Childhood obesity is linked to more immediate health problems than doctors formerly realized

While a plethora of research on childhood obesity has linked it to long-term health problems, a new UCLA study focuses on the condition's more proximate consequences, showing that obese children are at a greater risk for immediate health problems than previously thought. That's important for Kentucky, which ranks poorly in many health measures and is third highest in child obesity. (Photo by Tara Kaprowy)

"This study paints a comprehensive picture of childhood obesity, and we were surprised to see just how many conditions were associated with childhood obesity," said lead author Dr. Neal Halfon, a professor of pediatrics, public health and public policy at UCLA.

Compared to kids who are not overweight, the study found that obese children have nearly twice the risk of having three or more reported medical, mental or developmental conditions. Specific medical conditions included bone, joint and muscle problems; asthma; allergies; headaches; and ear infections. Obese children also reported a greater tendency toward emotional and behavioral problems, higher rates of grade repetition, missed school days and other school problems, ADHD, conduct disorder, depression, learning disabilities, and developmental delays.

The study provides the first comprehensive national profile of associations between weight status and a broad set of associated health conditions, a UCLA release said. Halfon said these findings should serve as a wake-up call to physicians, parents and teachers, who should be better informed of the risk for health conditions associated with childhood obesity. (Read more)

Asthma Relief at Home

When it comes to asthma inhalators are a must have for anyone suffering its effects, however there are ways to avoid some of what this condition deals to the human body. While asthma care centers exist and they are very good at what they do the bulk part of the asthma relief is usually done in domestic conditions since our lives need to go on as seamlessly as possible. You will need to find ways to avoid stress as well as knowing how to deal with the onset and asthma triggers which lead to attacks since this is a condition which so far requires a lot of care. We have prepared some tips with which we hope to alleviate your situation:

1. Peak Flow Meters

When it comes to asthma these are cheap and useful devices used to measure the exhaled air through your lungs. It is a simple construction which allows you to measure the peak expiratory flow also known as PEF. This small device allows you to have a relatively accurate understanding of the condition of your asthma and whether its worsening or getting better by measuring and monitoring your PEF.

2. Developing a plan

When it comes to asthma you should be aware that special care is needed which will help you prevent and manage your asthma attacks. You should speak to your doctor or health care provider regardless of what country you live in for ways your condition can be alleviated. You will need to provide them with as much personal information as you can to allow your doctors a better chance to understand what is causing your asthma attacks.

3. Keep track

There is a reason for that since it will allow you understand and keep a record of when the attacks occur. You should record the initial time when the attack starts and you should measure your PEF as well as other details which will allow you to collect this data for an accurate understanding and information which your doctor will be able to use to deduce ways to find solutions.

4. Controlling possible asthma triggers

This is a crucial step when it comes to attacks since knowing what onsets the attack will help you prevent it in the future. Most often it is stress and this can help, though sometimes the reasons for an attack are certain allergens of which you will need to be aware so you can treat the problem effectively.

5. Air filtration

This can be very useful in cases of allergens being the prime reason for asthma attacks. They are relatively cheap and they offer a good way of keeping most of these out of the air around your home. There are multiple technologies out there currently being used for air filtration from small, stationary units to larger ones which offer better quality of air. You should consider those if you know the reason for your asthma attacks are airborne allergens such as pollen and other substances.

This guest post has been written on behalf of: www.handymoves.co.uk

Electric cooperatives' monthly magazine looks at the poor health of our state's children

Courtney Cagle, 14, of Clinton learns
how to cook healthy spaghetti in UK's
Cooperative Extension nutrition program

The November issue of Kentucky Living magazine, published monthly for member-customers of the state's electric cooperatives, focuses on children's health. Editor Paul Wesslund writes that the stories and statistics on the current state of the state's kids are "scary."

Reporter James Nold Jr. writes that when experts were asked about their concerns for the state, childhood obesity was front and center. The state ties Georgia and Arkansas for the second highest share of children (37 percent) who are obese, and it trails only Mississippi among children 10 to 17. That’s more than one in three kids who are grossly unfit.

Also of concern are Kentucky children's high rates of asthma, abuse, neglect, and cigarette smoking. The numbers for these are so bad and so seemingly out of control now that health professionals would be happy just to see them remain stable in the future, instead of continuously rising.

