As things are progressing now, every person in America will be overweight in the next 3 decades, according to Obesity magazine. While this may seem to be the case as things go, there may be some changes on the horizon that casue a shift toward a slimmer America. Will it be that all foods will be genetically engineered to prevent too much absorption of calories? Will it be that with high-tech computers and genetic engineering that we are able to alter human chromosomes so that every individual will be able to maintain a 'healthy' weight regardless of what they eat? Or will there just be some natural or unnatural disaster that wipes out a population of people and changes the world in ways that drastically effects food supplies or other commodities? Or is there just some other unknown or unforeseen situation that will happen to Earth - aliens? space travel? - that will put people's minds and attention on something so great that keeps their attention and focus away from food? Here's the story from Discover on the current trend --

The news broke today of a study that’s got the blogosphere and the media buzzing. The paper, published in the July issue of Obesity, was done by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Using a mathematical model, the authors projected the future prevalence of obesity and the BMI distribution in the U.S., based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Study (NHANES) collected from the 1970s through 2004. Their results? If current trends continue, a whopping 86 percent of Americans will be overweight or obese by 2030.

And by 2048, they predict, every adult in America will be overweight or obese. Read more...

So, are we going to just sit back and keep doing what we're doing? Or are we going to change? The one constant in life is certainly change. And, it is amazing how the world has a way of correcting itself - be it the economy, health, commodities, etc. Recently, our family had a discussion about how amazing the universe is - go here to view the Hubble pictures of space (amazing!!). The conclusion of our discussion was that we, the people of this planet, put so much time and attention on such petty things in life, that if we all knew even just a little more than than we know now about any one of the trillions of other galaxies out there and the probability of millions, if not billions, of other life forms out there, we may put a different perspective on the 'problems' we have, and instead realize there is so much more we could be discovering out there. But we'd have to work together. This is a topic that could be discussed for hours and even days with all the new information that exists, but still where does it lead us? The answer? To more possibilities than we ever thought possible. Just some 'food' for thought. In the meantime, let's each do what we can to live healthier so we have that opportunity! Wouldn't it be a shame that we can't solve what should be a minor 'problem' like obesity, and any of the other thousand 'problems' in the world, when we could be focusing on discovering, exploring, and habitating other worlds!?

in health,
The Health & Wellness Institute, DC PC

Medifast snacks and meal plan: Medifast

Yes! I love that Dunkin Donuts is doing something about something with their menu and something. I'm not sure, I only saw a headline but I'm excited. It's gotta be good! I mean this is where people go who want to live healthy and fit right? I do...everyday. Get up, take a nice deep breath of fresh smog; grab the keys and a smoke; head out the door. Aaaah, fellow Dunkin Donuteeers, goooood mornin'! Time to sit, have another smoke and a cup of fresh coffee.  Aaaah, yes. To top it all off -- a couple of nice, sugar-filled, glazed DONUT!!  That's the diet of a lifetime. (A short one). Ok, this is a joke. You're not eating donuts with Medifast.

No, seriously. I guess DD is adding something to their menu (lol, sorry I can't even finish reading this story, or writing here) that is going to be healthy. There, I said it. You can get an egg whites sandwich with your.... DONUT!

Let me just direct you to the AP story --

Looking to entice those hungry for a healthier option, Dunkin' Donuts will begin offering a new slate of better-for-you offerings in August. The menu, which will debut in stores Aug. 6, will feature two new flatbread sandwiches made with egg whites. Customers will be able to choose either a turkey sausage egg-white sandwich or a vegetable one. Both will be under 300 calories with 9 grams of fat or less, the company said.

"We just felt it was important to provide some choice in our menu," said Will Kussell, president and chief brand officer. The new menu will be called DDSmart and will include all current and new items that either have 25 percent few calories, sugar, fat or sodium than comparable products or contain ingredients that are "nutritionally beneficial," the company said. Current products that will join the new sandwiches on the menu include a multigrain bagel and a reduced-fat blueberry muffin. Read more...

