The Weigh We Were

Walk from Obesity

In September and October in cities all across America, obesity sufferers and survivors alike join forces and walk to raise money for research, education, prevention and treatment of the life-threatening disease of obesity.

Since its inception, the Walk from Obesity has raised more than $1.6 million to support research and educational programs on behalf of all of those affected by this disease.

Many participants walk on behalf of those unable to do so, because obesity has stolen their mobility, dignity, hope or life.

The ASBS Foundation and Obesity Action Coalition's Walk from Obesity was established to give hope to those needing it most.

Help Bring Physical Education Back Into Public Schools

From California to Iowa, from Colorado to Massachusetts, cash-strapped schools are gutting their phys-ed programs, letting go of teachers, reducing the minutes of instruction or, in some cases, eliminating physical education altogether.

According to FOX News, there "Schools point the finger at the Bush administration's No Child Left Behind Act, which mandates that schools meet strict testing requirement in core subjects like English and math. The resources required to meet those standards, administrators say, leave little left over for non-core programs. But with the cuts in physical education coming at a time when childhood obesity rates are alarmingly high, health advocates fear that ultimately, children's health will be left behind.

I happened to be watching David Letterman tonight and it featured a long time absent guest, Richard Simmons. Thinking that the whole guest appearance would be one joke after another, Richard was asked about what he was involved in these days.  I was surprised to learn that he is very concerned with the absence of Physical Education in public schools while the Surgeon General warns of the epic proportions of the Obesity Crisis in America.

What can you do to help Richard enable America's children to grow healthier?

He has a survey he is compiling to compile national obesity statistics and information.  Once he receives this information, he will take it to Washington to share with the only people who can make the necessary changes to save America's children from the dangers of obesity: the men and women in our government.

Please take a few minutes and fill out this needed survey by CLICKING HERE

Thank you.

New TLC Series Gives Families a Better Future in 'HONEY WE'RE KILLING THE KIDS!'

Childhood Obesity - Childhood Obesity - Childhood Obesity

A New Weekly 13-Part Series Premieres April 10, 2006
Puts the Spotlight on Children's Unhealthy Lifestyles

TLC will transform the lives of 13 families across the nation in
the groundbreaking new series HONEY WE'RE KILLING THE KIDS!

The series kicks off a new parenting and relationships programming block on TLC. In each family, the children's eating habits have spiraled out of control into a diet of nonstop junk food -- sugar, snacks, processed food -- and huge, oversized portions.  Coupled with a lack of exercise and sleep, this lifestyle means the
kids are not only hyper and unruly, they are at serious risk of becoming overweight and developing high-blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease.

HONEY WE'RE KILLING THE KIDS! offers a startling look at the causes of America's childhood obesity epidemic and issues a critical wake-up call for
parents.  In the series, nutrition expert Dr. Lisa Hark shows how everyday choices can have long-term impacts on children, and offers both the motivation
and the know-how to help turn these families' lives around.  Using state-of-the-art computer imaging and certified assessments based on measurements and
statistics, Dr. Hark first gives Mom and Dad a frightening look at the possible future faces of their children -- and a dramatic reality check.  Then, introducing her new guidelines and techniques, Dr. Hark works with parents to reverse course and give their kids a healthy diet and active lifestyle.  But will they stray the course and revert back to their unhealthy ways?

The family then has three weeks to overhaul its bad habits under the direction of Dr. Hark, who delivers a set of life-altering rules with the aim of completely transforming the children's future health and lifestyle.  Dr. Hark's rules are straightforward and simple -- rules like "Sack the sugar,"

"Family eats together," "Set a bedtime routine," "Limit television hours" and "Exercise together" are introduced each week.

How are the families responding to the challenges set by Dr. Hark?  Are the children trying new healthy foods?  Can Mom quit smoking?  Will Dad agree to become more involved in family life?  Will the children try rock-climbing?  While not always initially easy for the families, the rules often become fun, as new experiences are brought into their routines.