Nold writes that the experts' urgency on these matters was palpable. A lot of them talked about the way poor nutrition can harm children now and throughout the rest of their lives.  They also expressed deep concern for the lack of dental education and care, the need for more exercise and for more parent involvement in all of their children's choices.

The magazine, which has a Health Club for children, notes that the University of Kentucky's Cooperative Extension Service provides nutrition education to students in all 120 counties. For more information on the club, or to join, go to www.KentuckyLiving.com and click on "KL Health Club." (Read more)

Use of pacifiers could lead to very sick babies, study finds

Oklahoma State University researchers report that they have found a wide range of disease-causing bacteria, fungus and mold on pacifiers that young children had been using.

In research presented at the American Society for Clinical Pathology, scientists have shown that pacifiers can also grow a slimy coating of bacterial film that alters the normal bacteria in a baby or toddler's mouth, increasing the likelihood of colic and ear infections. It gets worse, according to study author Tom Glass, a professor of forensic science, pathology and dental medicine: The same types of bacteria found on a common pacifier have been linked to cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, allergies, asthma and autoimmune diseases.

HealthDay reporters Barbara Bronson Gray writes that Glass said the problems associated with pacificers are also applicable to any removable orthodontic appliance like retainers, mouth guards and dentures. Glass said his researchers were particular concerned about their findings when they discovered that "many of the bacteria growing from the used pacifiers were resistant to commonly used antibiotics such as penicillin and methicillin. The development of such resistance to certain antibiotics does not cause the organism to be more infectious than other strains that have no antibiotic resistance, but it can make the infection more difficult to treat." Glass told Gray that he does not recommend that pacifier use. use. "After doing the study, I say why take a risk?" (Read more)

18 Kentucky hospitals cited as 'top performers' on accreditation board's annual list

Eighteen Kentucky hospitals have been included on the annual list of hospitals that have excelled at adhering to basic procedures for surgery and other treatment of common illnesses such as heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia. The Joint Commission, the nation’s major hospital accreditation board, has released this year's list of 620 hospitals considered to be “top performers” for following recommended protocols at least 95 percent of the time. The top 18 percent of accredited hospitals make the list.

Among the Kentucky hospitals that qualified on all four measurements were Greenview Hospital in Bowling Green, Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center in Danville, St. Elizabeth Medical Center in both Florence and Fort Thomas, Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington.

Those qualifying in three categories were the Robley Rex Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Louisville (not in surgery) and the Appalachian Regional Hospitals in Harlan and Middlesboro (not in heart attack).

Qualifying in two categories were Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center in Leitchfield, Frankfort Regional Medical Center, the Hospital of Louisa and Jackson Hospital Corp., all for pneumonia and surgical care.

Recognized for pneumonia care were Parkway Regional Hospital in Fulton, Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center in Paintsville, Logan Memorial Hospital in Russellville and the KentuckyOne Health Hospital in Martin.

Among behavioral-health hospitals, ranked on their in-patient psychiatric care, the Kentucky facilities on the list were the Universal Health Services facility in Bowling Green, the new Cumberland Hall Hospital in Hopkinsville.

According to Kaiser Health News, the Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit organization devoted to patient safety, aided in the rankings process, as did Consumer Reports. The Commission has its own metrics. It's worth noting that next month, Medicare will start using hospital quality rankings on its Hospital Compare website to set reimbursements. (Read more)

New treatment first offered in Louisville is helping asthma sufferers

Shannon Denson, who has severe asthma, gets bronchial
thermoplasty. Courier-Journal photo.

Asthma sufferers can now benefit from an innovative treatment that was first offered at University Hospital in Louisville.

Patients like Shannon Denson are seeing improvement thanks to bronchial thermoplasty, "a minimally invasive, three-step procedure using heat to open airways in adults with severe asthma so they can breathe more easily," reports Laura Ungar of The Courier-Journal.

"Over the years, airways become very narrow. This opens them up," said Dr. Tanya Wiese, an interventional pulmonologist with University of Louisville Physicians, which partnered with UH to offer the treatment.

