Health and Wellness 82

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HEALTH & WELLNESS JOURNAL

BIOTECH | BUSINESS | CAREER | EDUCATION | HEALTHY LIFESTYLES | MEDICAL | MENTAL HEALTH | POLICY | RESEARCH | SPORTS MEDICINE

March 2019

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Inspire, Inform & Educate

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82nd Edition

Doctors, Lawyers with Monetary Motives Cause Painful Decisions

Women's Health Care 04

INSIDE

03 Wellness Confusion, Lack of Support Can Impact Weight Loss

02 Weight Loss Willpower: 5 Tips to Reach Your Goals Experience Our World of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Communication

06 More than a hobby: The relaxing, fun, healthy history of puzzles

2 | March 2019 HEALTH

Weight Loss Willpower 5 Tips to Reach Your Goals

By d-mars.com News Provider

W

hen you’re trying to reach your goal weight, it can sometimes feel like booby traps are around every corner: TV ads for big burgers, easy-to-grab snacks at checkout, and birthday cake after birthday cake at work.

It’s time to fight back. Use these five tips from the experts at Nutrisystem to turn your whole world into a willpower-generating super machine and keep flying toward your goals.

• In the Kitchen: STOCK UP Part of what makes bad-for-you foods easy to grab is that they’re, well, so easy to grab -- just unwrap it or dig your hand in a bag, and you’re satisfying your hunger faster than you realize what you’re eating. The solution: Make “unlimited” foods just as easy to eat in a hurry. Chop celery, broccoli, cucumbers and other no-guilt options long before you’re hungry so when you want a quick snack, they’re as handy as a handful of chips.

“Healthy snacks will keep you on-track without sabotaging your progress,” says Courtney McCormick, manager of clinical research and nutrition at Nutrisystem. “Vegetables are high in fiber and will keep you full longer than unhealthier options.”

• In the car: GET PACKED Have you ever come home from work planning to go to the gym... and then you don’t? The couch feels a little too comfortable or the pile of mail distracts you and you wind up skipping your sweat session? A little preparation can shut down this excuse: Keep a fully-packed gym bag in your car or at work. You won’t even need to come home before heading to your class, run, swim or strength session.

• Around town: ARM YOURSELF You can’t always sit down to a fresh meal or snack. But you can be ready when cravings strike: Carry a packet of Nutrisystem FreshStart Shakes, a sandwich bag of raw almonds or homemade trail mix. This way, when you need a little blood sugar spike, you’re ready with options that you control, rather than letting hunger pangs steer you toward something you regret.

• On your phone: PICTURE ACHIEVEMENT People check their phones on average 52 times a day, according to a recent Deloitte study. Let each instance push you toward your goals.

Change the background on your lock screen to an image that inspires you to stick with your plan. They’re easy to find: Fire up Pinterest and search for “inspiration,” “motivation” or other keywords that you like.

• At work: MOVE AWAY FROM THE DISH Few things in life sabotage the best diet plans faster than the workplace candy dish. You’re working on something, hit a wall, get up for a walk and there it is, right in the breakroom: a huge bowl of gum drops.

Decrease your tendency to grab from the communal bowl by moving away from it. Scientists found that subjects ate 1.8 more pieces of candy daily when the bowl was placed on their desk versus two meters away. More tips for achieving weight loss goals can be found at Nutrisystem.com.

Don’t get derailed. A few smart habits can help you avoid temptation and remember your long-term goals.

Source: StatePoint Experience Our World of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Communication

March 2019 | 3 HEALTH

WELLNESS CONFUSION

lack of support can IMPACT WEIGHT LOSS By d-mars.com News Provider

I

f you are like many Americans, you probably read advice about health and wellness everywhere, from news feeds to social media. But, despite the abundance of information, many are still struggling to reach their weight loss goals.

So, what is the cause of this disconnect?

While many Americans are no longer in the dark about healthy eating – as 92 percent believe they know the right foods to eat -more than half still knowingly make poor food choices daily, and two-thirds are currently looking to lose weight, according to a new report commissioned by Jenny Craig.

