Overweight? Swine Flu May Be More Serious
Losing weight and keeping it off is even more important during this flu season. Hospitals and government agencies are reporting that excess weight is a risk factor for complications from H1N1. At one Michigan hospital, 9 out of 10 of the swine flu victims in the intensive care unit were overweight.
You can get a vaccination against the flu, although of course that doesn't give you immunity for at least two weeks, and only partial immunity for some people. As you probably know, the success of the flu shot depends on scientists predicting and matching the flu strains that will develop during the next flu season and creating a vaccine that can overcome those flu strains.
Sometimes, a new strain appears unexpectedly, as it did with H1N1, and that season's flu shot doesn't cover it. What happens then? Well, more people are unprotected - even those who were vaccinated. More people get the flu and pass it on to other people. This is what's happening right now with H1N1. And until the H1N1 flu shot is available, no one is protected from it.
But even if you do get the shot, and not all people do, some because of religious or philosophical reasons and some because they believe in alternative treatments, there's no guarantee that you won't get the flu while you're waiting for your immune system to kick in. Plus, why not give your immune system all the help it can get by eating right and getting down to the right weight for you?
Do it now, because the longer you wait, the harder it is to change your habits. But even if you're middle-aged or older, permanent weight loss can be achieved with simple, easy changes to your diet and small exercise efforts. You don't need a personal chef or a gym membership to get healthy and tone up.
With flu season just around the corner or here in some places, it makes sense to do anything you can to avoid it or keep it from causing serious harm - or even death - if you do develop it. One way to do that is by reducing your risk factors for getting flu and its complications, both seasonal and H1N1.
posted by Bradley47 at
4:17 PM
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