"We are seeing dramatic improvements in these kids' eating habits and activity level in only three weeks," notes Dr. Hark.

Says David Abraham, general manager, TLC, "HONEY WE'RE KILLING THE KIDS! taps into the family experience, capturing the emotionally charged moments that moms and dads across the country face every day as they juggle schedules and make critical parenting choices."  He continues, "Viewers will be captivated by each family's struggles and challenges, but will also be armed
with a wealth of easily incorporated information for better nutrition and exercise habits that can be used in their own lives."

At the end of the three weeks, Dr. Hark meets with the parents to discuss the modifications made to the family's diet and lifestyle.  Taking all of the changes into consideration, she then provides a new simulation of what each child could look like in the future, if they continue their healthy nutrition
and exercise habits on a long-term basis.

HONEY WE'RE KILLING THE KIDS! is produced by BBC Productions USA. Julie Rose McCully is the executive producer for TLC. John Hesling is the executive producer for BBC Productions USA.

What helpful tools to keep your family healthy?  Click here

Want stay on target with your personal goals?  Click here

TLC is the only television network dedicated to lifelong learning for viewers who want to grow up, not old.  Featuring programming that explores life's key transitions and turning points, TLC presents high-quality, relatable and authentic personal stories.   

Disney - Weight Issues are even effecting Mickey Mouse

Size a growing concern for Disney costumers

ANAHEIM - It's not such a small world after all. As Disneyland celebrates its 50th birthday, the park is grappling with a harsh reality of middle age: Mickey Mouse's entourage has put on a few pounds.

To accommodate the ballooning bodies of American workers, the Magic Kingdom is redesigning some of its costumes for ride operators, shop clerks, waitresses and other employees.

A couple of decades ago, the park's wardrobe department stocked a narrow range of sizes. Today, the uniforms for women extend from size 2 to 30. And men's trousers have stretched to 58-inch waists.

The super-sizing is the latest wrinkle in the park's unending quest to balance Walt Disney's storybook vision of perfection against real-world practicalities.

The demise of bans on mustaches and cornrow hairstyles drew considerable publicity a few years ago. But the shift on weight escaped attention. Although employee contracts still require medical leaves for workers who are ``unable to maintain their physical proportions,'' the clause is no longer enforced.

Disney officials downplay the issue, saying they're simply aiming for a more diverse workforce. But outside observers say a tight labor market for low-paying jobs has forced the company to loosen its strict personal-appearance standards.

``Disneyland can't be as picky as it used to be,'' said Jamie O'Boyle, a theme-park scholar at the Center for Cultural Studies & Analysis in Philadelphia.

Employers elsewhere are facing similar issues. In the airline industry, for example, a series of lawsuits wiped out weight limits for flight attendants. And some military officials consider obesity a threat to national security, warning of recruitment shortfalls unless weight standards are eased.

``Obesity is the issue du jour,'' said Bill O'Brien, a Minneapolis-based employment attorney. ``It's everywhere you turn.''

Behind Space Mountain, in a building filled with Goofy heads and seamstresses toiling over Tigger tails, Disney's costume maestros direct the resort's massive clothing operation. It's their job to outfit more than 14,000 workers and animated figures at the Disney complex.

The first clue to Disney's costume makeover hangs in an upstairs hall: a photo montage of thin 1966 employees next to snapshots of more recent ``cast members,'' who come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Nearby, a conference room displays sketches of five new costumes. One shows a more chaste tour guide ensemble worn by a gray-haired woman in her 50s.

``You'd have never seen that 20 years ago,'' said David Koenig, author of ``Mouse Tales,'' a behind-the-scenes history of the Magic Kingdom. Early tour guide slots were reserved for the prettiest young women, he said. Clad in jockey-style threads with velvet hats, riding crops and short plaid skirts, they escorted clusters of guests and VIPs around the park.

Today's guides include middle-age women and senior citizens who ``aren't as comfortable in a short skirt,'' so the costume is being overhauled for the first time in four decades, said Robbin Almand, director of entertainment services for Disneyland Resort.

