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New crab species honors Harry Potter

    A recently discovered crab species has been somewhat tenuously named in honor of characters from the magical world of Harry Potter.

    The crab’s official name is Harryplax severus, with the genus Harryplax named after the crab’s collector, the late researcher and former marine Harry Conley, who died from a gunshot in 2002, as well as the protagonist in J. K. Rowling’s novels. Conley dug up many specimens in Guam’s coral reef rubble almost 20 years ago.

    The latter species part of its name is inspired by the character Severus Snape, who “despite being a central character in the series, keeps his background and agenda mysterious until the very end,” the statement announcing the naming said. The authors note this is “just like the present new species, which has eluded discovery until now, nearly 20 years after it was first collected”.

    Even though Conley found the specimen long ago, its status as a new species and genus was only realized recently by Dr Peter Ng and Dr Jose Cristopher E. Mendoza from the National University of Singapore.

    The crab is tiny, measuring just 7.9 by 5.6 millimeters (0.3 by 0.2 inches), and known only to herald from the island of Guam. It’s found deep in coral rubble or under subtidal rocks, and survives at dark depths with reduced eyes, ones that are not used extensively. Instead, it has antennae to probe the depths, and gets around on long thin legs.

    In the statement, Dr Mendoza was said to be a self-confessed “Potterhead”, hence the somewhat unusual moniker. But it’s not the first time Potter has inspired the naming of a new species – The magazine Popular Science notes that a dinosaur species was named after Hogwarts in 2006 (Dracorex hogwartsia), a wasp in Thailand was named Ampulex dementor in 2014, and a spider was named Eriovixia gryffindori last year.

(Jonathan O’Callaghan. www.iflscience.com, 24.01.17. Adaptado.)

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Rowing for gold: what it takes to be an olympic doctor

    It takes a certain something to be an Olympic athlete. The same can be said of Olympic doctors. As well as being the best in their field, they work just as tirelessly and relentlessly as the athletes themselves to deliver the best care they possibly can. After all, national glory is at stake. Few clinicians get the privilege to work with patients who are as passionate about succeeding as them.

    Fewer doctors can claim to have been athletes themselves – and even fewer have won Gold for their country. Dr. Richard Budgett is an Olympic gold medalist and medical and scientific director to the International Olympic Committee. He was part of the British coxed fours that won the gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

    Ahead of his 13th at Rio de Janeiro this summer, Dr. Budgett shared his unique perspective on sports medicine’s evolution since 1984, and the way he sees healthcare going beyond the Games. “Back then [in 1984], there was just a team doctor and maybe a physiotherapist. That was pretty much it,” remembers Dr. Budgett. “There was no multidisciplinary team. We really had no knowledge of nutrition or recovery compared to what we have now… we were very much on our own.”

    Throughout his career, Dr. Budgett has seen sports medicine go from a niche specialty to a cutting edge field using the latest medical tech in the world. Every detail of an athlete’s biology, biomechanics, training, psychology and nutrition are taken into account to make sure they are at their absolute peak come Games time. “I still have, I hope, an understanding of what the athletes and coaches actually need at the Games,” said Dr. Budgett. “I think people who have committed lots of time and effort to their sport will just have a gut understanding of what’s involved and the sacrifice it takes to succeed, and the joy of competing to your best. And if you’re lucky, the joy of winning, as well.”

(www.gehealthcare.com. Adaptado.)

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Delays in spotting dementia can bring dangers

A delay in diagnosing dementia can put

 people at risk, a new study suggests  

Robert Preidt

June 2, 2016

    People who have signs of probable dementia but haven’t yet been formally diagnosed are nearly twice as likely as those who’ve been diagnosed to be performing potentially unsafe activities such as cooking, driving, and managing their medications and finances. The study included information from more than 7,600 Americans. All were 65 or older. The findings showed:

•  About 17 percent of people diagnosed with dementia and 28 percent of undiagnosed people were still driving.

•  Twelve percent of diagnosed people and 29 percent of undiagnosed people kept handling their finances.

•  Seventeen percent of diagnosed people and 42 percent of undiagnosed people continued to cook meals for themselves.

•  Nearly 22 percent of diagnosed people and 50 percent of undiagnosed people were still handling their own medications.

    However, the study did find that people with dementia symptoms – whether undiagnosed or diagnosed with dementia – were less likely to engage in such activities overall. “That in itself is good news, though the numbers are still important from a public health and safety standpoint. Either the patients themselves or their family members are self-regulating and doing these activities less frequently as their disease is progressing,” said study leader Dr. Halima Amjad.

    Patients and their families need to be aware of dementia so doctors and loved ones can take measures to protect patients, the researchers said. “When patients receive a formal dementia diagnosis, their families are typically aware that, at some point, their loved ones will not be able to drive or will need more help with their medicine,” Amjad said in a university news release. “But when people are undiagnosed, families and friends may ignore or be unaware of functional problems that already exist,” she added. About 5 million people in the United States have some form of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. That number is expected to nearly triple by 2050, the researchers said.

