More US employees dieting for dollars

 By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer Mike Stobbe, Ap Medical Writer

ATLANTA – How much money would it take to get you to lose some serious weight? $100? $500?

Many employers are betting they can find your price. At least a third of U.S. companies offer financial incentives, or are planning to introduce them, to get their employees to lose weight or get healthier in other ways.

“There’s been an explosion of interest in this,” said Dr. Kevin Volpp, director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Health Incentives.

Take OhioHealth, a hospital chain whose workforce is mostly overweight. The company last year embarked on a program that paid employees to wear pedometers and get paid for walking. The more they walk, the more they win — up to $500 a year.

Anecdotal success stories are everywhere. Half of the 9,000 employees at the chain’s five main hospitals signed up, more than $377,000 in rewards have already been paid out, and many workers tell of weight loss and a sudden need for slimmer clothes.

But does will this kind of effort really put a permanent dent in American’s seemingly intractable obesity problem? Not likely. [Read more...]

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Beware of the enemy within — diabetes

One-third of diabetics don’t know that they have the condition. How can you avoid being one of them? Check out this video!

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The Coffee Connoisseur’s Question

By Lori Drummond, RD, LD
President of Good Health Consulting LLC

I’m often asked if coffee is harmful or good for you. From my recent survey of some the latest research, coffee isn’t as harmful as once thought and can actually have some healthful benefits.

I’ve been a coffee drinker since my early 20s. I’ve typically enjoyed one or two cups a day with an occasional cup in the afternoon or evening for a pick-me-up. You coffee connoisseurs know what I’m talking about.

There have also been seasons where I stopped drinking coffee and decided to drink only herbal teas in order to reap their benefit. The point was to give my body a break from the caffeine. I have not discerned any noticeable difference in my level alertness or general health, however. I’m sure some would beg to differ.

Coffee has been found to have the B-vitamin niacin, magnesium, and is a rich source of antioxidants. (Manach, et al 2004) It is well known that antioxidants fight the harmful effects of free radicals and the cell damage they cause.

In a study by Dogasaki et al (2002), they found that brewed coffee possessed antibacterial activities exhibited by certain acids such as caffeic acid, and chlorogenic acid. In a recent meta-analysis regarding coffee consumption and risk of coronary heart disease, the researchers concluded that their findings did not support the hypothesis that drinking coffee increases the long-term risk of heart disease.

They also found that coffee consumption in moderation was associated with lower risk of coronary heart disease in women. (Jiang-nan, et al 2009). [Read more...]

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