Healthcare in America is in shambles. Can tech start-ups come to the rescue?
It’s shaping up to be the year of the health tech start-up.
When I came up with the list of entrepreneurs for my recent
Women to Watch in Tech list, a full one-third of the chosen ladies came from the health sector. One of them, Halle Tecco, is playing a big role in helping to spawn more digital health-related start-ups—that's the exclusive focus of her seed accelerator Rock Health. Last year 13 new companies went through its program. Nearly half of them have received VC funding and one—
Skimble, which makes fitness apps—is already profitable.
What’s with the focus on health? Given that the system in the U.S. is more or less a train wreck, there are simply a lot of problems that technology can fix—or at least that's what a new crop of entrepreneurs are hoping.
Think about it, Americans are as fat and unhealthy as ever. What might help, if the masses can be persuaded to try them out, are the scads of gadgets that let people monitor
body metrics. They were everywhere at CES last month.
Another problem: More people are suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer. These patients might benefit from health platforms like the newly launched
Careverge, which uses an intelligent engine to provide personalized news, forums, and rewards for healthy living, as well as places to set health goals and compete and connect with others who are living with the same conditions.
Then there's health insurance, which is not only exorbitantly expensive for self-employed people and business owners, but it’s also a machine seemingly pitted against people who actually need to use it. How much of your deductible have you used? Which of the many bills arriving in your mailbox should you pay? Are you getting overbilled by your doctor? Is there a cheaper plan you could be paying for?
Cake Health is a Web platform designed to answer such bothersome questions. It took part in the TechCrunch Disrupt competition in September during which co-founder and CEO Rebecca Woodcock explained Cake Health’s mission of helping people better understand and manage their health costs.
The judges ate it up.
"This is the best presentation,"
said judge Brad Garlinghouse, who was then an executive at AOL and is now an
angel investor. "[It's] the most viable business, the biggest market. I think this is meant for this space. [Healthcare] is a disaster currently. I try not to deal with it when I get those [bills] in the mail. I have no idea what they say."
He’s right—many aspects of healthcare in America are in shambles, and have been for some time. Health tech start-ups that fill a real need may do very well right now, in spite of
a report from the National Venture Capital Association that the future of VC investment in med-tech start-ups is grim, largely due to the costly and slow process of getting approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
That report focuses mostly on the outlook for biotech and medical device companies. But entrepreneurs who are trying to solve problems in the healthcare system with software aren't convinced the outlook is so dour.
According to Frank Moss, director of new media medicine at MIT’s Media Lab, told the audience
at a GigaOm conference in November that now is a great time for health start-ups for three main reasons.
First, young doctors are much more comfortable with technology than their older counterparts. “Now if you go to Harvard Medical School, it looks like a cafe in Silicon Valley or Austin. Everyone’s got an iPad,” he said. It stands to reason, then, that as more start-ups seek to get patients and doctors using their platforms and devices, there may be less push back.
He also said start-ups can benefit from the fact that employers can’t afford for their employees to be sick. As a result, business-to-business health tech start-ups can have an edge if they can show the business sector their products or services keep employees healthier.
Moss also said that a business-to-consumer window will be opening soon.
Which health tech start-ups are you watching?
MHF's latest update on Men's Health Week
The MHF will be highlighting the importance of NHS Health Checks as part of this year's Men's Health Week.
This year's week focuses on heart disease, a health condition that disproportionately affects men. In the UK, 20,850 men die prematurely (before 75 years from heart disease compared to 7,408 women, especially men in lower income groups. Coronary heart disease is the most common cause of death – and premature death – for men in the UK.
MHF CEO Peter Baker says: 'heart disease robs many families of fathers. Men’s Health Week will help men find ways to get healthy and tell them about the signs to watch out for. We hope families and workplaces will also donate or hold fundraising events so that we can build on our successes in tackling men’s health problems.'
NHS Health Checks target adults between the ages of 40 and 74.
Fathers' day
Men’s Health Week, which ends on Father’s Day, is relevant to men and their families as well as health professionals and organisations and provides a great opportunity to remind dads that their health and wellbeing is important for the whole family.
For men and their families the MHF will highlight:
- How children can help their dads stay or get healthy
- How dads can look after their heart health
- The importance of taking part in the NHS Health Check programme.
For health professionals and organisations the MHF will highlight:
- That the NHS Health Checks programme is a good way to get checks done in men but it needs promoting
- The strong link between erection problems and heart disease
- How they can organise fundraising events to help tackle men’s health.
Recession threatens male mental health
As recession bites across the UK, those concerned about male health will want to read a report from the Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH showing that economic recession accompanied by high unemployment is linked to ‘extremely adverse’ results for men’s mental health.
The report
Facing the Challenge – The Impact of the Recession and Unemployment on Men’s Health
is the result of a research and consultation process carried out, in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, by Nexus Research Co-operative on behalf of IPH.
All told 93% of frontline organisations, North and South, in contact with unemployed men linked health challenges to unemployment and recession and all organisations surveyed noted adverse health challenges for men they work with. In addition to health challenges being higher for unemployed men, they were also very high for men who saw themselves as being threatened with unemployment.
The organisations surveyed and the men who were interviewed identified the challenges to health as:
- High levels of stress or anxiety?
- Dependency on or over-use of alcohol/other drugs?
- Deterioration in physical health?
- Development of conflict in family or close personal relationships
- Isolation (including sharing or communicating problems
- A reluctance to approach services or seek help
IPH Associate Director, Owen Metcalfe said: ‘This research has identified the relationship between being unemployed and suffering ill health, particularly mental health for men. Men’s health issues in times of economic recession are made more difficult by their tendency to take fewer health preventative measures, and be less likely to seek support.
‘The combination of perceived inadequate service responses and the reluctance of many men to communicate their problems mean that a large proportion of more critical effects are undoubtedly hidden. Organisations and projects operating within the community are often the first point of access and it is critical that they provide a secure and trusting environment for those seeking support.’
Increase in suicide
The increase in the number of suicides is a particular cause for concern. In 2010, 313 deaths in Northern Ireland were registered as suicides, 240 of those were males and 73 were female, this is the highest figure on record.
The Republic of Ireland also recorded an increase in male suicides rates. For the 12 month period ended June 2009 there were 379 male suicides. For the 12 month period ended June 2010 this figure rose to 427.
In the
UK, suicide among middle-aged men is also up. But the most marked increase in suicides was in
Greece where there was a 40% rise in those taking their own lives in just one year (Jan-May, 2010 to Jan-May 2011 .
- Download
Facing the Challenge – The Impact of the Recession and Unemployment on Men’s Health from the Men's Health Forum Ireland website.
In a letter to
The Lancet 154 leading paediatricians urge the government to drop the Health and Social Care Bill
We are writing as paediatricians and members of the UK’s Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health to call for England’s Health and Social Care Bill to be withdrawn. If passed, we believe that the Bill will have an extremely damaging effect on the health care of children and their families and their access to high-quality, effective services. We see no prospect for improvement to the Bill sufficient to safeguard the rights of access to health care by children and their families. In our view, no adequate justification for the Bill has been made. The costs of dismantling existing National Health Service (NHS structures are enormous and, at a time of financial austerity for all public services, have resulted in precious resources being diverted to private management firms and away from front-line patient care.
We believe that the Bill will undermine choice, quality, safety, equity, and integration of care for children and their families. The NHS outperforms most other health systems internationally and is highly efficient. The 2010 Commonwealth Fund report on seven nations ranks the UK second overall and best in terms of efficiency and effective health care. (1 Competition-based systems are not only more expensive and less efficient but are associated with gross inequality in perinatal and child health outcomes, including child safeguarding. (2,3 Far from enabling clinicians to control and determine local services, the new commissioning proposals are more likely to lead to increased power for private management organisations attracted to this lucrative opportunity to manage small Clinical Commissioning Groups.
Multiple private providers will make it difficult to innovate, cooperate, plan, and improve the quality in children’s services for which collaboration and integration are fundamental and the cornerstone to adequate safeguarding of our children. The Bill will be detrimental to the goal of integrating care for the most vulnerable children across health, education, social care, and the criminal justice systems in order to deliver good outcomes.
Care will become more fragmented, and families and clinicians will struggle to organise services for these children. Children with chronic disease and disability will particularly suffer, since most have more than one condition and need a range of different clinicians. A family with a disabled child will find it more difficult and complicated to organise a complex package of care, because integrated working between the NHS and local authorities will become much harder to achieve.
If different services are commissioned from separate providers, this risks the breakdown of the relationships that underpin good communication and coordination, particularly where different aspects of service are provided from different budgets. This will happen because individual local authorities will relate to several Clinical Commissioning Groups, and vice versa, meaning that contracts will have to be negotiated between multiple providers, multiple commissioners, and multiple local authorities.
Safeguarding of children will become even more difficult when services are put out to competitive tender and organisations compete instead of cooperate. Children who are vulnerable, neglected, or abused will inevitably slip through the net.
The Bill is misrepresented by the UK Government as being necessary and as the only way to support greater patient choice and control. On both counts that claim does not stand up to scrutiny. (4 Far from increasing choice, there is plenty of evidence amassing that these proposed reforms will in fact limit choice for all children and their families, increase inequalities, and harm those who are most vulnerable. Continuous quality improvement in our already high-quality NHS does not require this legislation.
