How to Start a Healthy Lifestyle

Instructions
There are five steps to do a healthy lifestyle:
Step 1

Pick a day to start your new healthy life. Tell friends, family or co-workers about it so that you feel committed to that day. Make sure you choose people that you feel will be great support. Do not be afraid to do this for yourself.

Step 2

Do your own independent research on real nutrition. I do not mean picking up the books of any of those fad diets, such as Atkins or the grapefruit diet. I mean learn about the benefits of various fruits and vegetables; learn what meats are the leanest and offer the greatest nutritional benefit, learn about alternate forms of protein, learn which whole grains, seeds and nuts provide which benefits.

Step 3

If you have the opportunity to do so, speak a nutritionist. If not, it will not be difficult to find your own research. Do not be discouraged by differences of opinion - you are simply looking for which foods are good for you - not which carbs or meats are bad for you.

Step 4

Head to the grocery store before you first day so that you will be prepared right off the bat. Shop the produce, meats, and fresh breads sections first - typically these areas are found on the perimeter of the grocery store. Much of the stuff in the middle of the store is junk and mass produced products that are not truly aimed at health. Shop for whole foods.

Step 5

Stop thinking of what you are doing as a diet - because it's not. You are simply making better choices and eating right. You will have ups and downs where you eat things that you know are not the best for you but absolutely do not beat yourself up. There is nothing wrong with enjoying a guilty pleasure from time to time. This is a life change, something you adapt and live with over time, not a short term thing. You will get back on the horse if you remain motivated and happy instead of defeated.


Tips & Warnings

* You may want to plan out your first day or week food schedule and make it as easy for yourself as possible.

*Experiment with different combinations of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains in entrees, sandwiches, soups, etc. It will be fun and you will start feeling better almost immediately!

*You may wish to keep a food diary. This is an incredibly helpful tool in seeing how well you are doing, keeping motivated, and seeing how balanced your daily intake is.



Read More...

Who Should Pay for Obese Health Care?

When paramedics come to the rescue, they typically look for vital signs first -- breathing, a pulse. But in more communities each year, paramedics might also be sizing up the patient to see if a bariatric ambulance specially designed to carry severly obese people needs to be called.

Topeka, Kan., is one of at least 30 communities across the United States that has commissioned ambulances with a specialized cot, ramp and winch to lift patients who weigh more than 350 pounds, according to ABC News affiliate KTKA in Topeka.

Patients who need the special ambulances in Topeka will be charged more money for the service -- $1,172 rather than $629, plus $16 per mile rather than $11.

After a decade of spiraling weight problems in America, hospitals across the country are responding with bariatric specialized care -- from floor-mounted toilets to specialized prenatal clinics for obese women.

"We really think this helps provide dignity to a patient," said Douglas Moore, public relations manager for American Medical Response, a private ambulance service that operates in 43 states and is the developer of the "bariatric" ambulance used in Topeka's Shawnee County. The company's first bariatric ambulance debuted in 2002, and they have spread across the country ever since.

"A lot of our profession is lifting patients from the cot into the bed," he said.

Moore said clients across the country, including fire departments, occasionally have had to call for backup to lift severely obese patients.

Obesity activists reacted with disdain to the practice of charging more for use of the new bariatric equipment, especially in a service funded by taxpayers.

"Increasing that rate from $629 to $1,172 is price gouging, and it's targeting a particular group of people," said Barbara Thompson, vice chairman of the Obesity Action Coalition in Tampa, Fla. "It can be looked at no other way than discriminating against them."

AMR markets the higher charge as a solution to cities, counties and towns that respond frequently to such patients at an extra cost to ... someone.

"We don't advertise this as a bariatric ambulance. ... You wouldn't know that it was a different ambulance on the outside," said Moore. "We do advertise it to the hospital."

Paying for Specialized Obesity Care

Many ambulance services and hospitals do not charge the patient directly for the specialized services. But it will cost something to continually serve such patients or keep up with the obesity rates. In 1999, 32 states had an obesity rate below 20 percent. Today, only one state has an obesity rate below 20 percent.

