Wellbeing

One step at a time

Lawyers Weekly — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 05:51:00 GMT

What's the easiest way to get fit? The question most frequently asked of fitness professionals has a very easy answer: there is no easy way. Sorry. Quick fixes and extreme diets are temporary at best, and can be dangerous. Honest and consistent effort over time is the only way to get and stay fit. For those who enjoy their daily run or cycle class, this is easy, but they're not the ones asking the question, are they? So, how can everyone else turn fitness into a lifestyle?

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Do I need the needle?

Lawyers Weekly — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:32:00 GMT

Vaccination against the flu is often a contentious point amongst members of the community, writes Dr Benson Riddle. Influenza is a seasonal viral illness, with most cases in Australia occurring between June and September. In the northern hemisphere most cases occur between December and April, however, in the tropics it can occur all year round (though it is less common in this region).

There are two types significant in humans - Influenza A and B - but what is unique about the influenza virus is its ability to continuously change. This is one of the reasons people can catch the flu year after year - our immune systems are unable to ever get used to a virus that continues to change.

Each year the Australian Influenza Vaccine Committee determines which three strains of influenza are to be targeted in the vaccine formulation for the upcoming season. This decision is based on the current important strains circulating in the northern hemisphere season that precedes ours.

The vaccine manufacturers then grow those virus strains in hens' eggs, before the virus is killed and processed into parts to go into the vaccine. Because the vaccine contains only part of a killed virusm, side-effects are now much less common, and because the virus has been killed, it is impossible to get influenza from the vaccine.

Generally the new influenza vaccine becomes available before the start of the season each year (usually by early March), and so, logically, it may as well be given as early as possible (especially because it generally takes one to two weeks before it can protect the person). It will then last about 12 months, when the new season's vaccine would then be necessary anyway. The vaccine is effective, but, as with all medications, this is not 100 per cent guaranteed. Generally, the older you are, the less effective it is.

So who should be vaccinated? Anyone over the age of six months (the vaccine is not recommended for those under this age) who wishes to reduce the likelihood of becoming ill with the flu should be vaccinated annually. However the vaccine is strongly recommended and should be actively promoted for all people aged 65 and over (free for this age group), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders aged 15 and over (due to the increased risk of complications and death from influenza in this population), those with pre-existing medical conditions that put them at a higher risk (eg heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, kidney disease, neurological disease, weakened immune system), and people who regularly come into contact with at-risk groups (eg healthcare providers).

People often worry that getting vaccinated means that their own immune system is not being allowed to do its job, and, as a result, will weaken over time. However the opposite is actually the case, because vaccines are simply there to kick your own immune system into action with an inactive version of the disease that can't actually cause the disease - forcing your own immune system to work harder and become more effective in the long term.

Staying in tune with your health

Lawyers Weekly — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:17:00 GMT

Health checks are an increasingly important way to prevent illness, writes Dr Benson Riddle

Health checks really form the cornerstone of what is emerging as a growing new medical speciality both here and overseas - preventive medicine. This field of medicine aims to prevent illness or injury, a direct contrast to traditional medicine that involves curing disease or injury after the fact.

It is also distinct from the specialty of public health medicine, which works at the level of population health rather than individual health.

At an individual level, preventive medicine essentially involves regular health checks that include a health history, examination and screening tests tailored to an individual's age, health, and family history.

The intention of screening is to attempt to identify disease early, thus enabling earlier intervention and management in the hope of reducing mortality and suffering from a disease. Medical bodies such as the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) in Australia and the US Preventive Services Task Force have developed preventive health guidelines based on reviews of rigorously well-conducted and validated medical research.

Such recommendations form the basis of what Peak Health's executive medical examinations encompass, as they should for any healthcare provider performing such health checks on individuals. Unfortunately, however, this is not always the case, with numerous commercially oriented providers including a number of examinations and tests that prove often to be both invasive and costly, and with no recognised benefit to the patient.

It must be recognised, however, that although screening may lead to an earlier diagnosis, as with anything in medicine, screening, too, can have its disadvantages and complications.

As with any medical test, the tests used in screening are not perfect. Indeed there are a number of factors that may mean a screening test is not beneficial at all:

Adverse effects of screening procedure - eg radiation exposure from unnecessary x-rays
Stress and anxiety caused by a test that appears positive in those without disease (false positive)
Unnecessary further investigations and treatment in those with false positive results
Prolonging knowledge of an illness if nothing can be done about it
A false sense of security caused by those tests that appear negative in those who actually do have the disease (false negatives), which may then delay final diagnosis
Overuse/waste of medical resources
Unnecessary and uncomfortable procedures looking for a disease that is unlikely - eg pelvic examinations in asymptomatic women.

For these reasons, examinations and tests used in a screening, especially for diseases that are relatively uncommon, must be specific to the disease being screened for, in addition to being sensitive to picking up the disease itself. And this can only be determined by well-conducted medical research.

So, even though screening instinctively seems an appropriate thing to do, and having more things tested often leads people to think they are having a better test, before any screening is implemented it should ideally be looked at to ensure that it does do more good than harm.

Those risk factors that appear to have the greatest impact on our long-term health - smoking, diet, level of activity, alcohol, blood pressure and cholesterol levels - are all generally recommended to be addressed at least annually in all adults. It therefore seems logical that one should participate in a health check at least annually.

- Dr Benson Riddle, head of department, Peak Health Medical Services. Contact: info@peakhealth.com.au. www.peakhealth.com.au

Worth the weight: getting started at the gym

Lawyers Weekly — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 03:32:00 GMT

When the paperwork is stacking up and a spare lunchtime is a luxury, time for exercising often is the first to get pushed to the bottom of one's to-do list. But making time for a trip to the gym is well worth it, and Brian Merrill provides some tips on what a lawyer should tackle first when they hit gym.

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Law should help trim the fat

Lawyers Weekly — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 03:03:00 GMT

The law should be used to help with the prevention of obesity by influencing healthier choices rather than regulating individual behaviour, according to Sydney University Professor Roger Magnusson.

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Keeping an eye on indulgence and health

Lawyers Weekly — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 23:37:00 GMT

Most people enjoy a quiet ale at a favourite drinking hole, or glass of wine over a fine meal, but Dr Ian McPherson looks at how much is too much, and how alcohol affects the body.

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Keeping a finger on the pulse

Lawyers Weekly — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 05:40:00 GMT

Increasingly, Australian organisations are embracing broad-ranging programs to improve employee health and wellbeing. Fiona Marsden looks at how organisations are using health assessments to measure pre-and post-program outcomes.

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The buzz on caffeine

Lawyers Weekly — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 08:48:00 GMT

Caffeine is a drug of choice for the majority of people in modern society. A CNS (central nervous system) stimulant, it is used by many to enhance mental alertness and drive away feelings of fatigue. But is this safe?

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Lightening the workload

Lawyers Weekly — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 07:32:00 GMT

For all the complications it brings to personal and community health, the cause of obesity is simple: People become overweight when the number of calories they consume exceeds the amount they burn each day. Many work environments contribute to this imbalance, writes Teresa Russell, but some organisations are tackling the problem head on.

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