The 2006 version, scheduled to debut this summer, features a longer hemline and looser jacket.

By Roy Rivenburg
Los Angeles Times
-----------------------------------------------------------

Are you looking for a weight to lose weight for life?

What is beauty?

Consumers weigh in with varied opinions about using full-figured women to plug skin cream.

They're everywhere.

At the bus stop, on billboards and in magazines: fuller-figured

women in their underwear, flaunting their curves.

The ads are part of a campaign by Unilever PLC's Dove brand to

challenge the stereotypes of the ideal woman's body. It's also meant

to plug Dove's latest product, a cream purported to firm skin, which

has drawn criticism as well.

The approach has touched a nerve nationwide, from folks embracing

the refreshing reality of the ads to those turned off by the display

of extra flesh.

Dove's message board, at www.campaignforrealbeauty.com, has been

teeming with talk on the matter:

"Yes, there are going to be heavy girls out there, no problem. No,

we don't want to see them in their underwear, skirts, tank tops or

half shirts, ever ... ," wrote one poster. "We do however like to

see hot girls when we can or if we are paying for something being

sold so keep the fat models at home."

"Heads up to these beautiful women for being proud of their figures

and encouraging other average bodied women that beautiful and sexy

women need not be stick figures, or silicone queens, for men like

myself to recognize. Keep smiling and be proud!!" a Gary A. typed.

We decided to take the debate to the streets: What do you think of

the Dove ads?

"It's not really appealing to me. I'm not used to seeing women like

this. They're a bit too thick for my taste, but I have no problem

with women being that size; it just doesn't do it for me."

- EUGENE SO, 25, ANAHEIM

"It's not the size of the women that's the issue; it's the fact that

they're in their underwear. I know women come in all different

shapes and sizes. There's nothing wrong with real women with real

curves. It just makes me want to turn away because they're in their

underwear."

-JASON GRENIER, 29, NEWPORT BEACH

"There's a conflicting message with the ad promoting a cellulite

cream, but otherwise, it's cool to show that real women don't have

to weigh 105 pounds to be cute."

- STEVE VALLONE, 23, NEWPORT BEACH

"I love it; I think it's awesome to show real women and not all the

plastic-surgery Barbie dolls we're all used to."

- JULIE STASIEWICZ, 27, LA HABRA HEIGHTS

"These women might be a little too curvy for my taste, but overall,

I think these ads are good. I'm tired of the skinny, flat (bottomed)

women depicted in all the advertising these days."

– ANDREW ADAMS, 26, ORANGE

"I love it! Everyone seems to think the perfect woman is a size 5

with big boobs and no waist, but in reality, they're like me, a size

10! I could so be a Dove girl!"

– WENDY GIBEAU, 29, SANTA ANA

"I think it's horrible. These women are not a normal or healthy

weight. These ads promote the trend of obesity in the United States.

It reinforces the notion that being overweight is fine and it's not.

I've stopped buying Dove soap."

– TED DREIFUSS, 46, RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA

"We've got kids today who are looking at these magazines promoting

an image that isn't real. These women don't promote the BS

stereotype of how the perfect woman should look."

– LORIN YANNARELL, 26, ANAHEIM

"I actually think these Dove women look better than the models we

always see. This is how I like a woman to look."

– ROD SURRATT, 28, PLACENTIA

"Wow, it's certainly taking a risk. It's not what you usually see in

terms of marketing a product. But there are probably more curvier

women out there than skinny anyway."

– TRICIA SPRINGER, 19, LA MIRADA

"I like 'em. All I ever hear from my female friends and family is

how they can't ever look like the stick-figure models, so I

appreciate these ads."

– WILL JENKINS, 28, ORANGE

"We've been conditioned, brainwashed almost, to think that size 0 is

attractive, that it's the ideal, but it's not. These Dove women are

just as attractive."

– ROBERT TUON, 22, SANTA ANA

Article By KATHERINE NGUYEN

The Orange County Register

California

New M&M colors for Breast Cancer Foundation

New Pink & White M&Ms

There are many women out there who have breast cancer. Lets do all we can to support this cause.

