The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Obese or not Obese, That is the Question The obesity epidemic is the topic of concerns about the health system and proposed laws to deal with the problem. The Harper government has followed through with its proposed physical activity tax credit for children, and let us hope families are taking advantage of this saving and keeping all receipts for hockey, dance, etc. It will of course take a few years before we know if the encouragement to get young people active is working. In the United States, multiple studies and many researchers are trying to come up with answers to explain, and to provide ways to combat, the amazing increase in the rate of obesity, which has doubled in the past quarter-century. A recent study out of John Hopkins University claims that one-third of American adults are obese. The numbers are expected to increase to 40 per cent by 2015, with a further increase in diabetes, heart disease and other ailments. Researchers use body mass index - a ratio of height to weight - to determine obesity. For example, a 6" tall person who weighs 225 pounds has a BMI of 30.5, with 30 and over considered obese. A Winnipeg internal specialist doctor told me that it really is what you eat. He said that a double cheeseburger meal and soft drink has more bad calories than three meals of meat, a salad, and vegetables with coffee. His advice? Stop eating food that is bad for you. On the California beaches of Newport and Laguna, I saw many examples of American obesity. One couple, holding hands and cavorting in the water, were particularly huge - probably 800 pounds between them. The middle-aged pair could barely walk but seemed to be enjoying themselves. On the return flight, one young and horribly obese female was too wide to walk down the aisle and had to skip sideways. At the baggage pick-up, she and her friend were virtually the same size, which leads to a very interesting and recent obesity research study. The obesity increase has generally been blamed on high consumption of cheap fast food, lack of exercise and genetic factors. Then came a recent study using advanced computer technology tracked human behaviour and relationships in over 30,000 people over 32 years. The Harvard and San Diego researchers found that the influence of friends on weight gain was more powerful than genetics. In other words, people with obese friends and family become obese themselves, with mutual friends having the greatest influence. Tracking social networks, they concluded that a single person who becomes overweight increases the chances of obesity in about 100 people connected to them in friendship or family. They suggest that diet and exercise programs concentrate on groups rather than individuals. Not all researchers agree with this finding. A Cleveland Medical School scientist claims that there are many reasons why people get fat, and friendships may not be a cause. He said thin people may be excluding fat people from their social network, and what the researchers conclude may be simply that birds of a feather flock together. Interesting stuff! Expect more studies on how to combat the epidemic of obesity affecting Americans and Canadians. * * * He became bulked up in the mid-1990s at 35 and began hitting home runs in the style of Babe Ruth. He is Barry Bonds, who in early August broke Hank Aaron's record. Bonds and others like him, bulked up on steroids, are cheating their way to fame and fortune. Their drug use was ignored by baseball owners who were anxious to put people in the stands - until it became blatant. The trainer who provided Bonds with the juice is already in jail, but it looks like Barry may get away with it. Don't bet on the surley home run king making it to the Hall of Fame any more than fellow user Mark McGuire, who was rejected this year on his first eligibility. Roger's Right Corner runs Wednesdays.
