There are more examples where that came from. The New York Daily News spotlights 36 of their favorite “fat-letes.” Here are a few interesting examples:

• Emanuel “Tiny” Yarbrough is a sumo wrestler from Rahway, New Jersey. He weighs about 800 pounds, and holds the Guinness World Record for being the largest athlete.

• Prince Fielder is the first baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers, and son of another portly slugger, Cecil Fielder. He’s a vegetarian, so that does away with the myth that a meatless diet is a free ticket to thinness.

• Babe Ruth is the most famous heavy slugger of all time. When not downing hot dogs between at-bats in the dugout, he was adding to his heaping home run totals.

• Eddy Curry of the New York Knicks stands at a startling 6′11″. He’s got 285 pounds on that frame, and his fitness habits are questionable, which is why you’ll find him with a trainer this next off-season trying to get in shape.

• John Daly is a master at golf, but health he is not. Between a serious smoking habit and a love of bar food and drinks, this 300-pound pro is actually down about 40 pounds since his Lap-Band surgery this year.

Check out the other pudgy athletes in this pictorial at the New York Daily News.

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Male Athletes with Weight Problems

The study, which was funded by the Centers for Disease Control, charted the weight loss progress of more than 1,600 obese pregnant women. The investigators found that 75 percent of the pregnant women gained too much weight during their pregnancy and the more weight they gained, the less chances they had at taking it off after giving birth.

In 2009, The Institute of Medicine recommended that obese women gain no more than 11 to 20 pounds during pregnancy. Normal weight women are encouraged to gain 25 to 35 pounds.

According to Science Daily, the study found that, on average, women retained 40 percent of the weight they gained during pregnancy twelve months following giving birth. For instance, if a woman gained 20 pounds during pregnancy, she would still be carrying around eight of those pounds one year after delivery.

This study has important implications for pregnant women who are going into their pregnancy as overweight or obese. This extra weight increases risk for weight-related pregnancy complications like gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, delivering injuries, overweight babies and C-sections. And given the work involved in taking care of an infant, finding the time to exercise and eat right becomes less of a priority for many new moms.

Lifestyle habits like a proper pregnancy diet and exercise are tough to change, but if actions are taken during pregnancy or even pre-pregnancy so that obese women have the information and motivation to help them stay within their healthy weight-gain guidelines, then the outcome becomes a much healthier picture for both mom and baby.

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Obese Women More Likely to Retain Baby Weight

According to a new study at Harvard School of Public Health, there were about 12 suicides per 100,000 adults in 2004 and 2005. However, with every three percent increase in obesity in any given state, there were three fewer suicides per 100,000 adults. This even took into account the fact that states with higher rates of obesity also had higher rates of gun ownership, adults who smoke, and lower rates of household income.

The study did not prove a cause and effect, but the author did emphasize an obvious point:

“The risks of obesity far outweigh any potential benefit on suicide prevention,” says study author Dr. Kenneth J. Mukamal.

The key word is “successfully.” It doesn’t mean heavy people are happier.

The study’s authors think that poisonings may be less likely to be lethal in an obese person, since they would need a higher dose. They went on to morbidly speculate that in the case of an attempted hanging, suffocation may be less common because “the steps involved in hanging may be burdensome (and) uncomfortable” in an obese person.

One last downer of a statistic and I’ll let you get on with your day: More people in the United States die from suicide than homicide.

(via: Yahoo)

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Obese Less Likely to Commit Suicide

Most of us know them: people who can eat and eat and not gain an ounce. That fraternity gets a little smaller after 30 when everyone’s metabolism begins to slow. But, while they still maintain this seemingly impossible dietary feat, they do so at the expense of the rest of us.

That’s because according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, thin friends who eat a lot may unwittingly make you eat more in the process. Call it subliminal peer pressure.

The researchers recruited 210 college students to participate in the study, and were told that they would be paired up with another student. The other student was actually a part of the research team and intentionally recruited for their thin frames (size 0, 105 pounds). Sometimes those thin research participants wore an “obesity prosthesis” to compare the reactions of their partners.

All of the students were offered snacks while viewing clips of movies. The undercover researcher was served first, and either got a large or small serving before the student participant was offered the same bowl of food. In every case, the amount of food that the students accepted was influenced by the amount that the undercover researcher chose.

Participants tended to mimic the thin companion’s portion sizes, but adjusted their portions down when they were paired with the obese-looking researcher.

The study was authored by researchers from the University of British Columbia, Duke University, and Arizona State University.

(via: Medical News Today)

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Thin Friends Can Have Bad Diet Influence

Dr. Carolyn A. McCarty of Seattle Children’s Research Institute and her colleagues conducted the first study to look at how theses three problems relate to each other over years in the life of young adults.

