Inspiration of The Day

via: Les Africaine sont les plus belles

Proud of my heritage

Cardiac Diseases and Lifestyle Choices

Lately, to keep my skills as an exercise physiologist, sharp*, I've been reading up about some of the more common cardiac diseases tied to obesity including information on Drug/surgical/Exercise interventions.Outside of aging,genetic anormalies, environmental pollution, trauma, consequences of being sick and etc...it never fails to amaze me just how bad our lifestyle choices affect our body. And how much, our heart, this WONDERFUL machine, tries to juggle things around, accommodate the changes and  fight to keep us alive despite our reckless sans-laisse attitude towards it

The more I read about the heart and the amount of external + internal "pressure" it endures in other to keep the body functioning, the more am beginning to consider becoming a cardiologist instead of a Physiatrist

Now let's talk about the medications.

Most obesity related heart disease patients are usually battling another disease which may either be the cause of their heart problems or an after math condition of their heart disease. Some of the common diseases include, hypertension, Type 2 diabetes and  pulmonary disorders (attn smokers). So as you can imagine, these patients are on several medication, each serving a different purpose.

Medications and the cost of health care is not cheap. Even with Insurance coverage You still have to co-pay. To think that for the most part, we can change the course of our health as we age through our lifestyle choices is very important. Educating the public on the importance of good nutrition and exercise doesn't just save the individual money but also lessens the burden on the government. Resources can be used to target other national problems that ARE NOT man made. I'm not sure how much money our government is currently investing on health care education and preventable medicine  but we need to do more.

According to Harboring Hearts, a heart surgical procedure or treatment in the US can cost between 

$30, 00 - 450,000. 

Obviously there are determinant factors such as the type of surgery, facility (public vs private),  and the severity of the patient's condition. The website does not break down the cost . It does not mention if components like cardiac rehabilitation post an event or surgery, lifetime medications and the cost of hiring a healthcare aid to assist with activities of daily living and many others, were factored into this amount. Perhaps, its only the " in patient-medical" cost.

How can these numbers not inspire people to live healthier?
How can you see a 300lb individual, walking down the street, perhaps juggling an oxygen tank, struggling to go about their business because of their weight...and not learn something from it. And not tell yourself...I must never let myself "go".I must make an effort to take better care of myself so I do not end up in a similar situation. How can you not?

I am not a petite or skinny size 5....not that its any indication of an individual's health status...but the point is...i struggle daily to make the right healthy decisions. I understand the temptations. I understand the cravings and i do not believe in "restricting" oneself. But I do believe in "proportions". Too much of anything is bad for you and it goes the same for food and even for exercising. Too much exercise with no adequate rest for the muscles to heal and rejuvenate will leave the athlete susceptible to injury. But there are also things that are just plain BAD for you such as cigarettes. There's nothing good about it.

My motto is, if am going to buy ice cream, am gonna walk the 45 minutes it takes to get to the grocery store or ice cream stand near my home and walk back!
And also, I think about my future, my unborn kids, my un-developed family. Do i want to make choices today that will leave me sick and unable to fully enjoy my family in the future? Choices that will leave me with nothing but medical bills as high as a mountain? Choices that over time will restrict my ability to travel leisurely and enjoy certain activities because of my condition*?
When I think about all of that, I don't eat the ice cream. But if am in a "devil may care" mood and do eat it , i try to make sure i schedule a workout session in the near future to balance the scale

Disclaimer
I understand special circumstances like, metabolic disorders, depression and other psychological events having a strong influence on some people, forcing them to turn to food, smoking, drugs and etc.

HOWEVER, when do we stop making excuses for the average regular person who is JUST PLAIN LAZY.
It seems there's a medical condition for every "bad" behavior and people are exploiting them to justify their actions.A kid acting plain stubborn has ADD. Now everyone and their mother has thyroid disease, so they stop trying to exercise to loose the weight or eat healthy. Blame it on the thyroids. Whereas according to a research study i read, the number of people who struggle with weight loss due to a under active thyroid is small.Obesity is sweeping across america like the plagues that swept across Egypt during the days of the prophet Moses.

Perhaps, its time the FDA and US Department of Health and Human Services flip the script. Let's put a high tax on fatty food. Make is a luxury to buy. Let's see how many people can afford to be obese. If tax payers contribute to the government programs to make healthcare affordable for everyone, then there has to be a way to regulate and hold people accountable for their action.

