Tag Archives: health

Weighing In on Eating Disorders

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“I’m not hungry.”

This phrase evokes heartache, frustration and fear for families battling anorexia nervosa. Food becomes foe. And the driving force is a need for control.

National Eating Disorders Awareness (NEDA) Week from February 23-March 1 will raise awareness of eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia nervosa and binge eating.

NEDA provides startling facts about eating disorders. Among them:

  • Females with anorexia between ages 15 to 24 are 12 times more likely to die from the illness than all other causes of death.
  • 10 million males in the United States will suffer from a clinically significant eating disorder at some time in their life.
  • 42% of first through third graders want to be thinner.

View common warning signs.

“I’m not hungry.”

The transition from middle school to high school is daunting for most teens. Imagine attending a different school – in a new state – your freshman year. That was my sister’s experience in the 1980s. Back then, eating disorders didn’t receive the media attention that they do today. The warning signs weren’t as easy to detect.

That’s why we didn’t realize at first that my sister was starving herself.

There were rituals. She cut food into tiny pieces (it tricks your mind into becoming full) and obsessively baked (but refused to partake). She only used certain dishes. She said she was eating when she wasn’t. All the while, she poured energy into exercise and academics and maintained a 4.0 GPA (perfectionism is often a sign of anorexia).

It was a long road, but my sister overcame anorexia with the unwavering support of my parents and by realizing that some things in life are out of our control. Today, she’s happy, she’s healthy and she’s an inspiration to me.

There is hope.

Ignorance is NOT Bliss When Your Health is Involved

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Since I’ve come to the Chamber and especially since the Wellness Council of Indiana came on board in early 2011, I’ve gotten to research, discuss and write about some interesting health and wellness subjects – many of those focusing on the increasing number of workplace wellness programs and their benefits.

Our internal wellness program includes a walking club, weekly yoga practice, flu shots, health screenings, informational meetings and more. A few weeks ago, we had our annual health screenings, which include height, weight, a flexibility test, blood pressure check and fasting glucose and lipid panel (cholesterol).

The nice part of it is that you get the results back almost immediately and can talk with a nurse about your individual numbers and what things you can work on to help lower the bad numbers or raise the good ones.

I realized I possessed health data on myself going back to 2010. Instead of letting those numbers lurk in the depths of my filing cabinet, and being the nerd I am, I decided to chart and compare each year to see the physiological changes that were taking place. I got a rude awakening: All I had to do was look at my numbers to stop kidding myself that my casual dieting and making excuses to skip the gym wasn’t doing damage to my health.

That year when I’d lost 13 pounds and was exercising regularly and eating healthy foods and was taking better care of myself because I was pregnant was the year my numbers were nearly perfect.

Back then, I was doing for my unborn child absolutely everything I could do to keep her healthy and growing and to give her the best start in life possible. Even today, I’m a fanatic about what she eats (mostly – sometimes the greeter at Home Depot with a box of suckers is just going to win me over by keeping my two-year-old content) because I want her to be healthy and grow up so strong.

So, then, why am I not doing the same for myself? After watching family members struggle with heart disease and diabetes, I don’t want to have to force my child to watch me or her father go through the same fate.

Take a real analytical look at your numbers. Don’t do it for your workplace wellness program (although you’ll feel better at work and your employer will thank you for controlling your health care costs and being more attentive at work), do it for yourself. Your doctor should readily share any of your health records with you if you simply request them.

Don’t have any numbers? It’s never too late to get a few vials of blood drawn and find out what’s really going on inside your body and start being proactive about the results.

Time to Come Down from America’s Sugar High

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I hate going to the dentist.

And despite my dentist and her staff being pleasant people who are incredibly understanding of my bizarre anxiety about getting my teeth cleaned – it’s not a place I’ll ever feel excited to go.

On a trip there in May, the hygienist informed me that diet soda has more acidic properties than Mountain Dew. And, if you drink a sugary drink you should drink it as quickly as possible and then swish your mouth out with water or milk, because letting it sit on your teeth causes cavities (you might say, “duh,” but I thought my twice-a-day brushing was doing enough to prevent that – and I just had my first ever cavities filled, so apparently it’s news to me).

At that, I stopped drinking soda. All of it: diet, regular, lemon-lime. Done.

Just a few weeks later during a trip to the doctor, I discovered I had lost 12 pounds without changing my diet or exercise routine, aside from cutting out the soda. Woah!

In late July, the Associated Press ran a story about Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc. and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc. experiencing a decline in soda sales for the second quarter in North America. The story notes that according to Beverage Digest, “per capita soda consumption in the U.S. has been slipping steadily since 1998 amid concerns that sugary drinks fuel weight gain.”