"We look at it as an investment in service and quality versus an additional cost that we have to pass off on somebody," said Steve Lawler, president of Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville, N.C.

Similar to a sub-specialty in geriatrics, Lawler said Pitt County Memorial Hospital has worked with the American Nurses Association to develop an accreditation for bariatric nursing. The hospital also has invested in lifts and special beds to accommodate bariatric patients in or outside of the bariatric surgery center.

"It [the change] really has been over the last two years," said Lawler. "It's reflective in regards to what's going in health care and what's going on in health reform."

Perhaps spurred either by the idea of changing the focus of hospitals and health care, or by sheer logistics, hospitals in many areas are implementing similar renovations.

When Baptist Hospital East in Louisville, Ky., opened a 144-private-room tower, the administrators kept weight in mind.

"Each nursing unit [floor] includes two bariatric rooms equipped with an overhead lift to assist the patient from the bed, or even all the way to the handicapped accessible bathroom," wrote Kit Fullenlove, public relations manager for Baptist Hospital East, in an e-mail to ABCNews.com.

Such lifts are intended for 440 to 660-pound patients, and the renovations have extended to older areas of the hospital.

"We are renovating many of our older nursing units and converting many semi-private rooms to private rooms. In the process, we are creating one bariatric room per nursing unit, each of which features a larger doorway to better accommodate the use of a larger, bariatric bed," Fullenlove said.

Treating Obese Patients in Obstetrics and More

The hospital is adding to the number of bariatric wheelchairs, blood pressure cuffs and gowns it already had.

"None of these costs have been passed on to the patients," Fullenlove said.

Alongside the movement to revamp equipment is a move into specialized treatment for bariatric patients in other specialties. Both the University of Michigan Hospital and St. Louis University Hospital developed special units for obstetric care for obese mothers.

"We want to monitor these patients very closely," said Dr. Raul Artal, a professor and chairman of the department of obstetrics, gynecology and women's health at St. Louis University Hospital in Missouri. "We see them more frequently. We have a dietician who works full time and [will] dedicate more time to these patients."

Artal explained that women who are obese, especially if they have a Body Mass Index of 40 or higher, are more likely to have miscarriages, babies with birth defects and "a multitude of problems."

"For some of these patients, they are so obese for the last weeks of their pregnancy [that] they cannot walk, so they are confined to a wheelchair," he said.

But the clinic has good news, too. Artal said about 40 percent to 50 percent of his patients are able to fully comply with nutrition, diet and exercise programs during their pregnancy and, overall, 70 percent to 80 percent of patients make some progress.

"We see patients who have had hypertension when they enter the program, and when they exit the program their blood pressure is normal," he said. "We have success stories, but we would like to extend this clinic."

Artal said the patients at his clinic pay no more for their extra care than any other woman with a high-risk pregnancy.

Activists have felt that while additional charges might be considered discriminatory, specialized bariatric care, in general, might be supportive.

"Women who are at a BMI of 40 -- they may have special care available because they are at a greater health risk," said Thompson. "It strikes me as good medicine, and I applaud them for not charging a higher rate."
Read More...

Health Care Roundtable: Public Option Hot Button Issue in Debate

With the health care debate taking center stage in the White House and on both sides of Congress, Democrats have stepped up their efforts to defend a government-sponsored health insurance program, saying the reforms they are proposing are greatly needed.

"What we know is that cost currently is crushing families and businesses," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told "Good Morning America" today. "Unless we do something, we won't be able to afford the health care we have, the health care we need."

The main point of contention between Democrats and Republicans is the idea of a "public option" -- a government-sponsored health insurance plan that would compete with private insurance.

Democrats say it will give people, especially those who are not able to afford insurance or cannot qualify for private care because of pre-existing conditions, another option. Republicans claim it will stifle the private health insurance industry.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 23 million Americans would migrate from employer-based health care plans or other plans to a government public health care plan if one were offered. A study by health consulting firm the Lewin Group found that if a government-run plan paid at the same rate as Medicare, 70 percent of consumers currently with private insurers would jump ship for the public program.