One challenge contributing to this disconnect is confusing buzzwords that many weight loss programs and products use in their marketing. Today, “wellness” products are popping up everywhere, though 42 percent of Americans say they are unsure how to even

define the term.

Fortunately, experts say that making the leap from knowing what to do, to actually doing it, can be made easier with the right tools and support.

“Having a science-based structured plan as well as ongoing support increases the likelihood people can find success on their weight loss journey,” says Pamela Peeke, MD, chair of the Jenny Craig Science Advisory Board.

One important area of support, Dr. Peeke points out, is in meal planning. Nearly three in five people spend seven to 14 hours planning and preparing meals each week. A program that offers nutritionally-balanced, chef-crafted meals can not only help reduce stress (the top cited reason for weight loss struggles) but also free up valuable hours to get more sleep or focus on another area of your overall health.

What’s more, the report found that nearly nine in 10 Americans (88 percent) believe that having healthy, prepared meals would help them reach their weight-related goals.

Another critical tool for sustainable weight

loss is guidance and motivation. Unfortunately, less than half of those surveyed say they have adequate support to be at a healthy weight.

That is why science-driven, structured weight loss programs like Jenny Craig can be good options, as they offer ongoing, one-on-one support from a personal consultant that can help people stay focused on their goals while learning about portion control and other ways to develop healthy eating habits. The customized support from a dedicated consultant allows you to personalize your weight loss plan, talk through challenges, track your progress and get the encouragement and guidance you need to help you reach your goal. Learn more about how to achieve your health goals at jennycraig.com.

If you are struggling to lose weight, getting support and straightforward guidance may be able to help you find success.

Source: StatePoint

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4  |  March 2019 HEALTH

Doctors, Lawyers with Monetary Motives Cause Painful Decisions

Women's Health Care

By Glenn Ellis NNPA Contributing Writer

W

omen, especially women of color and poor women, tend to suffer disproportionately in our healthcare system. The problem is growing worse now that there's a group of trial lawyers eager to exploit female victims, under the guise of offering help.

Take for instance that roughly one-quarter of U.S. women suffer from pelvic floor disorders, and according to the Washington Post, about 3-4 million of them have been treated with transvaginal mesh. The vast majority of these women receive repairs using transvaginal mesh without complications, but a significant minority experienced serious problems.

After the publicity surrounding this issue hit the fan, the lawyers pounced. It has come to light that a collaboration involving some law firms, doctors, and finance companies are pressuring women into unnecessary surgeries to remove the mesh. Giving new meaning to the term "insult to injury," this phenomenon, according to the New York Times, is leading unsuspecting women to the operating table - even in cases when the removal could worsen the symptoms.

If that's not enough, some unscrupulous hedge funds are financing companies connected with law firms specializing in suing manufacturers of the mesh. These law firms often use overseas telemarketing callers in countries such as India and the Philippines to contact women, known to have had the mesh surgery, with offers to join in lawsuits to sue the mesh manufacturers.

The New York Times highlighted a growing problem that tends to target women: the industry grown out of medical device settlements. For example, a court-ordered, charitable fund, the Common Benefit Trust, established out of the Dow Corning breast implant settlement fund, which also resulted from a faulty medical device. The Common Benefit Trust appears to have used some of this money to fund policy centers, advocacy groups, and

a conference on litigation.

Pelvic organ prolapse, a medical issue sought to be treated by the transvaginal mesh, is one of the most common reasons for women to have surgery. It is ranked among the top three reasons that women have hysterectomies.

Then there are racial disparities. Compared with African-American women, Latina and White women had four to five times higher risk of symptomatic prolapse, thought to be in large part due to the lower rates of African-American women reporting the condition as a problem to doctors. Researchers see this pattern as part of a culture where African-American and/or poor women will not typically see the condition as a problem requiring them to consider surgery.

Issues like the transvaginal mesh that has revealed disparate treatment of women are not new. All patients but especially women patients and minority patients that have traditionally been marginalized - deserve better than to be exploited in some of their most vulnerable times.

Those vulnerable times include childbirth and other areas of maternal health. Dr. Niva Lubin-Johnson, president of the National Medical Association, which represents more than 50,000 African-American physicians on issues of health disparities and justice, says, "There is a crisis for African-American women that is related

to maternal mortality - and that's across any economic level and educational level for African-American women.