But, it’s not just about weight gain. And, it’s not just about soda – though that’s certainly where a number of Americans are getting their increased sugar.

Researchers out of the University of Utah recently completed a study on the sugar levels in mice and gave the mice a diet which had 25% of calories coming from sugar (incidentally, that’s a “safe” recommendation by federal government standards – about the same amount of sugar you’d get from three cans of soda per day) and published their findings in the journal Nature Communications.

The researchers found that increase in sugar in mice led to male mice producing less offspring and defending fewer territories than their counterparts. Worse yet, female mice died at almost twice the rate of their counterparts that were fed a different diet.  

So, it’s not just about weight gain, decreased fertility and lethargy. It’s about death.

And whether your sugar is coming from soda or eating cookie dough (which you really shouldn’t do anyway: salmonella!), it’s time to cut back. My personal motivation to cut down on sugar is a combination of weight loss, good health and avoiding that darn dental chair – what’s yours?

Exercise Balls for Chairs (aka the 2011 Trend I’m Just Now Getting Into)

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I’d like to introduce you all to my new friend, "Blue" — the exercise ball. Not a really original name, I know, because it happens to be the color of the ball, but I also feel weird giving a human name to anything I sit on.

I recently slept on an airbed for about four days during a “vacation” to Florida (I say it in quotes because I had my 13-month-old daughter with me and every parent knows you need a vacation from your vacation when they are done).

It did quite a number on my back, hips and knees. I should probably just head to the chiropractor soon, but I’m also on a budget and looking for a cheaper way to strengthen my back and alleviate pain.

When I was pregnant, I’d read that using an exercise ball for a chair was a great way to stretch out the hips and deal with pain, and at that point I was desperate for relief. It worked. The only place I felt comfortable sitting was on my exercise ball.

I’ve seen numerous articles about how American workers are sitting more than ever and that it’s awful for our health and that moving more throughout the day is one of the best things you can do for yourself. A few co-workers have been using exercise balls at work instead of (or in addition to) their chairs. So I’m jumping on that bandwagon.

There are a few exercises you can do on an exercise ball that are low intensity, but work your core (listen to me saying “core” like I’m an exercise enthusiast!) and strengthen your back. I’ve used a few of them since I started using my ball instead of a chair – alright, I’ve only been doing this for two days – but I can already feel the difference.

I’m finding myself able to concentrate longer on my work. Another bonus is that it requires me to get up a little more often. Anytime someone comes to talk to me, I have to turn all the way around, which isn’t really that easy on a ball. So, I stand up.

I can’t find much conclusive evidence of any potential negative impacts. It seems like the most worry surrounds safety: balls rolling away, people falling off of them, etc. Though, if fifth grade students in classrooms around the country are switching chairs for exercise balls and can safely sit, I’m assuming most adults shouldn’t have a problem.

Obviously, check with your doctor before starting any kind of exercise routine or switching your chair for an exercise ball. And at least do a little research into the types of balls available and the correct size for your frame. For example, since I am six feet tall, I need a 75 cm-sized ball – and I found one for $26 that came with a pump, exercise band and DVD of exercises.

Unexpected Germ Nightmare: The Office

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You might think that because your office is professionally cleaned, dusted and swept regularly that it’s one of the cleanest places you could spend your day (that’s more cleaning than happens in my house, for instance, on a weekly basis…).

But, it’s not. It’s really, really gross.

Ragan Communications has posted an infographic from MASTER Cleaners Ltd, which points to just how dirty our desks, phones, and other work surfaces are – and no, I’m not talking about clutter on your desk, or even the pile of shoes under your desk (shoe graveyard, as I’ve affectionately called mine).

Be prepared: You’ll want to have your anti-bacterial wipes ready.

The dirty details:

  • Office phones have about 25,000 germs per square inch.
  • Cold and flu viruses can survive for up to 18 hours on hard surfaces; and bacteria actually increase by up to 31% per day on surfaces that aren’t regularly disinfected. If you’re sick, this just proves that you should stay at home until you are better.
  • Wash your hands – and then use antibacterial gel when you get back to your desk, because 75% of office tap handles are considered a serious risk for illness transmission.
  • I’ve saved this one for last: office desks have been found to be more than 400 times dirtier than a toilet seat. On average, about 10,000 bacteria reside around the area where your hands rest. Most keyboards contain 70% more bacteria than a toilet seat.

Alright, now that you are thoroughly disgusted, here are a few simple ways you can combat office germs as we head straight into cold and flu season:

  • I’ll say it again: Wash your hands. The same lesson that applied as children still applies now (though, as I witnessed a woman leave a library bathroom without washing her hands the other day, some people still don’t get this simple message).
  • Clean your stuff – disinfecting your phone, desk, door handles and other hard surfaces regularly and often will help keep bacteria at bay.
  • Take an actual lunch break and eat somewhere else – if you must eat in the office, absolutely don’t place the food straight onto the solid surfaces of your desk.
  • Do your coworkers a favor and stay home if you’re ill – there’s just no good excuse to come in to work if you’re infectious.

