healthateverysizeandage

[healthateverysizeandage]

Poor Heart Health in Middle Age

Most Americans have hearts in poor health in middle age, especially African American ones according to some new research. In fact, only one person out of every 1,933 study participants evaluated met the American Heart Association's criteria for ideal cardiovascular health. Surprising to researchers since these subjects had volunteered to take part in a study looking into healthy hearts.

You have a healthy heart if you do not smoke, are a healthy weight for your height (a BMI under 25), are physically active on a regular basis and eat a balanced, healthy diet. Beyond this, you need to have three basic traits of heart health - cholesterol under 200, blood pressure no higher than 120/80, and a fasting blood sugar level under 100. All seven constitute "ideal" heart health and were released last year by the AHA as the "Simple 7?.

The subjects evaluated in this latest work were between 45 and 75 years old (mean age 59). Of the total, half were African American, two thirds were female. Most had attended college and earned at least $40,000 a year.

Under 10% of the study subjects met a minimum of 5 of the criteria for a healthy heart. Just 2% behaved in a heart healthy way. What's worse, African American subjects had a 82% lower chance than their white counterparts of meeting five of the healthy heart criteria. More than 80% of the participants were either overweight or obese, and this is likely to have been an important influence on other factors and behaviors. Dangerously high, or elevated cholesterol levels, and elevated or high blood pressure readings were also quite common among the subjects.

The study also found...

- The number of subjects who had five or more heart health components went down significantly as they got older and incomes fell.

- African Americans experienced a much poorer health status in every area of heart health with the exception of total cholesterol numbers.

- Males had a greater chance of being a smoker or former smoker than women did.

- Men also had a greater likelihood of carrying too much weight and suffer from high blood pressure.

- Women ranked below men on being active and their total cholesterol numbers.

- Fewer than 40% of the subjects had at least three of the recommended 5 a day.

It seems that the numbers of people with ideal heart health is very low in a very good size sample of middle-aged people - a snapshot of most adults in the United States. Especially troubling because heart disease is a leading killer the world over. The AHA has set a goal to reduce deaths from heart disease 20% by the year 2020.

In an editorial that accompanies the study, the AHA goal is supported. It suggests medical professionals might need the "moonshot mentality" to get us there in time. At the least we'll need to change how we all think about food, our bodies, and keeping them healthy. Social changes, access to healthcare, changes in our physical environments and public policy are also part of the puzzle when it comes to getting more hearts in better health in middle age.

[healthateverysizeandage]

Don’t let anyone try to tell you that you should be ashamed of your body because you don’t look like their definition of “healthy.”

Health and self-care come from a place of love, not self-loathing.

[healthateverysizeandage]

Finding your thoughts drifting toward food, unprovoked, is a hunger cue.

Feeling your attention drawn toward food around you or in front of you is a hunger cue.

A mild brain fog or trouble focusing is, often, a hunger cue. 

Fatigue is often a hunger cue.

A sense of emptiness high up in your stomach is a hunger cue. 

A feeling of increased acidity or emptiness in the stomach is a hunger cue. 

Increased preoccupation with food is a hunger cue. 

A craving for salt, sweetness, sourness, or brothy-ness is, likely, a hunger cue. 

Eat something when you start to get one of these cues. Don’t wait for a rumbly stomach or lightheadedness. 

What are some other hunger cues you recognize in yourself? 

[healthateverysizeandage]

When I was desperately dieting to lose weight, I had no clue that dieting itself was causing me harm. The first step of intuitive eating is giving up the idea that you could lose weight if only you found the “right” diet. Genetics determine about 85% of what your body looks like, but the diet industry wants to convince you that you could be any size you want if only you tried hard enough. Recognize this lie for what it is. There is SO MUCH scientific evidence reprinted in “Intuitive Eating” showing the physical, psychological, and emotional damage that dieting does. Contrary to what the diet industry wants you to think, giving up dieting is actually the best thing you can do for your health.

[healthateverysizeandage]

Unpopular Opinions

• There are only 2 genders - Male and Female

• Pansexuality is just a fancier name for Bisexuality. Even if you believe that there are more than two genders, there are only two sexes. Bisexuality is the attraction to both the sexes.

• You need dysphoria to be transgender. Being trans is not a choice. It’s a very difficult thing to deal with and by saying it’s a choice you are demeaning the struggles that actual trans people face.

• The Fat Acceptance / Health at Every Size movement is bullshit. It’s absolutely okay to be fat. It’s absolutely not okay to spread misinformation that being fat is healthy or that losing weight is impossible.

• The feminist movement is more of a leftist movement than a movement for women right now.

• Reverse racism isn’t a thing because it’s just called racism. If you dislike or are prejudiced against a person simply due to their skin tone, that’s being racist.

• MOGAI identities and neopronouns are not only silly, they are genuinely harmful to the LGBT community.

• Your race, gender and sexuality are only a minor part of you. They do not make you special. They are not your personality.

• Men face struggles too. Men are more likely to be victims of violent assault and almost never win child custody battles. There are hardly any male only centres for victims of sexual assault. Men do get sexually assaulted a significant amount more than people consider as the definition rape only includes penetration, skewing the statistics. Forced oral sex and the like is not counted, which is why male rape statistics seem so low at first glance.

• Women are not inherently goddesses. Men are not inherently evil.

• There is nothing wrong with being cis, white and male. Not being these things also doesn’t make you a better person.

• Words only have the power you assign to them. It’s silly to be afraid of them, irrespective of their usage in the past. All words have a history. By being afraid of them, you only give them more power and continue to dwell in the past.

• It’s absolutely okay to eat the food of and wear the clothes of other cultures as a means to immerse yourself and learn more. Segregation does no good, it never has.

• Your mental illness doesn’t cure you of your sins. It’s not a get out of jail free card if you were present, aware and in control of what you were doing.

• Your political leaning does not automatically make you a good/bad person. Your actions do.

[healthateverysizeandage]

❌ being shitty to fat ppl because you “care about their health”

👍🏻 recognizing that weight doesn’t necessarily correlate to health - you can be fat & healthy and you can be skinny & unhealthy

🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 understanding that ppl deserve to be treated like human beings regardless of their health and other ppl’s health is literally none of your fucking business