The treatment is not a cure but it does improve the condition of the lungs, which is good news since asthma rates are high in Kentucky. In the Ohio Valley, almost 15 percent of Kentucky adults said they had asthma, making it the seventh-highest rate in 2010, a survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found. (Read more)

Serious note about heart attacks and METHOD OF TREATMENT

Drink water immediately after waking up every morning. Furthermore, scientific tests have proven its value. We publish below a description of use of water for our readers. For old and serious diseases as well as modern illnesses the water treatment had been found successful by a Japanese medical society as a 100% cure for the following diseases:

Headache, body ache, heart system, arthritis, fast heart beat, epilepsy, excess fatness, bronchitis asthma, TB, meningitis, kidney and urine diseases, vomiting, gastritis, diarrhea, piles, diabetes, constipation, all eye diseases, womb, cancer and menstrual disorders, ear nose and throat diseases.

METHOD OF TREATMENT
1. As you wake up in the morning before brushing teeth, drink 4 x 160ml glasses of water
2. Brush and clean the mouth but do not eat or drink anything for 45 minute
3.. After 45 minutes you may eat and drink as normal.
4. After 15 minutes of breakfast, lunch and dinner do not eat or drink anything for 2 hours
5. Those who are old or sick and are unable to drink 4 glasses of water at the beginning may commence by taking little water and gradually increase it to 4 glasses per day.
6. The above method of treatment will cure diseases of the sick and others can enjoy a healthy life.

The following list gives the number of days of treatment required to cure/control/reduce main diseases:

1. High Blood Pressure (30 days)
2. Gastric (10 days)
3. Diabetes (30 days)
4. Constipation (10 days)
5. Cancer (180 days)
6. TB (90 days)
7. Arthritis patients should follow the above treatment only for 3 days in the 1st week, and from 2nd week onwards - daily..
8. This treatment method has no side effects, however at the commencement of treatment you may have to urinate a few times.
9. It is better if we continue this and make this procedure as a routine work in our life. Drink Water and Stay healthy and Active.
10. This makes sense .. The Chinese and Japanese drink hot tea with their meals ..not cold water. Maybe it is time we adopt their drinking habit while eating!!! Nothing to lose, everything to gain...
11. For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you.
12. It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion.
13. Once this 'sludge' reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine.
14. Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.

A serious note about heart attacks:

• Women should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting,
• Be aware of intense pain in the jaw line.
• You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack.
• Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms.
• 60% of people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up.
• Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive...

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this mail sends it to everyone they know, you can be sure that we'll save at least one life.

Please be a true friend and send this article to all your friends you care about

Workshop Aug. 4-5 will help health groups with policy, programs

A two-day workshop intended to help health coalitions and organizations make progress at the policy level and implement evidence-based programs will begin Aug. 4.

On the first day, speaker Monte Roulier of Community Initiatives will speak about the art and science of building health and whole communities. On the second day, speakers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will demonstrate how to use The Community Guide, a free resource that offers guidance on what programs and policies are evidence-based for obesity, mental health, asthma, tobacco, substance abuse, violence and other health issues.

The workshop is part of the "Health for a Change: Ignite — Unite — Act" series, a program of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. It starts at 10 a.m. Aug. 4 and ends at 4 p.m. Aug. 5. at the Hurstbourne Place Office Building in Louisville. To register, click here.

More county-specific health data are available, painting detailed pictures of your local area's health

Five years' worth of county-specific data are now available for many types of health indicators on the Kentucky Health Facts website. The site features data on demographics, social and behavioral indicators, health outcomes, access to care, and maternal and child health, much of which can be useful to journalists all over Kentucky.

The Health Outcomes category, for example, looks at a county's premature-death rate, motor-vehicle deaths, prevalence of asthma, diabetes prevalence and cancer deaths. The Maternal and Child Health category looks at adequacy of prenatal care, infant mortality rates, teen birth rates and prevalence of youth who smoke cigarettes. It compares that data to the rest of the state and nation.

The data paint a detailed picture of what is happening in a specific area. One interesting nugget in the newly updated data on asthma show that in Warren County (Bowling Green), the percentage of adults with the respiratory condition has nearly doubled from 10 percent in 2003-05 to 19 percent in 2007-09. Here is the county asthma map:

The data come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which is the world's largest ongoing telephone health survey. It has tracked health conditions and risk behaviors in the United States on an annual basis since 1984.

The data can be viewed by going to www.kentuckyhealthfacts.org or by clicking here. Kentucky Health Facts is a service of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.