Comments: Doesn't Dunkin Donuts just conjure up images of very unhealthy or overweight people to you? I think a complete 180 couldn't help the perception that will always be placed on them as helping continue the spread of obesity. These are the types of places that have to be avoided if you want to lose weight or if you're trying to build a healthy lifestyle. If you see a professional athlete at one of these places, you can be assured that it's once a year (maybe!), and that when they hit the gym tomorrow and practice, they'll be burning those calories up fast. The other people there, not. You can't have just a little of something that is unhealthy. It's still unhealthy. Make your diet choices wisely.

The Health & Wellness Institute

If you are interested in a meal plan to assist with your diet plans and weight loss, Medifast provides a diet that makes it easy to plan the foods and meals you will eat. Click here - Medifast - to try the Medifast diet meal plan to help you get started losing weight. Medifast is physician-developed.

With more and more people living longer, and a growing population of over 50 and 60 year olds, many are seeking ways to get back the energy, strength, motivation, ambition, and drive that was once part of their life 20 years ago. It's no secret that more doctors and more products are paving the way for an industry that is going to see explosive growth over the next 10 years. Not only supplements and medicines, but surgical procedures too are making their way into a field that is become oh-so popular: anti-aging. 

This has caused a trickle effect to the next generation of seniors who are preparing themselves for an active life by intervening now through diet and lifestyle changes that are a bit stricter than what they've been used to. So while one group is trying to reverse the aging process, the other is taking action to prevent or slow down the process. Here's a report from The Wall Street Journal about the number of clinics popping up that are focused on both --

Different societies have faced the question of aging in different ways. In ancient Rome, where the median age of death for men was 46, you basically worked until you keeled over. The early Christians saw the possibility of virtue in old age, in the belief that you could become more spiritually contemplative as your body wore down. In contrast, everything about America — our optimism, our faith in technology, maybe most of all our refusal to believe we're not exceptional — impels us to see old age as a challenge to meet, a problem to solve. As Barbara Walters put it in an April prime-time special, "Live to be 150. Can you do it?"

Whether it's medicine showmen, pioneers of cryonics or "life extensionists," anti-aging salesmen have cropped up in every epoch of American history. And now our own era is taking the fight against aging into an entirely new financial realm. The U.S. market for anti-aging products and services is growing rapidly and will hit $72 billion in 2009, according to "Nutraceuticals International," a trade publication. Three trends, each feeding boomers' quest for immortality, are fueling the current boom. read more...

Bottom line: One of the easiest things you can do to slow down the aging process and reap the benefits of an increase in energy levels, healthy looking skin, less sickness, and a decrease in the chance of disease, is to alter your diet. The diet plans that many people are using for weight loss are a first step, but the real kicker begins when you get to the other side of the spectrum. That is, a very strict and disciplined approach to a healthy lifestyle - one where you let virtually nothing into your body that isn't of the best quality and for the purspose of supporting good health.  A second part of that equation is exercise. Those who do it know that it is a big part of the 'fountain of youth'. Exercise that includes strength training (lifting weights for muscle tone) as well as cardio (jogging, swimming, longer duration activities), is the perfect combination, with more of the former as you get past 55 years of age. Don't wait until you're in the twilight years to take action. Whatever your age, do it now and you'll save potentially thousands of dollars later on costs to "fix" the problems that more likely show up.

The Health & Wellness Institute, DC PC

If you are interested in a meal plan to assist with your weight loss and health, Medifast provides a diet that makes it easy to plan the foods and meals you will eat. Click here - Medifast - to try the Medifast diet meal plan to help you get started losing weight. Medifast is physician-developed.

