The Cost of Keeping an NFL Player Healthy and Fit

The National Football League has locked out some 1,700 players. And now those athletes are responsible for some job-related costs that used to be picked up, at least in part, by the league and their teams — including, as the Washington Post reports, their health and fitness expenses.

Those can be substantial. Health-insurance coverage under COBRA will run about $2,400 a month for a family, the former senior director of benefits for the now-dissolved player’s union tells the WP. (Injuries will be covered by worker’s compensation.)

But then there are the expenses that most of us don’t incur in the course of doing our jobs. “Healthy players will have to pay for their massages, acupuncture services, chiropractic treatment, personal training, fitness classes and an assortment of vitamins and supplements,” the WP says, which can bring monthly health and fitness costs to north of $6,000.

Of course,? the average NFL player is doing pretty well for himself. The league minimum salary was $320,000 in 2010, and these stats show that the average salary in 2009-10 ranged from about $1.4 million for a Kansas City Chief to $2.4 million for a New York Giant. And players are paid their salaries during the season, which means this year’s paycheck won’t be in jeopardy unless the labor conflict drags on.

But players are missing off-season payments such as workout bonuses or mini-camp stipends, the WP says. And so for minimum-salary players, there may be at least a temporary cash-flow pinch caused by higher health costs, the paper says.

Photo: Getty Images

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Diabetes Group Urges Surgery as Treatment Option

 Group Urges Surgery as Treatment Option for Diabetes

Bariatric surgery should be considered as a treatment for diabetes, according to new recommendations issued by the International Diabetes Federation.

The guidance echoes the clinical guidelines of the American Diabetes Association, which also state that weight loss surgery for very overweight diabetics should be considered as an option if other treatments fail.

The IDF’s stance represents a “radical departure” for the group compared to its previous guidelines and goes beyond the ADA’s recommendations to suggest that surgery could be considered as an option even for moderately overweight diabetics who are just 25 to 40 pounds overweight, according to Philip Schauer, a bariatric surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic and a panel member.

The recommendations also reflect the broader, gradual shift among many in the field that current medical treatments for diabetes — such as pills and insulin shots — don’t work for everyone, and for many patients, the benefits of bariatric surgery appear to outweigh the risk, says Schauer.

Not everyone agrees, however, that the research evidence is compelling. The amount of data on moderately overweight patients is limited, though a number of clinical trials are currently being conducted, says Schauer.

Especially with young people or less obese individuals, the long-term consequences of bariatric surgery need to be studied, says Sue Kirkman, an endocrinologist who works for the American Diabetes Association.

There are some concerns in the long run about calcium and other vitamin deficiencies, and some evidence of bone disease, according to Kirkman, who wasn’t involved with the IDF’s recommendations.

But there is more and more accumulated evidence about the efficacy of bariatric surgery in treating diabetes, including in teenagers.

“I think in general the field is evolving more and more toward seeing it [surgery] as a viable or reasonable treatment,” said Kirkman. “In the past it was kind of seen as the last-ditch treatment.” View the original article here

Have you heard of the personal successes being achieved by Xyngular's family and friends, who suffer from Diabetes?   Find out here.

J&J Recall Watch: 360,000 surgical wound drainers

Johnson & Johnson announced another recall today, this time pulling about 360,000 products sold in the U.S. for use draining surgical wounds, Dow Jones Newswires reports.

J&J’s Ethicon unit, which makes the Blake Silicone Drains, J-VAC reservoirs and other withdrawn products, says it hasn’t received any reports of side effects. The company said it decided to recall the devices after customers complained the sterile packaging could be compromised.

The company blamed the problem on an unidentified contract manufacturer. Here’s the company’s letter to patients.  We’ve been keeping tabs on J&J’s string of recalls, which cost it about $900 million in sales last year. Here’s a running list:

J&J’s Animas unit recalled earlier this month more than 384,000 insulin-pump cartridges in the U.S. and France, saying they have the potential to leak and give a too-low dose, as Dow Jones Newswires reported.As Dow Jones Newswires reported recently, J&J?s Ethicon unit issued a late-December alert in the U.K. that it was recalling about 585,000 surgical sutures. The sutures were mostly sold in Europe.In late February, J&J recalled more than 667,000 Sudafed packages at the wholesale level after a typo on the packaging (“do not not divide, crush, chew, or dissolve the tablet”) was discovered.?

