On location at the American Heart Association’s “Scientific Sessions” meeting in Chicago, Andrew Schorr discusses lowering your risk of heart disease and how weight affects your risk:
Lower Obesity and Save Your Heart from Patient Power® on Vimeo.
*This blog post was originally published at Andrew's Blog*
“Hey…where did those cupcakes go?”
Like a never-ending western North Carolina climb where each switchback reveals another uphill, and the finish is shielded by tall pines, the struggle to lose weight and to stay lean is incessant.
In wrestling weight gain, competitive cyclists share the same mat as “regular” Americans. Like jockeys, all competitive bike racers strive for maximal leanness. It’s physics: Weigh less and the same number of watts push you farther and faster, especially when going uphill or accelerating from a slow speed. Remember those velocity problems in Physics 101?
But is it conceivable that losing weight — even if accompanied by lower cholesterol levels — could be detrimental to long-term wellness? Obviously, the question answers itself.
Unless your Internet connection has been interrupted in the last few days, you have probably heard of the “Twinkle diet.” Kansas State University nutrition professor Mark Haub tested the hypothesis that if he reduced his daily calorie consumption from 2600 to 1800 he would lose weight. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*
Thanks to former student Allison Miller for reminding me about this clip from the Saturday Night Live (SNL) archives:
*This blog post was originally published at Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview Blog*
Did you know there is actually a “public option” in the health care reform law? It’s true — it’s called the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP), and it’s designed to cover people who who have been unable to get insurance because of a pre-existing condition. To hear the stories about how big of a problem this is in America, you’d think a product like this would be a big hit. Except it’s been a big flop.
How big of a flop? Well, according to the Washington Post, they missed their sales targets by 98 percent:
Government economists had projected that people turned down by private insurers would flock to the new Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, with 375,000 expected to sign up this year. But as of this week, a little more than 8,000 had enrolled, officials said.
According to the Post, it seems the government has figured out what they think the problem is: “sticker shock.” The price was too high. So they’re dropping the price by 20 percent and significantly enhancing the benefits. But can that really be the problem? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
More than half of employers are likely to keep offering insurance rather than use state health insurance exchanges when they become available under health care reform in 2014, reported a survey by an insurance broker.
Willis Human Capital Practice released results of its Health Care Reform Survey 2010, which showed 55 percent of employers would keep their health plans in 2014 even if the new state exchanges offer competitive prices. The survey sampled 1,400 employers of varying sizes, industry sectors and geographies whose plans cover more than 9 million employees and dependents (including retirees).
Key findings from the survey include:
• 88 percent believe that group health plan costs will increase as a result of health care reform;
• 76 percent expect administrative compliance costs will increase;
• 72 percent plan to increase employee contributions in an attempt to offset higher administrative and premium costs. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
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