Note: We are all members of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, London, UK. We declare that we have no conflicts of interest. The views expressed in this letter are those of the authors and not of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
Signatories
:
Professor Stuart Logan
Professor Carol Dezateux
Professor John O Warner
Professor Ruth Gilbert
Professor William McGuire
Professor Imti Choonara
Professor Adam Finn
Professor Russell Viner
Professor Allan Colver
Professor Michael Levin
Professor Christopher J H Kelnar
Professor Ian Booth
Professor James V Leonard
Professor Jo Sibert
Professor Colin Kennedy
Professor David Dunger
Professor Timothy Barrett
Professor Nick Spencer
Professor Selena Gray
Dr Christine Arnold
Dr Helen Bantock
Dr Belinda Bateman
Dr Helen Bedford
Dr Rachel Besser
Dr Emma Blake
Dr Cliona Ni Bhrolchain
Dr Jo Blair
Dr Bernie Borgstein
Dr Jean Bowyer
Dr Joe Brierly
Dr Martin Brueton
Dr Deborah Burns
Dr Paul Carter
Dr Anupam Chakrapani
Dr Michael Champion
Dr Richard Chin
Dr Paul Clarke
Dr Helen Coleman
Dr Andrew Collinson
Dr Simon Court
Dr Julian Cox
Dr Anthony Cronin
Dr Suleman Daud
Dr Geoff DeBelle
Dr David Elliman
Dr David Edwards
Dr Fiona Finlay
Dr Emma Footitt
Dr Mary Gainsborough
Dr Penny Gibson
Dr Paul Gissen
Dr Paul Gorham
Dr Paul Gringras
Dr Dougal Hargreaves
Dr Val Harpin
Dr Neil Harrower
Dr Doug Heller
Dr Deborah Hodes
Dr Jennifer Holman
Dr Karen Horridge
Dr Tony Hulse
Dr David Inwald
Dr Lyda Jadresic
Dr Nicola Jay
Dr Diana Jellinek
Dr Glyn Jones
Dr Rosemary Jones
Dr Lisa Kauffmann
Dr Rowan Kerr?Liddell
Dr Rachel Knowles
Dr George Kokai
Dr Thoma Kus
Dr Peter Lachman
Dr Gabrielle Laing
Dr Raman Lakshman
Dr Bill Lamb
Dr Vic Larcher
Dr John Livingston
Dr Wynn Leith
Dr David Mabin
Dr Chloe Macauley
Dr Aidan Macfarlane
Dr Donald Macgregor
Dr Heather Mackinnon
Dr Katie Mallam
Dr Astagi Manjunuth
Dr Donal Manning
Dr Jo Mannion
Dr Antoinette McAulay
Dr Liz McCaughey
Dr NJ McLellan
Dr Judith Meek
Dr Melanie Menden
Dr Alastair Morris
Dr Andrew Morris
Dr Sarah Morris
Dr Gail Moss
Dr Paul Munyard
Dr Anne Nesbitt
Dr Margaret O'Connom
Dr Stephane Paulus
Dr Juliet Penrice
Dr Mark Peters
Dr Rajesh Phatak
Dr Ximena Poblete
Dr Max Priesemann
Dr Michael Quinn
Dr Richard Reading
Dr Anna Redfearn
Dr Ashley Reece
Dr Jane Ritchie
Dr Gareth Roberts
Dr Jane Roberts
Dr Sophie Robertson
Dr Peter Robinson
Dr David Taylor?Robinson
Dr Glynn Russell
Dr George Rylance
Dr Clive Sainsbury
Dr Jane Schulte
Dr Neela Shabde
Dr Nawfal Sharief
Dr Peta Sharples
Dr Mark Sharrard
Dr Catherine Sikorski
Dr Mirsada Smailbegovic
Dr Donatella Soldi
Dr Ron Smith
Dr Alan Stanton
Dr Colin Stern
Dr Barbara Stewart
Dr John Storr
Dr Anthony Tam
Dr Adam Tilly
Dr Richard Tozer
Dr Catherine Tuffrey
Dr Gill Turner
Dr Francine Verhoeff
Dr Maybelle Wallis
Dr Martin Ward?Platt
Dr Tony Waterston
Dr Paul Whitehead
Dr Jane Williams
Dr Richard Williams
Dr Ingrid Wolf
Dr Celia Wylie
Dr Sue Zeitlin
Dr Pam Zinkin
Dr Simon Lenton
Dr Poonam Dhamaraj
Dr Ian Pollock
Dr Victoria Jones
Dr Simon Ackroyd
References
(1 Davis K, Schoen C, Stremikis K. Mirror, mirror on the wall: how the performance of the US health care system compares internationally: 2010 update. London: The Commonwealth Fund, 2010.
(2 Murray CJ, Frenk J. Ranking 37th—measuring the performance of the US health care system. N Engl J Med 2010; 362: 98–99.
(3 Starfield B. Is US health really the best in the world? JAMA 2000; 284: 483–84.
(4 Pollock AM, Price D, Roderick P, et al. How the Health and Social Care Bill 2011 would end entitlement to comprehensive health care in England. Lancet 2012; 379: 387–89.
With thanks to The Lancet.
Published Online
February 17, 2012
DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(12 60270-0
To outsiders, Sweden is known as a model economy; home to successful export-orientated companies and haven of social peace and justice. Yet, recent revelations around grievances in the privatised health and elderly care sectors make of Sweden mainly an excellent example of the worst excesses that the profit-motive can lead to in formerly state-run sectors.
Over the past two or three decades Sweden has indeed had the doubtful privilege of being quoted by the ultra-conservative US Heritage Foundation as an example for pension reform and the country has privatised large parts of the social services sector including primary education. Certainly one of the most extreme examples of market-optimism and anti-statism comes from the Stockholm County Council. Between 1998 and 2002, when a centre-right alliance controlled the county, public property for SEK 30bn has been sold off in the region of Stockholm and 25% of the social services have been outsourced to private providers. Deregulation and privatisation have particularly touched the health system including care for the elderly. By 2008 all of Stockholm’s major hospitals had become public limited companies (plc and 100% of Stockholm county’s wards were in private hands. The outcome of this situation provides an impressive and depressing summary of everything that critics of neoliberalism think is wrong with private provision of public services.
Shortly after
Dagens Nyheter
March 3, 2007 . The source of these profits in the health service sector were tax payers’ money because the County Council continues to pay the health bills of its citizens. Former county council employees thereby became entrepreneurs and tax-made millionaires within a couple of years after privatisation.
Soon, critical voices started to make themselves heard. The Council was accused of selling off the wards basically at the inventory price – not including any goodwill as would be the case in a takeover of one business by another. The Council justified this sellout of state property as a subsidy to start-up companies, which was what the new private wards were considered to be.
Yet, by 2007, the Stockholm County Council saw a need for action in face of increasing costs. The problem was quickly diagnosed, a solution found and the stage set for the second act of this Nordic drama: the rising costs were explained not by the increasing profits that went into private pockets, but by a lack of competition. There were simply not enough private providers on the ‘market’ and competition was not fierce enough. Stockholm County Council next elaborated a new programme called “Ward Choice Stockholm” in an effort to bring down costs. Ward Choice Stockholm – which entered into force on January 1, 2008 – aimed at stimulating competition between health care providers, by cutting subsidies and making payment of services dependent on some simple metrics. The new metric that would determine how much the Council paid health care providers was the number of patients that they treated in a given period of time. Higher payments for socio-economic underprivileged areas – where language problems and other problems related to poverty make treatments more difficult and hence time consuming – were scrapped. This put pressure on health care providers to lower costs as best they could. Among the measures used by the private providers to attract new ‘customers’ were longer opening hours (evening opening , a free health check-up on registration (worth SEK 200 and freebees for new ‘clients’.
As so often, free competition between private providers did not lead to innovative solutions – other than freebees on registration – but greatly favoured the economically and politically powerful over other market participants.
Thus, in an open letter published in the
Dagens Nyheter
(DN – close to the liberal Folkpartiet – five GPs accused Filippa Reinfeldt – then Stockholm’s conservative County Commissioner of Health Services and wife of Sweden’s PM, Fredrik Reinfeldt – of favouring major players in the industry by attending their opening ceremony of a new ward (DN 21 October 2008 . The health care provider in question was Carema Care one of the four largest – and stock market listed – health care providers in Sweden.
Yet, from the Council’s perspective the increased competition soon started to bear fruit: in 2008 a private drug abuse clinic – Maria Beroendecentrum – lost a bid for renewal of its contract with Stockholm’s County Council to Carema Care. During Maria Beroendecentrum’s appeal over the regional parliament’s decision to favour Carema’s bid, Folkparti county counsellor Birgitta Rydberg explained that the council was actually happy with how Maria Beroendecentrum had run the facility, but that Carema Care had promised to run the same facility for SEK 35m less (
DN
November 8, 2011 . This is a striking example that competitive markets often do not create a level playing field for perfect competition among equal participants, but that political influence or economic power (size help a lot in ensuring that one has an even leveller playing field for oneself.
