Lifestyle Improvement Reduces Heart Attack Risk

No S*** Sherlock!

So here's yet another article on health related issues, found in The Times today. Ok so it's not an ante or postnatal exercise issue, but it amazes me how much money is spent on research that always tells us the same thing. The fact that most cases of CHD, diabetes, etc comes from not taking enough exercise and eating too much of the wrong stuff. Did you see the programme last night about Barry the Brummie, Britains fattest man? He's been made a celebrity by the media because of his size and he's now trying to lose weight. He's decided to eat healthier but spent £360 on 'healthier food' for a fortnight! Some sort of portion control would be in order I imagine!

Rather than keep telling us what we all know, wouldn't the money be better spent on educating people about the benefits of regular exercise and good nutrition? No one needs to be a saint, and we can all eat chocolate and chips now and again, just not all the time. I speak regularly with health visitors and midwives who tell me about 4 year olds still being fed baby food because their mothers have no idea how to cook a potato or veg. How can this be happening in 21st century Britain?

Anyway rant over. Here's the article, and I've put the important bit in bold.

DNA test to identify those twice as likely to have an early heart attack - Times Mark Henderson reports that an Icelandic company is developing a test that determines whether people have an inherited vulnerability to heart attacks. They are able to develop such a test following the discovery of a genetic variant that can double the risk of heart attack at an early age. Once the test has been perfected it will allow doctors to advise patients with a high genetic vulnerability to change their lifestyle or, if necessary, take cholesterol-lowering drugs. Tim Chico, of the University of Sheffield, said: "We must not forget that 90% of the risk of a heart attack comes from things like smoking, cholesterol, diet, lack of exercise and diabetes. Whatever our genetic makeup, we can all reduce our chance of heart disease by improving our lifestyle."

Healthy Regards