by  James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

The headlines read, “Study shows virginity pledgers as sexually active as peers,” or, “Virginity pledges don’t work.”  OK, I thought, I’m not too keen on public pledges myself.  They were probably done in the emotion and peer pressure of the moment.  I wish all programs would undergo similar scrutiny.

But, then, I read an interview with the study’s author and found ”the rest of the story,” to quote Paul Harvey.  I didn’t take my own advice and believed a headline without reading the details.

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Will this be Dr. H by year's end?

Let’s go over my reasoning.

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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

I am still trying to decide what my New Year’s health resolution will be.  Something I can keep, but have to work and focus on.  A long-term goal with short-term steps and rewards.  I have a few in mind, and thanks for your suggestions Sagan and Judy.

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James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

News flash.  Medicine is not perfect.  A few years ago, I finished my advice to a patient by saying, I might be wrong.  She sarcastically said she was going to go straight home and call her doctor son-in-law to give him the news. “A doctor said he might be wrong. Who knew?”

Reading the recent news about colonoscopies made me think of this.  Why do we need scientific studies to document that therapies work?  Because we can’t rely on our intuitions and preconceived notions.  Every diagnostic test and treatment needs to be scrutinized objectively.  Even the ones we’re sure of.

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by Leigh Ann Hubbard, Managing Editor

Do you tweet?

There’s this cool thing. All the kids are doing it. It’s called Twitter. At first glance, it seems to be about the most inane thing you could possibly do with your time. You log on; a box asks, “What are you doing?” and you get 140 characters to answer. Yep. That’s it.

But, after reading about it seemingly everywhere (like here, here and here), I finally dove in a little over a month ago. I’m officially addicted. And guess what … there are lots of doctors who tweet. What’s more, Dr. Hubbard’s latest blog post can be attributed directly to this silly little site.

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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

Tort reform in Texas has helped ease the doctor shortage there. Since malpractice legislation four years ago, 11,000 new physicians have moved there, whereas, before, physicians had been leaving the state, according to an article from The New Republic.

Before tort reform, Texas ranked 48th in ratio of doctors to residents. Now it ranks somewhere in the 30s. (Thanks to Colorado-based communication and career coach Laura Benjamin for pointing us to the article.)

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Jill Weisenberger M.S., R.D., C.D.E.

I love it when a research study comes out reporting what I’ve been saying for years. And that happened last November in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Wearing a pedometer is associated with some measures of better health, report the authors of the study.

I started wearing a pedometer sporadically before they became popular. And whenever I’m feeling a bit chunky or lazy, I clip it on and dust off my food record. (I have a research study that supports the use of food records too.) Both of these tools remind me that I have goals to eat healthfully and to keep moving. The moving part gets harder and harder as I get busier and busier with work, family and other things that tie me to my car or to my computer. But sometimes the reminder is all that I need.

After leaving it in a drawer for three or four months, I put my pedometer on a couple of weeks ago. I realized that yet again, I had let being busy trick me into thinking that I had been active. I see that many of my patients confuse being busy for being active as well. Wearing the pedometer and frequently looking at the steps accumulated forced me to circle my kitchen and dining room while waiting for the pot on the stove to boil. It would have been easier to just stand in front of the stove. It encouraged me to let the dogs in and out instead of yelling to my daughters, “Will you let Cocoa in please? Please let Nikki out.”

The authors of the JAMA article reviewed 26 published research studies that measured pedometer use among adults. It should be no surprise that the use of a pedometer is associated with significant increases in physical activity and significant decreases in blood pressure and body mass index (BMI).

So if you don’t already have one, get yourself a reliable pedometer. Good ones frequently cost between $20 and $30. If you do have one, it’s time to snap it on.

Happy walking! Or happy biking, skipping, hiking, dancing…

Dr. Montauk is on our editorial board and one of our favorite writers.

To read a great article on her link here.

-Dr. Hubbard

by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

All current medical evidence points to it being unhealthy to inhale secondhand smoke, especially for children. It can lead to respiratory and ear problems to name a few. The more enclosed the space, the worse it can be. Everyone should be aware of this, and take precautions. It is irresponsible to expose children to this.

I hate smoking and being around smoking. I think it is horrible for your health, and a stupid thing to do. But should governments force the issue by making it illegal? (more…)