"A government plan, no matter what you call it, will increase costs. It will reduce choices and essentially it will not allow you to keep what you have, and that is the essence of what the health care system in this country is about," said Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., echoing the sentiment of his fellow Republican congress members. "We ought to allow for more competition so that people can have choice."

A CBS/New York Times poll found that 72 percent of Americans support a public option, and 50 percent think government would do a better job providing medical coverage than private insurers do. Only 30 percent of those polled said they did not think providing health insurance for all Americans was the government's responsibility.

According to recent estimates, 59 percent of Americans get health insurance through an employer. But 45.7 million people in the United States, including 8 million children, have no health insurance at all.

Who Pays for It?

Cost has also become a hot button issue -- namely, how will any new plan be funded?

Republicans have seized on a CBO report that estimates the plan proposed by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Senate Democrats will cost upward of $1 trillion over 10 years and still leave 36 million uninsured. Democrats on the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee say they are revising the plan to cut that high price tag, and other committees of the Senate are also working on different bills.

Former majority leaders of the Senate, Tom Daschle, Howard Baker and Bob Dole, who have offered their own bipartisan solution, say that at least half of the costs to pay for health care reform would have to come from new revenue and taxes. White House officials say that's not true.

"I think people are thinking that this is brand new money that's being printed," said President Obama's domestic policy adviser Melody Barnes. "There's already $2 trillion worth of health care that's being spent already. This is redirecting that money so it's more efficiently and effectively used and so people are getting better quality health care."

Cantor and other House Republicans unveiled their own version of a health care bill last week, which they say will make quality health care more affordable and accessible, ensure that medical decisions are made by doctors and improve lives through effective prevention. But they did not give an estimate of cost or the specifics of what the plan would entail.

"What the Republican plan will do is, it will look more toward the individual and will say, if you have a plan, your insurer and you are going to determine the length of that coverage," Cantor said on "GMA." "But also if somehow you lose your job and that's how you get your coverage, we're going to make sure that you have the flexibility under that plan to take that coverage with you."

Health Care Debate on Preventive Measures

Officials say one way to cut health care industry costs in the long run is to put procedures in the plan that would reduce unnecessary tests that doctors conduct.

"Right now, we pay doctors based on how many times they touch a patient, how many tests are given, how many procedures are run. Not how well the patient is at the end of the day," Sebelius said.

Officials cite reports such as those in a recent Dartmouth University study that found that up to 30 percent of medical spending -- $700 billion a year -- does nothing to improve health.

But who will decide what tests are necessary?

"Clinicians will make those decisions," said Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of White House Office of Health Reform. "What we're trying to do and the president is trying to get is a system where we can have lower costs for all families and businesses."

"No one's going to tell your doctor that he or she can't do a procedure, but there will be a set of protocols that we know at the end of the day actually produce a better result for you and are less intrusive," Sebelius said. "Do what works best for me, and that's really what we're talking about. Not cheaper medicine, better medicine each and every time."

Doctors say they need more protection against medical malpractice lawsuits if they are to cut the number of tests they prescribe.

But in a speech to the American Medical Association last week, Obama was noncommittal on that end, saying only that his administration wants to work with doctors to cut back "excessive defensive medicine.

"I recognize that it will be hard to make some of these changes if doctors feel like they're constantly looking over their shoulders for fear of lawsuits. ... I understand some doctors may feel the need to order more tests and treatments to avoid being legally vulnerable. That's a real issue," Obama said. "I'm not advocating caps on malpractice awards, which I personally believe can be unfair to people who've been wrongfully harmed."

The Healthy Life

Another component of the White House health reform plan, officials say, is to encourage Americans to live healthier lives. Health and Human Services estimates that 54 percent of all U.S. health care costs are due to three mostly preventable conditions: heart disease, diabetes and obesity. Eighty percent of heart disease, obesity and cardiovascular disease is preventable.

