Weight is measured in terms of body mass index (BMI). For adults, a healthy weight is a BMI of between 18.5 and 24.9. Overweight is a BMI of 25 to 29.9. A BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese.

Health experts say roughly 66 percent of American adults are overweight. The Obesity Society reports, 25.6 percent of Americans are obese. The extra weight is hard on the body and increases the risk for many types of chronic health problems, like heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels, certain types of cancer, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, liver and gallbladder disease and respiratory problems.

Obesity in African Americans

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports rates of overweight and obesity are higher among African-Americans than whites. In a health survey conducted between 1999 and 2000, researchers found 69.6 percent of blacks and 62.3 percent of whites were overweight. There is a much higher disparity in rates of obesity, with 39.9 percent of blacks being obese versus 28.7 percent of whites. Among African-American women, four out of five are overweight or obese. Low-income African-American women have the highest risks of being overweight.

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Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

Tags: cancer, center for disease control, diabetes, gallbladder disease, heart disease, high blood pressure, liver disease, nurse, obesity, Obesity Society, osteoarthritis, physician, sleep apnea, Stephanie Ward, stroke, Temple University School of Medicine

Two days and two Biggest Loser stories. Nurse.com has an interview with Kelly from last seasons Biggest Loser Couples. If you remember Kelly really struggled to take off the weight and make the changes that she needed but ended up coming in third and was a real inspiration.

In the interview Kelly talks about her ex husband Paul and the changes that she had to make. Also very interesting is how her weight loss will change the way she works and how patients can benefit from losing weight.

The article is a very interesting read for everyone interested in how Kelly is doing as well as giving us a bit of an insight into the nursing and healthcare industry.

Tags: healthcare industry, nurse, Paul

The Daily Mail in England has this very interesting story that seems to give hope to the millions of people worldwide that suffer from Alzheimers disease.

Doctors are calling for a clinical trial of an experimental drug treatment that it is claimed can reverse the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease “in minutes”.

U.S. researchers say the treatment allowed an 82-year- old sufferer to recognize his wife for the first time in years.

In the UK, specialists believe the claims should be properly tested as only a few patients have been treated so far.
The treatment involves injecting a drug called Enbrel – which is normally used to treat arthritis – into the spine at the neck. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Alzheimer's, Alzheimer's disease, Alzheimer's Research Trust, Alzheimer's Society, ankylosing spondylitis, arthritis, California, chief executive, cough, diabetes, director, Edward Tobinick, Enbrel, experimental therapy, fever, head of research, immune disease, inflammation, Institute for Neurological Research, Institute of Neurological Research, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, Los Angeles, Marvin Miller, necrosis, nurse, professor, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Rebecca Wood, rheumatoid arthritis, Serious infections, Susanne Sorensen, TB, tuberculosis, tumor, tumour, United Kingdom, United States, University of California Los Angeles