Just Another Day at the Office

It's pretty late in the evening, and I'm wrapping things up with my last client of the evening. I'm the only personal trainer on site at the moment that I know of, and so the personal training studio should be completely empty. Nobody's allowed in there without a trainer, so we should have the place to ourselves to finish our last exercise: 3 sets of bicep curls.

We walk up to the door, I open it, and there directly in front of me stands a half-naked lady in a bikini and high heels, with a 600 pound slab of muscle who I assume was her husband sitting on a bench nearby.

Me: "Uhhh, are ya'll ok if we come in here real quick?"

Husband: "Yeah man, come on in. We're just working our way through some poses real quick."

My client and I quickly grab the dumbbells we need, and silently perform our first set with our faces towards the corner. We must've looked like rabbis at the Wailing Wall.

That's when the lady started to practice walking down a catwalk.

Yep. We left.

I left my phone in there by accident while they were still 'practicing' though. So, I asked one of the female staff to go in there and get it for me. Apparently, this kind of thing must happen pretty often while I'm not there, because she didn't even seemed shocked.

She grabbed my phone, and the guy told her he didn't know why we left, as he told us it was okay for us to be in there (even though THEY WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE THERE).

Most awkward session ever.

Do these kinds of things happen at a normal gym?

Eating Disorder Complications

In case you wanted to know exactly WHY eating disorders are dangerous, here's a few reasons:

• cardiac arrhytmias
• chronic renal failure intense enough to require dialysis
• low blood pressure (you'll feel dizzy, lightheaded, and weak)
• sudden death
• mitral valve prolapse
• electrolyte abnormalities
• intestinal dysmotility (say goodbye to pooping)
• esophagitis
• esophageal rupture (that's your throat)
• Barrett's esophagus
• gastric dialatation requiring stomach pumping
• dehydration 
• GI bleeding
• GI cramping
• cathartic colon necessitating colonic resection (surgery to remove part of your intestines)
• high cortisol levels
• partial neurogenic diabetes insipidus
• hypoglycemia (you'll feel like crap)
• increased bone fracture risk
• osteopenia
• infertility
• babies born with mothers with eating disorders are at increased risk of low APGAR scores, poor weight gain, and at an increased risk of low birth weight
• higher rates of miscarriage
• higher rates of postpartum depression
• potential obstetric complications (your baby could die)
• balding (this can be permanent)
• dry skin
• brittle nails
• developing peach fuzz over your entire body
• calluses, abrasions, and bruising of the hand
• facial purpura
• subconjunctival hemorrhages
• dental damage
• bone marrow necrosis
• increased risk of bacterial infections

Eating disorders are dangerous!

Why People Develop Eating Disorders

Let's start with some statistics.

• 1 in 4 out of every girl on college campuses has an eating disorder
• 85% of eating disorders develop during adolesence
• An eating disorder WILL kill you (if left unchecked)

When it comes to essentially every eating disorder out there, with the exception of binge-eating disorder, which I think is something entirely different, I think that you can really narrow down the root cause to one simple reason: a desire to be viewed as worthwhile. 

Think about it. This is something that all of us have programmed within us. We all want to be somebody. We all want to know that our existence is not meaningless, that people like us, that we're fun to be around. And when we don't feel these things, then we become willing to turn to drastic measures. We all want to measure up. 

However, sometimes people get their idea of self-worth from things that have no shred of truth in them whatsoever. If I'm beautiful, then people will like me. If people think I'm attractive, then I'll be worth their while. I'll be a somebody. 

Where do these ideas stem from though?

Here's an interesting fact for you. Industrialized nations have a much higher rate of eating disorders than less-developed nations. What does this mean? This means that the United States, Italy, France, the U.K. etc, are going to have a much higher rate of eating disorders than nations such as Nepal, Sudan, or Afghanistan ever will. 

But wait a minute, you say. Isn't that a false analogy? I mean some of those people don't even have enough food to eat. Of course they won't be able to develop an eating disorder.

Here's a study for you. 

On the island of Fiji, a nation that you could consider underdeveloped, but where people still have plenty of food, a study was performed.

Western media, mainly in the form of TV shows, which were previously unheard of to the country were introduced. Unfortunately, after a period of time, eating disorders, which were also previously unheard of to the country, began to spread like wildfire. Here's a cool summary of the study.

We are influenced by our environment more than we like to give it credit for. The media is a perfect example of this. We are way more influenced by the media than we would ever think, and a strong media presence has been tied to the development of eating disorders. A history of sexual/physical abuse, critical parents, or harsh comments being made by people in regards to weight are also risk factors for developing an eating disorder, but overall, I think that the media can be traced back to a lot of the cases that we are seeing in the States today.

