) and that a healthy meal can be flavorful, then grounding healthy nutrition habits can be actualized.

So what does it take to bring about change? I don’t know the miracle solution, however I believe that change must start with the parents. In general, parents are naturally protective of their children and want what is best for them. The “Food Revolution” showed how shocked parents were once they realized that flavored milk had more sugar than soda, the amount of fat in processed meats offered in such meals as Sloppy Joes, and that french-fries satisfied the FDA’s vegetable requirements in school lunches. Also, educating parents and their children that eating healthy does not mean having to spend a lot at the supermarket. It is very possible to eat healthy on a budget – check out THIS article. Lastly, children will follow by example as stated by Dr. David Ludwig: “When children are young, they want to do what their parents do,” he says. “It can be so easy if you start from the beginning”…check out his article HERE.

Overall, if we can combine education with action, change can be actualized. It’s shocking to think the current generation is the first generation predicted to have a shorter life span then their parents.

HERE is an interesting research article that assesses school lunches in relation to the nation’s obesity problems. You will only need to read the conclusion section on page 27 of 43.

Additional Information on thhe medical, psychosocial, and economic impacts of obesity:

Wyatt, S.B., Winters, K.P., and Dubbert, P.M. (2006). Overweight and obesity: Prevalence, consequences, and causes of a growing public healthy problem. American Journal of Medical Science, 331(4), 166-174.

What do you get when you combine Magic The Gathering and Infection Control? Yes, you guessed it…Healing Blade!

Original Post

(source: Wall-Street Journal Blog)

In the real world, it’s microbes vs. antibiotics. In the Healing Blade card game, it’s the Lords of Pestilence vs. the Apothecary Healers.

Two doctors have created the game, similar to Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh (with a dash of Dungeons & Dragons, for those old enough to remember), to teach med students about infectious disease, American Medical News reports.

The game pits the antibiotic Healers against various bugs, depicted as monsters with germ-appropriate characteristics. Water- and food-borne Campylobacter jejuni, for example, appears as a rather unfriendly looking mermaid. The monster representing the notorious Clostridium difficile, seen in the picture above, has the microbe’s toxic spores protruding from its back. And Enterococcus faecalis is depicted as a devil with a fist of fire, appropriate given the bacterium’s characterization as a “fiery colonic demon.” (Ouch.)

Arun Mathews, one of the game’s creators (the other is Francis Kong), tells American Medical News he hit upon a card game as a way to represent the complexities of matching antibiotics to illnesses. Players pick a side, then pit diseases and their symptoms and resistances against antibiotics — which can actually “turn into adversaries when real-world events such as resistance comes into play.”

Mathews, a hospitalist, and Kong, a health IT consultant, are the founders of Nerdcore Learning, the company that produced the game.