Of course, you can’t live life in a bubble. Germs and sickness are a part of life; but remember that there are a few easy things you can do to keep yourself and others around you healthy. We’re all in it together!

Study: Nearly 31% of Hoosiers are Obese

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Ball State University recently issued a press release stating a staggering 31% of Hoosiers are obese. Horrifying as that is, there are many initiatives going on statewide, including the Wellness Council of Indiana, that offer resources to help employers deal with this problem. Ball State reports:

Nearly 31 percent of Indiana’s adult population reports being obese, ranking the state eighth worst nationally in terms of percentage of population severely overweight, says a new study by Ball State University.

The Burden of Adult Obesity in Indiana, a study by the Ball State’s Global Health Institute (GHI), found obesity rates rose by 0.7 percent to 30.8 percent in the last year. The national rate has dropped slightly from 27.5 percent in 2011. Data for the study was provided by the Centers for Disease Control.
 
People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI), a measurement obtained by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by the square of the person’s height in meters, exceeds 30.
 
"The percentage of adults who are obese has steadily increased over the past 20 years for both Americans and Hoosiers," said Kerry Anne McGeary, GHI director, and Phyllis A. Miller, professor of health economics. "Obesity poses a major risk for serious non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders and cancer."
 
She also pointed out that an obese person in the United States spends about $1,400, or roughly 42 percent, more each year on health care than a healthy-weight person. Overweight and obesity are the fifth leading risk for global deaths, resulting in 2.8 million deaths per year.
 
Ball State’s research also found that In Indiana:

  • 30.9 percent of males report being obese compared to 30.8 percent of females.
  • Among adults under 65, the percentage who report being obese increases with age, while obesity levels decrease for those with higher levels of education.
  • 13.3 percent of adults who report obesity also have cardiovascular disease as compared to 7.2 percent of adults who reported a healthy weight.
  • 42.2 percent of African-American adults are obese, compared to 34.7 percent of Hispanic adults and 29.5 percent of white adults.
  • 18.7 percent of adults who report obesity also report having diabetes compared to 4 percent of healthy weight adults.

McGeary also points out that while obesity is preventable, medical costs associated with the condition are skyrocketing. In 2008, the annual direct medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was estimated to be as high as $147 billion, rising to nearly 10 percent of all medical spending.
 
"By 2030, the majority of states could have obesity levels above 50 percent and Indiana could hit that 50 percent level well before then," McGeary said. "If the average BMI of the population could reduce by just 5 percentage points by 2030, millions of people could avoid obesity-related diseases and billions of dollars would be saved."
 

Disney Strikes Out on Initial Obesity Effort

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An example of good intentions gone awry, from no less than the Walt Disney Company.

Walt Disney World is retooling an Epcot exhibit on childhood obesity after critics complained it was insensitive to obese kids and reinforced stereotypes. The interactive exhibit, Habit Heroes, featured animated fitness superheros "Will Power" and "Callie Stenics" and super-sized villains "Snacker "and "Lead Bottom," who eat junk food and watch too much television.

Critics said the exhibit reinforces stereotypes that obese children are lazy and have poor eating habits. Doctors say obesity can sometimes be attributed to genetics and certain medications, and food can be used as a coping mechanism. "We’re appalled to learn that Disney, a traditional hallmark of childhood happiness and joy, has fallen under the shadow of negativity and discrimination," the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance said in a statement. "I was really disturbed to see the most negative habits were attached to really fat bodies," Peggy Howell, a spokeswoman for the group, said after viewing a companion website. "

The exhibit was closed shortly after its unofficial opening in February, the Orlando Sentinel reported. The official opening has been postponed indefinitely. Added Disney spokeswoman Kathleen Prihoda: "That’s why we have a soft opening. So we can open it up to others and listen. We’ve heard the feedback," she said, according to an AP news release. 

Exercise: Maybe Even More Valuable Than We Thought

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If you’re one of those wellness-oriented people who annoys your coworkers with your mountain of weekly activity (thus making them feel terrible about themselves), then you’ll love this post on the New York Times blog. Seriously though, this is great info and HR and wellness professionals should take note:

Is physical frailty inevitable as we grow older? That question preoccupies scientists and the middle-aged, particularly when they become the same people. Until recently, the evidence was disheartening. A large number of studies in the past few years showed that after age 40, people typically lose 8 percent or more of their muscle mass each decade, a process that accelerates significantly after age 70. Less muscle mass generally means less strength, mobility and among the elderly, independence. It also has been linked with premature mortality.