We are losing in that area," she says.

As for the transvaginal mesh, Lubin-Johnson says women must take extreme precaution when contacted by anyone about removals of that or any other device.

"No, you go talk to your own physician about that and not to someone who is doing a cold call because of some possibility of joining a law suit...Talk to your own physician first; even if they were not the one who put the mesh in."

Since The New York Times began shining a light on these bad behaviors, federal prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York have begun investigating the allegations of unnecessary and unneeded vaginal mesh removal surgeries. According to reports, doctors, lawyers, financiers and others who may have been involved in the sham have been subpoenaed.

So, if you're considering medical treatment, be an informed consumer. Be sure to have your health care provider explain all of your options, as well as their possible risks and benefits. Though if these risks are not avoided, by all means, beware of financial lures to have surgeries that you do not need and that could leave you in a condition far worse than before.

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Glenn Ellis is a Research Bioet hic s Fellow at Harvard Medical School, and a health columnist and radio commentator who lectures, nationally and internationally on health-related topics. He is also the author of "Which Doctor?" and "Information is the Best Medicine".

Source: NNPA

March 2019  |  5

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6 | March 2019 HEALTH

MORE THAN A HOBBY: The relaxing, fun, healthy history of puzzles 2. The first jigsaw puzzle.

By d-mars.com News Provider

J

ust try to walk by an unfinished jigsaw puzzle without stopping. It's almost impossible. In fact, nearly half of all Americans puzzle for fun, to relax or to relieve stress.

Families puzzle together as a tradition. Millennials puzzle to connect with each other and disconnect from a hyperdigital lifestyle, while seniors puzzle for a brain boost. It may feel like puzzling is one of many retro activities in vogue again, but it has always been in fashion.

Here are some fun facts you might not know about the always-fashionable hobby:

1. Puzzles in ancient times.

Puzzling has been around since the dawn of time (almost). Greek mathematician Archimedes puzzled around 250 B.C. to solve geometry problems.

He cut a square into 14 pieces, then examined how many different configurations could be made from those pieces. This puzzle was recently solved

by Bill Cutler, a mathematician from Cornell University, who showed the puzzle has 536 truly distinct solutions.

Engraver and mapmaker John Spilsbury is credited with inventing the first jigsaw puzzle in 1767. He drew a map on top of a piece of wood, then used a jigsaw to cut it into small pieces.

The name clearly stuck! Kids today still learn geography by using jigsaw puzzles of maps. In fact, the "Geographical Puzzle" was the first wooden puzzle produced in 1891 by the puzzle maker Ravensburger.

3. A puzzling craze sweeps the nation.

Puzzles for adults became popular around 1900, and by 1908 puzzles were a staple of the upper class. Why upper class? Wooden puzzles were expensive, typically costing $5 each (or $140 today). For working people, who earned an average of $50 per month, puzzles would have been a luxury. Over time, cardboard puzzles became a less expensive option, making puzzling available to everyone.

4. A welcome escape.

During the Great Depression, puzzles offered people a quiet, inexpensive escape from the troubled economy. In 1932, a new concept emerged: a weekly puzzle. The "Jig of the Week" was sold at newsstands every Wednesday. In February 1933, puzzle production reached an all-time high of 10 million puzzles per week.

5. Puzzles grew.

Literally. In 1977, Ravensburger debuted the world's largest puzzle for its time, with 5,000 pieces. Today, the world's largest Disney puzzle, "Memorable Disney Moments," clocks in at 40,320 pieces. It took the puzzle creators 650 hours to trace each of the 10 scenes by hand to be digitally rendered on the computer and another 400 hours to bend the steel sheets with a hammer to create the cutting tool.

6. Puzzling today.

As far back as we can trace, puzzling has been equal parts art and craft, driven by puzzlers who race to place the last piece and solve the puzzle. And today, there are even new game-like Escape Puzzles that combine puzzling with escape-the-room mystery. Puzzling is more than ever a respite from today's hectic lifestyle to relax and connect with one another over a shared goal.

To learn more about jigsaw puzzles, visit https://www.ravensburger.us.

Source: BPT

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