Archive for September, 2010

USA is fattest of 33 countries (USA Today)

Obesity epidemic ranges on (Washington Post)

Unhealthy eating and inactivity are  leading causes of death in the US
(US Department of  Health & Human Services)

Leon's getting larger.

According to health officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, U.S. obesity rates have increased in the past 10 years even though the government set a goal of reducing obesity rates to 15% of the population by 2010. Fail.

Obesity rates inched up 1.1% between 2007 and 2009, according to a new report released by the CDC. In just the past two years, 2.4 million people have joined the ranks of the obese. About 72.5 million U.S. adults are now obese, the report found. That’s 26.7% of the population, compared to 25.6% in 2007.

“The prevalence of obesity and abdominal obesity remains disturbingly high among adults in the United States, and our trend analysis shows that both may still be increasing among men,” the CDC researchers said.

To top it all off, Americans now have the dubious distinction of being the fattest nation among 33 advanced nations. Fail.

And some people scratch their heads and wonder why this is happening. There are several possible answers but, in my humble opinion, there is one very simple one: we eat too much (and much of what we eat is junk) and we don’t exercise. Check out this video from ABC News. It’s only 2-1/2 minutes long but says so much about what/how much we eat in this country and demonstrates how easy it is, if you’re not engaged in maintaining your well being, to go completely overboard when it comes to calories and fat. You can actually see and hear the immediate physical results of eating this disastrous “meal”. Seeing the fat content in the reporter’s blood sample is amazing and scary at the same time.

What Exactly Does a 6,190 Calorie Lunch Do to Your Body?

And this is just lunch! What happens when you eat breakfast and dinner? While this story aired in 2009, things haven’t improved much at many chain restaurants. The most recent assault on our health: fried lasagna from the Olive Garden, described as Parmesan-breaded lasagna pieces, fried and served over Alfredo sauce, topped with Parmesan cheese and marinara sauce. This heart-attack-waiting-to-happen includes 1,030 calories and 63 grams of fat (that’s 97% of your recommended daily intake), not to mention 121 grams (105%) of saturated fat and 150 milligrams (67%) of sodium. And this is just an appetizer!

Olive Garden does have a couple of less life-threatening items on the menu, but why are they offering food that should only be found at a state fair? Is this responsible behavior? Who thinks up these concoctions? Is there a group of sadistic chefs out there who are trying to kill us with inhumanely large portion sizes, fried in fat and soaked in salt with almost zero nutritional value? It seems like a very poorly thought out business plan—if you kill your customers, how do you expect to stay in business? Perhaps menus should come with warnings like cigarette packages do: This product is known to cause diabetes, stroke and heart attack. Or maybe there should be a rule: if you create a meal-time monstrosity, you must create a nutritious meal to keep the balance.

Restaurants say they are giving customers what they want. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know anyone who wants to die early from heart disease, diabetes or any other obesity-related disorders. How about caring enough about customers to help them lead healthy lives. You can leave the Alfredo sauce and chocolate chip cookies on the menu, just post the nutritional info and keep the portion sizes reasonable. And for those of us who don’t want to see fat floating in our blood, give us a nice piece of fish, chicken or lean meat prepared with delicious herbs and spices—not fried in fat and drowned in sodium.

It’s time we start taking accountability for what we put in our bodies. It’s so simple. Watch your portion sizes, count your calories, read nutritional labels, and get some exercise. And let your favorite restaurants know that you want healthier food in healthier portions. Your dollars matter—exercise your voice and your wallet, too.

Officials at the CDC are now developing targets for reducing obesity by 2020. Let’s hope we get a passing grade the next time.

About a month ago, I decided to research the various calorie counter applications available for smart phones and computers. I experimented with a couple of different applications, but they all seemed very limited when it came to both the food database and functionality. Then I discovered MyPlate on the LIVESTRONG web site. MyPlate is available for free online and you can upgrade to a Gold membership to get some additional functionality. The mobile application, Calorie Tracker, is available for several smart phones for $2.99. I’ve been using both versions for about one month and have been especially pleased with the web site.