To be sure one could argue that Carema Care, as a very large provider of health care services, simply was able to run said ward more efficiently due to economies of scale. A powerful argument indeed. Yet, over the past months it has become increasingly apparent that the reason for Carema Care’s competitive pricing may derive not from economies of scale but from a wholly different source. Since early October 2011,
Dagens Nyheter
has run a series of articles about alleged shortcomings in the caring standards at two of Carema Care’s nursing homes in Stockholm.
DN
had been granted access to reports from nurses in different elderly care homes run by Carema Care, complaining about working conditions and the standard of the facilities. The complaints concerned mainly cost cutting in terms of not replacing staff, cutting the budget to buy such basic necessities as toilet paper, soap and incontinence pads. The company had also ‘made redundant’ cleaning staff at one home, asking caring staff to do the cleaning themselves - with the only exception being the day before announced inspections when a professional cleaning service provider would be brought in.
The reports on caring standards at Carema Care have grown worse by the day ever since: from rather harmless cost-saving schemes such as the introduction of a sensor in patient’s incontinence pads that allowed it to reduce the number of incontinence pads used by measuring the degree of dampness of the diaper [sic!], to cases where a patient had to sleep on the floor for several weeks because her bed was broken and could not be replaced, to truly horrific cases where the ward personelle was aware of continuous sexual assaults on one elderly patient by another patient, but did nothing to prevent these assaults over a number of months!
Carema cannot fundamentally reject most of these claims. In a first reaction to the story about an elderly women sleeping on the floor, Kerstin Stalskog the company’s responsible for elderly care – in a statement full of (unintended irony – declared that there was no lack of beds in the concerned home, but that the ‘customer’ [sic!] had chosen to sleep on the floor (
DN
November 3, 2011 . (It remains an open question whether that is the sort of choice that free-marketers had in mind when they introduced ‘Ward Choice Stockholm’.
Carema Care has since created a weblog in order to address the numerous criticisms raised against it. The company now denies that a patient had to sleep on the floor and points out that the company had known about many of the grievances revealed by
DN
and it had started to take measures to improve the situation. Yet, a documentary on a public TV channel about the company further added to the list of grievances. It revealed that a secret bonus programme was in place, which incentivised the managers of Carema’s homes to compete with other divisions in bringing down costs. (Carema has since announced that the bonus programme in its ‘elderly care’ division would be put on hold and a new system will be adopted based on quality indicators rather than costs .
The reason why these grievances went unnoticed for so long, has to do for one with the fact that Carema Care had a reputation among its employees of doing anything necessary to keep staff in line. In at least two cases, it sued former employees for breaching professional secrecy. Moreover, the public authorities contributed their bit to hushing up any complaints from Carema’s employees or nursing inspectors in the event that they dared to pipe up.
Dangens Nyether
reported that at least in one case a report by an inspector was altered in order to embellish the situation described. Entire paragraphs had been cancelled and others had been rewritten.
Why should the British public care about this tale from the North? Beyond, the obvious lessons to be drawn from the Swedish horror stories in the context of the current debates about the Health and Social Care Bill, the UK played a direct role in the changes in Swedish welfare services. Indeed, Ambea – the holding company that owns Carema Care – was owned between 2005 and 2010 by the London-based private equity and venture capital fund 3i. The fund bought the holding in 2005 for SEK 1.85bn and resold it in 2010 for approximately SEK 8bn to Triton – an investment fund owned by several Swedish citizens – and KKR – the famous US private equity firm. When the company was taken over, KKR and Triton also extended large loans to the company and loaded it with external debt. Overall, Carema Care has debt to service amounting to SEK 8bn, approximately half of which stems from the two private equity firms that own Ambea. What is more, the loans from KKR and Triton were made at an interest rate of 12% - well above the current market rates for such a loan. This device allowed the owners to create artificial tax deduction, because any profits Carema Care would make were wiped out by interest payments. This allowed the owners to channel Carema Care’s profits around the Swedish tax authorities, because the interest payments were booked as ‘capital income’ in an off-shore tax haven rather than declared as taxable profits from a productive activity. After it has become clear over the last weeks that most major private health care providers pay literally no income tax in Sweden, the centre-right government has promised a tax reform for 2013, making this sort of internal loan at above-market rates illegal.
The Carema Care scandal illustrates in impressive fashion the discrepancy between what market-believers promise when they initiate privatisations and deregulation policies and what the actual reality of competition is. To be sure, for 3i’s, Triton’s and KKR’s investors the deal was by extremely rewarding…but the belief in efficient markets and that individual actors’ selfish and profit-seeking behaviour in a market place will ultimately lead to optimal outcomes for societies as a whole seem laughable at best and dangerously cynical at worst in face of the transformation of healthcare in Sweden. The Carema case – which also touches on other major healthcare providers such as Attendo – shows once again that privatisations are mainly about transferring public money to private individuals.
This Spring, cork has our hearts and soles! (After all, when Christian Loboutin, Manolo Blahnik, and Oscar de la Renta all design cork shoes, it’s hard not to fall in love!
Cork has always been a hot choice for the warmer months, but this year, designers are really stepping it up! From wedges and chunky heels to flats and sandals, cork shoes have an earthy, 70s inspired vibe that’s perfectly paired with Spring’s colorful ankle pants, peplums, and florals.
Here are some styles to feast your eyes on, courtesy of GalTime and
Shoes.com.
Frye Kara Woven T, $278
Related:
How to Avoid the High Heel Hangover
MICHAEL MICHAEL KORS Ariana Wedge, $150
Bernardo Natural Cork Matrix, $103.55
Lucky Brand Miller2, $79
Related:
Trend We Love: Chunky Heels
Annie Cybil, $39.99
Sam Edelman Mabel, $140
Franco Sarto Zabrina, $99
More from GalTime:
Celeb Wardrobe on a "Regular" Gal's Budget
Neon Brights Sizzle for Spring
Be Party-Ready in Shimmery Shoes
Spring Fashion: Sweet Pleats
“Dogs are a woman’s best friend too!” according to the Daily Mail, which said that research has ‘proved’ that expectant mothers with a pet pooch are more physically active than those without one.
The research examined data on over 11,000 pregnant women to look at links between pet ownership and the type of physical activity they undertook. One-quarter of the women owned a dog, and those who owned a dog were more likely to be physically active at least once a week, and to achieve three or more hours of physical activity each week. When broken down by type of activity, the one activity that dog owners did more of than women without a dog was brisk walking.
It is not surprising that women who own a dog would walk more regularly, However, before women go out and get themselves a canine companion, it should not be assumed that having a dog causes people who would otherwise be sedentary to be more active. It could be that people who have more active lifestyles are also more likely to have a dog.
While regular brisk walking is free and a good form of cardiovascular exercise for pregnant women, you do not need a canine companion to do it – you can just take yourself and avoid the need to clean up dog droppings.
In pregnancy, both NICE and the Department of Health advise that beginning or continuing a moderate course of regular exercise is beneficial but advise avoiding potentially dangerous, high-impact or contact sports.
Where did the story come from?
The study was carried out by researchers from University of Liverpool and other institutions in the UK and US. Participants were drawn from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC , a long-running research project supported by the Medical Research Council, Wellcome Trust, UK Department of Health, Department of the Environment, Department of Education and the Environment, National Institutes of Health, and a variety of medical research charities and commercial companies.
This specific study on the role of dogs in pregnancy was funded by a grant from the WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition - a subsidiary of Mars Petcare, which manufactures a range of pet foods including Pedigree Chum. The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Plos One.
What kind of research was this?
This was an analysis of dog ownership and health in pregnant women who were taking part in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC cohort. Specifically, the research looked at the pregnant woman’s self-reported physical activity, pre-pregnancy BMI and looked at whether there was any relationship between these factors and whether the women owned a dog.
The study was cross-sectional, meaning it measured these factors at a single point in time rather than following participants to see how they progressed over a period. Although the study technically did assess the participants at two points during their pregnancy, these were only a few months apart and do not provide any meaningful data on women’s health and fitness levels before and after getting a dog. On this basis, it should be seen as providing cross-sectional data.
Regular physical activity is known to contribute to maintaining a healthy weight and wellbeing and it is not surprising that women who own a dog would take more regular activity. However, given that the study only assessed the participants at a single point in time, it can provide only limited conclusions; that is, it can show us whether owning a dog is associated with good health, but not that the dog is the cause of someone’s health status. We cannot tell whether having a dog causes people who would otherwise be sedentary to be more active or whether people who have more active lifestyles are more likely to get a dog.
What did the research involve?
This study was an analysis of the long-running ALSPAC study started in the early 1990s to look a range of health and development factors among babies born in the Avon area of south-west England. The ALSPAC study recruited 14,541 pregnant women from Avon who were due to give birth between April 1991 and December 1992. This sub-study on pet ownership excluded any multiple births such as twins and looked at only the 14,273 women who went on to give birth to single babies.
During pregnancy, the women were assessed using questionnaires and clinical assessments. At 18 and 32 weeks of pregnancy women were questioned on any regular physical activity that they took such as housework, gardening, brisk walking, jogging, cycling, aerobics, antenatal classes, ‘keep fit’, yoga, squash, tennis/badminton, swimming or weight training.
