It won’t come as a surprise to any wellness professional, but research has now made it official. People can live longer if they practice one or more healthy lifestyle behaviors. That was the conclusion of a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The behaviors studied included not smoking, eating a healthy diet, getting regular physical activity, and limiting alcohol.

During the study period, people who engaged in all four healthy behaviors were 63% less likely to die early, compared to people who did not practice any of the behaviors. Not smoking provided the most protection from dying from all of the causes examined.

“If you want to lead a longer life and feel better, you should adopt healthy behaviors – not smoking, getting regular physical activity, eating healthy, and avoiding excessive alcohol use,” said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH.”

People who engaged in all four healthy behaviors were 66% less likely to die early from cancer, 65% less likely to die early from cardiovascular disease, and 57% less likely to die early from other causes compared to people who did not engage in any of the healthy behaviors.

Researchers analyzed data from CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III Mortality Study, a mortality follow-up of NHANES III survey of participants aged 17 years and older recruited from 1988 to 1994 and followed through 2006.

The researchers defined low-risk health behaviors as never smoking, eating a healthy diet, moderate intensity or vigorous intensity physical activity, and moderate alcohol consumption. According to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, men should drink no more than two drinks per day; women, one drink per day.

Among people in the CDC study, 47.5% had never smoked, 51% were moderate drinkers, 39.3%  had a healthy diet, and 40.2% were adequately physically active. The percentage of people who reported low-risk behaviors did not differ significantly by gender. Mexican-Americans had more healthy behaviors compared to whites and African-Americans.

The authors noted the challenges in encouraging a large percentage of the US population to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Yet, although studies have shown only a small percentage of people have adopted all of these healthy lifestyle behaviors, significant progress has been made in decreasing the rate of people who smoke. This study adds to the mounting evidence of the substantial gain in life associated with healthy behaviors, and underscores the need for the clinical and public health communities to work together to promote greater adoption of these behaviors.

SOURCES: “Low-Risk Lifestyle Behaviors and All-Cause Mortality: Findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III Mortality Study.” American Journal of Public Health; Oct. 2011 Highlights. Online
Press Release: CDC, Aug. 18, 2011.

Researchers out of Arizona State University recently published an article in the American Journal of Public Health titled, “Shared Norms and Their Explanation for the Social Clustering of Obesity.” It looked at why obesity seems to be common in some families and groups of friends.

Along the lines of the old saying, “Birds of a feather flock together,” the study showed people do cluster according to size, but with few clues to help explain why.

“Although inconclusive, this study has provided some important information about trends in obesity and the public health implications,” according to co-authors Dian Griesel, PhD and Tom Griesel of the new book, “TurboCharged: Accelerate Your Fat Burning Metabolism, Get Lean Fast and Leave Diet and Exercise Rules in the Dust.”

The Griesels write: “Obese families and friends usually have two things in common: food choices and activity levels or more accurately, lack of activity. Obese parents tend to raise obese children. Obese family and friends hang out and eat the same kinds of detrimental foods and participate in the same kinds of detrimental habits.”

Yet, it’s interesting. Most people don’t want to be obese. Study participants offered that given the choice, they’d choose a pretty serious disease – alcoholism, depression or herpes as examples – instead of obesity. In fact, 25.4% preferred severe depression, and (incredibly) 14.5% would rather be totally blind than obese!

So, why are they stuck?

Does a rising frustration level from past dieting efforts result in permanent discouragement and a resolve to be fat? Or, is “misery loves company” another “clustering” clue?

“Obesity is not from lack of will-power,” the Griesels say, “but rather the result of bad diet and exercise advice. It is difficult to follow the usual prescription for 30-90 minutes of aerobic exercise 5-6 times per week. Add the usual recommendations of a reduced-calorie, ‘balanced’ diet based around the USDA food pyramid and you have a recipe for failure. Sugar is too often a prevalent ingredient in packaged and refined foods that are so often touted as ‘healthy.’ With the consumption of all these low nutrition manufactured foods,” they explain, “the body is left craving more in an attempt to make up for the deficit. Consequently an unhealthy cycle begins.”