But a growing body of newer science suggests that such decline may not be inexorable. Exercise, the thinking goes, and you might be able to rewrite the future for your muscles.

Consider the results of a stirring study published last month in the journal The Physician and Sportsmedicine. For it, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh recruited 40 competitive runners, cyclists and swimmers. They ranged in age from 40 to 81, with five men and five women representing each of four age groups: 40 to 49, 50 to 59, 60 to 69, and 70-plus. All were enviably fit, training four or five times a week and competing frequently. Several had won their age groups in recent races.

They completed questionnaires detailing their health and weekly physical activities. Then the researchers measured their muscle mass, leg strength and body composition, determining how much of their body and, more specifically, their muscle tissue was composed of fat. Other studies have found that as people age, they not only lose muscle, but the tissue that remains can become infiltrated with fat, degrading its quality and reducing its strength.

There was little evidence of deterioration in the older athletes’ musculature, however. The athletes in their 70s and 80s had almost as much thigh muscle mass as the athletes in their 40s, with minor if any fat infiltration. The athletes also remained strong. There was, as scientists noted, a drop-off in leg muscle strength around age 60 in both men and women. They weren’t as strong as the 50-year-olds, but the differential was not huge, and little additional decline followed. The 70- and 80-year-old athletes were about as strong as those in their 60s.

Marsh Offers Diabetes Help to Customers

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If you’ve ever seen any of your family members or friends suffer from the effects of diabetes, you know just how serious the epidemic is becoming around this country.

Just recently, my family has been dealing with some of the consequences of diabetes – or actually, the consequences of uncontrolled diabetes. A series of medical events led to my grandfather having a quadruple bypass surgery about a month ago. We’re very blessed that he came through the surgery successfully. However the surgeon talked to us about just how thick my grandfather’s heart muscle was due to uncontrolled diabetes and high blood pressure.

He’s still in the hospital, dealing with lingering effects of other diabetes-related health issues and we’re hoping he’ll be able to come home soon. I’d seen the statistics about what the diabetes epidemic is doing to the country, but this was truly the first time I’ve put a face on the disease. It’s a wake-up call to make sure we’re eating right, exercising and taking care of our health.

While we know the steps to take to help prevent diabetes, those with diabetes need support to help them keep it controlled so they can live longer and healthier lives.

That’s why I’m very happy to see Marsh Supermarkets, Inc. announce the launch of the Marsh Diabetes Care Program®. Marsh pharmacies are now offering seven oral diabetes medications as well as lancets for testing blood sugar for free (with a doctor’s prescription).

That is fantastic news. One of the biggest problems with controlling a disease is the patients’ non-adherence to prescribed medications and drug cost is one of the reasons for that issue. Another important piece to the Marsh plan is the free monitoring kit, newsletter with recipes and tips for managing diabetes, and online and in-store access to a Marsh pharmacist. I also didn’t realize that Marsh shoppers have online access to a full-time registered dietician at AskMarshDietician@marsh.net.

Not only is this new offering great news for Hoosiers with diabetes and their families, but it’s also good news for employers who offer health care. The Marsh press release notes that the estimated average annual health care cost for a person with diabetes in the United States exceeds $11,000 – compared with $3,000 in health care costs for a person without diabetes. If the diabetes is well-controlled, employees will be healthier and save money for themselves and their employers.

This is a perfect example of how a business can truly make a positive change in the community.

Information about the program is available at www.marsh.net. 

Wellness Proves to be Hot Topic

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Chuck Gillespie, Wellness Council of Indiana program director, was "on fire" during a recent Policy Call discussion with Chamber members. I say on fire because Chuck offered excellent, easy-to-remember wellness advice for all.

It started with the fact that wellness, according to Chuck, has "gone from a nice thing to do to a stratgic business strategy." Well said, and important to remember. A few additional highlights:

  • Three key questions everyone asks: Where do I begin ?; what are others doing ?; how do I measure what we’re doing? The Wellness Council and other resources have the answers to help
  • "Keep it simple." Good advice to remember no matter the situation
  • Replace the word "health" with "healthier" (as in trying to become healthier than you were yesterday); in addition, sub "active" or "movement" for the word "exercise" and its negative connotation
  • Not enough emphasis is placed on the fact that wellness and safety should be tied together
  • Four key words for success: consistency, leadership, planning and promotion

Learn more about the Wellness Council. And if you’re looking to enhance your wellness efforts, purchase the Indiana Employer’s Guide to Workplace Wellness.

The next Policy Call for Chamber members on Nov. 11 will feature Indiana congressman Marlin Stutzman. Details coming soon online or call (317) 264-3793 to register.