Fiber is always going to be a good addition for a healthy diet. One of the best sources of fiber is oatmeal, the 'dieter's dream food' according to Harvard researchers, because it has 'the perfect balance of soluble and insoluble fiber'.  Your body uses insoluble fiber to clean your bowels, and the soluble fiber to clean your arteries, put plain and simple.  If you want to get to a healthy weight and feel great, oatmeal is a great place to begin.  Add some Medifast Oatmeal packets to a bowl of Quaker Oats (slow cook, full size, non-flavored) and you have a recipe for plenty of fiber and protein.  Here's more on the benefits of fiber from WashingtonPost.com --

(HealthDay News) -- Eating more fiber during the first trimester of pregnancy seems to reduce the risk of developing preeclampsia, a potentially fatal condition characterized by elevated blood pressure.

The finding appears to be another good reason for pregnant women to maintain good fiber intake, one expert said.

"There's not really a downside to taking more fiber," noted Dr. Jennifer Wu, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "Many women suffer from constipation in pregnancy, and it can only help that. If you can increase your fiber anyway for constipation, it may also decrease preeclampsia."

There are other benefits to increasing fiber intake, including lowering blood pressure. read more...

Bottom line: Fiber in your diet is a great way to feel full without getting the calories you would from consuming the same volume of other foods. Protein foods are best, with carbs and fats the worst from a calories to volume ratio. That's why fruits and vegetables are so good - in addition to the many nutrients - because they have bulk, but low calories.

HWI

If you are interested in a meal plan to assist with your diet plans and weight loss, Medifast provides a diet that makes it easy to plan the foods and meals you will eat. Click here - Medifast - to try the Medifast diet meal plan to help you get started losing weight. Medifast is physician-developed.

We have seen it with children as they enter their teens: cells phones: text messaging; computers: messaging, blogging, posting; blackberries: messaging; ipod: music; X-box: gaming. The new form of communication with teens is one that not only deprives them of real communication skills and social development, but takes them away from outdoor activities that burns calories. And the new form of 'entertainment' for kids does the same thing - taking them away from face to face human contact and isolating them in a digital word. The detriment shows up with poor communication skills, and that will (has) resonate in the working world. We've seen it with a decline in customer service at most companies for sure.

On the diet and fitness end of things, the statistics show that exercise goes way down once they are exposed to these things. Their social life exists mainly through digital media, and it's causing major concerns when it comes to their health - body and mind. Here's a related story from the AP --

CHICAGO - One of the largest studies of its kind shows just how sluggish American children become once they hit the teen years: While 90 percent of 9-year-olds get a couple of hours of exercise most days, fewer than 3 percent of 15-year-olds do.

What’s more, the study suggests that fewer than a third of teens that age get even the minimum recommended by the government — an hour of moderate-to-vigorous exercise, like cycling, brisk walking, swimming or jogging.

The sharp drop raises concerns about inactivity continuing into adulthood, which could endanger kids’ health throughout their lives, the study authors said. read more...

The diet and fitness levels of kids these days is certainly being compromised more than ever. Lost are the skills of not only communication, but learning to cook healthy meals, as well as other survival skills that may be more important than we know.

Getting kids involved in making healthy decisions, learning to prepare healthy meals, and taking up exercise is a good start. Teaching them the importance of a healthy lifestyle is even more important. Otherwise, their future may feel the consequences... and it won't be good. Take a step in the right direction and become more involved in developing a healthy diet and lifestyle, and get your kids to do the same. The future of mankind may just depend on it!

The Health & Wellness Institute, DC PC

If you are interested in a meal plan to assist with your weight loss and health, Medifast provides a diet that makes it easy to plan the foods and meals you will eat. Click here - Medifast - to try the Medifast diet meal plan to help you get started losing weight. Medifast is physician-developed.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has now recommended that cholesterol-reducing statin drugs be considered for children as young as 8 years of age. But, should pills be allowed to take the place of a healthy diet and exercise?

The percentage of obesity in adults within the United States has more than doubled in the last thirty years with the that of overweight children having almost tripled. Obesity has been named as the culprit for increases in Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and stroke, as well as certain cancers. Now we are faced with rising cholesterol levels having become a dangerous health issue for our children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). read more...

