October 21st, 2011 by Dr. Val Jones in Health Tips
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Most people who have lost weight understand how easy it is to gain it back. In fact, I often hear patients tell me that over the course of their lifetimes they’ve “tried every popular diet out there” and yet have failed to keep the weight off permanently. If that’s your situation, you’re not alone. It’s estimated that only 20% of overweight individuals are successful at long term weight loss. But there is hope for success, and we can learn the secrets of “successful losers” from the National Weight Control Registry.
In a flash of brilliance, sociologist Rina Wing and psychologist Jim Hill decided to create a database of weight loss success cases, and simply observe how they live their lives over decades of time. They called this research study the National Weight Control Registry, and it has been enrolling study subjects since 1994. What they’ve found is that those who have been successful at losing at least 30 pounds and keeping that weight off for at least 1 year share many behaviors in common. I believe that the closer we follow in the footsteps of these successful people, the more likely we are to be fit for a lifetime. So here goes – this is what the study subjects report: Read more »
October 8th, 2011 by HarvardHealth in Health Tips
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Each year, countless people vow to get healthier: Lose five pounds. Exercise every day. Quit smoking. Unfortunately, replacing unhealthy behaviors with healthier ones usually isn’t easy, and many ambitious attempts often fall short. But you’re more likely to succeed if you start by choosing the right goal.
Choosing a goal seems simple enough. If that muffin top is bothering you, you should plan to lose those extra 10 pounds, right? Not necessarily, says Dr. Edward Phillips, Director and Founder of the Institute of Lifestyle Medicine and assistant professor of the Harvard Medical School’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. If you tackle the goal you’re most likely to accomplish—rather than the goal you think you should make—you’re better able to achieve it and build up a head of steam to tackle tougher goals.
Listen to Dr. Phillips’ advice on how to make a healthy change that will last: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Harvard Health Blog*
September 29th, 2011 by HarvardHealth in Health Tips
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I love bread, pasta, and many other foods made with wheat. Luckily, I can eat them all without having to worry about gluten. But I have to admit that the growing public awareness of gluten and the problems it can cause has got me thinking.
Gluten is an umbrella term for the proteins gliadin (in wheat), secalin (in rye), and hordein (in barley). Bakers know it as the substance that makes dough resilient and stretchy. In some people, gluten triggers an immune reaction and causes inflammation of the lining of the small intestine, which can eventually interfere with the absorption of nutrients from food. This is called celiac disease. Some of the more common symptoms of celiac disease are:
- Gas
- Bloating
- Abdominal cramps
- Diarrhea
- Foul-smelling stools
- Fatigue
- Weight loss
- Skin rash
Some people have Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Harvard Health Blog*
September 27th, 2011 by Edwin Leap, M.D. in Health Policy, Opinion
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I recently saw a teenage boy with headaches. His father, wringing his hands, said that the headaches had been present for two years; but that the child had never been evaluated for them. No imaging, no neurologist. No insurance, of course.
A family friend, another child, had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. The family of my patient was terrified. Where to turn? They were, reasonably, concerned about cost.
Contrast that with the woman I saw on state assistance. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at edwinleap.com*
September 16th, 2011 by Lucy Hornstein, M.D. in Opinion
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I’m just about through with the magazine Medical Economics. I’ve been a devoted follower ever since residency, when I used to find the occasional dollar bill stuck somewhere in one of the back pages. But now it seems that each issue is just more of the same old stuff.
Take the cover story of the current issue: “Grow Your Practice with Ancillaries,” such as labs, x-rays, behavioral health interventions, cosmetic services, and selling stuff. All the things they suggest fit neatly into one of three categories:
- Things you should already be doing (whether or not you’re getting paid appropriately for them)
- Things you shouldn’t be doing, and
- Things no one should be doing.
The behavioral intervention discussed most often in this context is obesity counseling something all doctors should already be doing. Unsurprisingly, Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Dinosaur*