They also found that almost half of the women and the men suffered from at least one of the problems between the ages of 21 and 30. The study was very extensive, as it has been following its subjects since 1985 (they were in the fifth grade at the time).

Looking at men compared to women, at 21-years old, eight percent of women and 12 percent of men had at least two of the three problems. As they got older, having multiple problems became more common, but less so for the men.

Here’s a look at how the unhealthy descent worked for the women in the study:

• Women who were depressed at 27-years old were more than three times as likely to abuse alcohol at age 30
• Women who had alcohol abuse problems at 24-years old were nearly four times as likely to be obese at age 27
• Being obese at 27-years old more than doubled the risk of depression at age 30
• Being in a lower-income bracket was an equal opportunity criteria, as both men and women were at greater risk of depression and obesity

Yale psychologist Dr. Susan Nolen-Hoeksma referred to the three problems as a “toxic triangle” of “eating, drinking and over thinking.”

(via: Yahoo)

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Obesity, Alcohol, Depression: Toxic Combo for Women

Although this is important information for parents who are committed to helping their child be healthy, the ideas can also be applied to yourself. We have made eating a social activity, but eating alone may help you stick to your food plan and limit your caloric intake. Another idea might be to find an eating “mentor,” eating with someone whose food habits you would like to emulate. The research suggests that simply by eating with them, you are more likely to behave like them. With whom are you sharing meals?

In addition to this research, the Time article discusses the theory that we are attracted to others we find similar to ourselves, suggesting that when two people who are overweight are together it can be a self-feeding loop that gives permission for obesity. The article also mentions that we are generally more relaxed with close friends and family and less concerned about judgment for our choices. Lastly, there is the theory that spending time with those who are overweight helps us to accept it as more normal, in effect giving permission to behave similarly. The Time article also mentioned other research that reports that we generally consume fewer calories when accompanied by the opposite sex.

Have you noticed any of these things to be true for you, impacting your eating habits? I challenge you to be more conscious of how much you are eating, especially when you are with different people. I have found that this is not always true for me and my mindset and will power play an important role as well. I would love you to comment here and post your observations.

via Time

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How Much You Eat Reflects Who You Are With

No rational company would resent a worker that right. But, now there’s a case of worker’s compensation in Schererville, Indiana that is sure to create a spark in the health care debate, and bring on some emotional arguments from people who are at a healthy weight.

In 2007, at 340 pounds, Adam Childers was working at The Gourmet Pizza in Schererville when he was smacked in the back by a freezer door. He needed surgery, and was going to be compensated for the procedure. Perfectly rational, right? Well, there’s more to the story.

Childers could not get the back surgery performed to alleviate his pain until he underwent weight loss surgery first to drop significant weight from his frame. But, surely Childers couldn’t expect that his employer would pay for this procedure, would he?

Apparently he did. But more importantly, so did a court that ruled the pizza business had to come up with the $20,000 or more to pay for Childers’ weight loss surgery.

Set aside the moral argument over whether or not The Gourmet Pizza should have paid for weight loss surgery. There’s a bigger problem, and an enormous can of worms that can be opened here:

• Isn’t this screaming out for future job discrimination? Sure, it’s not right to deny someone who is obese a job. But, if you see this level of financial risk, can you really blame them?
• What if there are complications with the Lap-Band surgery? Is it fair for The Gourmet Pizza to continue paying for a surgery that was needed because of his obesity?
• Even if you take “fair” out of the equation, just look at the reality of the situation. What kind of financial risk does this cause small businesses moving forward?

I hate to beat a dead horse, but set aside your anger if this seems wrong to you (I, for one, am on that side of the argument). What we need to do is not get bogged down with right or wrong with regards to this man’s obesity, and look at the bigger picture. We are a nation of obese people. There are many reasons for it, and much of it is about taking responsibility for one’s health. Regardless, something has to be done to reverse this course of obesity.

Humor me a metaphor to make my point. If you are on a canoe quickly heading for a waterfall that would plunge you and your fellow passengers to your death, would you argue with a fellow passenger, or would you work together to make sure you don’t fall over that waterfall?

We need to stress preventative measures rather than reactive treatments. Create incentives for people to get healthy. Have them built into our health benefits. Maybe even add financial incentive to reach weight loss goals. That could be a little harry to work out logistically, but you get my point. A healthy employee is a more productive employee.

Sure, you can’t force someone to be healthier. They need to care about themselves more. But the other choice for us might just be the bottom of the waterfall.