Options for response were seven or more hours a week, two to six hours, less than one hour, or never. The mother’s pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI was calculated from her self-reported height and weight. At enrolment the women had also been asked if they had any pets, and if so, what type of pet.
The researchers analysed how ownership of different pets related to:
- whether women did physical activity at least once a week or none
- whether they did three or more hours of exercise a week, or less than three hours
- the number of hours of different types of activity women did each week
- whether women were normal weight (BMI
<25 , or overweight or obese
The researchers then adjusted for potential confounders that could influence the relationship between physical activity and of pet ownership, including:
- maternal education
- maternal social class
- working during pregnancy
- maternal age at delivery
- number of people in household
- previous children
- house type
- whether the pregnant woman had pets as a child
What were the basic results?
The study analysis only looked at the 11,466 women who provided details on both physical activity and pet ownership during pregnancy. During pregnancy, 58% of these pregnant women owned one or more pets and 25% had one or more dogs. At 18 weeks of pregnancy, almost 70% of all pregnant women assessed engaged in any form or physical activity at least once a week, and 50% of all women took part in three or more hours of activity a week.
Women who owned a dog were 27% more likely to participate in physical activity at least once a week than those who did not have a dog (odds ratio [OR] 1.27, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.11 to 1.41 . Dog owners were also 53% more likely to achieve three or more hours of activity a week (equivalent to 30 minutes a day on most days of the week: OR 1.53, 95% CI 1.35 to 1.72 .
When broken down by type of activity, dog owners were more likely to participate in brisk walking two to six hours a week (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.23 to 1.67 or seven or more hours a week (OR 1.80, 95% CI 1.43 to 2.27 , but they found no association between dog ownership and any other type of activity.
Similar associations were seen at 32 weeks of pregnancy.
There was no link between dog ownership and ‘weight status’(being of ideal weight, overweight or obese .
How did the researchers interpret the results?
The researchers conclude that in their study pregnant women who had dogs were more active than those who did not own dogs, principally through walking. They consider that, as walking is a low-risk exercise, it should be investigated whether encouraging pregnant women to participate in dog walking is useful as part of a broader strategy to improve activity levels in pregnant women.
Conclusion
This cross-sectional study looked at over 11,000 women who were pregnant in 1991 and 1992 and questioned them on their levels of physical activity and pet ownership. Women who owned a dog were found to do more brisk walking than those without.
It is not surprising that women who own a dog would walk more regularly. However, the study only looked at health and dog ownership within a very narrow period, so limited conclusions can be drawn from this observational research. It is not possible to say whether having a dog causes people who would otherwise be sedentary to be more active, or whether people who have more active lifestyles are more likely to choose having a dog.
Although the researchers adjusted for some potential factors that can influence both levels of activity and dog ownership (for example, socioeconomic status or past dog ownership , it is still difficult to pick apart this relationship.
At all stages in life, regular physical activity and a healthy balanced diet are known to contribute to maintaining a healthy weight, increasing wellbeing and reducing the risk of many chronic diseases.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE advises that beginning or continuing a moderate course of exercise during pregnancy is not harmful, but advises avoiding potentially dangerous, high-impact or contact sports. The Department of Health also advises women to keep up normal daily physical activity or exercise for as long as is comfortable, as the more active and fit they are during pregnancy, the easier it will be to adapt to pregnancy weight gain, cope with labour and get back into shape after the birth.
Similarly, the Department of Health advises against potentially dangerous activities such as contact sports, horse riding and gymnastics.
Regular brisk walking is free and a good form of cardiovascular exercise and a good activity choice during pregnancy. However, while you can get benefits from regular walking, you do not need a dog to do it.
Analysis by Bazian
Links To The Headlines
Dogs are a woman's best friend too! Female pet owners more likely to meet recommended activity levels during pregnancy. Daily Mail, February 17 2012
Links To Science
Westgarth C, Liu J, Heron J, et al. Dog Ownership during Pregnancy, Maternal Activity, and Obesity: A Cross-Sectional Study. Plos One. Published online February 15 2012
Press release
Owning a god encourages pregnant women to exercise. Bristol University, February 15 2012
By now you've probably heard of the poor man who
suffered a heart attack while eating a 'Triple Bypass Burger' at Las Vegas eatery Heart Attack Grill. While the Heart Attack Grill promotes itself as an establishmen that is "bad for your health," the owner of the grill John Basso told MSNBC that he could tell right away that the customer, a man in his 40s, was having a heart attack because he was "sweating, shaking, and could barely talk."
The Australian Nursing Federation has called for the Federal Government to inject the $2.4 million saved from means-testing private health insurance back into the nation’s health system.
ANF federal secretary Lee Thomas said the funds must be directed back into areas such as health promotion, primary health care, reducing elective surgery waiting lists, emergency waiting times and both the private and public aged care systems.
“All Australians must have access to the very best healthcare, whether they have private health insurance or are patients seeking treatment in the public hospital system – there must be equity for all,” Ms Thomas said.
Legislation to means-test the private health insurance rebate was passed through the House of Representatives on February 15.
Under the Federal Government’s legislation, singles earning more than $129,000 a year and families earning $258,000 or more in the next financial year will lose the rebate entirely.
Individuals earning $83,000 or less in the next financial year, or families earning $166,000 or less, will not be affected.
Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek said the legislation will save taxpayers $2.4 billion over the next three years or $100 billion over the next 40 years.
“The legislation is a win for low and middle income earners, who for too long have been forced to subsidise the private health insurance of higher income earners through their taxes,” she said.
The legislation, which now goes to the Senate, comes as figures from the Private Health Insurance Administration Council show that more Australians are covered by private hospital insurance now than at any other time in the past 36 years – with 45.7 per cent of Australians taking out private health insurance.
Visual source:
Newseum
You have to wonder who had the genius idea on the conservative side of the aisle to launch a full-throttle attack on women's health under the banner of "religious freedom" right when Rick Santorum (R-Middle Ages is peaking in the polls. Even if GOP consultants were on a Democratic payroll,
the situation couldn't have played out any better in the polls. The GOP (as always wanted to attack the president, and it thought firing up its religious base would create a controversy that would box the president into a corner. The law of unintended consequences dictated that those fired up folks wouldn't limit their passion strictly to the birth control debate. And so, we see that same GOP base lighting a fire under Santorum, who is gaining strength and
promising a long, humiliating primary battle for Mitt Romney. Talk about an ill-conceived strategy.
Onto the punditry...
Neil Steinberg at
The Chicago Sun-Times
runs down memory lane and examines a similar debate in the 1960s when Illinois debated whether to provide access to birth control to low-income women:
During testimony, one commissioner quoted Boston’s Richard Cardinal Cushing:Nita Chaudhary and Shaunna Thomas of
“I as a Catholic have absolutely no right in my thinking to foist through legislation or through other means, my doctrine of my church upon others,” the cardinal said, backing — incredibly — a similar policy in Boston, adding, “It is important to note that Catholics do not need the support of the civil law to be faithful to their religious convictions.”
Fifty years ago, both the faithful and church leaders were at least occasionally thinking about the rights of others. Now they are pressing institutional rights while disregarding the needs of people who work for them, opposing health care, one of the church’s historic strong suits. It seems to be working in the short term. The long term is a different story, and if you look at the arc of history, you know how this will end.
UltraViolet write about how the assault on women's health has mobilized women across the country:
If Republican leadership thinks this is a smart fight, by all means pick it. They will lose their own supporters, sane members of their own caucuses and expose themselves to the American public as hell bent on making the lives of women harder.With the blowback against the conservative assault against women's health growing,
And they will grow the ranks of progressive institutions that fight for women and their health.
Take for example our experience organizing around this issue in the last two weeks: We have grown tremendously since this issue was introduced -- to more than a quarter million people nationwide. In the last few days alone, 73,000 people have signed a petition to Speaker Boehner telling him not to repeal Obama's rule. And yesterday over 10,000 people picked up the phone and called their members of Congress to deliver the same message.
Why is the response this tremendous? Because these are real people's lives they're messing with. And Americans fundamentally understand that.
The New York Times reports that Catholic leaders are trying now to claim that some contraceptives are "abortion":
Adding to their passionate opposition to the rule that employees of religiously affiliated institutions must receive insurance coverage for birth control, Roman Catholic bishops and some evangelical groups have asserted that it also requires coverage of some forms of abortion.And
They contend that methods of contraception including morning-after pills and IUDs can be considered “abortifacients” because, these advocates say, they can act to prevent pregnancy after a man’s sperm has fertilized a woman’s egg.
TPM highlights this from yesterday's testimony at a congressional hearing on
During House Oversight's contentious hearing on the administration's contraception rule, witness Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport, CT dedicated his entire opening remarks to an analogy comparing the idea that women at religious organizations have a right to contraceptive coverage to the right of someone to order a ham sandwich from a Jewish deli. [...] Finally, Lori concluded his story:Contraceptives as ham sandwiches
This story has a happy ending. The government recognized that it is absurd for someone to come into a kosher deli and demand a ham sandwich; that it is beyond absurd for that private demand to be backed with the coercive power of the state; that it is downright surreal to apply this coercive power when the customer can get the same sandwich cheaply, or even free, just a few doors down.