The makers of M&M candies has teamed up with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation to raise funds through the sale of their new "pink &white " M&M candies.

For each 8-ounce bag of the special candies sold, the makers of M&M (Masterfoods) will donate 50 cents to the foundation. The next time you want a treat, please pick up a bag (now sold in stores nationwide) -
you will be donating to a great cause and satisfying your sweet tooth.

Tell all your family and friends.

No more "supersized lawsuits"

I knew this was going to come....

House Votes to Ban Obesity Lawsuits
By JESSE J. HOLLAND, AP

WASHINGTON (March 10) - The GOP-controlled House on Wednesday voted to ban supersized lawsuits that blame the food industry for people's expanding waistlines and health woes, saying such cases could bankrupt fast-food chains and restaurants.

The 276-139 vote is intended to prevent class action lawsuits that contend food companies and their offerings are responsible for Americans' putting on the pounds and lurching toward obesity.

House Republicans have in recent years approved similar bills barring suits against the gun industry for gun crimes and against businesses for asbestos-related health problems. Not one measure has passed the closely divided Senate.

''We as Americans need to realize that suing your way to better health is not the answer,'' said House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. ''Trial lawyers need to stop encouraging consumers to blame others for the consequences of their actions just so they can profit from frivolous lawsuits against restaurants.''

The White House endorsed the bill, which the Senate is not expected to pass this year. Democrats said the industry did not need the federal protection.

The debate came a day after the government said overeating could soon replace smoking as the No. 1 preventable cause of death. Two out of three adults and 9 million children are overweight or obese, the report said.

House Republicans said fast-food franchises and mom-and-pop restaurants should not take the blame for the public's poor eating choice and lack of exercise. ''Americans are eating themselves to death and looking for someone to blame,'' said Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif.

Republicans said that exposing the food industry to suits similar to those used against the tobacco industry could wreck the economy and make it more expensive to eat out. The industry employs almost 12 million people and is the nation's second largest employer behind the government.

''Food manufacturers and sellers should not be held liable for injury because of a person's consumption of legal, unadulterated food and a person's weight gain or obesity,'' the White House said in a statement supporting the GOP bill.

Democrats accused Republicans of a political ploy intended to hurt trial lawyers while helping a leading industry that can fend for itself.

Most obesity claims have been dismissed in court. Last year, a federal judge in New York dismissed two class-action suits blaming McDonald's for making people fat.

''It protects an industry that doesn't need to be protected at this particular point and we're dealing with a problem that doesn't exist,'' said Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass. ''The problem that does exist is that we have an obesity problem in this country.''

Restaurants and snack food makers have announced plans to offer a larger number of more healthful products. McDonald's has announced it will end supersize fries and drinks except for special promotions in its more than 13,000 U.S. restaurants by year's end.

A poor diet and physical inactivity caused 400,000 deaths in 2000, a 33 percent jump over 1990, Tuesday's government report said.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Ric Keller, R-Fla., would prohibit many obesity or weight-related claims against the food industry. It would still allow claims to go forward if state or federal laws had been broken and as a result a person gained weight.

Democrats accused the GOP of wanting to let companies do whatever they want with no liability.

''Only with this Republican leadership would an effort to promote personal responsibility begin with allowing companies to be irresponsible without accountability,'' said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.

Similar legislation in the Senate is sponsored by Republican Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

''I recognize that obesity is a serious problem in America, but suing the people who produce and sell food is not going to solve this problem,'' he said. ''Americans need to take greater care in what - and how much - they eat.''

Louisiana has passed similar state legislation. Nineteen other state legislatures - Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin - were considering similar bills as of March 1, the National Conference of State Legislatures said Wednesday.

AP-NY-03-10-04 2228EST

Is Obesity going to pass Smoking as the Top Disease in the US?

Who would have ever thought?

