Disease Proof : fast food

Posted on February 26, 2009 by Gerald Pugliese

But this news is not so light, no pun-intended, research in British Medical Journal claims obese young men, at the age of 18, are more likely to die prematurely later in life than normal weight teenagers. After reviewing the deaths of over 45,000 men, scientists determined the incidence of death was highest among the obese; Reuters reports.

And recently, studies have come out linking obesity to cancer, headaches, high blood pressure and thyroid inflammation in children.

Image credit: Das Bobby 2000

Posted on February 23, 2009 by Gerald Pugliese

I don’t like this. Not one bit. According to a new release in the United States Defense Department's Medical Surveillance Monthly Report more and more U.S. troops serving in Iraq are overweight or obese. In fact, the number of troops diagnosed with weight issues has doubled since the start of the Iraq war in 2003. The reasons why include stress from long deployments and, believe it or not, fast food and unhealthy habits like playing video games infiltrating the military; the USA Today investigates.

Troubling news, but its not much better here at home, reports have the states like Mississippi and Alabama continue to leading the nation in obesity, ushering in a more heart disease and diabetes. This is doubly bad because obese people now outnumber overweight Americans.

In related news, last year Mexico unveiled plans to encourage citizens to lose 2 million pounds, this after being named one of the world fattest countries. Aye carumba!

Image credit: Army.mil

Posted on February 20, 2009 by Gerald Pugliese

According to a new study presented at this year’s American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference, people who live in communities full of fast-food restaurants are more likely to have a stroke. Researchers examined stroke data on residents of Nueces County, Texas, where fast food restaurants are heavily concentrated, between January 1, 2000 and June 2003, and discovered stroke risk was 13% higher and risk increased 1% for each fast-food place in a neighborhood; Reuters reports.

Don’t forget. In December, it was determined students whose school is within walking distance of fast food restaurants are less likely to eat fruits and vegetables and more likely to drink soda and be obese.

Okay, hopefully you don’t need reasons not to eat fast food, but in case you’ve had a stroke and forgot, fast food has been linked to organ damage and its packed with trans-fat and lots of salt. Yuck!

Image credit: Phil Dragash

Posted on February 6, 2009 by Gerald Pugliese

A new study in Clinical and Experimental Allergy claims eating fast food once or twice a week negates the beneficial effects of breastfeeding. Fast food is becoming more pervasive in young children’s diets. So, scientists examined kids with or without asthma and found breastfeeding for too short of a time increased asthma-risk and kids breastfed for less than 3 months and ate a lot of fast food had an even higher risk; via The University of Alberta.

Listen, there’s no reason to eat fast food. But breastfeeding is important. In Disease-Proof Your Child, Dr. Fuhrman explains breast milk transfers important antibodies from mother to baby, which reduces risk of asthma and helps maximize intelligence.

Burgers and fries spread like locusts! In the Mediterranean, fast food is feeding an epidemic of heart disease, cancer and obesity.

Image credit: ctk