Bottom line: Good health starts with a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables, along with some regular exercise. This is not rocket science, but it seems to be getting buried by all the commercials and thousands of distractions that exist. Try it, you'll be amazed at what adding some fruits and vegetables in place of fast foods and soft drinks can do for a child's health. And you may even save some money and heartache from doctors visits and deadly side-effects from drugs!

The Health & Wellness Institute, DC PC

If you are interested in a meal plan to assist with your weight loss and health, Medifast provides a diet that makes it easy to plan the foods and meals you will eat. Click here - Medifast - to try the Medifast diet meal plan to help you get started losing weight and maybe even lowering cholesterol! Medifast is physician-developed.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Medifast Success Story:

‘I have been overweight all of my life. I weighed over 9 pounds at birth and it just kept adding up. I have had periods in my life where I was maybe only 20 - 30 pounds overweight but that was the closest I ever got to a "healthy" size. In June of 2007 I was creeping up on 300 pounds. I had decided to stop the "yo-yo" dieting and just quit. Nothing I had ever tried was consistent and definitely not long term. I do have a loving family. I had a great childhood. I was happy with my life and my job. I was just morbidly obese! I had decided that if I was to have any success with weight loss, it was going to have to be completely out of my control. I thought the only option for me was the bariatric surgery, and I wasn’t willing to do that. I was stuck. Lucky for me, I do have a great sister! Pat has always been very supportive with everything I have done. Pat is the one in the family that is full of energy and passion. If Pat was around, things were going to be fun and exciting! As is normal for Pat, she called me up one day last June, just keeping in touch and making sure everyone is doing okay. We talked for a while about the kids, the upcoming 4th of July party I was hosting, the rest of the family and of course about work. She began to share, once again, the success she and her clients were having with this program she was doing through her clinic. Then, she asked me point blank, "Are you interested in getting healthy?" Now, I have been a nurse for nearly 30 years. I thought she was pretty gutsy asking ME that question! Of course I told her the same old thing, nothing works, I don’t have time, don’t have the money, etc., etc., etc. She came back with the question, "What is your health worth?" WHOA - she was serious! She finally hit home with one question, "Why are you so willing to take OUR time with you away from us?" You see, our parents died way too young.

Our father was 60 and our mother was 63 at the time of their deaths. I was 26 years old when my dad died and I was 33 years old when my mom died. My children are now reaching their mid twenties. Pat was asking me some very serious questions. She made me realize that my choices were going to affect my children. They are too young to lose their mom. I didn’t want to put them through what I had been through. Pat was asking me to give all of my family more time with me. Thank God I have such a loving sister! Pat asked me to commit to this program for 30 days. She explained that she would be my coach and would be there to provide support. I was very skeptical but figured I really didn’t have anything to lose but my time or weight. When I started this program, I didn’t even know what it was called. Once I got my order in, I realized that it was Medifast food. No one else in my circle, family or co-workers, knew anything about it either. I was on this journey alone with the support of my husband and my health coach. I got started and just like she said, Pat was there for me. At the end of that first month, I had lost 35 pounds, I wasn’t hungry, I had more energy than I had had in years and I felt great! After a couple of months and 45 pounds lost, my friends and co-workers started to take notice and ask questions. That’s when I decided to look into the business end of Take Shape For Life and the rest is history. Now, one year later, I have lost 127 pounds. My BMI is below 25 and for the first time in my 49 years of life, I AM NOT OVERWEIGHT! My husband Ed has been able to get his weight under control and get healthy also. Together, as health coaches, we have been able to touch many people’s lives and help them start their journey on the path to optimal health. My sister is not only our health coach but also our business coach. This program has saved our lives! All of this and we get to have fun too! Thank you Pat for loving and caring enough to go out on that limb for me - one more time!’

Comment: Medifast has been helping many people get their weight under control. If you are interested in a meal plan to assist with your weight loss and health, Medifast provides a diet that makes it easy to plan the foods and meals you will eat. Click here - Medifast - to try the Medifast diet meal plan to help you get started losing weight. Medifast is physician-developed.