Are We Eating Ourselves to Death? Government Launches Ad Campaign on the Dangers of Obesity By MARK SHERMAN, AP

WASHINGTON (March 9) - Americans are sitting around and eating themselves to death, with obesity closing in on tobacco as the nation's No. 1 underlying preventable killer.

The government is offering constructive, even lighthearted, advice to fight what it calls an epidemic of expanding waistlines. Americans will be told in a new ad campaign they can lose midsection ''love handles'' and double chins one step at a time if they eat less and exercise more.

''We're just too darn fat, ladies and gentlemen, and we're going to do something about it,'' Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said Tuesday at a news conference.

A poor diet and physical inactivity caused 400,000 deaths in 2000, a 33 percent jump over 1990, said a study released Tuesday by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tobacco-related deaths in the same period climbed by less than 9 percent and the gap between the two narrowed substantially.

The report predicts obesity will surpass tobacco if current trends continue. ''Our worst fears were confirmed,'' said Dr. Julie Gerberding, the CDC's director and an author of the study.

The study is the latest in a long line of research documenting widespread weight gain - and its consequences - among Americans, from children to seniors.

The researchers analyzed data from 2000 for the leading causes of death and for those preventable factors known to contribute to them. Like tobacco, obesity and inactivity increase the risks for the top three killers: heart disease, cancer and such cerebrovascular ailments as strokes. Obesity and a sedentary lifestyle also strongly increase the risk of diabetes, the sixth leading cause of death.

The results appear in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.

A separate report by the Rand think tank, meanwhile, found that increases in obesity threaten to erase improvements in health among middle-age and older Americans. At current rates, health care spending on obesity among people 50 to 69 years old is expected to increase by 50 percent by 2020, the study said.

Americans' fast-food lifestyle, increased use of computers and a decline in school physical education programs all were cited by Thompson and other officials as factors contributing to the nation's fat problem. Two out of three adults and 9 million children are overweight or obese, they said.

Rather than call for dramatic changes in diet and exercise, Thompson said Americans could begin a gradual exercise program. They could get off the bus a block farther from their homes, he said, and slowly cut back on unhealthful foods.

The new public service announcements debuted by Thompson use humor to tell people they can slowly trim their waistlines. In one ad, someone turns in a pair of love handles found near the stairs in a shopping mall. ''Lots of people lose them taking the stairs instead of the escalator,'' says a clerk at the lost and found.

In another ad, a shopping cart gets stuck on a double chin that someone lost near a supermarket's fruit and vegetable display.

Thompson, a fierce anti-smoking advocate who has trimmed his own waistline since coming to Washington, drew parallels between the drives to stop smoking and to get Americans to eat less and exercise more. But unlike his campaign to end smoking, he is advocating only voluntary measures at this point.

In addition, the Bush administration is seeking to cut funding for the VERB campaign, a CDC project to promote physical activity among 9-to-13-year-olds, from $36 million this year to $5 million in 2005. Gerberding said the program has resulted in a 30 percent increase in exercise among those children.

The Food and Drug Administration also is expected to issue a report on obesity later this week. The FDA has been considering whether to require restaurants to provide more nutrition information and change nutrition labels on food sold in grocery stores and other outlets to help consumers.

McDonald's has announced it will end supersize fries and drinks in its more than 13,000 U.S. restaurants by year's end except for special promotions.

Several soft-drink makers also have announced steps to offer a larger number of healthier products.

The House will debate a bill Wednesday that would shield restaurants and fast food franchises from lawsuits seeking to blame them for obesity and health problems related to it. The bill was prompted by the fast-food industry's complaints about a rash of lawsuits that fault their food for Americans' bulging bellies.

Many states are making attempts to slow the increase in obesity among children. About two dozen of them are considering bans or limits on vending machine products in schools. Roughly 20 states already restrict students' access to junk food until after lunch.

The Texas Agriculture Department is revamping rules on what foods public schools in the state can serve to their 4.2 million students, cutting out deep-fried foods and reducing fat and sugar in menus.