The Web Site

The web site has a clean design and is easy to use (unlike other sites which were so crammed with information I didn’t know where to start). You begin by entering your personal information (height, weight, etc.), goals such as weight loss, and activity level. You then log in your food and fitness activities each day. The food and activities databases are excellent! MyPlate boasts the largest food (700,000 foods and beverages) and fitness (1,500 activities) databases online. I would have to agree. It also allows you to enter new products into the database, assemble ingredients into a recipe so you don’t have to log in individual items each time you have a particular dish, and you can manually log in your food and fitness activity in the event you can’t find a match in the database.

I have found the chart, below (part of the free web site program), to be very motivational. It really helps with my accountability. When I originally started the program I used a standard 2,000 calories-per-day goal, but just recently changed it to meet my specific goal (maintaining my current weight) so it now reflects a 1,756 calories-per-day requirement.  As you can see, the Calories Over Time function allows you to view your recommended daily calories, actual calories consumed and net calories, which is calculated when you input your fitness activities for the day, for the past 10 days. This visual cue has proven very helpful in reminding me of what and how much I am eating and exercising. I have two names for this chart: Doh! or Yes! About four weeks ago I had a Doh! moment when I saw just how many calories I had eaten in one day – 3,500+! It’s amazing how quickly calories can sneak up on you – even when you are eating what you think is a healthy salad. If I was smart, I would have asked for the nutritional information for the wolf in sheep’s clothing salad before I ordered so I could have made a better choice. Such is the gift of hindsight. We are all entitled to occasional “fun” days when we let ourselves indulge a little, or, on this particular day, a lot. Looking at the chart reminds me when I need to get back on track.

Calories Over Time

While losing weight is not one of my goals, I have lost 2 pounds in the last month by simply being aware of what I am eating.

The online version is a very robust application and the vast majority of functionality is free – but you do need to put up with advertisements. However, the ads are offset by the large amount of information and health and wellness tools available – too many to list in this blog post – on MyPlate as well as the LIVESTRONG web site in general. There’s even a MyPlateD for diabetics.

If you sign up for a Gold Membership ($45/year or $29.95/6 months) you get a few added benefits including the ability to export your information (so you can share it with your doctor or trainer), no ads, priority support and some additional functionality, including:

• Set Custom Nutrient Goals: maybe you are watching your sodium or cholesterol, or need to load up on carbs for a big race.

• View your Daily Nutrition Chart: choose calories, carbohydrates, protein, fat, calcium, vitamin A, sodium, cholesterol, sugars, or dietary fiber. The chart below is a personal example of my dietary fiber intake for today.

Nutrition Breakdown by Day – Fiber

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post – I looked at several other web sites and applications but found nothing as robust and easy to use as MyPlate. Plus, you get so much more, for free, on the LIVESTRONG web site. I can’t imagine using anything else. I hope you will give it a try and that it makes a difference in helping you to achieve your nutrition and fitness goals.

City of Cypress 5k/10k Run/Walk

One of KeepWell’s core philosophies is participating in community events where we can talk with our customers, promote health and wellness, and support causes that are close to our heart. To accomplish this we research events in the Southern California area to determine where and when we can participate. We use several online resources to help with this task and I thought you might be interested to learn how you can find events in your community.

There is one site in particular, active.com, that serves as a nationwide database for all sorts of events: from ultra-marathons and 100-mile bike races to fitness expos and 2k dog walks. You can search by city to locate events in your area. In addition to races, active.com also has information on team and individual sports and is an excellent resource for training, nutrition, injury prevention and many other fitness-related topics. Many event promoters use active.com to handle event registration, too.

