Dr. Deb

Well I got a girl named Boney Maroni
& She’s as Skinny as a Stick of Macaroni!

Hard to believe but that was the song that my Dad sang to me when I was a child. That quickly changed with puberty and estrogen transformed my body from straight to curvy then quite round. Common wisdom at the time was starvation diets from the Scarsdale to fasting liquid protein. Those helped me to lose weight quickly, only to pack it back on plus more until I ballooned to over 200 lbs.

We’ve learned a lot about healthy ways to lose weight but our society has abandoned many healthy habits that kept us thin to begin with. More than 30% of children in the United States are now overweight or obese.

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“Spring Break 85’..We’re just here to have fun.” That was our motto and fun we had, spending most of our time frying on the beach. Sure I hit the tanning bed before I left so I wouldn’t burn, but burn I did. The tops of my hands blistered, yet I stayed out in the sun. Now I have freckles and scars on the tops of my hands to remind me of my youthful transgression but younger people are still not getting the message of the real dangers of tanning.

We now know that excess UV radiation causes wrinkles and skin cancer yet 30 million Americans visit tanning salons each year. Many will become extreme tanorexics or tan addicts. Paleness or a fading tan becomes the obsession. I recently witnessed this when I went to a salon and saw a very tan girl checking in. She said to the receptionist, “I wish that I could stop but I have a date this weekend so I have to tan.” Her whole psyche revolved around her tan. Some studies have shown that 26-53% of beach goers have a tanning dependency.

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Alright, everyone in the car!” This is my daily battle cry. Unfortunately, many days there are too many battles (“No, I don’t know where your soccer ball is!  Did you forget your saxophone? What is that car funk smell? What do you mean, you don’t have shoes on?”) and way too much crying before we ever get out the driveway. Many of us feel stress, but how much of our stress is felt by our children?

A recent American Psychological Association survey of

1,568 adults aged 18+  and for the first time included 1,206 young people aged 8-17 years,

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These days it seems that everyone needs something to suck on. Our children wander with a sippy cup or pacifier in mouth while their parents always have a latte or diet coke in hand. Yes, sucking and chewing does increase endorphins, perhaps as effectively as Prozac, but there are many down sides to the constant flow of chemicals on our teeth and into our bodies.

Many people are afraid the dentist will find cavities but now dental erosion is one of the most common chronic dental diseases in children and prevalent in many adults. The acidic chemicals in juices and pop can permanently dissolve tooth enamel. Most parents haven’t even heard of dental erosion. (more…)

Today at football practice we learned that one of the teenage boys that coach my boys’ 5th grade team tested positive for novel H1N1 swine flu. We heard so much about swine flu, but it puts things in a different perspective when the boy passing the football with my son less than 48 hours ago is now in isolation at the  hospital.

What does this mean for him, my sons and their teammates?

The first is don’t panic! We’ve heard so much from the media but the reality is this strain of virus is typically mild and will resolve on its own. The seasonal flu still kills 30,000 people a year but most of those are elderly. Novel H1N1 swine flu has killed younger people but only 477 total deaths as of the latest account. Click for latest statistics.

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