Weight Watching Blog

Archive for the ‘Overweight Risk’ Category

My dogs name is Humphrey, he is a 9 year old Golden Retriever and is the sweetest thing you will ever meet in the world, he would never harm a flea haha but he is not exactly "the sharpest tool in the shed" if you know what I mean. But recently we took Humphrey to the vet and the veterinarian said he was about 15 pounds overweight… Humphrey is about 90 pounds and the vet said a medium sized golden retriever like Humphrey should be about 65-75 pounds but he is 90 and I have become very worried. We used to have a German Shepherd named Malcolm but Malcolm recently passed away so Humphrey has become so much less active. All he does is eat, sleep, and lie around the house moping. We have a huge dog bowl always full of food that Malcolm and Humphrey both shared but since Malcolm died the huge bowl has become a doggy feast for Humphrey. Recently I have began walking Humphrey and putting the huge dog bowl up and giving Humphrey 2 cups of dog food at dinner with boiled veggies mixed in and doggy snacks in between. But my family undos all my hard work so easily it infuriates me. they feed Humphrey human food….they do it more out of a force of habit than malevolent intent. Can someone please give me advice how to make my family understand that Humphrey is a huge risk for diabetes and heart disease not only because he is older but because he is overweight as well. Also can you please give me advice on how to make him lose weight??? I cannot stand the thought of losing Humphrey so soon after losing Malcolm.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73247724@N04/

Here is a link so you can see pictures of Humphrey tell me if you think he is really overweight

I do think it would be a good idea for him to lose weight. You are right about diabetes and heart problems being more common in overweight and obese dogs. These, while common, most certainly can be avoided most of the time through proper diet and exercise. Arthritis and hip displaysia are also common things that having extra pounds could complicate - should he develop joint and bone disorders any extra weight will add unnecessary stress to the bones and make it harder to cope with.

Another great reason for him to lose weight is because 90% of a vets exam is done by simply feeling an animal. On a healthy sized animal, a vet may be able to feel a pets abdomen and notice "hey, this feels a little enlarged". With overweight or obese pets, more times than not, important organs are not able to be felt. We could miss something important. Or, here’s another example: An obese cat came in the other day with a possible UTI. Normally we collect urine through a cystocentisis - drawing urine directly from the bladder with a thin needle and syrgine. This ensures that we have a sterile sample to examine. Unfortunately, the cat was again, obese, and we were unable to feel the bladder through the fat pads on his stomach. He also would not cooperate and began to get aggressive so using a urinary catheter was out of the question - now how in the world are we going to evaluate urine when we cannot get a sample?! Being overweight as a pet, especially older pets who are prone to many different things, can complicate simple procedures exponentially.

A big part of losing weight is keeping a very strict diet. I understand your difficulty with this - my cat is getting older and is overweight and there is next to nothing I can do to stop whom I live with from sneaking extra food to him behind my back…and I WORK in the veterinary field! :P!!! Luckily my cat is very active, and even with extra food he will be able to run around and shed the pounds that way. If your dog is physically slowing down and will not commit to an exercise routine, then your only and best bet really is feeding him appropriately. On the bag of dog food he eats there should be guidelines on how much to feed. Try feeding him either exactly that or even going down to the weight range below his. Don’t keep the food out all day either - try splitting the daily food requirement in half and offering half of it to him twice a day. The food is designed to include all the nutrition a healthy dog needs - extra veggies and treat are not necessary. Of course, he’s probably a very good dog and deserves a treat from time to time. If cutting table food out completely is out of the question, try giving only one or two extra veggies (carrots, green beans, and sweet potato slices work great) to him at dinner time instead of a large portion. Try limiting the treats to one a day, or even only to encourage a good behavior - such as after going for a walk, or playing a game of fetch! This way he knows he will be rewarded for his activity. Or use the veggie slices as treats instead! It will be hard if not everyone in the household is committed to these ideas, but you do need to be very firm and explain that for his health it is important for him to lose weight. Just like an aging human, we need to start taking precautions with the animals we care about.

It might also be a good idea to see if the vet noticed any arthritis at his last visit. Going for a mile long run will not be helpful for him if he does have a significant amount of that — ouch! You could always start him on a joint supplement - your vet will be able to recommend on for you. A good sport that you can try once it gets a little warmer is swimming - great for keeping fit and easy on the joints.

Have a happy new year!

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In this clip, Jay Harness, MD, FACS explains what the risk factors for developing breast cancer are.

What are the risk factors for breast cancer? Well first of all, we don’t know the exact cause of breast cancer other than we know if you are gene-positive, you are approaching 80% chance of developing breast cancer. But what are the other typical risk factors for breast cancer? And there are multiple ones: not ever having children; nulliparous is certainly one of the risk factors. Actually as you age, the older you get; the greater your risk.

