Obesity and Health Care Reform

You may be interested in reading this article on Earthtimes.org:

15 Million Americans at Greatest Risk of Disease/Death Have Been Left Out of Health Reform Debate

 National Obesity and Public Health Leaders Are Pressing Congress to Address Health Needs of the Morbidly Obese
WASHINGTON; Nov. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — As the House of Representatives and the Senate debate companion bills to make health care more affordable and accessible, a coalition of obesity and public health experts today urged Congress not to overlook the needs of the more than 15 million Americans who suffer from severe obesity and are at the greatest risk for chronic disease and death.
Through a newspaper advertising campaign targeting lawmakers, Shape Up America! — the anti-obesity crusade launched by former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop — and 20 organizations and public health officials published an “Open Letter to Congress” to lay out the need for affordable, quality medical care for Americans with “morbid obesity,” a chronic medical condition of genetic, environmental and behavioral origins where the amount of excess weight is often more than 100 pounds. Stating that the severely obese are 2-3 times more likely to die of preventable disease than Americans at a healthy weight, the “open letter” urges Congressional action so that any health reform package provides severely obese Americans with access to a comprehensive obesity counseling and treatment regimen, including the option of weight-loss (bariatric) surgery followed by appropriate lifelong medical care and nutritional monitoring.
 Read the rest of the article HERE>

Celebrate Vitamins Introduces New Calcium

Celebrate Vitamins is pleased to introduce it’s newest flavor of Calcium PLUS 500

Our new Calcium PLUS 500-Cherry Tart flavor is a mouth watering, sweet tart-like chewable.  Each tablet is packed with 500 mg of Calcium Citrate and much more including vitamin D, magnesium, vitamin K, zinc, and copper.  Each bottle contains 90 chewable tablets and this new flavor is a perfect compliment to our other calcium products and flavors.  Keep in mind all of the options that Celebrate Vitamins has for your patients calcium needs:

• 2 flavors of chewable 250 mg tablets 
• 2 flavors of chewable 500 mg tablets
• Drink mix (ENS)
• Calcet Creamy Bites

Please visit our website or contact us directly for more information at 877-424-1953.

 

Tailgate Recipes by Chef Dave Fouts

From the Weight Loss Surgery Channel:

Tailgate recipes can offer a healthy alternative to the usual fattening fare when you choose vegetarian snacks. Chef Dave offers two fine examples in the latest episode of Eating Right Every Bite.

There’s no rule saying that a tailgate party is required to offer nothing but junk food. But, usually they do — leaving you feeling sluggish and guilty after eating, even if your team wins.

On this episode of Eating Right Every Bite with Chef Dave Fouts, get recipes for two great appetizers that include nothing but inexpensive ingredients. Some of them you probably already have in the kitchen. But if you don’t, you’ll want to run out and get ‘em after seeing what you can make. First, Chef Dave rustles up some “Oklahoma Caviar,” a dip made from spiced-up veggies. His second selection is vegetable and bean antipasto, a wonderful jumble of sauteed vegetables with a garlic twinge. Both recipes are chip-friendly — or friendly toward whatever else you think to dip in them. You can download the recipes for these tasty treats below.

Chef Dave Fouts focuses his culinary skill-set on creating gourmet dining for weight loss surgery patients who need to consider their portions and ingredients more than ever. After his own surgery in 2002, he became a chef-consultant. Since then, he’s directed his professional efforts to creating recipes that bariatric patients can eat without feeling like they’ve given up taste and style.

Hungry yet? Download these delicious recipes here.

No Respect for Obese Patients

From Northwestern University, october 29, 2009:

No R-E-S-P-E-C-T for obese patients, says study

Many physicians treat obese patients with less respect according to a study out of Johns Hopkins University.

Lead researcher Dr. Mary Huizinga witnessed first-hand physicians making hurtful comments that discouraged obese people from seeking medical help and dispensing frightening statements to patients by linking obesity and death during medical school.

“While I was training at Vanderbilt, I noticed the way some doctors approached the issue of weight was inappropriate and disrespectful,” said Huizinga, the director of the Johns Hopkins Digestive Weight Loss Center. “I was with this cardiologist who told a woman that she was going to die if she didn’t lose weight and then just walked out of the room.”

Read the rest of the article HERE>

 

CNN Health.com: Does RNY cure diabetes?

An interview with Dr. John Rabkin of San Francisco on Dr. Melina Jampolis’ column on CNNHealth.com, October 30, 2009:

Question:  “60 Minutes” had a story several months ago about a type of weight-loss surgery that seemed to also cure type 2 diabetes in many people. Has more research been done on this? Do you need the full bypass of about one-third of the small intestine or just the duodenum and jejunum? My weight problem came about with/after diabetes, not before.

Read the answer HERE>