Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Hello everyone, happy Tuesday.  Happy for me because I did not get picked for jury duty yesterday.

The Numbers on This Happy Tuesday.

• Fasting Blood Glucose Level:  101 mg/dl.
• Weight:  189ish lbs.
• Exercise:  45 minute ride, good and sweaty.
• Mood:  7.0.  Work sucks, but I am not sitting on a jury trying to be interested in something I could careless about and think the guy is probably guilty anyway. 

The Menu on This Happy Tuesday:

• Breakfast:  Morning fruit medley, oatmeal with craisins.  
• Lunch:  Red beans and rice, two cuties or smarties or whatever they are called. you know those mandarin oranges.  A multimillion ad campaign for those things and I still can't remember the name.
• Dinner: Chicken salad.  Kind of a cleaning out the fridge night.
• Snacks:  None, too busy. 

Good Excuse to Goof Off at Work
Just tell everyone you are walking around to help the company cut health insurance costs, not to mention saving your life.  As an added bonus, no special equipment or clothing required.  Kinda sounds like Michelle Obama's Let's Move program, doesn't it?

Tin foil hat time, coincidence? 

Fat America, Then, Now and The Future
Hint, it's not better now and not getting better for the future. In 1994, we were pretty good, I guess.  Certainly better than now.  We were almost svelte way back then.  Maybe Bill Clinton inspired us to run more or something. 

If trends continue, by 2020, 75% of all Americans will be obese.  If you are in the diet business, the late night infomercial selling exercise DVDs, big and tall clothing stores, girdle-thingies, the business of treating heart disease, diabetes, and all of the other health issues obese people will face, including premature death, business will be good.  I wonder how the the government, once it fully controls healthcare, will handle this because the costs to treat all of the obese people will be high , as in ruinously expensive.

Mandatory diets and exercise programs?  Coming soon to country near you, mandatory Let's Move for everyone, and you will be tested.

Most of We are Told is Wrong
A former researcher from Amgen says that most of basic studies on cancer research are unrealiable.

FTA:  During a decade as head of global cancer research at Amgen, C. Glenn Begley identified 53 "landmark" publications -- papers in top journals, from reputable labs -- for his team to reproduce. Begley sought to double-check the findings before trying to build on them for drug development.

Result: 47 of the 53 could not be replicated.  

You can read the whole thing here.

I have no doubt - one that I cannot prove - that a similar percentage applies to studies on diet, exercise, heart disease and diabetes and everything else scientific this site reviews.  Anyone remember resveratrol?  That research was mostly fudged.  Red wine is not going to make you healthier.  May not hurt, but it's not a help, either. 

At stake is a lot of research money and a pretty decent and lucrative career.  Theories that don't pan out can stunt a career and send the scientist back to teaching uninterested undergraduates.  The horror.  I imagine the temptation to fudge the data to get the money and the cushy job can be overwhelming.  It's almost a test of character, like the Kobayashi Maru from Star Trek,  and lot of researchers are failing it, apparently.  

Don't give up hope.  All of that fake science may mean the benefits mandatory Let's Move program are a crock and you won't have to walk around if you don't want to.