---

AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner contributed to this report

AP-NY-03-09-04 2326EST

Do You Want More Out of Life than You are Presently Experiencing?

This is so wrong!

I do not see how this isn't considered Weight Discrimination (and as you read further, Sexism)....

Study: Obese Women Earn 30 Percent Less Wed Mar 3, 2004

WASHINGTON - Being fat may hurt your income — if you're a highly educated woman. So says research from Finland that suggests weight is a pay barrier for certain women, but not for men.

Obese women who are highly educated earn about 30 percent less — a difference of at least $5,000 a year — than normal-weight or even plump women, the study found. When analyzed by occupation, women with white-collar jobs earned less if they were obese.

Obesity had little or no effect on pay if women were poorly educated, manual workers or self-employed — and no statistically significant effect on men's pay, the study found.

"This suggests that, socio-economically, obesity is not as stigmatizing for men as it is for women," concluded the University of Helsinki researchers.

They couldn't explain why, or why there was a bigger effect on some women, except to say the pressure on women to be thin may be strongest among higher socio-economic classes.

The researchers combed national registries that track Finns' education, occupation and income to choose 2,314 men and 2,068 women for the study. Participants had to be employed in 1993, with no leaves for illness, thus attempting to rule out obesity-caused disease as a reason for lower income.

One limitation: Participants reported their own weight.

Source: The American Journal of Public Health.

And yet another article on the epidemic called "Obesity"

Just when we thought the health care industry was going to improve our life expectancies, we get an article like this...

WASHINGTON - The continuing epidemic of obesity in America could wipe out many of the recent improvements in health within the next 20 years, according to a new U.S. analysis released Tuesday.

If Americans continue to get fatter at current rates, by 2020 about one in five health-care dollars spent on people aged 50 to 69 could be due to obesity -- 50 percent more than now, the Rand Corporation study found.

In 2000, 14 percent of money spent on health care for U.S. men aged 50 to 69 went to obesity-related complications including diabetes and heart disease. In 2020, that could rise to 21 percent, the researchers said.

“Improvements in medical care, public health and other health behaviors have dramatically reduced disability among older Americans in the past,” Roland Sturm, a Rand Health senior economist who led the study, said in a statement.

“But the continuing increase in unhealthy weight has the potential to undo many of these health advances.”

Increased health risks
Obesity is defined as having a body mass index -- a ratio of weight to height -- of more than 30. That usually means being 30 pounds overweight for a woman and 35 to 40 pounds overweight for a man of average height.

More than 30 percent of U.S. adults are obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That translates to 59 million people.

Serious health implications, such as heart disease and diabetes risk, kick in at BMIs of 30 and above.

“The rise in obesity is particularly troubling given that obesity is associated with increased chronic physical illnesses and mortality; its negative consequences may even exceed those of smoking or problem drinking,” Sturm and colleagues wrote in the journal Health Affairs, which published the study.

“If the obesity trend were to continue through 2020, without other changes in behavior or medical technology, the proportion reporting fair or poor health would increase by 11.7 percent for men and 14.1 percent for women compared to 2000,” they wrote.

The Rand team predicts the proportion of people aged 50 to 69 with disabilities will increase by 18 percent for men and by 22 percent for women between 2000 and 2020.

Rising health care costs
This will all cost money. Annual average health care costs for moderately obese people were 20 to 30 percent higher than health care costs for those of normal weight -- those with BMIs of 20 to 25, Rand said.

People with a BMI of more than 35 end up, over a large population, spending 60 percent more on health care. A population of people with BMIs of 40 -- the morbidly obese --double health care spending.

That has not escaped government attention.

Later Tuesday, the U.S. Health and Human Services Department is scheduled to announce a new obesity initiative.

The RAND study analyzed data from two national surveys -- the Health and Retirement Study of 9,825 people born between 1931 and 1941 and the federal government’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey.

Copyright 2004 Reuters Limited.

