That's Fit

Alright, guys, stay with me on this one ...

If you father one child, you raise your risk of developing prostate cancer over men who don't have any kids. Paradoxically, if you father more than one child, you reduce your risk of developing the disease. And, if your child turns out to be a girl, your risk of prostate cancer again rises somewhat. These somewhat convoluted findings come from a study published in the January 2007 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Cancer.

A study of 3,400 men helped Danish researchers arrive at these findings. While they were not able to find any environmental factors that may be causing this risk fluctuation, more investigation into the child number/gender theory still needs to be done before it can be considered conclusive.

If your dad was obese when he was young, are you at a higher risk of liver disease? A recent study indicates you are.

The U.S. study, including over 1700 participants with an average age of 42, found that "people whose fathers were clinically obese at an early age were more likely to have increased liver enzyme levels, an indicator of liver disease." These findings held ground regardless of the subject's BMI, indicating that the father's weight truly is a factor.

All those talk shows that host the "Who's Your Daddy?" episodes are soon to be out of commission. (What was with all of those anyway, Maury Povich?) Meijer and Rite Aid stores are going to start stocking low-cost paternity tests. I can't imagine there's a huge market for such an item, but the manufacturer, Identigene, feels that there are people that would like to solve paternity disputes quietly and economically -- without involving lawyers.

The kits retails for $29.99. They include cotton swabs for taking cell samples from inside the mouth. The swabs are then sealed and sent to a lab with an additional $119 processing fee. Results can be accessed online within three to five business days.

I just returned from a place I've decided to be Man Heaven. Man Heaven is a place where loads and loads of men dressed in various colored athletic jerseys giddily board trams with feverish excitement to spend time with their favorite sports heroes. These men were squirming in their seats, beaming bright smiles and high-fiving their way all the way to the entrance gates of Disney World's Hollywood Studios. ESPN the Weekend is Man Heaven.

The weekend was filled with endless opportunities to meet, train with, question and listen to America's favorite ESPN stars: Donovan McNabb, Tony Gonzalez, Hershel Walker, John Stockton, Cal Ripken Jr., Chris Carter and more. Oodles of ESPN Sportscasters took stages across the park hosting their own scheduled and aired ESPN shows, and also hosted other fun question and answer sessions with the stars of Man Heaven.

I wish it were simply in my genes to be sleek, slender, and fit. It's not. I have to work for my body. If I work at eating a lot and exercising not a lot, my body responds -- with extra pounds. If I work at eating right and exercising with a vengeance, my body rewards me with a more toned and trimmed look. That's just the way it goes, for most of us anyway. Not for Oscar winner Hilary Swank, who recently credited her slim, toned body to nothing more than good genes. Damn her!

"I think I've been blessed with my father's metabolism," says the 33-year-old actress who does enjoy some benefits of working out. She really loves power Pilates, and uses the exercise primarily for stress relief. Ultimately, though, it's dad who gets the credit.

"I try and get out as much as I can," she says, "but I think in the end I really have to give it up to my genes."

Ah, to be Hilary.

While chatting with my mother recently, she told me the details of the postpartum depression that she suffered from for some time after my younger sister was born. The fact that she had the condition was no secret, as she believes that talking about your problems and things that are bothering you, is one of the best ways to work through them. In fact, she says that the day she discussed her feelings of depression with our family doctor at the time, things began to look up immediately.

Unfortunately, many women don't feel comfortable talking about the negative feelings they have after they've had a baby. We are all taught that a new baby is supposed to be a joyous and wonderful event. Even though we know that we'll be tired and sore and then tired again, we expect that the happiness we feel about the new baby will override the rest of these feelings. Many women though, feel incredibly depressed and rightly so. They are exhausted, their hormones are all out of whack and they're going through a new and very stressful experience.

There is nothing wrong with feeling depressed after having a baby and I think that women need to be told this the same way that they're taught how to breathe during labor and shown how to breastfeed after the baby is born. A new mother's emotional health is just as important as her physical health, and she needs to know that there is no shame in having less than wonderful feelings about her new baby. The only real shame is when unaddressed feelings of depression lead a desperate new mom to do harm to herself or her children. If you are the husband, family member or friend of someone who has a new baby (and this group includes new dads, because they aren't immune either), encourage them to talk about how they're doing, whether or not they seem perfectly content. And if you are a parent feeling less-than-great about your new situation, do not feel ashamed to talk to someone, anyone, about how you feel because help is out there.

According to a study done by Marcus Westin of Uppsala University, single parents have poorer health than married couples or couples living together. The results applied to both single moms and single dads, although single mothers were less likely to seek medical help when needed than single fathers (and both were less likely than their married counterparts). The studied seemed to show a strong link between the generally poorer health of single parents and the decreased social outlets they inevitably face as a result of being solely responsible for children. Marcus Westin believes that the solution lies in making it easier for single parents to get out and involved in civic and social activities.

That kind of makes sense, although I'm thinking stress probably has something to do with it too?

For most kids the phrase "Go ask your mother," or conversely, "Go ask your father" was an annoying tactic that parents used to delay denying or consenting to a request. There are some important health-related questions, though, that only your parents can answer and as such, it's important to go ask both your mom and dad about the family history of a range of health problems.

A number of physical conditions tend to run in families and knowing whether or not you are genetically predisposed to these conditions can help when diagnosing, treating or even preventing them. This article lists seven important questions to ask both parents in order to gain insight into your family's health history. These include whether there is a family history of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and melanoma. While there are a range of ways to protect yourself against such conditions, it is always helpful to know whether you may also be predisposed.

I posted two blogs a while back, Hey Smokers! This is what your friends won't tell you! part 1 and part 2, and got a firestorm of comments. Lots of defenders of smoking, and of course the ones who despise it. One interesting thing I've pulled out of it, is that people are comparing it to drunk driving. To me, the topics are two different beasts with some similarities. I 'm one of the despisers of smoking, and now even more than ever before, I am a despiser of drunk driving.

Two weeks ago, Lieutenant Corey Dahlem, our family friend and hero from the Gainesville Police Department in Florida was hit by a drunk driver and killed. Corey was on a street that was closed for the University of Florida National Basketball Championship celebration. The festivities were winding down, and Corey was on the road to make sure none of the student and local partiers were. A drunk male, age 20, drove through the police barricades and struck Corey. Two motorcycle officers had to jump from their bikes to avoid being struck as well. A few blocks away, the driver was stopped and had no idea why he was stopped. He later blew a 2.4 on his breathalyzer test. Almost three times that of Florida legal limit. (Corey, far right, was photoraphed the night he was struck, congratulating UF students on their teams victory).

Corey was a humble man, hard worker, and spectacular father, friend and husband. If he and the other officers were not on that road at that time, dozens of civilians would have been killed before the drunk stopped. Hero is an understatement. Two thousand people mourned his loss and celebrated his life at his funeral. A lesson on parenting was preached by the stories of how Corey ate lunch at school with his kids several times a week when they were little. At 18 and 21, he was still cooking them meals and driving his daughter to college.