Lisa Painter

Scaks, F.M., Bray, G.A., Carey, V. J., Smith, S.R., Ryan D.H., Anton, S.D., McManus, K. Champagne, C.M, Bishop, L.M., Laranjo, N,. Leboff, M.S, Rood, J.C., deJonge, L., Greenway, F.L, Loria, C.M., Obarzanek, E, Williamson, D.A. Comparison of Weight-Loss Diets with Different Compositions of Fat, Protein, and Carbohydrates The New England Journal of Medicine, Vol 360, 859-873.

The study randomly assigned 881 overweight adults to 4 different diets for a two year period. It did not compare popular diets but the diets contained healthy fats, high in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and cholesterol. Each study participant decreased 750 calories per day from baseline, exercised 90 minutes per week, maintained food diaries, met counselors and charted progress. There were no winners among the group. The average weight loss was 13 pounds at 6months. With a creep within 2 years with average weight loss of 9 pounds. All diets reduced risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes at 6 months and 2 years.

Share your medical history with family using Google Health

This posting is pulled from an article by Jason Kincaid on "Tech Crunch" http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/04

Google Health was releaseed last May as a way to help individuals securely store their health information. Today, Google announced an exciting new feature which allows users to share their medical records with designated family or close friends.

From the tech crunch article: "The general idea behind the feature is that oftentimes during emergencies family members may not know the details of your medical history, like medical allergies. Such information can be lifesaving, but sharing extremely personal medical information is not something that should be taken lightly. Google is taking lengthy measures to ensure the security of the data, associating invite links to specific Email addresses and allowing users to track who has viewed their records. All shared records are also read-only."

Financial Incentives for Smoking Cessation

Volpp, K. G., Troxel, A. B., Pauly, M. V., Glick, H. A., Puig, A., Asch, D. A., et al. (2009). A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Financial Incentives for Smoking Cessation. N Engl J Med, 360(7), 699-709.

Volpp et al. (2009) compared the effectiveness of providing a financial incentive for smoking cessation with solely providing information about smoking cessation. Potential participants were identified through a survey distributed to employees of a company. Participants were randomized into an information-only and an information plus financial incentive group. All participants received information about local smoking cessation programs and smoking cessation methods (e.g. bupropion) covered by their health insurance. The financial incentive group also received financial incentives for completion of a smoking-cessation program ($100), for smoking cessation within 6 months after study enrollment ($250), and for continued abstinence from smoking for an additional 6 months after smoking cessation ($400). Participants could receive a total of $750. Abstinence from smoking was confirmed using a cotinine test, a biochemical test of saliva or urine samples.

Participants in the financial incentive group had significantly higher rates of smoking cessation than did the information-only group. 9.4% of the financial incentive group abstained from smoking 15 to 18 months after enrollment, compared with only 3.6% of the information-only group. Participants in the financial incentive group were also more likely to enroll and complete a smoking cessation program, and quit smoking within 6 months of enrollment in the study.

It is estimated that smoking costs employers $3400 per year because of decreased productivity, increased absenteeism, and an increased rate of illness. Therefore, this may be cost-effective for employers. However, long-term relapse rates were higher in both groups than that which is reported in the literature. Individuals volunteering to participate in this study may be more driven to quit than the average smoker. Lastly, study participants were mainly white with high income and education levels (i.e. the results may not be generalizable to other populations).