The one in eight number from the American Cancer Society for the risk of breast cancer actually comes if you live up to, let’s say on to, age 94. Other risk factors are: late birthing — we are not exactly sure why having children later in life is an increased risk factor for breast cancer —, alcohol consumption is rising a little bit more as a risk factor for breast cancer, being obese or overweight is a risk factor for breast cancer, and clearly, having a family history is a risk factor for a breast cancer.

So the list includes now cigarette smoking as a risk factor for breast cancer. Many people have been worried about pesticides. They are worried about other environmental factors. The link there and the risk there are probably not as clear as many of the ones that I have mentioned so far, and particularly, if you have any kind of family history for breast cancer, you want to be sure that you understand risk factors.

People often ask me, “What can I do to lower my risk of developing breast cancer?” The simple answer is: live heart-healthy, don’t smoke, minimal alcohol consumption, exercise regularly, try and stay as close as you can to ideal body weight, eating a protein sort of base diet that is more in the better proteins than it is in the negative proteins… things of that sort.

There’s no guarantee you won’t develop breast cancer but those are the kinds of things that you can do to help prevent breast cancer.

This information should not be relied upon as a substitute for personal medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Use the information provided on this site solely at your own risk.  If you have any concerns about your health, please consult with a physician.

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Technorati Tags: answers, breast, cancer, Dr, Harness, health, healthcare, media, medical, oncology, social, women, womens

Okayyy I’m 14, 148lbs and 5′2" and I lost alot of weight. On my wii fit it says that when I hit 127lbs I’ll be healthy and that 128-149 is the "at risk" zone, so thats what I’m in. But all the calculators online dont have "at risk" zone and say anything above healthy is overweight. So is "at risk" still overweight?

Yes, it does, it is just a different form of wording.

http://www.WorkWithMarco.com Health Risks of being overweight include:

• Stroke
• Heart Disease; High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol
• Type 2 Diabetes (a weight gain of 11-18 lbs. doubles the risk)
• Cancers (endometrial, colon, gall bladder, prostate, kidney,
post-menopausal breast cancer)
• Fatty Liver disease
• Chronic Venous Insufficiency (hampers leg muscle mobility)
• Gallbladder disease
• Breathing problems
• Deep Vein Thrombosis
• Arthritis — (every 2 lb. increase in weight increases risk 9-13%)
• Sleep Apnea
• Gout
• Psychological & Social effects

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Technorati Tags: diabetes, diabetic, diet, fast, how, join, lose, loss, rapid, science, sciences, to, visalus, weight

Aspartame (E951) is an artificial sweetener, present in over 6000 products. The food industry says it helps you to lose weight, but why is obesity then becoming an ever increasing problem? It can be found in products with any of the following labels: Light, Diet, Sugarfree, Zero, Pepsi Max, Low-Calorie, No Sugar Added, NutraSweet, Equal, NatraTaste, Canderel, Spoonful, Equal-Measure, etc. Aspartame is a sweet chemical, causing many health problems such as Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, ADHD, epilepsy, migraines, mood swings as well as cancer and psychological ailments. It breaks down into 3 components: 1. Methanol, which is the poisonous kind of alcohol. Methanol further breaks down into formaldehyde, an embalming fluid! 2. Phenylalanine, which decreases the amount serotonin in your brain, which causes mood swings, depressions and an increase(!) in appetite. 3. Aspartic acid, a neurological toxin like MSG. To summarize, aspartame is not at all a health food! In fact there are 92 symptoms (!) recorded by the US Department of Health following complaints by aspartame users. In fact over 80% of all complaints filed with FDA are aspartame related! If you use any products that say Diet, Light, Zero, sugar-free, no sugar added, low calorie etc, take 10 minutes and watch this excellent investigative report by FOX 5 News (Washington DC). Don’t believe the lies of the food industry any longer. Contrary to what the ‘health experts’ say, this stuff is NOT safe. Aspartame is a sweet poison designed to make you sick so the pharmaceutical industry can then sell you expensive medication and pills to ‘treat’ the diseases that are caused by aspartame in the first place. Do your self a big favor and remove this poisonous chemical out of your diet for 60 days and discover how your health will improve dramatically! Aspartame health risk are MS heart attacks ADD ALS Lou Gehrig’s disease hormonal imbalance anxiety depression slurred speech insomnia MSG leukemia autism overweight headaches diabetes diarreha joint pain dizziness allergies brain damage.

Duration : 0:7:36

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Technorati Tags: alzheimer's, Artificial, Aspartame, Canderel, Fox, health, medicine, news, Nutrasweet, Parkinsons, Pepsi, Sugarfree, sweetener