"Some of that is about personal responsibility but it's also making sure that there are incentives for businesses. We're working with CEOs recently who came in and said, 'We're working with our staff to make sure that we're reducing obesity rates and working on tobacco cessation,'" Barnes said.

Doctors say the government needs to create a grassroots effort simply to get Americans to walk a little bit every day.

"If I could pick one single thing for all Americans to do, it would be walking, because I know it would cut into the rates of diabetes, hypertension, obesity and cardiovascular disease," said Dr. Mehmet Oz. "Just 30 minutes a day is the magic number. It would be a national policy that's easy to follow and would have a dramatic impact."
Read More...

Public Favors Obama's Health-Care Plan

Despite public support for an optional public health insurance plan, President Obama's plan to include one in his health-care bill is facing intensified opposition on Capitol Hill.

The president has insisted on a government-run insurance program that would compete with private companies.

"You will have your choice of a number of plans that offer a few different packages, but every plan would offer an affordable, basic package," the president said in an address to the American Medical Association in Chicago last week. "And one of these options needs to be a public option that will give a broader range of choices and inject competition into the health-care market so that forces waste out of the system and keep the insurance companies honest," he said.

His repeated efforts to pitch that option have met a receptive audience. A New York Times poll released today said that a striking 72 percent of Americans support a public health-care plan, and 57 percent are willing to pay higher taxes to cover all Americans.

Nevertheless, the president's chances for an optional health care plan that would be run by the government may be fading. Republicans and some Democrats have expressed skepticism.

That scrutiny intensified this week after a Congressional Budget Office report found a Democratic plan in the Senate would cost at least $1 trillion over 10 years and cover just one-third of the uninsured.

"The CBO estimates were a death blow to a government-run health-care plan," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said today on ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos."

Republicans have repeatedly hammered the president on the proposal. Sen. Mitch McConnell has taken to the Senate floor daily to lament what Republicans consistently describes as "a government takeover of health care."

Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., who is shepherding a bill through the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee as chief deputy to committee chairman Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said he still prefers a public option. But Democrats are clearly on the defensive.

"We're not done with this at all," Dodd said today on "This Week." "If this were easy, it would have been done decades ago."

This week, Dodd's committee continues its markup of their version of health-care reform and is expected to consider a proposal for a public health insurance option and a mandate for employers to contribute.

The Senate Finance Committee, which is pursuing its own, private bipartisan health-care effort, has slowed the pace of its closed-door negotiations. It remains unclear if the panel can agree on a plan that covers everyone and pares down the $1.6 trillion price tag, with or without a public option.

Democrats are scrambling to muster support for the president's plan, but even some of them are skeptical.

"Well to be candid with you, I don't know that he has the votes right now," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., told CNN, referring to the president. "I think there's a lot of concern in the Democratic Caucus."
Read More...

More are searching the Web for medical advice

The number of adults who turn to the Internet for health information has nearly doubled in the past two years, from 31% to 60%, according to a study.

That puts the Internet in a tie for third place (with books and print materials) as the source adults most often turn to for health information.

At the top, 86% of those surveyed say they most often consult a health care professional, and 68% say they consult their family or friends first.

The increase is partly because there are more Internet users than there were when the survey was last taken in 2006, says Susannah Fox, associate director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, a non-profit research organization.

The new survey, conducted in December, reached 2,253 people by landline phone and 502 by cellphone.

"As people are widening their networks, they are still maintaining their primary relations — consulting their doctor, consulting their mom, consulting a friend," Fox says.

The survey found that about half of all online health searches are on behalf of someone else, and that 59% of users who go to the Internet for health information have read blogs or online comments made by others, what Fox calls "passive consumption."

Heather Cabot, Yahoo's Web life editor, has her theories about why many adults may turn to the Internet for health advice.

"Unlike the doctor's office, the Web is open 24/7, and it's increasingly accessible in all of the spaces where we live and work," she says.

"People are turning to the Internet for instant information while they wait for a diagnosis or a call back from a health provider," Cabot says.

"They are becoming advocates for themselves as patients by researching illnesses and health care information through the vast
Read More...