Only in America, despite our health crisis, is there a legal restaurant called THE HEART ATTACK GRILL that serves extremely horrible unhealthy but tasty i presume food. And to rub it in, the servers wear nurse outfits and any patron who is over 350lbs can eat for free.Their tag line? "Taste worth dying for".....which is fine and dandy but not on my tax payers $$$....I don't care much for their argument that the patron's choose to buy the product. They are exploiting their weakness/addiction as a drug dealer would a crack addict. A weakness that is killing thousands of people across the country. I do understand that patrons are required to sign a waiver before eating?(i think i read that somewhere) but can we also ask them to pass a psych evaluation first?

If you do not care about your body do not oblige other (tax payers) to care about it

I REST MY CASE

Black adolescent girls benefit less than whites from physical exercise

Source: New York Daily

According to research published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, black girls are less responsive to the benefits of physical activity.

Researchers studied the exercise levels and caloric intake of a group of 1,148 adolescent girls at age 12. Two years later, lower levels of obesity correlated with higher levels of exercise in white girls. Surprisingly, the same wasn’t true for black girls — those who reported frequent physical activity were just as likely to be obese two years later as ones who rarely exercised.

The study’s authors pointed to earlier research that helps explain why African-American girls might be at a disadvantage in the weight game, such as having lower metabolic rates and lower rates of fat oxidation than their white peers.

Other potential contributing factors are a higher daily caloric intake and more sedentary behaviors, like watching TV, the study says. 

There is much that is wrong about the article...from the many gross generalizations to the lack of an authentic sample that reflects the female black African American population...i don't have access to the complete report which cost $34.95 but on what is it basing the notion that black girls watch more TV than white girls and there for are not more physically active?...

The writer and editor behind the website a black girls guide to weightloss, Erika Nicole Kendall, sums up my concerns with this research. You can read about it here

Here is the abstract of the research from PubMed

Descriptive Study of Educated African American Women Successful at Weight-Loss Maintenance Through Lifestyle Changes.

Barnes AS, Kimbro RT.

Source

Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, 1504 Taub Loop, Houston, TX, 77030, USA, smith@bcm.edu.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Interventions to address obesity and weight loss maintenance among African Americans have yielded modest results. There is limited data on African Americans who have achieved successful long-term weight loss maintenance.

OBJECTIVE:

To identify a large sample of African American adults who intentionally achieved clinically significant weight loss of 10 %; to describe weight-loss and maintenance efforts of African Americans through a cross-sectional survey; to determine the feasibility of establishing a registry of African American adults who have successfully lost weight.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS:

African American volunteers from the United States ≥ 18 years of age were invited to complete a cross-sectional survey about weight, weight-loss, weight-loss maintenance or regain. Participants were invited to submit contact information to be maintained in a secure registry.

MAIN MEASURES:

Percentage of participants who achieved long-term weight-loss maintenance reporting various dietary and physical activity strategies, motivations for and social-cognitive influences on weight loss and maintenance, current eating patterns, and self-monitoring practices compared to African Americans who lost weight but regained it. Participants also completed the Short International Physical Activity Questionnaire.

KEY RESULTS:

Of 3,414 individuals screened, 1,280 were eligible and completed surveys. Ninety-percent were women. This descriptive analysis includes 1,110 women who lost weight through non-surgical means. Over 90 % of respondents had at least some college education. Twenty-eight percent of respondents were weight-loss maintainers. Maintainers lost an average of 24 % of their body weight and had maintained ≥ 10 % weight loss for an average of 5.1 years. Maintainers were more likely to limit their fat intake, eat breakfast most days of the week, avoid fast food restaurants, engage in moderate to high levels of physical activity, and use a scale to monitor their weight.

CONCLUSIONS:

Influences and practices differ among educated African American women who maintain weight loss compared to those who regain it.

 

Vacay and sick time off

Capecod + biking+  sick + movie night + broken internet connection and just barely hanging on to my sanity after my internet provider told me they'll charge me to send a technician to the house to troubleshoot why even though am paying for internet i dont seem to have an active line.....Yes...we live in a MAD world

heading to the T

my not so little brother

Because I never found a messenger bag i didnt fall in love with

arm candy

I'm pretty sure famous & busy cities in the world are defined by whether they have a "chinatown"

she was an awesome wicked queen but the movie was kinda slow

can u spot my black ass on here

my army against flu/cold that had me down for a couple of days