Doctors Communication Style Matters for Weight Loss

A study from Duke University showed that the manner in which Doctors communicated with patients, regarding their weight loss, impacted their success -- it is better to be Dr. Mark Green than Dr. Greg House, when broaching the subject of weight.

The study is published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Researchers recorded the conversations between 40 primary care physicians, and 461 of their overweight or obese patients, over an 18-month period. Investigators were tracking how much time was spent and, specifically, how doctors talked with their patients about diet, exercise and weight loss. (The doctors were not told what the researchers were looking for).

Doctors discussed weight with patients in 69% of cases. Doctors spent an average of 3.5 minutes discussing diet and weight issues -- about 15% of the visit.There was little difference between patients who were counselled vs. those who were not, in terms of weight loss.When researchers accounted for the doctor's communication style, however, they found a statistically significant difference between communication styles.Patients whose doctors talked about diet and weight loss in a more motivational fashion, using predominantly reflective or empathic statements, were much more likely to lose weight, compared to those whose physicians used a more judgmental or confrontational style of communication.Patients whose physicians communicated well lost about 3.5 pounds three months after the visit.Excellent study: first of its kind to examine specifically Physicians' communication style, and its affect on patients' weight loss.Possible study flaws: communication styles aren't always directly definable and hence there is room for interpretation. Another potential flaw is that Doctors were recorded. While they didn't know why, it may cause them to be more vigilant in addressing issues thoroughly.Physicians are an important cog in the wheel of overall health. They are the front-line practitioners and as such, they can have enormous influence on the success of patients' efforts to lose weight and improve health.Counselling training would certainly help physicians communicate effectively and "get through" to their patients. At the same time, doctors tend not to have much in the way of formal education in nutrition, exercise science and specifics of how to lose fat. You have to know the right information before you learn how to deliver it.

In the end, I think the patient is best served by a physician who is both empathetic, but also honest and to the point. I also think that in addition to counsellor training and more extensive education in nutrition, MD's should work closely with other health professionals, who specialize in fat loss and nutrition.

Image Credit #1: Playtime Magazine
Image Credit #2: Actuzap

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Hey Man, Do You Work in a Restaurant?

A funny thing happened to me a while ago. For some reason it just now dawned on me to blog about. Sorry, I'm slow.

At the time, I had switched Yoga studios. I like a vigorous practice and my old studio cut back on classes. Now, as luck would have it, my new studio is two doors down from a farmers market, which is win-win for me.

So I was shopping there every week, and typically I bought a lot of fruits and vegetables, especially fresh greens, like broccoli and spinach. I'm mostly vegetarian, so I plow through a lot of vegetation every week.

I was standing in line that day waiting to pay and when it was my turn, the cashier, who I see every week and never makes small talk, asked me, "Do you work in a restaurant? Because you always buy a lot of stuff."

Now, I'm a social misfit, so I just smirked. I guess a short Italian guy buying huge bunches of produce every week does look like a restaurant owner, especially in New Jersey, the land of delis.

I told her no, and explained that I eat a vegetable-based diet and that I don't eat meat. She wanted to know if I was a vegetarian. I said, "Kind of." And told her my diet is mostly fruits and vegetables and the only animal I eat is fish.

The cashier seemed to get it, but not really. She's Mexican, so she was probably thinking, "Stupid gringo is missing out on good tacos and burritos."

She might be right, but I admit, one little dude buying that much fruits and vegetables each week is unusual. She must have thought I was some sort of human-cow hybrid. And in her mind it might be easier just to eat some carne asada every once and a while.

Trust me, I understand that. I'm 100% Italian, my family is over-the-boat Italian - NOT guido Italian - and so they still look at me funny when I don't eat meatballs or cheese.

So, if you're veg too, has anything like this ever happened to you? Do you go grocery shopping and get mistaken for a sous-chef?

Image credit: No Cookie

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Tote Bag : DEAR LORD, IF YOU CAN'T MAKE ME SKINNY, PLEASE MAKE MY FRIENDS FAT!

BAGEDGE TOTE BAG : 8 oz. 100% cotton canvas; self-fabric handles; 15" x 14 1/2" x 1"

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The Naked Truth About The hCg Diet

The definitive hCg diet guide book for those wanting to do the hCg diet right! More natural ways to cut cravings and deal with hunger the first few days. Comes in a convenient MP3 download and with over 15 bonus items to make the hCg diet a breeze!

