Monday, January 24, 2011

Economic Study of Obesity Cost

Very High cost of obesity to the Individual

Very sorry that this is not common knowledge....
So many patients don't think they are worth the investment, or that they will see benefit.

Paying for healthcare goes against the grain for many of us - but the hard truth in this economy is that help is NOT necessarily on the way from government, employers, or institutions (argh!)

What is to be done? We have to work in a community for advocacy, but not expect immediate results.

In the short term, my goal is to provide service as affordably as possible. This means keeping materials and handouts fairly basic, and depending on people to use online access to "extras" Every cost moderating decision we make helps keep us from having a "gold plated" price structure. We aim to be a bit like Costco - clean, friendly, value based. If you want posh surroundings, we can recommend a couple of really nice hotels!!!

Friday, January 21, 2011

Diabetes and Breast Cancer Survival

We are learning more every year about increased incidence, and increased lethality of many types of cancer with rising BMI, especially from younger ages.

link to article

There's a lot to be studied before making conclusions about what might be the cause, much less what might be an effective intervention. These articles always end with "keep good blood sugar control", but who knows if that will change anything. I certainly wouldn't endorse Bariatric Surgery in a particular disease finding, but we DO know that overall survival increases after surgical intervention from the Swedish Obese Subjects (SOS) trial, and from large studies by Dr Christou in Quebec and Dr Buchwald in Minnesota, among many others..

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Breakfast yes, maybe not breakfast feast!

It's so easy to go overboard...
I think we are metabolically more complex than the argument that all calories are treated exactly the same, but look out for anyone who is selling a diet based on some magic "combination" or timing that is going to let you consume twice as much!

Article on "Big" breakfast not being helpful for later reduction

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Treat Sitting Like Carbs?

sounds like a good idea - looking to see more studies to reinforce

article link

I had a "standing desk" in my office in Duluth, mainly to keep myself alert, but plan to build one to use in Bellingham (my accountant has a nice one)

Monday, January 10, 2011

Obesity Discrimination in Presidential Politics

Awareness coming to the media

As a professional, I have experienced hiring discrimination based on obesity, and it's probably even worse with working class jobs.

Governor Christie is a multi millionaire!