Blue Shield of Florida drops Gastric Bypass Surgery

As you have seen from my other posts, this nation has an epidemic when it comes to obesity. I personally think that this insurance carrier should rethink their decision on dropping this surgery. I feel that they will be spending so much more money on their patient's other health issues as a result of not offering weight loss surgeries.

More health issues minus Less medical solutions = More deaths

PANAMA CITY, Florida (AP) --Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida has announced it will stop covering gastric bypass surgery by the end of the year.

The Jacksonville-based company says safety is the main reason it will drop the $30,000- surgery, also known as stomach stapling, which is considered a last resort for morbidly obese people trying to lose weight.

Dr. Robert Forster, the company's chief medical officer and vice president for health care services, said about three in every 1,000 patients die and up to 20 percent of patients return to the hospital for a second procedure.

There has also been a spike in demand for the surgery, which would have cost the insurer about $200 million over the next few years and could have lead to higher premiums, Forster said.

The surgery's popularity has grown because of the success that celebrities, such as television weatherman Al Roker and singer Carnie Wilson, have had with it.

That has prompted commercialization and the spread of information -- on the Internet, radio and elsewhere -- on how to get around strict guidelines as to who can safely undergo the surgery, Forster said.

Doctors with limited experience also are jumping on the bandwagon to take advantage of the high demand, he said.

Forster acknowledged successful surgery reduces other health problems such as diabetes, but he said some patients encounter new problems. About 30 percent of patients develop nutritional deficiencies such as anemia, osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Anthony Terracina, who specializes in the surgery, said he is no longer accepting patients at Surgical Associates of Northwest Florida and will leave the state in June because the surgery is cost-prohibitive without insurance coverage for most people. He plans to relocate to Hampton Roads, Virginia, because Virginia law requires insurers to cover the surgery.

"It just doesn't make any sense that the insurance companies would do this," Terracina said. "Obesity is the No. 1 health problem in the United States. Why wouldn't you help those patients and keep them out of the hospital?"

McSupersizes to be phased out

And why couldn't they have done this when I was 365 pounds?!?!

I remember the days of going through the drive-thru at McDonald's and getting two (2) Super Size Big Mac Meals and eating them on my way home from work. By the time I finished them, I was so uncomfortable from being so full!! But gosh - did they taste GOOD!

Here is the article from the AP Press:

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) --Say goodbye to those supersized fries -- McDonald's is slimming down its menu.

The hamburger giant has started phasing out its trademark Supersize fries and drinks in its U.S. restaurants as part of an effort to simplify its menu and give customers choices that support a balanced lifestyle, a company spokesman said Tuesday.

By the end of 2004, Supersize will no longer be available at the nation's 13,000-plus McDonald's outlets except in certain promotions, McDonald's spokesman Walt Riker said.

The move comes as the world's largest restaurant company, and fast-food chains in general, are under growing public pressure to give consumers healthier food options in a nation that has suddenly become aware of its bulging waistline and the health dangers that come with it.

New Tax Deduction for Weight Loss Surgery Patients

Alleluia, Amen!

Can you believe it?! The IRS is finally taking another step in recognizing that obesity is taking a toll on the nation's health.

For those of us with high blood pressure, diabetes, gallbladder disease and cancer, this could mean living a better life without going bankrupt in the process.

In April 2002, the IRS recognized obesity as a disease. This enabled people to deduct the cost of weight loss programs that were prescribed by a doctor only. This did not include diet food, gym memberships and the like but it was a step in the right direction.

Now with the government taking yet another step in the right direction, they are now allowing patients of weight loss surgeries to deduct their doctor prescribed gastric surgery if the cost is more than 7.5 percent of their adjusted gross income. The American Society of Bariatric Surgery estimates that 103,000 people had a weight loss surgery last year. Can you imagine how many people this will stop from filing bankruptcy after surgery? But more importantly, how many people will not die as a result of obesity. This might seem extreme to you but I have several friends who have had to file for bankruptcy simple because they wanted to live and several other friends who have had fatal heart attacks and limbs amputated as a result of diabetes.

Take a look at the article I read at Yahoo! News here.