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How to Keep Weight Loss Simple [Forum]

When trying to lose weight having goals will help you achieve great results. How much do you want to lose each week? Areas to improve your diet? Exercise? These goals should be set each week.

I have lost 20lb & my husband has lost 43lbs. Having too many goals will just confuse you.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

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Link Time! Bacon Facts, Food War Prodigy, Diet Hand Gel, and More

Did you know that babies born to women who ate a lot of bacon while pregnant are more intelligent?

I didn't, along with these other amazing facts about bacon. This creative info-graphic points out 10 interesting facts concerning this "miracle meat". I guess I won't feel guilty anymore about wanting to try the Baconator from Wendy's... Well, until someone publishes the 10 Ways Bacon Kills Us of course.

If you don't eat bacon because of the way pigs are farmed, then you'll be a fan of Birke Baehr who is an eleven year old that can sum up what's wrong with America's food supply in 5 minutes.

He's a very bright kid and is real passionate about the subject. It's nice to see a kid take an active role in trying to influence his peers for the better and causing people to think about how our food is being produced.

On another note, we get product emails pitched at us all the time here at Diet-blog and most usually end up in the trash folder, however, there are a few that make me go, Huh? Like this new Diet Hand Gel that you simply use like hand lotion between meals to curb your appetite.

This green tea based product is said to absorb through the skin, reducing cravings between meals. I wonder if it just smells so bad that when you put your hand close to your nose to snack on something it makes you lose your appetite? Hmmm.

Lastly, this week I stumbled on a great site that has animated demonstrations for just about every stretch and strength training exercise imaginable. If you're looking for new exercises to spice up your workout or need some lessons on proper form without the expense of a personal trainer, check out ABC-of-Fitness.com.

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Womens T-Shirt : DEAR LORD, IF YOU CAN'T MAKE ME SKINNY, PLEASE MAKE MY FRIENDS FAT!

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S-XXL (KELLY) : ANVIL BASIC COTTON T-SHIRT : 100% preshrunk heavyweight cotton; double-needle stitching throughout; seamless rib at neck; shoulder-to-shoulder tape; 5/8" rib collar; fitted tapered sleeve

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Link Time! Gluten-Free, Eating Cake, Nasal Sanitizer, and more

I'm not sure how any of us survived so long eating all that gluten and dairy, but by the thousands people are switching to a gluten-free and a dairy-free lifestyle for many reasons.

Fortunately, award winning french chef, Alain Braux, just released a new book, Living Gluten and Dairy-Free with French Gourmet Food. If you want or need to be gluten and dairy-free but want to do it gourmet and deliciously, this book is a must have.

While you're baking all Chef Braux's delicious gluten free french cakes, you can look no further than to The Have Your Cake and Eat it Diet. Developed by Personal Trainer, Charli Cohen, this plan attacks the Fad Diet mentality and teaches dieters to change their lifestyle, which includes still enjoying the foods they love. Her plan seems very effective and sensible. Who doesn't love Cake!?!

The Flu Season has begun and if you remember, just over 12 years ago hand sanitizer gel made its surge into the marketplace encouraging people to apply the alcohol based gel often to kill germs when washing hands isn't convenient. Well, 2010 brings us NOZIN, the nasal sanitizer.

It's the same basic concept, but this alcohol based product is swabbed up the nose to kill those nasty bugs before they can replicate out of control. NOZIN is available in most major pharmacies and would be great for use during air travel or in other crowded conditions as sneeze particles can travel more than 30 feet (10 meters).

While we're on the health subject, did you know that 12 million Americans alone suffer from incontinence which can be an extremely uncomfortable and embarrassing situation. New research from The University of Alabama shows that women who drink a lot of caffeine are 70% more likely to develop a leaky bladder. Some women may want to cut back on the coffee.

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Vegetarian Diet Info

Diet And Weight Loss Advice For Vegetarians.

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Maintaining Weight Loss After Illness [Forum]

Hi there,

I have an unusual question. I used to be very overweight, with a BMI of 28. Earlier this year, I began losing weight very rapidly and by April was diagnosed with cancer.

By late May, my weight had plummeted to what is perfect for my height and has stayed there. Now that I am in remission, I want to maintain this new weight. However, I know that most people gain weight back after huge weight loss and, in any case, I didn't 'earn' my weight loss.