. This is what you get when your panel of witnesses
looks like this.
ACLU of Massachusetts communications director
Christopher Ott brings some reason to the table:
Senator Brown has cosponsored an extreme measure known as the Blunt Amendment, which would allow any employer to deny coverage for any health care service--not just contraception, but things like HIV testing, cervical cancer, fertility treatment, genetic testing, and more--by citing "religious beliefs or moral convictions." [...] Already in Massachusetts, religious-affiliated hospitals are not exempt from having to provide emergency contraception to rape victims at hospital emergency rooms, and have also been required to cover contraception in employee health plans if other prescriptions are covered.Rob Stein reports for NPR on "right of conscience" creep:
Scott Brown, as a state lawmaker, voted for the final versions of the legislation that made that law. Why has he changed his views now?
[...] Practically speaking, [the compromise offered by the Obama administration] means that employees get coverage for birth control regardless of what their employers think--and that's exactly how it should be. Religious liberty is a personal thing, and it certainly doesn't mean what Senator Brown and others are essentially saying it should: the ability to impose religious convictions on others.
"I think you've seen sort of a metastases of conscience objections in some ways. You know, an ambulance driver saying: 'I don't want to transport this patient,' if they know that the patient is on the way to the hospital for an abortion," said Robin Wilson of Washington and Lee University. "We've had nurses, for example, saying, 'I don't want to participate in the circumcision of infants.' "Bill Press asks if Rick Santorum is running for president or pope:
Some doctors have refused to do fertility treatments for single women or gay people. Others won't withdraw care at the end of life. Many will have nothing to do with lethal injection executions.
As President George W. Bush was leaving office, he ordered new protections for health care workers that were welcomed among advocates concerned about religious persecution.[...] When President Obama took office, one of the first things he did was rescind most of the Bush regulation. Then, the federal health overhaul law raised new questions about conscience protections. This time the question was whether institutions — not just individuals — have a "right of conscience."
Welcome to the emerging Republican Party platform for 2012: No birth control. No sex outside of marriage. And no sex inside of marriage, except for the purpose of procreation. Now, it's perfectly acceptable for Rick Santorum to hold and preach those beliefs about sexuality, no matter how medieval. But he's running for president of the United States, not for pope. Is that what the American people want to hear? And is that really what Republicans want to campaign on? [...] Everybody knows that women vote in higher numbers than men. So if Republicans want to nominate a candidate who alienates most women, be my guest. Barack Obama could carry all 50 states.
Children’s breakfast cereals are “so full of sugar they should be in the chocolate biscuit aisle of supermarkets,” the Daily Express has warned.
Several newspapers have reported the findings of a survey into the nutritional content of popular UK breakfast cereals, with most papers focusing on the high sugar levels in children’s cereals.
The survey comparing the nutritional content of 50 UK breakfast cereals included top selling brands and supermarkets’ own-brand equivalents. It found that overall, 32 out of the 50 were high in sugar, and that 12 out of the 14 cereals (86% aimed at children had excessive levels of added sugar. The survey also reported some good news: that most cereals have reduced their salt levels over the last few years.
The survey also found inconsistent nutrition labelling and ‘per serving’ information with different serving sizes between brands, as well as a lack of traffic light labelling.
The nutritional value of cereals, particularly those fortified with vitamins and minerals, means that they can still play a part in a health balanced diet. However, these findings should serve as a reminder to people who eat cereal to be careful with the amount of sugar, fat and salt they eat in all meals of the day.
Why are sugary cereals in the news?
The independent consumer watchdog Which? has published its latest analysis of the nutritional value of breakfast cereals. It last investigated cereals in 2009. For the latest survey, it compared the sugar, salt and fat content of 50 cereals, based on the manufacturers’ information.
In order to compare different cereals across the board, Which? used the cereals’ nutritional value per 100g to compare cereals across the board, rather than the nutritional content of different portion sizes recommended by manufacturers. They included top selling branded cereals and supermarkets’ own-brand equivalents for the most popular ones (which were Kellogg’s Special K, Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut Cornflakes and Kellogg’s Cornflakes . They also compared the results against their previous investigation into cereals.
Criteria for whether cereals are high, medium or low in fat, sugar or salt, is based on the traffic light labelling criteria, developed by the Food Standards Agency.
What cereals had the most sugar according to the Which? report?
The survey found that 32 out of 50 cereals were high in sugar. The official traffic light labelling system defines this as more than 12.5% sugar (12.5g per 100g . In only two of these cereals this was due to the fruit they contained, for the rest it was due to added sugar.
Among cereals aimed at children, 12 out of 14 were high in sugar. Of the two that were not high in sugar, Rice Krispies had a medium level of sugar, while Weetabix was the only breakfast cereal that is specifically promoted to children to have a low level of sugar.
The cereal highest in added sugar was Kellogg’s Frosties, which is 37% sugar. Own-brand chocolate rice cereals from several supermarkets came a close second at 36% sugar. These included:
- Tesco Choco Snaps
- Sainsbury’s Choco Rice Pops
- Morrisons Choco Crackles
- Lidl Crownfield Choco Rice
- The Co-operative Choco Snaps
- Asda Choco Snaps
These were followed by:
- Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut Cornflakes
- Kellogg’s Coco Pops
- Honey Monster Sugar Puffs
These all had 35% sugar.
Several supermarket brands of honey nut cornflakes had 33.6% sugar. Even cereals marked as ‘healthy’ such as Kellogg’s All-Bran Flakes (22% and Special K (17% , were high in sugar. Alpen Original Muesli had 23.1% sugar, although this included sugar from fruit, while Dorset Cereals Simply Delicious Muesli had 16.8% sugar, though this was all from fruit.
What about salt?
Which? said that most cereals have seen big reductions in salt content since 2009, because manufacturers have reformulated their products to meet salt targets. Morrisons Honey Nut Cornflakes, Tesco Special Flakes and Kellogg’s Coco Pops have all seen significant cuts in salt levels.
Only eight of the 50 cereals analysed did not meet the 2012 target of a maximum of 1.1g salt per 100g breakfast cereal. These were:
- Asda Cornflakes
- Lidl Cornflakes
- Kellogg’s Cornflakes
- Marks and Spencer Cornflakes
- Tesco Cornflakes
- Nestle Cheerios
- Kellogg’s Special K
- Rice Krispies
Which cereals contained the most fat?
The report did not summarise cereals’ fat content but most cereals were low in fat (3% or less fat, according to the traffic light system , though several contained medium levels of fat (between 3 and 20% . Those with the highest levels were:
- Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut Clusters (15%
- Quaker Oat So Simple (8.5%
- Dorset Simply Delicious Muesli (7.4%
- Alpen Original Muesli (5.8%
- Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut Cornflakes (5%
Several other brands and own-brand equivalents contained between 3 and 5% fat.
Which was the healthiest cereal?
The report said that Nestle Shredded Wheat was the healthiest cereal with low levels of sugar, fat and salt. Quaker Oat So Simple Original and Weetabix were the only other cereals that were low in sugar. However, Quaker Oat So Simple contained medium fat levels (8.5g per 100g and Weetabix contained medium salt levels (0.65g per 100g .
What else did the report find?
The report also found that nutritional labelling in supermarkets is so often inconsistent. Eight of the 50 cereals investigated had no front-of-pack nutrition labelling and only 14 included traffic light labelling. Which? says that different serving sizes add to the confusion, as do claims about healthier aspects of some cereals (such as being low in fat when they were high in sugar.
What does 'Which?' conclude?
Which? suggests that cereal manufacturers should produce a wider range of healthier products and label nutritional content simply and clearly.
Which? executive director, Richard Lloyd, said: “More action is needed by retailers and manufacturers to provide a wider choice of healthier cereals,” and he urged the Government to encourage cereal makers to take action over sugar levels and improve labelling.
Should I be worried?
Consumption of high levels of added sugar is associated with tooth decay and, similar to consumption of high levels of fat, increases the risk of being overweight or obese. There are also various associated health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Excess salt is also associated with increased risk of high blood pressure and associated cardiovascular problems.
Furthermore, there is the likelihood that children will become used to the taste of high-sugar cereals and find healthier ones less palatable. It is important to look at the food labels when shopping and try to choose cereals and other food options that are lower in salt, sugar and saturated fats where possible. Adding fresh fruit to cereal can make it more appealing and also increase its nutritional value.
Compared with a full English breakfast, the average cereal is still probably a better option, and indeed, most breakfast cereals are fortified with vitamins and minerals. However, there are many other healthy breakfast options, such as scrambled eggs on wholemeal toast with a glass of orange juice. For more ideas about better breakfasts, use the Change4Life: healthy breakfasts ideas generator.
Analysis by Bazian.
Links To The Headlines
Children's cereals so sugary 'they should be in a supermarket's biscuit aisle', says watchdog. Daily Mail, February 16 2012
Cereals in sugar alert. The Daily Telegraph, February 16 2012
Children's sugary cereals 'bad as chocolate biscuits'. Daily Express, February 16 2012
How the Death of Whitney Houston, and Countless Others, Could Have Been Prevented
My first reaction to the news of Houston’s death was to wonder if anyone ever taught her the basics of how-to-use-drugs-and-not-die. Essentially, we’re willing to let people die because we’re so fearful that teaching people how to use drugs in a less risky way “enables” them to keep using drugs. But shouldn’t we do whatever is necessary just to keep people alive? Alive long enough to help get them into drug treatment. Alive long enough to work through their troubles. Alive long enough to help them find some measure of peace in their lives.
