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HEALTHBEAT SHOW NOTES .... Episode #48 - Recorded June 8, 2006

Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of HealthBeat, Chiropractic OnLine Today’s Health, News and informational Podcast.

In this week’s news:  We’ll Look At –

• Insurance Coverage for Mammograms in Jeopardy

• The Rewards of Physical Activity

• Heart Rate Guidelines for Adults and Children

• Blood pressure in teens predicts hypertension

• EU tightens regulations on food labeling

• And Finally, Health Corner looks at the recent Insurance Reform in the state of Massachusetts

For HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow.

Welcome to HealthBeat Podcast #48, recorded June 9, 2006.  HealthBeat is Chiropractic OnLine Today’s radio program, providing current news and commentary about Chiropractic and Health.

This week’s Episode is sponsored by DaVinci Laboratories.  Please surf to our web site at ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the DaVinci link for your Health and Nutritional needs.

If you are interested in creating personalized Healthbeat podcasts for your office or website, to help attract new patients, please surf to our web site and send us an Email ….

…. or Skype us by typing in “healthbeat”, all in small letters.

Finally, Chiropractic OnLine Today has always provided our news and education content for free and plan on continuing this policy.  However, we do request that if you are enjoying these podcasts, that you surf to ChiropracticRadio.com and consider clicking on our PayPal link to make a donation to keep these Podcasts airing.  We thank everyone for their continued support.

And Now for some news ....

Insurance Coverage for Mammograms in Jeopardy

As HealthBeat has previously reported, Senate Bill 1955 was recently defeated.  Had it passed, not only would Chiropractic services have been in jeopardy for future insurance reimbursement, but also common preventative measures that are currently reimbursed.

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services women aged 50-69 should undergo a routine screening for breast cancer every 1-2 years. This recommendation varies slightly from that of the American College of Physicians (ACP) who recommends screening mammography every 2 years for women aged 50-74 and recommends against mammograms for women under 50 or over 75 years. Both groups agree screening should include, as a minimum, mammography with the preferred method utilizing both mammography and annual clinical breast examination (CBE).

According to the report of the International Workshop on Screening for Breast Cancer published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute the use of mammograms for breast cancer screening had an effectiveness of 88%, which is 25% greater than a clinical breast examination (63%) alone.

To be sure, the various small business interests will come back at some future point in time and try to legislate these necessary healthcare procedures out of reimbursement.  Spreading awareness is the responsibility of all health and fitness practitioners.

The Rewards of Physical Activity

An extensive review of studies and reports identifying the benefits of exercise and the risks of inactivity was published in a March issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal and found irrefutable evidence of the effectiveness of physical activity.

The study’s author saw marked improvement in health profiles or health benefits in individuals who were previously sedentary who engage upon a physically active lifestyle. The research review goes on to site numerous positive health claims associated with regular participation in physical including, but not limited to, a lowered risk of chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and various types of cancers, most specifically breast and colon cancers.

The take home message from this review is that all individuals, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, etc. need to get active and stay active. Healthy lifestyle behaviors formed early in life tend to lead to healthier, more active lifestyles for the older adult population. In addition, the review linked physical activity with reduced stress, anxiety and depression, as well as weight loss, improved cholesterol and blood glucose levels, and lower blood pressure.

For more information, surf to the April 2006 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal - http://www.cmaj.ca/

Heart Rate Guidelines for Adults and Children

Heart rate is a useful tool to predict fitness level and quantify physical effort. Based on the linear relationship between heart rate and the measurement of oxygen, referred to as the VO2 measurement, heart rate can be used as an effective gauge to guide exercise intensity. Heart rate training intensities can be used to establish training zones to improve cardiorespiratory fitness.

If you are a health practitioner who recommends or prescribes exercise therapy for your patients, please be aware of new research into helping patients determine their Maximum Heart Rate, also referred to as MHR.

According to the National Council on Strength and Fitness, the usual formula for determining MHR has some inherent errors for individuals under 20 year old and persons over 60 year old.  They report that research from Tanaka, Monahan, and Seals have found that the usual formula of 220-Age overestimates maximal heart rate in younger people and underestimates it in older people.

The study is available for review online.  Surf to our show notes for a link to this 2001 study - http://content.onlinejacc.org/cgi/reprint/37/1/153?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&author1=Tanaka&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=HWCIT

Blood pressure in teens predicts hypertension

Adolescents with blood pressure in the pre-hypertension range are at increased risk for developing full-blown hypertension within two years, according to a new report, presented during the May 2006 annual meeting of the American Society of Hypertension.

The current study involved an analysis of data for 8533 adolescents entered in the National Childhood Blood Pressure database. The subjects had blood pressure measurements taken on two occasions, two years apart.

The results of the study indicate that children with high blood pressure readings are at increased risk for hypertension.  This age group is a good entry point for preventive interventions known to have a beneficial effect, such as weight reduction, physical activity, and dietary changes.

Surf to our Show Notes for a link to this article - http://heart.healthcentersonline.com/newsstories/bloodpressureinteenspredictshypertension.cfm?general=nl_heart

EU tightens regulations on food labeling

According to the May 27^th edition of the British Medical Journal, the European Union has approved two pieces of legislation that set new standards for the claims that food manufacturers make about their products.

The first is designed to combat false or misleading terms such as “fat free,” “high fibre,” or “low alcohol” on the labels of a host of everyday products. The second introduces new rules on the addition of vitamins and minerals to foods.

The food labeling measures, which were overwhelmingly approved by the European parliament on May 16 by 614 votes to eight with 16 abstentions, will be phased in over the next three years and have been warmly welcomed by consumer groups.

Markos Kyprianou, the EU’s health and consumer protection commissioner, predicted they would “guarantee truthful and science backed information for European consumers.”

For more information surf to our Show Notes for a link to this article - http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/short/332/7552/1233-b?etoc

As always, please surf to our Podcast Show Notes at ChiropractiRadio.com for a full listing of web references mentioned in today’s show.

And remember - COT’s Healthbeat always recommends discussing any nutritional or exercise lifestyle modifications with a qualified healthcare professional.

Health Corner –In this edition of HealthBeat’s Health Corner, we present an interview from the New England Journal of Medicine, discussing the recent Massachusetts health care reform bill.

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Finally, I leave you with the following quote:

"No man can discover his own talents." 
- Brendan Francis

For Chiropractic OnLine Today’s HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow.

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