I am very motivated to stay at this new weight, partly because I never want to be so sick again in my life, and being overweight is a risk factor for cancer. Also because when I was very ill, I kept my spirits up by looking at fashion websites, at all the clothes I could wear once I got better. I am keeping a food journal and am eating the right amount of calories for my age (42), level of activity and height. I have also started walking for an hour a day and, when I am in better health, intend to join a gym and take classes.

I've also got rid of my old clothes and taken pleasure in buying new clothes that fit perfectly. It was hugely expensive, so if I gain weight again, I will be up for big clothes bills.

But already I am coming up against problems. Mostly other people - somebody always seems to be offering cake or alcohol and they seem offended if I refuse. A few people have even said I need 'feeding up' even though my weight is clinically perfect for my height and body. I think they're shocked at how much weight I've lost and think that if I went back to looking like I did before, somehow it would mean I was back to normal. Then there are people who seem to actively want me to be fat again. One friend, who is more than obese herself, hovers over me practically chanting that weight lost always comes back. My partner, who is overweight himself, loves his food and is always bringing chocolate and other snacks into the house. We've even had fights about it - he says he understands, but then brings me home some chocolates.

Also, I've lost a huge amount of muscle mass because of my illness. Should I expect to put on some weight as I do more exercise, as muscle returns, or is all weight gain likely to be fat?

Has anybody got any advice for me? I feel like the only good thing about enduring that horrible illness was the weight loss and I want to keep it. I couldn't stand it if I got fat again, on top of everything else - but how do I cope with friends and family who want to push food on me? And do I need to know anything about altered metabolism etc etc?

Thanks for all advice,

Alexie

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Mothers Underestimate Influence On Their Kids' Weight

A survey of 1,037 women has uncovered a knowledge gap when it comes to certain weight issues - including their influence on their children's weight.

Here are some of the findings of the survey - conducted by HealthyWomen.

Not surprisingly, most respondents know that obesity leads to an increased risk for health problems, such as high blood pressure (93%), type 2 diabetes (89%), and heart disease (88%).Less than one-third of the women, however, know that obesity is associated with increased risk of colon cancer (26%), gallstones (30%), and breast cancer (23%).While 87% of women believe a parent's obesity affects a child's risk of becoming obese, only 28% assign that responsibility to themselves.Only 11% of respondents know that a child's risk of becoming obese more than doubles if the mother is obese during her first trimester of pregnancy.

Elizabeth Battaglino Cahill, Executive Director of HealthyWomen says this:

From an early age, children tend to eat the same foods as their parents, especially mothers, so exposure to nutritious foods like fruits and vegetables is not only setting a good example, but also positioning your child on a lifelong course of good health. Source

Education is central to change, but knowledge is only power if you choose to use it. To be sure, prevention of childhood obesity and healthy children begins at home - with BOTH parents (if there are 2 parents involved).

It goes without saying that mom and dad need to change their ways to become the healthy role-models for children.

While growing healthy habits in children starts at home, it would be folly to put 100% of the responsibility on parents. I firmly believe in the idea that it takes a village to raise a child, and in this case to raise a healthy, active child. The culture and environment children are exposed to nowadays may be one that sets them up for failure. Change needs to take place in communities, schools and various levels of government, especially for higher risk children.

Battaglino Cahill sums it up nicely when she says;

Empowering and educating women is the best way we know to break the cycle of obesity and promote healthy habits for the life of any woman and her loved ones.

Image credit: mikebaird

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Poll: Are Girl Scouts Killing Us With Cookies?

Girls Scout Cookies are such an iconic American tradition and a multimillion dollar stream of revenue for the organization's fund raising efforts.

If you were around back in the early 90's you may remember the reports of people finding all kinds of weird things baked into their Girl Scout Cookies causing some recalls and lawsuits if I remember correctly. In fact, I found a staple baked into one of my Thin Mints, but I just spit it out and didn't sue.

It turns out that Girl Scout Cookies were hiding an even bigger killer all along and most people ate boxes of them with reckless abandon not realizing the damage these little sweet wonders were doing.

Girl Scout Cookies were loaded with trans fat and preservatives. Now to the Girl Scout's credit, they adjusted their recipes somewhat after the use of trans fat was legislated against, but the cookies still contain hidden levels of the dangerous fat as well as HFC's, white flour, and partially hydrogenated oils.

Dr. Andrew Siegel has started a campaign to persuade Girl Scouts of America to begin selling healthy cookies to the American public. He's asking people to stop buying the cookies, but to instead donate that money to the Girl Scouts directly in order to send them a message that we no longer want their deadly cookies. Below is a video from Dr. Siegel.