Read the full editorial at:
AlterNet
NPR's This American Life Takes On The Police
Stories about people who have the right to remain silent... but choose not to exercise that right—including police officer Adrian Schoolcraft, who secretly recorded his supervisors telling officers to manipulate crime statistics and make illegal arrests.
MORE
"Attractive Undercover Cop Poses As Student And Entraps Teens To 'Sell' Her Marijuana"
Last year in three high schools in Florida, several undercover police officers posed as students. The undercover cops went to classes, became Facebook friends and flirted with the other students. One 18-year-old honor student named Justin fell in love with an attractive 25-year-old undercover cop after spending weeks sharing stories about their lives, texting and flirting with each other. One day she asked Justin if he smoked pot. Even though he didn't smoke marijuana, the love-struck teen promised to help find some for her. Every couple of days she would text him asking if he had the marijuana. Finally, Justin was able to get it to her. She tried to give him $25 for the marijuana and he said he didn't want the money -- he got it for her as a present. A short while later, the police did a big sweep and arrested 31 students -- including Justin. Almost all were charged with selling a small amount of marijuana to the undercover cops. Now Justin has a felony hanging over his head.
Tony Bennett is Right: Legalizing Drugs Would Save Lives
It doesn't matter if you're hooked on alcohol, Xanax or illegal drugs like heroin and cocaine -- prohibition for some drugs stigmatizes all people struggling with addiction. Period. Addicts are not defined simply by their drug of choice nor the drug that is or is not their ultimate cause of death. Their entire lives are tragically plagued by the stigma that criminalization heaps upon them, and the marginalized underworld prohibition thrusts them into.
That is a painful and deadly component of the experience of anyone unlucky enough to live with a disease that, unlike cancer, our government tries to battle with handcuffs.
Read the full editorial at:
Huffington Post
North America
In a shocking about-face, the administration has launched a government-wide crackdown on medical marijuana
"Over the past year, the Obama administration has quietly unleashed a multiagency crackdown on medical cannabis that goes far beyond anything undertaken by George W. Bush. The feds are busting growers who operate in full compliance with state laws, vowing to seize the property of anyone who dares to even rent to legal pot dispensaries, and threatening to imprison state employees responsible for regulating medical marijuana. With more than 100 raids on pot dispensaries during his first three years, Obama is now on pace to exceed Bush's record for medical-marijuana busts. "There's no question that Obama's the worst president on medical marijuana," says Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project. "He's gone from first to worst.""
Read more at
RollingStone.com.
Push To Privatize US Prisons Lurks in Corporate Investment Scheme
Firm will purchase facilities from states in exchange for guaranteed 90% occupancy rate.
The privatization of US prisons is in the news today after a close vote in the Florida state senate on Tuesday defeated an attempt to privatize a huge swath of correctional facilities in the southern state. Also, a report in the Huffington Post on Tuesday highlighted how Corrections Corporation of America (CCA , the nation's largest operator of private prisons, has a plan in place to purchase public prisons from 48 states.
Marijuana Law Reform at the Statehouse 2012
"Each year, these bills are easier to introduce, there is less controversy, and the media reaction is generally neutral to positive," said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of
NORML. "Baby boomers, medical marijuana, the Internet, and the state of the economy have all had an impact, even, finally, on legislators and their staffs," he explained.
"Before 1996, nobody invited NORML; now our staff is regularly going to meetings requested by legislators around the country," St. Pierre recalled. "First, we couldn't get them to return our phone calls; now they're calling us. Everything is in play because of activists around the country doing years of work."
Read the full article at:
Stop the Drug War
New Definition of Addiction Stirs Up a Scientific Storm
Indeed, the new neurologically focused definition debunks, in whole or in part, a host of common conceptions about addiction. Addiction, the statement declares, is a “bio-psycho-socio-spiritual” illness characterized by (a damaged decision-making (affecting learning, perception, and judgment and by (b persistent risk and/or recurrence of relapse; the unambiguous implications are that (a addicts have no control over their addictive behaviors and (b total abstinence is, for some addicts, an unrealistic goal of effective treatment.
The bad behaviors themselves are all symptoms of addiction, not the disease itself. "The state of addiction is not the same as the state of intoxication," the ASAM takes pains to point out. Far from being evidence of a failure of will or morality, the
a person cannot choose not to be addicted.
Read the full article at:
The Fix
Should Officials Be Allowed to Search Students' Bras for Drugs?
A divided state Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 in favor of the student, finding the search was “degrading, demeaning and highly intrusive.” The state appealed that decision. The state Supreme Court decision is expected to affect 1.5 million public school students.
Powell said the search was not unreasonable because there was “a compelling governmental need” that outweighed the rights of individual privacy, she said. The school’s primary responsibility “was to promote the health and safety of students,” she said.
Read the full article at:
The Washington Post
Europe/UK
Health Alert Over Drug Sold as “Safe Ketamine”
Methoxetamine, known as MXE or "mexxy", mimics the effects of the banned anaesthetic ketamine, and its use has grown over the last six months in Britain as well as northern Europe, say charity workers.
A survey of drug trends published in November showed that the use of both ketamine, which is a class C drug, and methoxetamine, its "legal doppelganger", is on the rise in several areas of the UK.
Read the full article at:
The Independent
Mobsters Without Borders [documentary]
This documentary film investigates the European leader’s cocaine importing network stretching from Calabria to Milan, Italy and from Costa del Sol, Spain to Ruhr Valley, Germany. Infiltrating sectors such as real estate and healthcare to government contracting and marketing to laundering illegal drug trafficking and weapons smuggling profits, Calabrian mobs permeate economies across the European Union.
Latin America
Mexico Seizes 15 Tons of Methamphetamine
“The big thing it shows is the sheer capacity that these superlabs have in Mexico,” said Rusty Payne, a spokesman for the
Drug Enforcement Administration. “When we see one lab with the capability to produce such a mass tonnage of meth, it begs a question: What else is out there?”
Read the full article at:
New York Times
Off the Beaten Path, Chile Still Caught in Drug Supply Chain
Sharing a border with two of the world's top cocaine producers -- Bolivia and Peru -- makes Chile's involvement in the narcotics trade a virtual inevitability. However, unlike its northern neighbors, Chile is strictly a drug-consuming nation. With Brazil and Argentina, it accounts for two thirds of cocaine consumption in Latin America and the Caribbean. Alone, it makes up 10 percent, according to the
UN's 2011 World Drug Report.
Read the full article at:
InSight
Middle East
No Help for Kashmir's Female Drug Addicts
"Keeping in view the social stigma which female drug addicts face, it is important to set up a de-addiction centre for them," said Sameena (name changed , a 22-year-old college student and former drug addict.
Sameena said she began with glue sniffing "for fun" during her school days and then moved on to opiates. Fear of social stigma and lack of facilities forced her parents to take her outside Kashmir for treatment. Sameena has been under medication for 11 months now.
Read the full article at:
IPS News
Other News
New Exile Nation Video: Lynette Shaw
Lynette Shaw was the owner of the very first legal cannabis dispensary in the State of California, which she opened in Fairfax in the early 1990s. A key figure in the fight to legalize medical cannabis, Shaw's life as an activist began when her home was raided by police, after a dealer turned her in. But that's only one small aspect of her extraordinary life story, recounted here, which at one point saw her living underground while authorities scoured the world for her, after she became a suspect in the 1980 overdose death of actor John Belushi.
Lynette Shaw from
Charles B Shaw on
Vimeo.
View the entire extended interview archive for The Exile Nation Project.
Newsletters and Weekly Features
Jennifer Hudson's book. The former American Idol contestant and Oscar winner talks about her amazing transformation through a healthier lifestyle with the help of Weight Watchers. It will motivate you from cover to cover (and then straight to the gym .
Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin (Running Press Book Publishers, 2005 sparked a movement with its bestselling manifesto that not only exposes the food industry's many horrors, but also encourages people—boys and girls alike—to eat healthy and enjoy food.
Weight Watchers Take-Out Tonight! (Touchstone, 2003 will give you the lowdown on points. It's an excellent resource and houses some great recipes too!
The Science of Yoga by William J. Broad (Simon & Schuster, 2012 takes its readers through a journey of discovery. Learn everything you need to know about yoga, from a health, fitness, and emotional well-being standpoint. Broad, a science writer for the New York Times, talks about the risks and rewards of practicing yoga (plus, its many myths and unexpected benefits , as well as teaches about yoga's historical context.
Complete Book of Juicing by Michael T. Murray and Trillium Health Products (Crown Publishing Group, 1997 .
Eat This, Not That! 2012 by David Zinczenko (Rodale Press, 2011 will tell you how to decipher what to eat at the supermarket, restaurant chains, and more! Don't be fooled by tricky marketing techniques—use this book as your guide.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition by Julieanna Hever (Penguin Group, 2011 can help you with meeting your daily nutrient needs, spotting animal ingredients in packaged foods, and ordering at restaurants. In fact, physicians everywhere recommend a plant-based diet for patients with diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (HarperCollins, 2005 is an incredible and informative read. In this book, author Schlosser reveals his (sometimes shocking investigation of the fast food industry. What you learn will surprise you and make you think twice before you pull into the drive-thru.
