Cindy Frazier, a patient suffering from the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, has been an avid cyclist for some time, noticing that biking helped her symptoms. Her family, also cyclists, decided to start a ride to raise money for Parkinson’s research. They worked with Jay Alberts, PhD, Biomedical Engineering, who has done research on the benefits of cycling on Parkinson’s to start the Allgood Cycle for Parkinson's Criteruim, now in its third year. Read about the event in The Gwinnett Daily Post.
Recently I recieved request to start "talking about whom you are going to vote for and why....with FACTS." Well, as some of you might know, I am voting for Barack Obama on 11/4/2008. There are far too many reasons to list in one post, so I will give the reasons here and there over the comming weeks. One of the main reasons is Obama's Pro-Active stance on Healthcare. Get it pro active; not just reactionary and seditary?
Cleveland Clinic’s Obesity Summit is going on this week, addressing the problems the obesity epidemic causes for healthcare. A representative for presidential candidate Barack Obama spoke about his policy to fix the obesity problem in America. WKYC-TV 3 provided coverage.
Obesity is a major public health problem. Approximately two-thirds of the US population is overweight (ie, BMI > 25) and nearly half of those are obese(ie, BMI > 30). The increase in obesity is linked to a corresponding increase in obesity comorbidities, including type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, stroke, asthma, sleep apnea, liver and gallbladder disease, depression, low back pain, urinary incontinence, and several forms of cancer (eg, breast, prostate, colon). Obese individuals have a 50% to 100% increased risk of death from all causes when compared with normal-weight individuals.
Cleveland Clinic also sponsors Cleveland Clinic Bikes which is an "Employee Wellness initiative to provide resources for our employees that commute by bicycle, participate in biking events, or just like to ride with the family on weekends."
After I had a routine physical 5 years ago when the doctor told me that I should shed a few pounds, I've begun to take my health seriously. After a loss of 30 lbs (from 172-174 down to 141-143 at 5'7"), I feel 5-10 years younger. I have mentioned many times the benefits of cycling as part of a healthy lifestyle http://cyclonecross.blogspot.com/search?q=health I've given excerpts below of some of the information that the preceeding link return.
According to an article on Bicycle Retailer & Industry News, “If he were elected president he would increase funding for cycling and pedestrian projects.”In response to last week’s photo of Obama cycling, the presidential hopeful jokingly admitted, “He looked like Urkel.”Read the whole article here.
While the whole article is a must read, I think the following sums it up very well:
Stan Day, SRAM’s president, said that Obama “gets it.” He pointed out that Obama understands that bicycles can be part of a solution to issues as diverse as health care, obesity, energy and environmental policy. “He does his homework and he can connect the dots,” he said.
Benjacat's post on Freedom Machines. In addition to infrastructure costs there are dozens of increased costs incured by American society due to the automobile. One of which is the increased cost of health care for the obese and sedentary;
Another poach from the Benjacat Blog I think the culture he refers to is more widespread than it should be; I have witnessed it firsthand. Bicycles are seen as toys while cars are seen as a part of growing up. Well America is definitely growing and not in a good way. Just do a Google search for "Fat Americans". I'll even make it really easy, just click the link so you don't need exercise your fingers. ;) I especially like the Wired article that turned up in the over 50,000 results.
How about it, what are your thoughts on this issue?
Sure, it’s ruining the global economy and making everyone miserable, but there’s an underappreciated upside to the high price of oil.
The mass transit boom
Lower obesity rates
Fewer accidents
Shorter commutes
The biofuels craze
For #3 the following stats were offered: "For instance, North Carolina saw just five traffic fatalities over Memorial Day weekend, down from 19 in 2007. Ohio experienced its lowest number of accidents in 38 years, and other states reported similar declines."
I think the top four reasons definitely have merit, particularly the health aspects related to fewer accidents and lower obesity rates. However, I am unsure about the current 'biofuels craze'. I am for renewable energy, if done properly, but I worry about the amount of energy used to create biofuels compared to the energy created by using those fuels.
According to an article on Bicycle Retailer & Industry News, “If he were elected president he would increase funding for cycling and pedestrian projects.”In response to last week’s photo of Obama cycling, the presidential hopeful jokingly admitted, “He looked like Urkel.”Read the whole article here.