What are your thoughts concerning Girl Scout Cookies? Participate in the poll and comments below.

How many boxes of Girl Scout Cookies will you buy during their annual sale?

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Small Tips For Losing Weight? [Forum]

I know that it's through exercise and diet, but I don't know where to start. I'm 5'1 and 140 lbs. Please help me.

I love sweets, junk food and soda. I know it's a lethal combination. Please give me small tips that I can work on. I'm not in a rush to lose weight I think I'd be happy if I lose my first 5 pounds.

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Not Losing Weight: What Can I Do? [Forum]

hi,
I am 35yrs old,mother of two,weighing 83kgs,height-5'6",my problem is that ,i've been jogging for 30mins & doing yoga for 45mins & eating less calories,drinking at least 16 glasses of warm water since one month,though there is visible loss in inches but my weight loss is only 1kg,which is very disappointing,what should I do to lose weight?I have to lose at least 15kgs to reach to my ideal weight.I have hypothyroidism.Please help.

kash..

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Some Obese People Don't See Themselves as Fat

Many obese people don't see themselves as fat and in fact, they think they're healthy - or so says a new study.

Talk about being a "glass is half full" type of person. I wish I was like that!

The problem is this positive attitude doesn't dispel the fact that obese people are at a heightened risk of death, i.e. heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, etc.

Published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, scientists gauged body awareness of 2,056 men and women already participating in a study, surveying the individuals on their body perception.

Researchers asked participants to look at pictures and choose their ideal body size. People who picked figures that were the same or larger than their actual body size were classified as "misperceiving" their body size, but these people were also more likely to be happier.

However, worry warts who acknowledge they're fat and out of shape tend to be less happy. I'm willing to guess that only exacerbates the problem. For you Shaun of the Dead fans, that means "to make things worse."

Important factors were considered. Scientists found people with higher incomes and better education were no more likely to perceive their body weight accurately, than less educated people, or those with lower incomes.

And here's the problem with that. Those who misperceived their size, saw their health risks as the same as people who more accurately identified their body size; which is a problem. Obese people are at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, type-2 diabetes, hypertension, and the list goes on and on.

All this reminds me of the scene in Four Weddings and a Funeral - no I don't like girly movies, I saw it in a film class in college - where the overweight, smoking, drinking, jovial guy drops dead from a heart attack after boozing, eating, and dancing at the wedding reception.

I think this is a personality thing. If you're happy go lucky and have a fun social network, you spend less time being introspective and worrying about all the nitty-gritty. I'm a miserable, cynical, depressed mess, so I spend a ton of time worrying about my health, but one of my happier and - as coincidence may have it - overweight friends enjoys life more and doesn't sweat the small stuff. Well, the not so small stuff.

Image credit: The Sneeze

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Top 10 Weight Loss Myths [Forum]

Myth 1 - Starving makes you lose weight fast

Myth 2 - Low carbohydrate diets make you lose weight quickly.

Myth 3 - Eating sugar free or fat free foods will promote weight loss.

Myth 4 - Wearing rubber or plastic based belly wraps will help burn fat.

Myth 5- Salads are healthy so I can eat all the salad I want.

Myth 6 - Working out allows you to eat whatever you want.

Myth 7 - Juice diets help you to burn fat.

Myth 8 - Magic weight loss pills allow you to lose weight while not dieting or exercising.

Myth 9 - Exercising for hours a day is good for losing weight.

Myth 10 - Sit ups are the best way to lose belly fat.

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What Are Your Family Food Staples?

Ever wonder what the staple foods are in another person's diet?

Here in the UK we have Gillian McKeith's TV show, "You Are What You Eat", and while I certainly don't agree with many of Gillian's concepts, I love how she delves into the eating habits of those families, laying it out for the whole nation to see.

It certainly makes interesting viewing, if nothing else.

In less dramatic fashion, Walletpop recently asked dietitians and nutritionists what food stocked their pantries and refrigerators.

Here are some of their choices:

OatmealFruits and vegetablesBeansAvocadoWild salmonNutsEggsCottage cheeseGrass-fed beefHummus

Nothing very strange or startling there perhaps, but interesting nonetheless.

Some of my weekly food staples include oatmeal, natural yogurt, lentils, spinach and coffee (oh, and a little chocolate!).

What about you -- what foods are the major staples in your diet on a daily/weekly basis?

Image credit: delazon

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