The 4-Hour Body by Timothy Verriss (Crown Publishing Group, 2010 boasts great tips from elite athletes, doctors, and jaw-dropping personal experiments. You'll learn how to lose unnecessary pounds through interesting food combinations (safely, that is and even increase your sex drive.
Food Rules by Michael Pollan and Maira Kalman (Penguin Group, 2011 kind of reminds us of a children's book, but make no mistake, it's for adults who want to live a healthier lifestyle. The food wisdom you'll find in this handbook will school you on what to eat, how to eat, and more.
Know the score on bowel cancer
English football has come together to raise cancer-awareness. Players from the men's game, past and present, and women's football have teamed up with leading health charities including the MHF for Bowel Cancer Awareness Month in April.
Built on a successful newspaper campaign, the Know The Score partnership features World Cup winner Martin Peters, Manchester City's James Milner, Faye White of Arsenal Ladies and former Spurs and Newcastle legend Les Ferdinand - all England internationals.
Know The Score, founded by the Mr Brightside Project, brings together the Bobby Moore Fund, the Adam Stansfield Foundation, Beating Bowel Cancer, Bowel Cancer UK and the Men’s Health Forum. Look out for the launch of the new silver Bowel Cancer Star of Hope badge during the month.
Former Spurs and West Ham start Martin Peters MBE said: 'I was happy to get involved in the Know the Score campaign as bowel cancer is such an important issue - 44 people lose their lives every day to the disease so I would encourage everyone to make sure they are aware of the symptoms and speak to their doctor if concerned.'
Symptoms to watch for
Bowel cancer can affect men and women of all ages but is most common in the over-50s. So get to know your body and if you notice any of the following and they last longer than four to six weeks, make an appointment to see your GP:
- Bleeding from the bottom without any obvious reason
- A persistent change in bowel habit to looser or more frequent bowel movements
- A lump in your tummy or tummy pain, especially if it’s severe
Chances are it won’t be cancer, but it’s better to play safe.
As well as spotting it early, you can reduce your risk of developing bowel cancer by:
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Being physically active
- Cutting down on alcohol
- Being a non-smoker
- Eating a healthy, balanced diet that’s high in fibre and low in red and processed meat.
Taking these steps doesn’t mean you won’t develop cancer, but it helps to stack the odds in your favour.
- Visit the
Know The Score website
- Download the Know The Score flyer
- More on
bowels on malehealth
John Dehlin, a doctoral student at Utah State University investigating a new treatment for scrupulosity — a form of religious obsessive-compulsive disorder — will discuss his findings at a talk Feb. 21. He was invited by USU’s Religious Studies Program to present the results of his research and explain what the symptoms and treatment are for religious expression gone awry.
“Scrupulosity is a long word that says a lot,” said Philip Barlow, the Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture at USU. “The United States is a deeply religious country, but religion is in rapid change these days. There are arguably healthy and unhealthy ways of religious expression.”
He invited Dehlin to discuss when religious expression achieves pathology. The talk, “
Understanding and Treating Religious OCD
,” explores what healthy and unhealthy religiosity is, Barlow said.
Dehlin researches the nexus of religion and mental health. For his master’s thesis, he worked with assistant professor of psychology Michael Twohig to evaluate Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a treatment for scrupulosity — a form of OCD centered on religious and moral behavior. Scrupulosity has appeared in Christian literature for centuries and is common across virtually all religious populations.
Scrupulosity symptoms typically involve obsessing over disturbing thoughts that violate one’s religious or moral standards. Individuals may become disabled or depressed at their inability to stop these obsessions. Behavioral and mental compulsions can manifest themselves in a variety of ways, including excessive guilt, confession and assurance-seeking from religious leaders, acts of self-sacrifice, excessive praying and excessive rumination, according to the International OCD Foundation.
Today, the primary treatment for scrupulosity is Exposure and Response Prevention, which involves individuals being introduced repeatedly to their obsessions in an effort to learn to no longer fear them. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is a departure from this practice. Instead, it focuses on helping people accept their thoughts and move past them.
“It turns out that attempting to control thoughts often makes them worse,” Dehlin said.
While scrupulosity appears to be more prevalent in highly religious populations, the prevailing wisdom is that that religion itself is not to blame for the condition.
“OCD tends to attack the things that you care most about,” Dehlin said. “So if you care about your faith — you can be more vulnerable to scrupulosity in some cases.”
From 2009-11, Dehlin and Twohig examined the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for scrupulosity. The study involved approximately 10 weeks of free treatment.
“It is the first clinical psychology outcome trial ever conducted for scrupulosity,” Dehlin said.
During his talk, Dehlin will discuss scrupulosity, the most common forms of treatment, as well as a few case studies from his study.
“The condition is actually quite prevalent in the LDS community,” he said. “This is important to talk about. It can be debilitating, but the good thing is — it is highly treatable.”
Dehlin stresses that the treatment he and Twohig have researched does not weaken one’s religiosity; instead, it helps people cope better with their unhealthy thoughts and feelings.
Prior to studying anxiety disorders at USU, Dehlin worked as the executive director of the OpenCourseware Consortium at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also USU’s former director of outreach at the Center for Open and Sustainable Learning.
A lifelong member of the LDS church, Dehlin is also the founder of “
Mormon Stories Podcast
” (MormonStories.org — a collection of audio and video interviews that deal with some of the more difficult topics within Mormonism such as feminism, sexuality, racism and LDS church history. Dehlin created Mormon Stories as a way to facilitate open dialogue for people attempting to navigate tough issues within the Mormon tradition.
“The goal is to encourage open, authentic religious dialogue around the issues that people are not as comfortable discussing on Sundays at church or with their friends and family,” he said.
After 16 years in the high-tech industry, Dehlin went back to school to study in Twohig’s lab, with the hope of combining his interests in religion, mental health and technology. An overarching motivation was to find professional work that was more related to helping others.
For his dissertation, Dehlin is working with USU psychology professor Renee Galliher to investigate the prevalence and effectiveness of sexual orientation change efforts within the same-sex attracted LDS population. Preliminary results from their study indicate that around 65 percent try to change their sexual orientation through a variety of efforts, including personal righteousness, religious counseling and various forms of psychotherapy. They found that 80 percent of efforts are ineffective, moderately harmful, or severely harmful by participants, and that the overwhelming majority of those who attempt such change continue to identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual afterwards.
“These results are fascinating,” Dehlin said. “The most common methods of attempting sexual orientation change within the LDS population are also the least effective and most damaging.”
Dehlin hopes that these data will help LDS individuals who experience same-sex attraction, family members and LDS church leaders better understand the low success rates and high risks of attempting to change sexual orientation.
To learn more about scrupulosity and the various treatment options, attend Dehlin’s talk Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 4 p.m. in room 15 of the Animal Science Building. Attendance is free and open to the public. A question and answer session will follow.
Related links:
-
USU Religious Studies Program
-
USU Department of Psychology
-
USU College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Writer: Kristen Munson, (435 797-0267;
Kristen.munson@usu.edu
Contact: Professor Phil Barlow, (435 797-3406,
Philip.barlow@usu.edu
Happy Weekend friends, time for a packed weekly update! First, a little housekeeping... Monday (here is the US is a holiday,
Presidents' Day -- so we'll be enjoying a long weekend. Now onto our updates...
We are proud to announce
HealthMinder Day at BlogHer '12 in New York City. HealthMinder Day is a pre-BlogHer '12 event but it's more than that; here is a snippet from
Elisa's post:
HealthMinder Day is designed to be a day of inspiration, education, and connection. Specifically, it is a full, multi-track adjunct day happening Thursday, August 2nd, before
BlogHer '12. The day will focus on expert information and looking at the latest tools, services, sources, and products for taking care of yourself and your loved ones. And for sharing with your online communities.You will sign up for HealthMinder as a separate add-on, but can do so at the same time as you purchase your BlogHer '12 ticket
here
The what, why, how, when and why are all detailed
here.
While we are talking about
BlogHer '12 in NYC, in case you missed the announcement, nominations for the
International Activists Scholarship program are open -- open -- open. Take a moment and
recognize that amazing woman who is taking the world by storm and introduce her to the BlogHer community.
Staying on topic for
BlogHer '12, this is a gentle reminder: Early bird pricing ends on February 29, so do not delay!
Get your ticket now and save $100!!
On to
BlogHerEntrepreneurs...
Jenna Hatfield, Section Editor here at BlogHer, had a rare opportunity to speak to an amazing woman,
Tara Hunt, who sadly cannot participate at
BlogHerEntrepreneurs but whose story is one to hear.
Tara talks about her business, her journey and why BlogHerEntrepreneurs is so important to women with big ideas:
I wouldn't have survived the last few years of business without being surrounded by fellow female entrepreneurs. I get the best advice, camaraderie, connections, support and ideas from other female founders. Aside from the sage wisdom you will get from the presenters and sessions, you will find bonds that will get you through the craziest times in your fellow attendees.