I think that this is why more industrialized nations have a higher rate of eating disorders than under-developed nations. We have a stronger media presence. We have more free time, greater access to media, and people are actually able to find jobs within media that don't exist in developing countries. 

Society elevates people that it deems as attractive, and the media is full of these people. When these 'role models' (I use the term loosely) are constantly infiltrating peoples' lives, they become something that people aspire to be. And when people cannot attain these lofty standards, depression sets in, and they become susceptible to doing something drastic. Adolescents in particular are extremely susceptible to this influence. 

Now am I saying that ESPN, the radio, and just TV in general are evil? Absolutely not. I love TV. I watch it all the time. What I am saying though is that we do need to monitor our thought processes, as well as what we are filling our minds with. 

So, how can you avoid watching somebody you love end up suffering from this debilitating condition? 

First, watch your mouth. Don't say something stupidly hateful. It's okay to be concerned about somebody's weight, and to let them know that. Doctors do it all the time, and I sincerely think that sometimes saying something about this can be an act of love. Obesity kills too. 

However, be sensitive. Offer support. Don't just tell them that they're getting 'kind of chunky', or something flammable like that. Sometimes words aren't even necessary. Set a positive example for health, and your friends/kids will follow. Good health habits are contagious. 

Second, sound parenting. Don't put your child down. Ever. Be the biggest source of encouragement that they have in their lives. 

And lastly, make sure your kids know that their worth is not dependent on their looks. 

Eating disorders often develop when these factors are missing from peoples' lives. Be a source of encouragement. Be a leader. Exercise wisdom, love, and truth. It's only when we do these things that we will see a decline in the number of cases nationwide.

Exploring Obesity and Waterfalls

Summer classes are almost over! And so, as I grit my way through the last part of my obesity and eating disorders class, tackling group projects with team members currently living in Germany (email tag. I love it.), and reading just about every diabetes paper I can get my hands on, I prepare for the next big fall semester.

What else has been going on?

Welp, other than writing papers on population obesity prevention, we've been spending the past few weekends exploring a pretty sweet waterfall in the local area.

The rocks to the right look little, but they're easily 20 something feet tall. Supposedly there's an underwater cave to the left side of the falls that will pop you up behind the falls. We tried to find it, but a combination of super deep/ice cold/dark water, and just being chickens kept us from further exploring what we thought was it (about 15 something feet down).

Other than that, I've just been working for the hospital and obesity clinic lately. My personal training clients keep suffering from weird incidents like bodywide sepsis, and detached retinas (not from me, I promise!), so client volume is a little down this month, but it'll pick back up. I have faith!

Until then, I guess I'll just keep exploring waterfalls.

Dear Morgan and Braedon,

I caught these 2 dinos, and well...

Cause mischief and trouble

Is all that they do

I was at a loss

So I sent them to you

They decide to play music

Late into the night

And whenever I see them

They'll run out of sight

They tip over trash cans

And hide my car keys

Fly behind my ear

And proceed to sneeze

They mess with my phone

Without my ok

I finally caught them

Just yesterday

Messing in the fruit basket

Mushing all my bananers

Please Morgan and Braedon

Teach them some manners.

Conversation Over

Personal trainer: "Are you diabetic?

Client: "No. I'm just fat."

Ebola Virus Outbreak

Personally, when it comes to epidemiology, I'm more interested in chronic conditions. Curing diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and so on tend to hold my attention a little better than acute conditions.

That being said though, viruses, parasites, and bacteria can be pretty interesting to study as well. Why? They tend to be a little bit more frightening.

For example, did you know that the world's largest outbreak of ebola virus in human history is going on right now in Western Africa? That stuff is scary.

Ebola is extremely contagious, and has the capacity to kill approximately 90% of those infected with it. Patients experience excruciating pain as the virus slowly shuts down their organs, and causes them to bleed all over. I mean ALL over. Google "ebola" and you'll see images of people bleeding from their eyes, arms, mouth, etc. It's not something that you want to catch. The virus typically starts with somebody handling a gorilla, monkey, chimp, bat, or other animal carcass. After that, it spreads through human-to-human contact with the infected.

There's been 518 confirmed deaths at the moment due to the virus, and over 840 cases of infection as of today. This is the stuff where if you catch it, people in white biohazard suits show up at your house. Even the medical personnel have started to contract the disease.

Like I said before, this stuff is scary.

 And speaking of eyes bleeding, here's a little video for you to check out: