WSJ writer Rhonda L. Riddle details the health efforts of this billionaire owner of Dole Foods Co. and other enterprises in a huge front page story in yesterday’s Journal.

The 83 year old Murdock is as committed to personally maintaining and promoting for others a healthful lifestyle as any young nutritionist or personal trainer.  He recently negotiated a bonus for a contractor if the contractor would lose 30 pounds over a specific period.  He cared that much about the person’s health.

Murdock is cut in the classic Horatio Alger rags to riches mold.  Among his first enterprises was running a diner, which he sold for a profit of $1200.  His net worth is now estimated at around $4 billion according to the article and Forbes.

Murdock is dedicated to healthy eating, shunning saturated fats and meats, and is trim and fit.  He has invested in the Wellbeing Institute which promotes healthy lifestyles and is a tireless spokesman for weight loss and health.  Judging from his various projects it looks as if he intends to spend a significant portion of his $4 billion fortune on projects that improve the health of American while he is still alive.

It’s nice to see such a prominent American citizen both alarmed about the obesity epidemic sweeping the country and willing to do something about it with tangible funding and personal involvement.     

Murdock’s views on the need for Americans to focus on personal health, exercise, weight loss and improved eating habits are exactly what the country needs more of.

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Check out this article from MSN Health and Fitness that details the calories and fat in 10 commonly ordered fast foods.  The number of calories are astonishing.  For example, the MacDonald's deluxe breakfast weighs in at 1220 calories, Burger King's triple whopper with cheese has 1230 calories, before you consider fries and a soft drink.  With entrees like these, it would be quite easy to consume all of your allowable calories for the day in one meal, when you consider condiments, a drink and a side order. 

With such huge of amounts of calories being regularly consumed by Americans, it's no wonder that 2/3 of the country is overweight.  One can simply not eat these kinds of fast foods in one sitting and not gain weight.

To lose weight, one must be acutely conscious of what the calorie count is for the foods you consume and how much you are consuming daily.  Consuming calories equal to 10 to 12 times  your ideal body weight daily is not a bad estimate of where you need to be if you want to lose weight,  depending on your exercise regime.  So, for example,  if you want to weigh 150 lbs, you should be in the 1500-1800 calorie range per day  to lose. 

Read the whole article for the all the details on the calorie busters.

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Michael Granberry’s Article entitled ‘Women who build bone as teens can cut their risk of problems in later life’ should be a dramatic wake-up call to the perils of ignoring bone health in adolescent years.  Since chances are slim that the pre-adolescent crowd is reading health Blogs over their morning cereal (with milk, we hope!) this message is really directed to parents and pediatricians of pre-teen and teenage girls.  Recent studies have shown that 1) Increased calcium intake for young girls is the best way to prevent bone weakening, bone loss, and osteoporosis in later years, and 2) adolescent girls are currently consuming much less than the recommended amounts of calcium. 

Also, the article includes the following main thoughts:

• For females, adolescence is the critical period for creating bone mass; studies indicate that at least 60 percent of a woman’s total bone mass is acquired during adolescences.
• The recommended calcium dosage for young females is 1300 mgs per day; current estimates show an average consumption of just 800 mgs per day.
• Depo-Provera, a form of birth control, has been shown to negatively affect bone density and some doctors believe the bone loss is not completely reversible and thus believe the drug is risky for young women who are still growing.

The article ends with a compelling quote from Dr. Scalfano, director of adolescent medicine for the UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas; when asked what a teenage girl is doing wrong by failing to incorporate the appropriate levels of calcium in their diets, Dr. Scalfano responds, “They are interfering with their body’s full potential to bring them a lifetime of health and function.  A 15-year-old with a poor diet and a calcium and Vitamin D deficiency could end up with osteoporosis and simply won’t be able to water-ski or snow-ski at age 50, not to mention any number of other things they may want to do.”

Read Michael Granberry’s full article

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I had set the alarm clock for 6 am planning on an early morning run with our golden retriever.  I normally run plus or minus 3 miles, with a walk, jog, and sprint to max heart rate interval training approach that works well for both me and my trusted companion’s needs.

But as 6 am rolled around, there was a steady hard rain that wasn’t about to let up anytime soon.  My normal running territory would be sodden and puddled up.  I took the pup on a quick walk and then returned, searching for some exercise that was in concert with the weather.  That meant in doors, obviously.  I had a group training session scheduled for tomorrow with a personal trainer so I didn’t want to do a straight functional workout two days back to back.  I didn’t feel like driving in the terrible weather to the gym and back for treadmills, stair climbers, or life cycles and didn’t have time it would take in the car anyway.

So I settled on an indoor real stair climbing interval exercise routine.  I hooked up my ipod and went for the safety of the “top 25” play list.  I normally use either a Bluetooth wireless headset or the Velcro armband with ear buds and cord.   Since I was indoors and staying in the same general area, I opted for the wireless hookup.

I have some pretty steep stairs in the house, almost 8 inches high each, 20 steps in total with two landings and a sturdy handrail (for the trip down.)  I settled on 5 sets of 10 roundtrips each as a reasonable goal for the half hour or so I had available to train.

I hooked up a heart rate monitor and then I was ready to go.  I was looking for good cardio as well as plyometrics and dynamic balancing. 

Going up, I took the stairs up two at a time, hands free and swinging, giving a good jump spring effect on the upward trek.  In this context of exercise, an explosive leap is the key to getting the benefits of plyometrics.  Check out this discussion of plyometrics to see why.   For safety, I held the banister lightly on the way down and took the stairs one at time.   I was feeling mentally lazy and I didn’t even want to have to count the reps.  This would maximize the enjoyment of the ipod and allow me turn off my mind otherwise, so I settled on carrying up some sort of marker to serve a counter for trips.   Some key limes from the kitchen met that requirement.

I took a two minute break between each of the five sets and downed two half liters of water during my rests.

At the end of the last two sets I was approaching 94 per cent of my max heart rate so I was getting good cardio.  The interval rest period gave me a good chance for recovery, down to 65% of maximum.  I definitely felt the plyometrics effects in my upper thighs and lower legs.  At about 30 seconds a round trip, it was about 5 minutes a set or 35 minutes of exercise inclusive of the 2 minute rests.  It was a good workout, not exhausting by any means but a nice change of pace.  The time raced by courtesy of the ipod.

As always, check with your doctor before you initiate a rigorous exercise routine.

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The WSJ reports that there is a growing body of evidence that vegetable consumption has greater health benefits than previously recognized.

At present Americans are not eating enough vegetables and tend to over consume French Fries, one of the least healthful veggies.  Instead, Americans should consume more dark green vegetables which contain lots of phytonutrients.   Canned and frozen veggies are ok; it generally doesn’t have to be fresh to confer the health benefits.

A whopping two thirds of the American population is now considered overweight.

Some of the key benefits of eating more vegetables, according to the article:

1. Three times a day vegetable eaters reduce their risk of having a stroke and dying of cardiovascular disease by 25%.
2. Those who eat copious servings of vegetables have a much lower probability of becoming obese.
3. Veggies may stave off osteoporosis.
4. Vegetables may reduce the risk of cardio vascular disease as well as prostate cancer.

In my personal experience, vegetables are particularly useful when you are trying to lose weight.  Preparing copious amounts of spinach, asparagus, broccoli, and squash, for example, and then consuming these at your main meals, tends to provide a great feeling of satiety on very few calories.  All of the other health benefits, plus the great taste are simply additional benefits.

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Here’s an article from Jane Brody, the primo health and fitness writer of the NYT that details the problems of the obesity epidemic for pets.  That’s right—pets.

It appears that as America overfeeds itself, it is applying the same tactics to their pets.  Obesity among cats and dogs is increasing.  Interestingly there are direct parallels between humans and pets.  Obesity in pets causes, according to the article, orthopedic problems, metabolic disorders, hormonal disorders (e.g. diabetes), respiratory disorders, urogentital disorders (e.g., kidney stones), malignancies (e.g. cancer), as well as exercise intolerance, hypertension and decreased lifespan.  Sounds remarkably similar to the problems that obesity causes in humans, doesn’t it.  It is.

Of course, as the symptoms of obesity in pets are similar to those in humans, the approach to control obesity is pretty much the same too.  Feed your pet less, avoid giving your pet junk food and table scraps and ensure the pet gets plenty of exercise. “The most effective treatment for excess weight in companion animals is a decrease in caloric intake and an increase in physical activity.”  Ms. Brody also suggests a frequent weighing of the dog to keep track of things.  Clearly, humans who weigh daily are more effective at keeping off unwanted pounds.

There is also synergy between being committed to keeping excess pounds off your pet.  A daily jog with man’s best friend does both of you a favor.

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Here's  a disturbing article that indicates that doctors are reluctant to discuss their children-patient's obesity because of various reasons:   

“The reasons are many, experts say: fear of alienating a family or hurting a child; uncertainty about what weight loss approaches have the best outcomes — or work at all; accelerating time pressures coupled with the requirement that doctors cover an increasing number of topics in a visit; and an insurance system that often does not reimburse doctors for follow-up visits to treat obesity alone. Many pediatricians also say they have no place to refer children who need more intensive help managing their weight.”

This is certainly disheartening as the country faces a child obesity tsunami that could severely impact our nation's health in the coming years.  If doctors fear broaching this fundamental health issue with their patients, then a very crucial avenue of addressing the childhood obesity epidemic is lost.  Let's hope that most pediatricians are not in fact dodging their responsibility in this important area. 

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This informative NYT article reports on a study that indicates that Diabetes may be linked to greater risk of Alzheimer's.  Diabetes and particularly type 2 Diabetes is directly linked to obesity.  Connecting the dots, it would appear that one has a greater risk of contracting Alzheimer's if one is obese.

Diabetes has already been linked to greater risk of heart disease, cancer,  strokes, kidney failure and amputations.

Alzheimer's affects 1 in 10 people at 65 and over half of the people over 85.  Given the rising epidemic of diabetes, a link there to Alzheimer's could cause these rates of occurrence to increase even further.

One study reported on the in article found that those with diabetes were 70% more likely to contract Alzheimer's disease than those with normal blood sugar levels.

One of the study authors is quoted by the article thusly:   “With the whole diabetes epidemic  we’re seeing much more Type 2, so are we going to see even more Alzheimer’s than we thought we would see? If we continue in this direction, it’s a little bit frightening.”

On the positive side some anti diabetes drugs may be useful in combating Alzheimer's, the article indicated.

Read the whole article.

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This Ivanhoe article reporting on a study in the Journal of American Medical Association indicates that breast cancer may be more likely for those women who are overweight.  The article noted that previous studies have shown a correlation between losing weight and having a reduced risk for cancer.

According to the study results, those women who gained 55 pounds since they were 18 were 45 % more likely to develop breast cancer than those who maintained their weight.

Key quote from the article:  “The researchers say the data they gathered shows weight gain during the adult years is dangerous for women. They say doctors should advise women to avoid weight gain both before and after menopause.”

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Here's an interesting article from Asia Times that gives a good update on smoking in China.  China is a smoker's paradise and part of the reason is that the government controls the production of tobacco products and reaps huge profits.   As monopoly producer with all profits going to the government, it is only natural for the Chinese tobacco consortium to maximize its profits.  After all, that is the goal of every monopoly.  However, this obviously conflicts with the government's obligation to create a healthful environment for its citizens.  It's somewhat of a catch 22 and it's hard to see the Chinese government taking the needed anti smoking steps as long as it wears the hat of monopoly producer of tobacco in the country.

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