Read more of the interview and
register today for BlogHerEntrepreneurs!
Now onto a different note...
A while back I received a lovely email from
Frelle, a past attendee of BlogHer '11, who wanted to
share her story about one of our amazing conference sponsors, Hallmark. Frelle's post is a heartfelt and lovely expression of the power of words, friends and real communication. Here is a small portion of her post:
BlogHer's 2011 conference and the Hallmark Suite contributed to creating a lot of special communication, deep bonds of friendship, and important memories. The encouragement from the staff planning the suite at BlogHer to gift others with hand-witten cards in the age of tweets, texts, e-cards, and blog comments shows a true commitment to real communication. I'm so grateful to have had an opportunity to give my words to my friends in such a memorable and significant way.
Take a moment, take a breath and
read Frelle's post, it might inspire you to write that long over due note.
Until next time...
Lori Luna
vp, event operations
More »
Starting a business can be hazardous to your health--who has time to think about staying fit? You do. Start right now, because your company is only as healthy as you are.
Starting a business can be hazardous to your health—staying healthy is often the first thing that goes. Who has the time to follow a comprehensive fitness and weight loss program? You do. Make a few simple changes to your day and you can create healthier habits that are easy to stick with. Incorporate one, incorporate all... because your business is only as healthy as you are.
If you normally eat cereal, yogurt, or that’s fine. Add 10 grams or so of protein. One easy way is to boil a carton of eggs on Sunday and have two egg whites every morning. You’ll add less than 40 calories to your breakfast, pick up 12 grams of protein, and
reduce your level of hunger at lunch.
Sitting for extended periods is hazardous to your health. Plus it makes you feel sluggish and inactive. At least once an hour get up and move around. Walk while you talk on the phone. Manage by walking around. Your heart will thank you, and so will your attitude.
We all need to drink more water. That’s a given. Plus, when you drink a bottle of water before you eat you’ll already feel a little more full and you won’t be as tempted to eat past the point of hunger. And you’ll create a handy reason to need to take more frequent walks… if only to the restroom.
Eat one portion of protein that fits in the palm of your hand, and a vegetable or fruit. That’s not a lot of food, but it is healthier than what you are eating now, and just as importantly lets you take baby steps towards better controlling your portions at every meal. Pack a can of tuna and two apples. Or bring a skinless chicken breast and two cucumbers. Just choose something you can eat at your desk...
You ate at your desk and you’re definitely not full, so now make your lunch break productive. Go for a walk. Do some push-ups or sit-ups. It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you do something. You’ll burn a few calories, burn off some stress, and feel better when you get back in the work saddle. Just as importantly you’ll start to make fitness a part of your daily lifestyle without having to add to your already busy schedule.
It’s impossible to feel good about yourself when you feel achy and sore. The only way to relieve muscle stiffness is to stretch. While the drawings are cheesy, here are
some simple stretches you can do at your desk. The key is to stretch before you start to feel stiff. Once you establish the habit, proactively stretching will become automatic.
Sure, many protein bars taste like sawdust. But most are also nutritious, low in calories, and make it easy to stave off the mid-afternoon hunger pangs you’ll inevitably feel after having eaten a light lunch. Don’t get too hung up on nutritional values; just pick a bar that includes 10 or 15 grams of protein and you’ll be fine. Eating a mid-afternoon meal replacement bar doesn’t just bridge the lunch and dinner gap, it’s an easy way to get in the habit of eating smaller meals more frequently.
Pick something challenging. Hike to the top of a mountain. Ride your bike to the next town and back. You'll soon start to remember how much you're capable of... and you'll want to do more. Just make sure you pick a goal, not a yardstick. Don’t decide to walk five miles on a treadmill; that’s a yardstick goal. Walk five miles to a certain location instead. Don’t ride 20 miles on a spinner; ride your bicycle to a friend’s house and back. Make the activity accomplishment-based. Accomplishments are fun. — Jeff Haden
Like all Mormon ex-missionaries, Mitt Romney knows what is best for women.
"I respect and will protect," he said during his 2002 campaign for Massachusetts governor, "a woman's right to choose".
Unsurprisingly, this rhetoric did not last. As a conservative Christian, the Republican presidential candidate will oppose women's control over their own reproductive destiny. This is why Romney tried to veto a Massachusetts law requiring religious hospitals to provide contraception for rape victims. It is why he is now
critical of Obama's plan to force religious institutions to cover contraception in their employee insurance.
The White House initiative requires organisations like universities and hospitals to buy insurance for their workers, with contraception included alongside other health services. For the Democrat government, this is chiefly a health policy: giving women the power to avoid unwanted or unsafe pregnancy, while still enjoying consensual sex.
But for conservatives like Romney, this is a religious issue, which transgresses Christians' profound beliefs on the sanctity of life. Romney, campaigning in Colorado, called this a "violation of conscience". His colleague, Ohio Republican John Boehner, called Obama's legislation an "attack by the federal government on religious freedom".
It is a typical stoush in American politics, but the issue reveals some important religious mistakes. It also suggests some dangers of policy based on faith.
Most obviously, Romney's outlook demonstrates why Steven Jay Gould's idea of
non-overlapping magisteria (NOMA is too neat. In his Natural History essay, Gould argued that science is concerned with empirical facts and theories, and religion with value, including moral value and what might be called 'ultimate value'.
In keeping with his keen mind and poetic pen, Gould noted that:
"The two magisteria bump right up against each other, interdigitating in wondrously complex ways along their joint border."
But religion regularly makes claims about the physical world: the beginning of the universe, the origins of life, and the point at which human life begins. It is the third of these that concerns Mitt Romney, because some contraception is designed to stop a fertilised egg from implanting in the uterus. The contraceptive pill, for example. For most secular health professionals, the zygote that fails to implant is not a full human life - just human cells. But for Romney, the fertilised egg is a "living embryo," and he
"absolutely" supports legislation that defines life as beginning at conception.
"Every action I've taken as the governor that relates to the sanctity of human life," Romney said in an interview with the conservative magazine
Human Events, "I have stood on the side of life."
And behind this sanctity, particularly in the United States, is not common humanism, but faith: souls are valuable because of their divine origin. This is not simply about value, it is about facts: the nature of the universe, and the nature of human life.
This is only one case. But it makes the point: it is simplistic to argue that faith concerns value, but not facts and theories. Part of religion's authority comes from its claims about this world, and the people in it: divine origins, and what these necessitate for flesh and spirit. If religion did not make these claims, it would be less worthwhile to the faithful; less authoritative, orienting, sublime. Put another way, the magisterial do overlap. And in many countries, women's bodies are stuck where they 'bump'.
Romney's outlook also demonstrates the dangers of democratic policy decided by faith. The president has a responsibility for the health of all Americans, regardless of their religion. But the evidence for conservative policies, like the abstinence programs favoured by many American Republicans, is
not good. Focused
sex education and
straightforward access to contraceptives produce better public health outcomes, along with
reduced social inequality.
If Romney were interested in promoting the best health outcomes for his fellow citizens, he would support laws that provide good access to birth control and emergency contraception. This might contradict his professed beliefs, but it would more fully fulfil his presidential duty. Instead, Romney is putting religious purity, of one kind, ahead of American health.
And this is not uncommon. Once we begin with a metaphysical hypothesis - that a benevolent god created all things, for example - it takes little to smuggle more beliefs and values into this supernatural cache. This is what I have described elsewhere as
metaphysical sleight of hand. These beliefs and values are then unchallenged by new evidence or arguments: they are too pure to sully with empirical or logical contradictions.
The selectivity of this sleight of hand is telling. Religious leaders, including presidents of the United States, happily contravene commandments like 'Thou shalt not kill'. They are realpolitik pragmatists when it comes to
executing criminals. But programs that support women's control over their own bodies are
attacked with vehemence, or righteous defence of "conscience."
In short: faith is never wholly pure. Individual and social biases are selectively sanctified. At its worst, religion in politics is a psychological money launderer, taking the mucky notes of prejudice, cleaning them with ideals of transcendent goodness, then presenting these to lawmakers as legal tender. Women, particularly the disadvantaged, usually end up poorer for this.
This sleight of hand suggests another problem, which is that of Romney's "religious freedom". One of the most valuable achievements of the modern West is indeed freedom of worship, understood as the legal protection of religious belief. A citizen is free to believe in god, fairies or pasta deities, without fear of persecution or discrimination.
However, this freedom, as is so often noted by secular authors, is not a license to curtail the freedoms of others. We are free to see a woman's promiscuity as careless and ignoble, or empowering and brave, but we are not free to restrict her bodily liberty, including sexual relationships and their consequences. This is the liberal promise. Romney is, of course, also free to depart from this promise, as have the world's misogynistic Muslim theocracies. But it is important to be clear about the consequences of this departure.
The message of Romney's campaign is not simply that the faithful cannot govern well. It is not that atheists always make better politicians. It is that, particularly for politicians, religion is very rarely a private consolation; a harmless theological speculation, which comforts but does not counsel. Like all missionaries, men like Romney seldom keep their faith to themselves.
Damon Young is an Australian philosopher, writer and the author of Distraction. View his full profile
here.
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