There is also bikeride.com and runningintheusa.com (I think the names speak for themselves). There is some duplication between each of these sites and active.com, but there are several events that are only listed on one site so it’s good to check more than one list. Another good resource is your local parks and recreation department as they typically list city-sponsored events.

If you’ve never participated in a fitness-related event, don’t be intimidated. While many events are labeled as a “race” you absolutely do not need to compete against anyone other than yourself to reap the benefits. And if a race is very physically demanding, such as 10k trail run for elite runners, the event web site will let you know so you don’t get in over your head. What’s important is that you get out there and exercise. Set a reasonable goal for yourself. For some people, this may be running a half-marathon in under 90 minutes, for others it might be walking a 5k without stopping. We all have to start somewhere. Pick an event that sounds like fun – maybe it’s a bike ride along the coast or a mud run where you get covered in muck. Or support a cause that is meaningful to you. Whatever makes you happy will make it more enjoyable and meeting your goals easier.

KeepWell is very fortunate to be able to take part in community-based events and we hope to see you out there enjoying yourself. Please check our web site, Facebook page and this blog for details on KeepWell’s participation in these upcoming events:

Lap the Lakes 5k Fun Run
Saturday, September 18
Santee, CA

Malibu Canyon Dirt Dash
Saturday, September 25
Calabasas, CA

Rubber Boot Race
Saturday, October 2
Tustin, CA

Promenade on the Peninsula
Sunday, October 10
Rolling Hills Estates

Protect Your Tootsies

I belong to a gym that offers several different types of group exercise classes. While many of these classes are of interest to me, the schedule never seems to work in my favor so I haven’t had a chance to give any a try. But due to a one-time hiccup in my usual schedule, I was able to attend a turbo kick boxing class this week. I was very excited to try something different from my usual gym workout.

While the class was more of a hyper-speed aerobic workout (with a few punches thrown in for good measure) than a traditional kick boxing workout – it was an effective cardio workout nonetheless. Just when I started getting the hang of when to cross and when to jab, I realized the ball of my right foot was starting to get sore. A few minutes later, I knew I was starting to form a blister. Apparently, all of the bouncing and pivoting on the balls of my feet, which I am not used to, combined with my thicker workout socks, was my body’s way of saying thank you for changing up my workout routine.

While the blister isn’t too bad, nothing like the cringe-inducing, fluid-filled behemoth in the film Run, Fat Boy Run (excellent movie, by the way), it still needs to be dealt with so I did some research on blister prevention and treatment. The Mayo Clinic suggests the following treatment:

Don’t puncture a blister unless it’s painful or prevents you from walking or using one of your hands. If you have diabetes or poor circulation, call your doctor before considering the self-care measures below.

To relieve blister-related pain, drain the fluid while leaving the overlying skin intact. Here’s how:

• Wash your hands and the blister with soap and warm water.
• Swab the blister with iodine or rubbing alcohol.
• Sterilize a clean, sharp needle by wiping it with rubbing alcohol.
• Use the needle to puncture the blister. Aim for several spots near the blister’s edge. Let the fluid drain, but leave the overlying skin in place.
• Apply an antibiotic ointment to the blister and cover with a bandage or gauze pad.
• Cut away all the dead skin after several days, using tweezers and scissors sterilized with rubbing alcohol. Apply more ointment and a bandage.

Call your doctor if you see signs of infection around a blister — pus, redness, increasing pain or warm skin.

Active.com suggests the following preventative measures:

1. Spread petroleum jelly or talcum powder over areas which develop blisters frequently. This will cut the friction.
2. Change socks, shoes or road surfaces that cause the problem.
3. Pad areas of your foot which protrude with foam padding, moleskin, or other products made for this purpose.
4. For chronic problems, you can relieve pressure points with shoe modifications or orthotics.

The gift of hind sight is 20/20. The next time,  if there is a next time, I will try a little petroleum jelly and wear my running socks which are thinner and form fitting . I’m off to sterilize my needle now. Wish me luck!