(via: Thatsfit.com)

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Employer Forced to Pay for Obese Employee’s Weight Loss Surgery

There’s no doubt that the bulk of the nation’s health care costs are based on personal choices. Smoking, high blood pressure and being overweight are the top risks for early death, hitting more than one million early deaths each year, with physical inactivity, high blood sugar and alcohol use not far behind, according to an April study by the Harvard School of Public Health. The price tag for obesity has propelled to $147 billion a year, new government studies show, and smoking costs about $193 billion in medical expenses and lost productivity.

These are the facts. But what do you do about it? Do you continue with the “blame game” and make smokers and obese people pay more for health care? What if they can’t afford it? Is taxing caloric beverages really going to move the needle when we’re getting lost in a big haystack of health problems?

If there’s one thing I truly believe deep down it is that there is a significant gap in behavioral health education for all Americans. Yes, partly in the classroom and family living rooms, but other places too like the community, workplace, and doctors offices (when people get there). But the greatest gap continues to be how health insurance of today neglects people who want to work on their nutrition and eating behaviors by making it difficult for them to get access to preventative nutrition visits with a registered dietitian.

I probably turn away 10 people a week who call me wanting a nutrition assessment but want insurance to pay for it. Well, insurance is really limited in what they cover and it is not preventative in nature. So a person needs to save and save just to see me or they go without it. What is frustrating is that people do try to take responsibility, but they need help and support. They need expert advice, answers and counseling.

At some point, when we discuss weight management and personal responsibility, we’ve got to be honest about lowering the barriers that get in people’s way of living a healthy life. Sometimes that’s things like cost of equipment, race registrations, and gym/yoga memberships and other times that’s the cost of getting some basic counseling for what they can do to improve their eating habits, how they can cook more at home even with limited time and skills, and how they can build healthy eating habits with their kids. Other times, it’s even more simple… do kids in low income neighborhoods have safe sidewalks and parks? What about low-cost grocery stores?

If people are going to change their lives and perform new, healthy behaviors they have to believe they CAN do it and get the support they need to make the right changes in a way that’s not going to totally disrupt their life. I’ve always been in awe of the Biggest Loser, for those few fortunate people to get the right environment and motivation to finally shatter their unhealthy shell and chisel out a new, healthier version of themselves. But how do you make The Biggest Loser scalable to everyone?

So, what do you think?  Should we be talking more about disease prevention or do you think talking about “healthy lifestyles” is just too much lip service to ever amount to any real change in the cost of health care in the U.S? What is your experience with your health care for weight management and smoking cessation? Do you have real opinions on the future of health care and the future weight of Americans?

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Is There Room for Personal Responsibility in Health Care?

Canadian researchers have now found that “biotransformed” blueberries with bacteria from the berry’s skin may help people fight obesity and diabetes.

In an animal study, diabetic and pre-diabetic mice saw a reduction in hyperglycemia (high blood sugar).

The key is the bacteria Serratia vaccinii. It’s a new strain isolated from blueberries that appears to enhance the natural antioxidant effects. Blood glucose levels of the mice fell by 35 percent after three days of drinking the biotransformed juice.

“Results of this study clearly show that biotransformed blueberry juice has strong anti-obesity and anti-diabetic potential,” says senior author Pierre S. Haddad, a pharmacology professor at the University of Montreal’s Faculty of Medicine. “Biotransformed blueberry juice may represent a novel therapeutic agent.”

The study appeared online in the International Journal of Obesity.

(via: Yahoo)

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Secret Weight Loss Power of Blueberries

For those of you who love Ruby, she’s releasing Ruby’s Diary September 8, 2009; and it’s a must for any fan! Filled with deeply personal thoughts, fears and insights, many of which were never revealed on camera, this memoir chronicles her journey up to her current weight loss status, about 150 pounds. Ruby’s Diary simply started out as just that: her own private diary. But as her weight loss journey has cascaded into a story of inspiration and commitment, yet also challenge and difficulty, she decided to share her thoughts and emotions with others.

With chapters like, Ups and Downs, Cravings, Southern Hospitality and Charm, Missing More Than Just Food and Tired of Weighting, Ruby’s Diary discusses the comforts of being obese, the foods she misses most, her favorite meal makeovers, her workouts and a cost-conscious seven-day meal plan which was created by her own dietitian, Kate Melei.

But Ruby’s Diary is more than just food, weight loss and exercise. It’s about Ruby trying to take ownership for her life, assuming responsibility for her past and connecting the pieces of her childhood to the person she is today. Ruby’s Diary is not just for the dieting audience. Rather, this book is meant to inspire anyone who is finding their way through a personal obstacle, whether it’s a food addiction, a substance abuse problem or a relationship issue.

Watch for Ruby’s tour dates as she travels all around the country promoting her new book, available for pre-order now.

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Ruby’s Diary: Reflections on All I’ve Lost and Gained