Posts Tagged ‘North Dakota’

Omdahl: Weighing obesity problem – In

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  Lloyd Omdahl

By a scant 2 pounds, I have slipped inadvertently into the “fat” category as defined by the body mass index. That makes me partly responsible for the 80 percent increase in the number of fat and obese people in North Dakota over the past 15 years.

Some folks are fat because they don’t have the spunk to fight their ancestral genes; others are fat because they were raised on french fries and carbohydrates; still others are fat because they stopped working and kept eating. Regardless of the alibi, fat creates all kinds of public problems.

Treating obese patients is terribly expensive. I heard that an obese person with appendicitis made it necessary for the Williston hospital to call a fracking engineer from the oil field to help find the inflamed organ. Do you have any idea what a fracking engineer costs?

At the Fargo airport, an obese gentleman had to go through the body scanner twice to get total body coverage.

In a fit of mindless courage, Mayor Mike Bloomberg announced that New York was taking charge of the fat problem by banning soda (pop) sales of more than 16 ounces to kids. Of course, the guzzlers and their mothers protested.

“It’s nobody’s business if we let our kids get fat,” they protested.

Well, that’s not quite true.

First of all, Gallup found that a disproportionate number of less-educated, low-income folks are obese. Carbohydrates are the cheapest food around, so they eat what they can afford. Obesity makes them vulnerable to a variety of illnesses and chronic diseases. Unfortunately, these are the same folks who have no medical insurance.

That means their obesity illnesses end up as charity cases in hospitals, or on the welfare program called Medicaid, or left unpaid in emergency rooms. Since there is no obesity fairy, health care providers have to jack up the charges on all of the other paying customers to cover the losses.

So if one person’s behavior imposes a cost on another person’s wallet, it can’t be said that obesity is nobody’s business. It sure is the business of the person with the wallet.

Bloomberg may think that soda (pop) should be restricted, especially for kids, but he is not conversant with America’s experience with prohibition. Within days of the ban, blind pigs run by 12-year-olds would be operating behind Ben Franklin Elementary, pushing 32-ounce jugs of Coke, Mountain Dew, Pepsi and the like.

The first rule of economics is that people respond to incentives, so maybe we should start there.

Folks who are now fattening up on carbohydrates should be encouraged to divert their tastes to fruits and vegetables. Since North Dakota’s fruit-raising is limited, we should get back to gardening vegetables.

In World War II, everyone was encouraged to raise a “victory” garden. We ran Hitler down a hole with carrots, beets and cabbage. If victory gardens could win the war against fascism, it could win the war against fat.

As an incentive for reluctant gardeners, we should include home-grown vegetables in the next farm bill. After all, farmers are being paid to raise food, so why shouldn’t townspeople be subsidized to raise vegetables? We may have to offer larger subsidies for those vegetables with the fewest calories, e.g. kohlrabi, radishes and lettuce. Nothing for watermelon and potatoes.

We should be forewarned that there are people making big money on obesity. These powerful interest groups will oppose change. They will fight back because they think their bottom lines are more important than all other bottoms around.

Omdahl is a former North Dakota lieutenant governor and a retired University of North Dakota political science teacher. Email ndmatters@q.com

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Article source: http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/369086/group/Opinion/

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Dallas Cosmetic Symposium Emphasizes Role of Fat in Cosmetic Surgery

Rod J. Rohrich, MD

Fat has a growing role in body contouring through fat transfer, especially to the buttock and breast areas. It also has a role in facial rejuvenation when injected into the deep malar compartments of the face.

Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) April 26, 2012

Many of the industry’s best-of-the-best plastic surgery faculty convened last month to discuss new techniques and aesthetics in plastic surgery in Dallas during the 15th annual Dallas Cosmetic Surgery Symposium. Most symposium sessions addressed controversies and advances in breast augmentation, body contouring and advanced facial rejuvenation. Dallas plastic surgeons Dr. Rod J. Rohrich and Dr. Jeffrey M. Kenkel co-chaired the event.

“The hottest topics at the symposium can be summed up in one word: fat,” said Dr. Rohrich, chair of the Department of Plastic Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center and editor-in-chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. “Fat has a growing role in body contouring through fat transfer, especially to the buttock and breast areas. It also has a role in facial rejuvenation when injected into the deep malar compartments of the face.”

Malar fat resides under the eyes and in the cheek areas of everyone’s face. As we age, these fat compartments decrease and cause the sunken look we associate with aging. According to Dr. Rohrich, the use of fat to augment face and body contouring results in more natural looking facelifts than previous methods, which often resulted in an unnatural windswept look.

Along with the technical ability of plastic surgeons to produce more refined results comes the need to fine tune analysis of what is aesthetically pleasing. Dr. Rohrich pointed to one lecture in particular at the symposium that he believes stood out among the rest: a presentation by Dr. Constantino Mendieta on buttock analysis, anatomy and the role of aesthetic shaping of the body. “Dr. Mendieta gave us an unparalleled new and innovative way to look at body contouring aesthetics through anatomy,” said Dr. Rohrich.

Other sessions addressed new procedures and technologies, as well as the safe use of fat transfer in breast augmentation as part of the solution for breast asymmetry and breast reconstruction. According to Dr. Rohrich, the symposium offered many practical ideas and easy-to-apply techniques plastic surgeons can put to use immediately in their cosmetic surgery practices. “The symposium offered unprecedented opportunities to perform live demonstrations and dissections, giving doctors hands-on experience with new techniques.” said Dr. Rohrich.

Next year’s Dallas Cosmetic Surgery Symposium, which will take place in March, 2013, is expected to cover further refinements and advances in cosmetic surgery, including both breast augmentation and body contouring.

About Rod J. Rohrich, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Dr. Rod J. Rohrich holds the Betty and Warren Woodward Chair in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. He also holds the UT Southwestern Medical Center Crystal Charity Ball Distinguished Chair in Plastic Surgery. He is a graduate of the Baylor College of Medicine with high honors, with residencies at the University of Michigan Medical Center and fellowships at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard (hand/microsurgery) and Oxford University (pediatric plastic surgery). He has served as president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. He repeatedly has been selected by his peers as one of America’s best doctors, and twice has received one of his profession’s highest honors, the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes his contributions to education in his field. Dr. Rohrich participates in and has led numerous associations and councils for the advancement of plastic and reconstructive surgery. He is a native of North Dakota. He is married to Dr. Diane Gibby, also a plastic surgeon. They live in Dallas, Texas with their two children.

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Article source: http://www.prweb.com/releases/dallas-cosmetic-symposium/2012/prweb9445329.htm

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Virginia Gets A Big Fat ‘F’ In Corruption-Risk Assessment

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A new report suggests Virginia is at high risk for government corruption.

Virginia received an “F” in the State Integrity Investigation released Monday, ranking it 47th among all states.

The project assessed government accountability and efforts to deter corruption and self-dealing. The nonpartisan Center for Public Integrity, Public Radio International and the nonprofit group Global Integrity conducted the assessment over several months.

Virginia scored “A” grades for internal auditing and procurement. It received failing grades for the accountability of each of the three government branches, public access to information, political financing, lobbying disclosure, ethics enforcement and state budget processes.

North Dakota, Michigan, South Carolina, Maine, Wyoming, South Dakota and Georgia also received “F” grades. Five states received a “B.” No state got an “A.”

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Article source: http://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/03/19/virginia-gets-a-big-fat-f-in-corruption-risk-assessment/

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