(www.nlm.nih.gov. Adaptado.)

The Urgency in Fighting Childhood Obesity

Jane E. Brody

    Life-threatening ailments like heart disease,
cancer, stroke and Type 2 diabetes most often afflict
adults. But they are often consequences of childhood
obesity.

[5]    Two new studies, conducted among more than
half a million children in Denmark who were followed
for many years, linked a high body mass index (B.M.I)
in children to an increased risk of developing colon
cancer and suffering an early stroke as adults. The
[10] studies, presented at the European Obesity Summit
in Gothenburg, Sweden, this spring, underscore the
importance of preventing and reversing undue weight
gain in young children and teenagers.

    One study, of more than 257,623 people, by Dr.
[15] Britt Wang Jensen and colleagues at the Institute of
Preventive Medicine, in Bispebjerg, Denmark, and
Frederiksberg Hospital in Copenhagen, grouped
children according to standard deviations from a
mean B.M.I., adjusted for a child’s age and sex. They
[20] found that each unit of increase in being overweight at
age 13 increased the risk of developing colon cancer
by 9 percent and rectal cancer by 11 percent. 

    The second study, involving 307,677 Danish
people born from 1930 to 1987, used a similar grouping
[25] of B.M.I. The risk of developing a clot-related stroke in
early adult life increased by 26 percent in women and
21 percent in men for each unit of increase in being
overweight at all stages of childhood, but especially
at age 13.

[30]    Although neither study proves that excess weight
in childhood itself, as opposed to being overweight as
an adult, is responsible for the higher rates of cancer
and stroke, overweight children are much more likely
to become overweight adults — unless they adopt and
[30]maintain healthier patterns of eating and exercise.

    Although neither study proves that excess weight
in childhood itself, as opposed to being overweight as
an adult, is responsible for the higher rates of cancer
and stroke, overweight children are much more likely
[35]  to become overweight adults — unless they adopt and
maintain healthier patterns of eating and exercise.

    According to the American Academy of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry, obesity most often develops
from ages 5 to 6 or during the teen years, and “studies
have shown that a child who is obese between the
[40] ages of 10 and 13 has an 80 percent chance of
becoming an obese adult.”

    Children are generally considered obese when
their B.M.I. is at or above the 95th percentile for others
of the same age and sex. Currently, about one-third
[45] of American children are overweight or obese. By
2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
reports, 18 percent of children and 21 percent of
adolescents were obese

    The adverse effects of excess weight in childhood
[50]and adolescence don’t necessarily wait to show up
later in life. In a review of complications resulting from 

youthful obesity, Dr. Stephen R. Daniels, a pediatrician
at the University of Colorado School of Medicine
and the Children’s Hospital in Denver, found that
[55]problems in many organ systems were often apparent
long before adulthood. They include high blood
pressure; insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes;
high blood levels of heart-damaging triglycerides
and low levels of protective high-density lipoprotein
[60] (HDL) cholesterol; nonalcoholic fatty liver disease;
obstructive sleep apnea; asthma; and excess stress
on the musculoskeletal system resulting in abnormal
bone development, knee and hip pain, and difficulty
walking.

[65]    Problems of youthful obesity go beyond physical
ones. Obese adolescents have higher rates of
depression, which in itself may foster poor eating and
exercise patterns that add to their weight problem
 and result in a poor quality of life that persists into
[70] adulthood.

    n a study conducted in Singapore, researchers
reported that “individuals who were obese in childhood
are more likely to have poor body image and low
self-esteem and confidence, even more so than those
[75] with adult onset obesity.”

    Another study by Dr. Jeffrey B. Schwimmer of the
University of California, San Diego, and colleagues
found that obese children and adolescents reported a
diminished quality of life that was comparable to that
[80] of children with cancer

    Taken together, the data speak to the critical
importance of preventing undue weight gain in young
children, a task that depends largely on parents, who
are responsible for what and how much children eat
[85] and how much physical activity they engage in.

    “I encourage parents to change the environment
at home,” Dr. Stephen R. Daniels of the University
of Colorado said in an interview. “Without being
authoritarian, they should limit high-calorie-dense
[90] foods, keep sugar-sweetened beverages out of the
house and assure that kids eat the right amount of
fruits and vegetables and fewer calorie-dense snacks.
Parents also need to be tuned into opportunities for
physical activity and set hard-and-fast rules about
[95] television and time spent on electronics.”

    Following the “5210” daily program endorsed by
the American Academy of Pediatrics can help: Aim
for five fruits and vegetables a day; keep recreational
screen time to two hours or less; include at least
[100] one hour of active play and skip sugar-sweetened
beverages and drink water. 

