Get Healthy

(Photograph by Jodi Davis.)

Even at the early age of 10, Jodi Davis knew she was overweight. Her family members were all thin, except for one aunt, who would be the person Jodi long blamed for her weight issues. The verbal jabs from Jodi’s grandfather regarding her weight didn’t help, either. “I ended up eating more to try to ease my pain,” she says.

Throughout her teen years, Jodi continued to gain weight, despite repeated attempts at several diets. Later, she married and had three kids. Being a stay-at-home mom took a toll on her waistline. Every night, after the kids went to bed, Jodi felt the need to treat herself to something indulgent and would take to snacking, particularly enjoying chips and dip.
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Increased levels of obesity and increased levels of heart disease: is there a connection? While it may seem a natural connection to make, it is more complex than a simple concept of weight-goes-up/heart-gets-stressed. According to cardiologists, there is a little more to the cause and effect.

There has been an increase in obesity from 25 to 33 percent over the last few decades, according to Dr. Sandhya Donepudi, MD, FACC, an interventional cardiologist at St. Margaret Mercy hospital in Hammond. A full third of us are officially obese. And it appears that health factors accompanying such obesity are responsible for the heart disease rates that are also rising.
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“Obesity is an epidemic in America,” says Lorri Field, registered nurse and cofounder of Healthy 4 Life, a new program helping to shape the lives of Northwest Indiana residents that suffer from the harrowing effects of the disease. Approximately 27.5 percent of Indiana’s population is obese, ranking it 11th overall among all states.

“Due to fast food intake, environmental conditions, and cultural habits of Indiana, the state has a challenge ahead of itself in the war against the obesity,” adds Christine Stanish, culinary specialist and administrative director for the program. At Healthy 4 Life, located at Methodist Hospital in Merrillville, Indiana, a dynamic team of specialists designs comprehensive programs tailored to the needs of every client.

Some clients may be candidates for Lap-Band, or the more invasive gastric bypass surgery. All clients are given a path to a healthier and happier life through realistic goal setting, emotional support and motivation, nutritional education, and fitness integration.
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Halloween is a day that kids look forward to all year long. It’s great fun to dress up like your favorite superhero or princess and dig into mountains of sweets. There are, however, things that can spoil the fun—a tummy ache from overdoing the chocolate bars, an injury from navigating sidewalks in the dark, the sniffles after not bundling up if it’s rainy and cold. Remember to stay safe and consume the goodies in moderation and it should be another memorable evening of ghoulish fun.

Trick or treating

Going from home to home on a candy quest is part of the celebration for many kids. If your children will be trick-or-treating there are safety guidelines that should be followed. Lt. Richard Hoyda of the Hammond Police Department mentions three important rules:
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Most people are familiar with weight loss (bariatric) surgery for adults.

These procedures (mainly gastric bypass and gastric banding) are becoming increasingly more common in very obese older adolescents, though they comprise less than 1 percent of these surgeries overall. A bypass procedure creates a small pouch for a new stomach, rendering the larger, original stomach nonfunctional.

With the band procedure, a band is placed laparoscopically and is adjustable so that the size of the functioning stomach can be made larger or smaller.
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Being fat in middle age may slash women’s chances of making it to their golden years in good health by almost 80 percent, a new study says. American researchers observed more than 17,000 female nurses with an average age of 50 in the U.S. All of the women were healthy when the study began in 1976. Researchers then monitored the women’s weight, along with other health changes, every two years until 2000.

For every one-point increase in their Body Mass Index, women had a 12 percent lower chance of surviving to age 70 in good health when compared to thin women. Researchers defined “healthy survival” as not only being free of chronic disease, but having enough mental and physical ability to perform daily tasks like grocery shopping, vacuuming or walking up a flight of stairs.

Experts consider people with a BMI between 19-25 to be healthy, while those from 25 to 30 are considered overweight and those over 30 are obese.
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Being fat could become the leading cause of cancer in women in Western countries in the coming years, European researchers said last Thursday.

Being overweight or obese accounts for up to 8 percent of cancers in Europe. Experts said that figure is poised to increase substantially as the obesity epidemic continues, and as major causes of cancer, such as smoking and hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women, drop dramatically.

“Obesity is catching up at a rate that makes it possible it could become the biggest attributable cause of cancer in women within the next decade,” said Andrew Renehan, a cancer expert at the University of Manchester. Renehan presented his findings to a joint meeting of the European Cancer Organisation and the European Society for Medical Oncology in Berlin on Thursday.
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New Lenox resident creates a plan that works for her needs

Diagnosed with a brain tumor, Dawn Perucca was off her feet for two-and-a-half months. Add to that lack of activity, the steroids she was prescribed for swelling around her left eye made her ravenously hungry. After a biopsy showed that the tumor was noncancerous, Perucca still had to deal with weight gain and body aches.

“I was desperate to learn how I could be lean and feel good again,” said Perucca, who grew up in Crown Point and now lives in New Lenox, Ill. “I didn’t want to ever feel helpless again and so I knew I needed to get into shape.”

Perucca had tried many weight loss strategies in the past but none had worked.
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Less invasive hip surgery leads to more motion, 100-pound weight loss

On any given weekday, Adam Slivka can be found coaching Pop Warner football kids—including his son, Austin—behind Lowell Middle School.

The hard-working, 37-year-old Lowell resident is grateful that he is no longer recognized from afar by his pronounced limp and bulk.

For years, the 315-pound husband and father dragged himself from bed after midnight to begin his job at 2 a.m. at Frito-Lay Co. The field marketing manager worked nights so he could be home after school for Austin, 12, and Ashlynn, 10, while wife Amy was at work.

Admittedly obese and suffering painful premature onset arthritis in his hip, Slivka struggled to maintain his family-focused lifestyle. Though he promised his dying father four years ago that he would lose weight—125 pounds—the pounds kept returning. The pain in his hip became unbearable.
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With back-to-school season on its way, you may be squeezing in a last-minute vacation in the next couple of weeks. And to ensure you don’t squeeze into your clothes upon your return, there are some things to keep in mind while on vacay. Self editor Luzy Danziger offers some simple tips on how to stay healthy and still have fun on your holiday. Read the list here.