The problem with childhood obesity is well documented. But too many parents still won’t face reality when they bring their children into a chiropractic office for help with health issues. Rather than admit that their kids overeat, don’t get enough exercise, and consume the wrong types of food, parents frequently blame genetics. “It’s in her genes,” or “he gets it from his father,” are frequent refrains.

When faced with this type of parental belief, chiropractors can help educate their patients by sharing with them the results of a recent University of Michigan study, which concluded that behavior – not genetics – was the real culprit in childhood obesity. The study was published in the American Heart Journal.

Check-ups of 1,003 Michigan 6th graders in a school-based health program showed children who are obese were more likely to consume school lunch instead of a packed lunch from home, and spend two hours a day watching TV or playing a video game.

The results were compiled by the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center (UMCC) and suggest unhealthy habits are feeding the childhood obesity trend.

Study senior author Kim A. Eagle, MD, a cardiologist and a UMCC director, explained that “increasing physical activity, reducing recreational screen time and improving the nutritional value of school lunches offers great promise to begin a reversal of current childhood obesity trends.”

U-M researchers found that 58% of obese children had watched two hours of TV the previous day, compared to 41% of non-obese children. While 45% of obese students always ate school lunch, only 34% percent of non-obese students ate school lunch.

Significantly fewer obese kids exercised regularly, took physical education classes, or were a member of a sports team.

Because the eating and exercise patterns of obese children were so different than their normal weight peers, researchers concluded that lifestyle was more closely linked with childhood obesity than genetics.

In the U-M study, 15% of the middle school students were obese, but nearly all, whether overweight or not, reported unhealthy habits.

More than 30% had consumed regular soda the previous day, and less than half remembered eating two portions of fruits and vegetables within the past 24 hours. Only one-third of students said they exercised for 30 minutes for five days in the prior week.

“It’s clear that opportunities to improve health abound for the majority of our students, not just the 15 percent who are already obese,” said study co-author Elizabeth Jackson, MD, assistant professor of internal medicine at the U-M Cardiovascular Center.

The prevalence of obesity among US children ages 6 to 11 increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 19.6% in 2008.

SOURCE: “Health status and behavior among middle-school children in a Midwest community: What are the underpinnings of childhood obesity?” American Heart Journal, Vol. 160, Issue 6, December 2010. (www.ahjonline.com/article/S0002-8703 (10)00888-4/abstract)

Think 7 generations into the future

We’ve all heard the Native American philosophy — inspired by the laws of the Iroquois — that before taking any action, we should consider its impact on the seventh generation to come. By looking down the line to the big picture, we not only help people today but we help the world of tomorrow. This is particularly important for health and wellness providers like us. Chiropractic is one of those select professions that can actually have a meaningful impact on the very well-being of the planet!

I read a report in the December issue of the Journal of Gerontology that revealed a startling fact. Although people in the United States are living longer, they’re not any healthier. According to researchers, a 20-year-old today can expect to live one less healthy year over his or her lifespan than a 20-year-old a decade ago, even though life expectancy has grown.

From 1970 to 2005, the probability of a 65-year-old surviving to age 85 doubled, from about a 20% chance to a 40% chance. However, the average number of healthy years has decreased since 1998. We spend fewer years of our lives without disease, even though we live longer.

“We have always assumed that each generation will be healthier and longer lived than the prior one,” explained head researcher Eileen Crimmins, AARP chair in Gerontology at the University of Southern California. “However, the compression of morbidity may be as illusory as immortality.”

One of the key reasons for this decline in actual health is that we’re fat.

