Does your child suffer from recurrent headaches?

A new study out in the journal Neurology sites teens who smoke, have poor dietary habits and are sendentary also have a higher incidence of recurrent headaches.

Maybe this is a question of the chicken and the egg -- kids have headaches because of poor diet, smoking or limited physical activity kids get headaches.  OR...maybe kids prone to headaches and the same kinds of kids likely to smoke, make poor food choices and be sedintary.  The evidence is not conclusive.  But I don't think it really matters.

The take home message is:

Kids need to move more than they do.

The need to be educated on positive food choices.

And we need to continue to send the message that smoking is a negative choice.

But the biggest thing we can do for them?

Model those behaviors so they can see them in action!!!

Health discount plans aren't insurance???

"Health discount plans are not insurance. They don't pay your medical bills."

Did you know that?  I didn't.  Did you know the FTC was cracking down on fraudulent insurers?  Me neither!

For more information, click here for more information.

The Institute for the Future Health and Healthcare Forecast Map

By 2020, the population aged 65 or older is projected to reach 55 million, but Medicare’s Hospital

Trust Fund may be insolvent as soon as 2017. Overall health care spending is projected to exceed 20%
of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

What if demands for sustainability require achieving healthy outcomes without harming the environment?

What if new technologies enable us to experience the future effects of present-day behavior choices?
What if self-tracking goes mainstream and shapes research and treatment practices?

Interested in seeing how these ideas could play out?  Click here for the report that describes the endless possiblities for the future.

Obesity is expensive. How expensive? According to a new report by the CDC, obesity related illness is costing the US more than $147 billion annually. 24/7 Wall St. did some number crunching and came up with a state by state cost of obesity based on the figure that obesity adds $1429 to healthcare costs per person per year.

Here are the 5 states with the lowest obesity rates.

Colorado
*Percentage Obese: 18.6%
*Population: 5,024,748
*Number Of Obese: 934,603
*Cost: $1,335,547,869

District of Columbia
*Percentage Obese: 19.7%
*Population: 599,657
*Number Of Obese: 118,132
*Cost: $1,035,692,511

Connecticut
*Percentage Obese: 20.6%
*Population: 3,518,288
*Number Of Obese: 724,767
*Cost: $1,035,692,511

Massachusetts
*Percentage Obese: 21.4%
*Population: 6,593,587
*Number Of Obese: 1,411,027
*Cost: $2,016,358,466

Hawaii
*Percentage Obese: 22.3%
*Population: 1,295,178
*Number Of Obese: 288,824
*Cost: $412,730,487

Michigan is in the middle of the pack.
*Percentage Obese: 29.6%
*Population: 9,969,727
*Number Of Obese: 2,951,039
*Cost: $4,217,035,005

And the 5 states with the highest rates???

Oklahoma
*Percentage Obese: 31.4%
*Population: 3,687,050
*Number Of Obese: 1,157,733
*Cost: $1,654,401,457

Kentucky
*Percentage Obese: 31.5%
*Population: 4,314,113
*Number Of Obese: 1,358,945
*Cost: $1,941,933,255

Tennessee
*Percentage Obese: 32.3%
*Population: 6,296,254
*Number Of Obese: 2,033,690
*Cost: $2,906,143,070

Louisiana
*Percentage Obese: 33%
*Population: 4,492,076
*Number Of Obese: 1,482,385
*Cost: $2,906,143,070

Mississippi
*Percentage Obese: 34.4%
*Population: 2,951,996
*Number Of Obese: 1,015,486
*Cost: $1,451,130,385

**figures by Ashley C. Allen
Read more: The Obesity Index: The Cost of Obesity by State - 24/7 Wall St.















































Read more: The Obesity Index: The Cost of Obesity by State - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/2010/08/05/the-obesity-index-the-cost-of-obesity-by-state/







http://www.cdc.gov/VitalSigns/pdf/2010-08-vitalsigns.pdf

What really matters is what you doing

Here is a video from Don Miller's blog.  She isn't talking about health per say -- she is talking about living life in a way that makes you happy you have a life to live.  Sometimes, we get so caught up in our day to day -- in making good health choices, getting the kids to their practices, slugging out our treadmill time (or feeling guilty if we don't) that we lose sight of why we started doing these things in the first place.

Here's your reminder for today :)  I hope you take it to heart.


Angela from Donald Miller on Vimeo.

Another way to think about Health Insurance

Four Corners of Health Insurance - "I Do Fine Without It" from Everynone on Vimeo.


I came across this at Jay Parkinson's site. 

The Web can be a great (and terrible) resource for people dealing with disease

From WebMD to Wikipedia, the web is full of places to get information on disease.  I just came across this one though.  PatientsLikeMe is a community website where you can connect with people working through the disease process.  There is information on symptoms, treatments, and research.

If you or a loved one is struggling to make sense of what is happening with your health, this might be a great tool to receive or share information.  If you're considering posting your health information, though, please be sure to read this.