Retrieved and adapted from http://well.blogs.nytimes. com/2016/07/05/the-urgency-in-fighting-childhood-obesity/?rref =collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fhealth&action=click&conte ntCollection=health®ion=rank&module=package&version=hi ghlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront. Access on: July 5th,2016. Adapted.

The Urgency in Fighting Childhood Obesity

Jane E. Brody

    Life-threatening ailments like heart disease,
cancer, stroke and Type 2 diabetes most often afflict
adults. But they are often consequences of childhood
obesity.

[5]    Two new studies, conducted among more than
half a million children in Denmark who were followed
for many years, linked a high body mass index (B.M.I)
in children to an increased risk of developing colon
cancer and suffering an early stroke as adults. The
[10] studies, presented at the European Obesity Summit
in Gothenburg, Sweden, this spring, underscore the
importance of preventing and reversing undue weight
gain in young children and teenagers.

    One study, of more than 257,623 people, by Dr.
[15] Britt Wang Jensen and colleagues at the Institute of
Preventive Medicine, in Bispebjerg, Denmark, and
Frederiksberg Hospital in Copenhagen, grouped
children according to standard deviations from a
mean B.M.I., adjusted for a child’s age and sex. They
[20] found that each unit of increase in being overweight at
age 13 increased the risk of developing colon cancer
by 9 percent and rectal cancer by 11 percent. 

    The second study, involving 307,677 Danish
people born from 1930 to 1987, used a similar grouping
[25] of B.M.I. The risk of developing a clot-related stroke in
early adult life increased by 26 percent in women and
21 percent in men for each unit of increase in being
overweight at all stages of childhood, but especially
at age 13.

[30]    Although neither study proves that excess weight
in childhood itself, as opposed to being overweight as
an adult, is responsible for the higher rates of cancer
and stroke, overweight children are much more likely
to become overweight adults — unless they adopt and
[30]maintain healthier patterns of eating and exercise.

    Although neither study proves that excess weight
in childhood itself, as opposed to being overweight as
an adult, is responsible for the higher rates of cancer
and stroke, overweight children are much more likely
[35]  to become overweight adults — unless they adopt and
maintain healthier patterns of eating and exercise.

    According to the American Academy of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry, obesity most often develops
from ages 5 to 6 or during the teen years, and “studies
have shown that a child who is obese between the
[40] ages of 10 and 13 has an 80 percent chance of
becoming an obese adult.”

    Children are generally considered obese when
their B.M.I. is at or above the 95th percentile for others
of the same age and sex. Currently, about one-third
[45] of American children are overweight or obese. By
2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
reports, 18 percent of children and 21 percent of
adolescents were obese

    The adverse effects of excess weight in childhood
[50]and adolescence don’t necessarily wait to show up
later in life. In a review of complications resulting from 

youthful obesity, Dr. Stephen R. Daniels, a pediatrician
at the University of Colorado School of Medicine
and the Children’s Hospital in Denver, found that
[55]problems in many organ systems were often apparent
long before adulthood. They include high blood
pressure; insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes;
high blood levels of heart-damaging triglycerides
and low levels of protective high-density lipoprotein
[60] (HDL) cholesterol; nonalcoholic fatty liver disease;
obstructive sleep apnea; asthma; and excess stress
on the musculoskeletal system resulting in abnormal
bone development, knee and hip pain, and difficulty
walking.

[65]    Problems of youthful obesity go beyond physical
ones. Obese adolescents have higher rates of
depression, which in itself may foster poor eating and
exercise patterns that add to their weight problem
 and result in a poor quality of life that persists into
[70] adulthood.

    n a study conducted in Singapore, researchers
reported that “individuals who were obese in childhood
are more likely to have poor body image and low
self-esteem and confidence, even more so than those
[75] with adult onset obesity.”

    Another study by Dr. Jeffrey B. Schwimmer of the
University of California, San Diego, and colleagues
found that obese children and adolescents reported a
diminished quality of life that was comparable to that
[80] of children with cancer

    Taken together, the data speak to the critical
importance of preventing undue weight gain in young
children, a task that depends largely on parents, who
are responsible for what and how much children eat
[85] and how much physical activity they engage in.

    “I encourage parents to change the environment
at home,” Dr. Stephen R. Daniels of the University
of Colorado said in an interview. “Without being
authoritarian, they should limit high-calorie-dense
[90] foods, keep sugar-sweetened beverages out of the
house and assure that kids eat the right amount of
fruits and vegetables and fewer calorie-dense snacks.
Parents also need to be tuned into opportunities for
physical activity and set hard-and-fast rules about
[95] television and time spent on electronics.”