In fact, we’ve become so out of shape that we’re facing years of life without functional mobility (defined for this research as the ability to walk up 10 steps, walk a quarter mile, stand or sit for two hours, and stand, bend or kneel without using special equipment). A male 20-year-old today can expect to spend 5.8 years over the rest of his life without basic mobility, compared to 3.8 years a decade ago — an additional two years unable to walk up 10 steps or sit for two hours. A female 20-year-old can expect 9.8 years without mobility, compared to 7.3 years a decade ago.

When we look toward the seventh generation, we can see where all this is leading.

“The growing problem of lifelong obesity and increases in hypertension and high cholesterol are a sign that health may not be improving witheach generation,” Crimmins warned. “We do not appear to be moving to a world where we die without experiencing significant periods of disease, functioning loss, and disability.”

As chiropractors, we’re in a position to help stop that trend — and help not only the patients who come into our office, but generations into the future. I strongly urge all DCs and other wellness professionals to make 2011 the year we break the cycle of obesity and disease. Numerous tools are available today that chiropractors can easily incorporate into their own practice. Here are two I’d like to suggest:

1) Synergy Chocolate: an organic, anti-oxidant rich chocolate product that can actually be used as part of a wellness or weight loss program. The high cacao content gives it scientifically proven health benefits. It’s one “diet” product that patients will actually enjoy! The company’s affiliate program allows DCs to generate a “healthy” stream of income for their practice.

2) Weight Loss Journals: Keeping a daily journal of meals and snacks is one of the best strategies of successful dieters, says Dr. Christopher J. Mosunic, a specialist in weight management and diabetes at Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich, Connecticut. He also notes that food journaling “is one of the top predictors of weight loss success.” You might want to consider buying a supply of journals such as the “DietMinder Personal Food & Fitness Journal” and offering them to patients coming to you for weight loss help.

SOURCES: Crimmins and Beltrán-Sánchez. “Mortality and MorbidityTrends: Is There Compression of Morbidity?” Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences: 2010.

“Your Resolution to Lose Weight – Write it Down and Succeed” distributed by Greenwich Hospital, 12/20/2010.

The bad news is, without guidance from a qualified wellness professional such as their chiropractor, they’re taking over-the-counter drugs, which while marketed as “natural” can still pose health risks.

A study of medical records in Hong Kong revealed 66 cases where people were suspected to have been poisoned by a “natural” slimming therapy. In eight cases the people became severely ill, and in one case the person died. The study was published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

The researchers looked at the ingredients in the 81 slimming products that these people had taken. They found 12 different agents that fell into five categories: undeclared weight-loss drugs; drug analogues (unlicensed chemical derivatives of licensed drugs); banned drugs; drugs used for an inappropriate indication; and thyroid hormones.

“People like the idea of using a natural remedy because they think that if it is natural, it will be safe. There are two problems here. Firstly not all natural agents are harmless, and secondly the remedies also contain potentially harmful manufactured drugs,” says Dr. Magdalene Tang, who works at the Toxicology Reference Laboratory at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Hong Kong.

While the research concentrated on cases in Hong Kong, the work raises worldwide concerns. These slimming products are widely available over the counter not only in Hong Kong, but in other countries where drug regulation is relatively non-comprehensive. In addition, anyone can buy them over the internet even if you do live in regions with tighter regulatory control.

“The only way to tackle this is if people stop buying these products, and governments take prompt, appropriate law-making and surveillance actions,” Dr. Tang points out.

Dr. Tang is particularly keen that doctors ask patients about their use of over the counter slimming products if they come into a clinic with strange symptoms. “The active participation of front line medical staff together with toxicology laboratories is a crucial element in the long-term effort to eradicate this problem,” she says.

Naturally, Dr. Tang would prefer people go to a medical doctor and get prescription drugs — which pose far more risks and cause more deaths than any OTC drug. But the fact is that people, particularly those who are desperate to lose weight, do need professional guidance from trained health professionals. That’s one area where chiropractors and other CAM providers can step up and really make an impact on societal health.

SOURCE: “Case series on a diversity of illicit weight-reducing agents: from the well known to the unexpected,” British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. October 2010. Abstract