Customers don’t need to return the products, which have the correct wording on the blister packs that hold the tablets. No adverse events have been reported as a result of the typo, J&J says.Earlier in February, J&J said it was pulling at least 395 injection pens preloaded with rheumatoid-arthritis drug Simponi because they may not deliver a full dose of the drug. Days before, Dow Jones Newswires reported that the company’s Ethicon unit recently recalled 700,000 vials of a liquid wound sealant and also a hernia-treatment product.

Earlier that week, J&J said it was recalling 70,000 syringes preloaded with its Invega injectable anti-psychotic drug because cracks have been found in the syringes that could theoretically lead to infections or under-dosing in users.

In January J&J said it would pull 43 million bottles of certain Tylenol, Benadryl, Sinutab and Sudafed products because they were made at the company’s Ft. Washington, Pa., plant at a time when equipment may not have been properly cleaned.
Photo: Associated Press
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Can Teens' Weight Loss Surgery Weaken Bones?

Kathleen Doheny, reporter for the HealthDay News, reported on MONDAY, March 28 that according to a new study,  teens who undergo gastric bypass weight loss surgery can expect to have a decline in bone mass, just as adults do.

The study reported that according to Dr. Anne-Marie Kaulfers, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of South Alabama,  “two years after the surgery, the bone mineral content of the 61 obese teens studied had declined, on average, by 7.4 percent.”

"At the moment, I do not think there is cause for alarm," Kaulfers said of the study findings. That's because the teens, who averaged 17 years old, still had bone mass within the normal range, she said. They had started with above-average bone mass for their age and gender.

The findings are reported online March 28 in the journal Pediatrics.

Kaulfers and her colleagues decided to study the teens because a loss of bone mineral content during adolescence, when they should be approaching peak bone mass, could potentially compromise future bone health.

Studies of adults have also found that their bone mass declines after the surgery.  Get the full story here.

Can these people lose the weight without expensive surgeries even if they are not active? 

Have you heard of the personal successes being achieved by Xyngular's family and friends?  Find out here.

Xyngular Corporate Meeting

I invite you to Join Xyngular Co-Founder Marc Schenkel and other

Xyngular supper stars for an exciting Events in a City near you, This Week! You may get more information here.

Cost: Free with Free Parking! Free Product Samples for ALL Guests!

Come enjoy an eye opening experience as they share Xyngular's

excellent, powerful opportunity and fantastic products that you

now want and need. See where and when the 
Other events are happening here.

Toronto's Top Personal Trainer Top 5 Travel Fitness Mistakes Cure

Toronto's Top Personal Trainer has a cure for travel mistakes you would probably do when you are engaged in a work out program.

Just wanted to take a moment to reach out to you since you may be travelling as well, and share with you what I feel are the top 5 fitness mistakes most people make when away from home.  My hope is that, by sharing with you some of the biggest pitfalls of travel fitness, I’ll be empowering you to take steps to prevent these from sabotaging your program.  If any of this sounds familiar, don’t sweat it!  Adapt and overcome.  In any situation you can either do the right thing, the wrong thing (in which case you learn), or worse, nothing.  Take action, and before long, you’ll be an even better travel fitness machine!!!

Here are the top 5 mistakes:

1) Not having a firm intention – To ensure your trip is a fitness success, the first thing you must do is have a clear intention for how you will manage your time away.  Personally, every time I travel I leave with the intention of coming back in even better shape.  That sets the tone for the entire trip, in terms of my actions.  The problem, most people start with shaky intention of trying to maintain their fitness, or worse, they have no intention at all.  That’s when you can really get yourself in trouble.

2) Failing to plan ahead – Planning ahead is one of key habits of fit travelers.  It starts by knowing what kind of facilities your hotel has, and continues with knowing what sort of meal options are also in the area.  Call in advance, find out what’s available.  Where facilities are minimal you can plan to bring some fitness tubing or do bodyweight exercises in your room.  You should also bring plenty of healthy snacks, such as meal-replacement shakes and bars to make sure you’ll always have a supportive meal option.  Get the full article here:  PersonalTrainer

Nuns Ask McDonald’s To Examine Response to Childhood Obesity

A group of Philadelphia nuns wants McDonald’s to examine its own “policy response” to obesity and other diet-related diseases in kids.