    Following the “5210” daily program endorsed by
the American Academy of Pediatrics can help: Aim
for five fruits and vegetables a day; keep recreational
screen time to two hours or less; include at least
[100] one hour of active play and skip sugar-sweetened
beverages and drink water. 

Retrieved and adapted from http://well.blogs.nytimes. com/2016/07/05/the-urgency-in-fighting-childhood-obesity/?rref =collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fhealth&action=click&conte ntCollection=health®ion=rank&module=package&version=hi ghlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront. Access on: July 5th,2016. Adapted.

WEIGHT WATCHERS FOCUSES ON WEIGHT, NOT

    Following Weight Watchers is still not the healthy way to lose weight and keep it off, despite their
newest point system, the “PointsPlus”, where fresh fruits and most vegetables have a zero-point value,
essentially meaning that they are unlimited. This is certainly a positive step, and I applaud Weight
Watchers for taking it. They have tweaked their program a bit to make it healthier. 

[5]   However, the Weight Watchers program is still far from a health-promoting eating style. The
“PointsPlus” system encourages eating foods that produce greater satiety – foods that are higher in fiber
and protein content are more favorably scored. High-fiber foods and high-protein foods are not
nutritionally equivalent. For example, compare beans and grilled chicken. Beans are phytochemical-rich,
protein-adequate, healthful foods with anti-cancer properties and a low glycemic load. Grilled chicken
[10] may also induce satiety because it is very high in protein, but it has no phytochemical content, and it
contains cancer-promoting properties. It is not a food that supports longevity and long-term health.
What’s more, chicken raises IGF-1 in the body, a hormone associated with higher rates of breast cancer.
The problem is that Weight Watchers promotes animal protein as a favorable food to consume, in spite of
the plethora of evidence in recent years linking high IGF-1 to premature aging and cancer.

[15]   Weight Watchers’ guidelines for healthy eating are simply unhealthy and not supported by the
most updated nutritional science. Here are some of their recommendations:

    • They recommend a miniscule five total (half-cup) daily servings of fruits and vegetables
combined which is not nearly enough to achieve disease prevention.

    • They promise to provide a method of weight loss that “fits within one’s lifestyle and
[20] preferences”, assuring potential members that there is “plenty of room for treats and extras.”
To be inclusionary of everyone, they must give watered-down recommendations that are too
close to the disease-causing Standard American Diet. Despite the changes to the points
system that promotes more whole foods, it is still a diet of calorie-counting and controlled
portions of mostly addictive, processed foods.

[25] • They, like most diet plans, attempt to appeal to a mainstream audience who eat a diet of
primarily processed foods and animal products. So they must allow members to continue the
same eating pattern that originally led them down the path to obesity (and also leads to
diabetes, heart disease and cancer). This is evident by Weight Watchers’ line of pre-packaged
foods.

[30] • They sell nutrient-poor, high-sodium, reduced-calorie processed products with lengthy
ingredient lists including added sugars, hydrogenated oils, and white flour—just like
conventional processed foods. The ingredient lists are strategically absent from the Weight
Watchers website, though calorie and point values are visible.

    Weight Watchers is not in the business of health; it is all about weight. Members, and even
[35] leaders, are poorly educated about nutritional science. People are not motivated to eat to win the war
against cancer. Participants continue to be victims of their food addictions because eating a little healthier
and trying to cut back is simply a formula for failure in the vast majority of cases. Weight Watchers gives
lip service to better health and healthier eating, yet continues to sell nutrient-depleted processed junk
food

[40]   A healthy weight is almost impossible to maintain without serious attention to smart nutrition, prevention of all deficiencies, sufficient anti-inflammatory super foods and the resulting elimination of additions and cravings. Weight Watchers mostly serves those who remain forever on the weight loss merry-go-round, struggling with marginally effective recommendations and outcomes

    The Nutritarian diet, as described in my book, The End of Dieting, is not focused on just weight
[45] loss; it is also focused on optimizing health, promoting longevity, and winning the war on cancer. You eat
larger amounts of vegetables, beans and fruits, with attention to eating the most powerful anti-cancer
foods on the planet. Food is rated according to micronutrient content per calorie, not just calories. Eating
delicious, health-promoting foods allows you to lose the cravings and temptations to eat greasy, sugary,
disease-causing foods. More importantly, once you learn how to follow a Nutritarian diet, the weight
[50] comes off dramatically and permanently and you never have to diet again. You become a nutritional
expert who can navigate through life knowing that you can protect yourself from serious and/or tragic
outcomes such as dementia, heart attacks, strokes and cancer. The Nutritarian diet is for people who
want great health and freedom from medical dependency and medical tragedies that eventually afflict
almost all Americans.

By Dr. Joel Fuhrman Retrieved and adapted from https://www.drfuhrman.com/learn/library/articles/46/weight-watchers-focuses-onweight-not-health Access on April 26, 2017.