Well, it’s finally happened. As Jay Leno so aptly joked about, we humans have finally found a way to avoid being scanned by even Superman! Radiologists around the country are reporting that they are seeing increasing cases of obese Americans who are not getting the medial attention they need because they are either too fat to fit into the scanners or their fat is too dense to allow the X-Rays or sound waves to pass through.

Wow - we’ve got a problem here!

Radiologists claim that body images are limited by “Body Habitus” a term coined to describe the problem. Over the last 15 years the number of such cases has doubled.

“It is a major issue because … the patient may still have a tumor, the patient may have appendicitis, the patient may have other inflammatory processes. In an obese person, because the ultrasound beam does not get to the organs or get to them adequately enough, we cannot get a picture. It looks like a snowstorm — I don’t know if you have seen those televisions where it is just whiteout? It looks like that.” says Dr. Raul Uppot, a radiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Of course this is great news for medical equipment manufacturers, who are now making special MRI machines with larger-bore holes and higher Tesla strength (read: better fat penetration) for obese and claustrophobic patients.

“For the patient, not knowing what is going on is a big issue. If you tell a patient ‘I am sorry — we just can’t sit you on our CT scanner,’ that is devastating to hear.”

-Via CNN Health

BBC also reports that the problem is spreading in the U.K. too. Already hospital beds are being strengthened to accept heavier patients and airlines around the world are being designed to carry heavier passengers (I can already see one immediate effect - the weight limit for luggage is being reduced and I am guessing that is to compensate for the increased weight of the travellers!)

Let’s do a favor to the world in general (and radiologists in particular) - let’s keep our sizes in check so we atleast fit in MRI machines.

Technorati Tags: health, fitness

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Is this you?

1. You can’t resist reaching for a toffee everytime you walk by the dreaded candy-dish corridor at work.
2. You havebeen caught more than once with your hands (literally) in the cookie jar.
3. Your idea of a balanced meal is equal amounts of chocolate in one hand and cake in the other.

If so, then take heart, because a new study at Cornell University, led by Brian Wansink, director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab, shows that you are more likely to eat fruit than those who prefer salty snacks.

The researchers analyzed self-reported eating habits of more than 14,000 Americans contained in U.S. Department of Agriculture surveys and also analysed the results of a snack consumption survey of 405 individuals. While the USDA data suggested the link between sugary snacks and fruit, unfortunately, the survey of individuals showed the reverse is also true: fruit lovers eat more sweets than vegetable lovers!

Wansink said parents and public health officials could use this information to encourage the phase-in of more fruits among kids and other people with a sweet tooth.

-Via WashingtonPost

Tips to tackle the sweet tooth:

While it’s not easy to eliminate man’s dependence on sugar (you do know why we crave sugar, right?) there are ways to reduce that dependence and our key ally in this is the use of fruit (which was the reason we got into the sugar craves in the first place!). Here are some easy tips:

1. Top your oatmeal or other cereals with blueberries or sliced strawberries instead of spoonfuls of sugar.
2. Try bananas and berries in your milkshake instead of sugar.
3. Can’t go without dessert? Experiment with sliced bananas, apples and blueberries in lowfat vanilla yogurt and top it off with your favorite nuts like almonds or walnuts. (close your eyes and you’ll almost believe it’s Haagen Dazs!)

Also try other ideas of your own. There is a two-fold advantage to this: of course, you are reducing your sugar-dependence, but more importantly you are increasing your intake of fresh fruits which are excellent sources of vitamins, minerals and fiber.

Technorati Tags: health, fitness, nutrition, sugar control, fruits

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