That’s the McNugget unearthed by footnoted.com from the fast food company’s preliminary proxy statement. Proposal No. 11 is offered by the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, leading a coalition of other orders and Catholic institutions. (The Sisters of St. Francis own at least $2,000 of McDonald’s common stock, according to the proposal.)

The proposed resolution:

“WHEREAS, the contribution of the fast food industry to the global epidemic of childhood obesity and to diet-related diseases, such as diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease, have become a major public issue …”

(Then the proposal lists a mess of statistics about childhood obesity and food marketing to children, as well as a list of actions by other groups, including the Happy Meal crackdowns in northern California.)

“RESOLVED: Shareholders ask the Board of Directors to issue a report, at reasonable expense and excluding proprietary information, within six months of the 2011 annual meeting, assessing the company’s policy responses to public concerns regarding linkages of fast food to childhood obesity, diet-related diseases and other impacts on children’s health. Such report should include an assessment of the potential impacts of public concerns and evolving public policy on the company’s finances and operations.”

Footnoted.com says that McDonald’s eventual response will likely include “lots of facts and figures, [and] will also suggest that shareholders vote against the company having to issue such a report.” Look for that in a future filing.

Photo: Associated Press

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Almost 5% of Americans Report Falling Asleep at the Wheel

Sleep in a bed, not while you’re driving.
The next time you’re angered by the sight of a driver speeding down the highway while talking on his cell phone, just think: it could be worse. He could be sleeping.
Stats out from the CDC today show that 4.7% of Americans surveyed reported having nodded off or fully conked out while driving during the previous 30 days. The survey, conducted in 2009, covered 74,571 adults in 12 representative states.

Almost 38% reported unintentionally falling asleep during at least one day in the previous 30. (As the report dryly points out, this can “result in … dismissal for workers,” among other problems.)
The survey also found that 35% of respondents reported getting an average of less than seven hours of sleep within a 24-hour period, which the CDC says represents an increase. The National Sleep Foundation recommends between seven and nine hours per night.

Sleeping less than that has been associated with obesity and other health problems, including early death. The CDC also crunched data from a separate government study, which found a slightly larger percentage of adults reporting sleeping less than seven hours a night (37%). It also asked people about perceived sleep-related difficulties such as not being able to concentrate and found a wider prevalence of those troubles among people sleeping less than seven hours.

But really, rather than freaking out that you’re going to die sooner if you don’t get your eight hours, you should be paying attention to how you feel on different amounts of sleep, advise physician Susan Love and psychologist Alice Domar in their book “Live a Little: Breaking the Rules Won’t Break Your Health.” How much sleep you need will likely change over your lifetime. And, they write:

You’re the only person who knows what it’s like to inhabit your body. If you’ve always needed 10 hours of sleep and feel terrible without it, use that information. Don’t stumble around exhausted and miserable because a study tells you that eight hours is best. Conversely, if you feel great on six hours of sleep, go for it.

Image: iStockphoto
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Incidentally, many people around the world are turning to natural, safe products that energize and boost teir energy level up without any side effects. Just wholesome, healthy supplement that promotes alertness and a general happy mood while curbing appetite and giving you energy?

A.M. Vitals: FDA Orders About 500 Unapproved Cold Drugs Off the Market

Off the Shelf: Continuing its crackdown on unapproved drugs, the FDA ordered about 500 cough, cold and allergy remedies off the market, the WSJ reports. None of the drugs are top-sellers. The agency says it has received few complaints about side effects but that it is concerned about overdoses if products intended to be time-released instead deliver the entire dose of the active ingredient at once, the paper says.



Who’s Minding Grandma?: One in 20 nursing-home employees has at least one criminal conviction, and 92% of facilities employ at least one person with such a conviction, the New York Times reports. That’s the word from HHS’s inspector general, who used FBI records to check on the names of 35,000 nursing-home workers. There’s no federal law requiring a criminal background check for potential employees, while state policies vary.
Image: iStockphoto

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