Obesity and You

American Heart Association cites stress-busting, dog-walking benefits of companion animals

THURSDAY, May 9 (HealthDay News) — That four-legged friend of yours may be more than a companion — he also may be boosting your heart health, experts say.

An official statement released Thursday by the American Heart Association says there is evidence that having a pet, particularly a dog, may lower your risk of heart disease.

EW YORK (AP) — A new study offers more compelling evidence that life expectancy for some U.S. women is actually falling, a disturbing trend that experts can’t explain.

The latest research found that women age 75 and younger are dying at higher rates than previous years in nearly half of the nation’s counties — many of them rural and in the South and West. Curiously, for men, life expectancy has held steady or improved in nearly all counties.

The study is the latest to spot this pattern, especially among disadvantaged white women. Some leading theories blame higher smoking rates, obesity and less education, but several experts said they simply don’t know why.

The vast majority of registered voters in rural California say obesity is a serious problem nationally and in their communities, and many say they wish business, government, community groups and individuals were doing more to fight the problem, according to a new poll released Tuesday [January 22, 2013].

The survey, conducted by Field Research for the Public Health Institute, also found that rural voters from both political parties believe that government programs designed to keep people healthy pay for themselves in the long run.

“California residents want their communities to be places that help them lead healthier lives,” Mary A. Pittman, president and CEO of the Public Health Institute, said in a statement.

During the past 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States. In 2009, only Colorado and the District of Columbia had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Thirty-three states had an obesity rate of 25% or more. The obesity rate in California in 2009 (the latest figure available), was 24.8 %.

Obsesity results from an energy imbalance. This involves eating too many calories and not getting enough physical activity. Maintaining a healthy weight is all about balancing the number of calories you take in with the number you burn off through exercise.

Richmond’s soda tax may have faltered badly on election day, but the idea is now bubbling up in other Bay Area cities and counties.

Officials in San Francisco, Berkeley, Alameda County, Vallejo, El Cerrito and other jurisdictions have discussed, or plan to discuss, placing soda taxes on ballots.

Trash on the street, vacant lots and graffiti not only make a community look ugly, it may also be making residents unhealthy, according to a team of health advocates conducting an obesity study in a northern Vista neighborhood.

The team of volunteers is made up of Vista residents working with the Vista Community Clinic to study the area surrounding Bobier Elementary School. Members of the group presented their findings to the Vista Crime and Substance Abuse Prevention Commission on Thursday [November 8, 2012] evening.

Concerned about the dangers of consistently climbing obesity rates, Los Angeles County officials launched a new public health campaign Thursday to help residents control their portion sizes.

The campaign — Choose Less, Weigh Less — aims to raise awareness about recommended calorie limits and to get residents to consume fewer calories.

Nearly half of Californians will be obese by 2030 if they don’t change their eating habits and start exercising, according to a report released Tuesday [September 18, 2012] that offers a state-by-state analysis of the country’s weighty future.

That would mark a significant increase from the state’s 2011 obesity rate of 23.8 percent but, even with that, California’s ranking as the 46th fattest state in the country is not expected to change.