Another Christmas Meme

It looks like Cathy gave me by Christmas present early in the form of a meme. The interesting part is that I did not recieve the dreaded "You've Been Tagged" e-mail message. That's a new strategy (thanks Ipanema - HA!). Here we go!

1. Hot Chocolate or Egg Nog? Absolutely hot chocolate.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Neither - The elves wrap the presents and Santa's personal assistants put them under the tree.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Colored lights on tree. Too lazy to put lights on house.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope. Bums me out too much.
5. When do you put your decorations up? When I finish my Christmas cards. Usually in mid-December. Just put some decorations up last weekend.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish? All Christmas desserts. My patients usually bring in bunches and bunches of stuff for me and my staff this time of year.
7. Favorite Holiday memory? Midnight mass with my family. One of the few times all year we're able to get together as a family.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? In high school, Santa at the mall was arrested for DUI. Many kids around here bummed by that....
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? When I was growing up, ABSOLUTELY NOT! Mom would have none of that. She would allow us to open one present after midnite mass, but the rest was for Christmas morning.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? When I was a kid, it was a fun family activity that we did in one afternoon - probably just after Thanksgiving. Now, it takes me a couple of weeks to decorate the tree.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? I love to watch it snow, but hate to drive in snow.
12. Can you ice skate? Once - never again. Nothing tragic happened, just embarrassing.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I admit I was a spoiled brat growing up (some people would say that has never changed). My love for electronic stuff started when I was a kid.
14. What's the most important thing? The reason for the season - The birth of the Savior.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Like the rest of the year - anything with chocolate is my favorite.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? My parent's years of piano lessons comes out once a year when I dig out the Christmas music and play some carols. Granted, it's still the same grade school music, but it's always fun to get the family gathered together.
17. What tops your tree? Sponge Bob Square Pants. Just kidding, it's an angel that lights up.
18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? I have to be honest. The whole gift thing really stresses me out. But, there's always one or two gifts that I find for a friend/family that I really look forward to giving. And, I look forward to that moment.
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? See my Christmas Song Meme.
20. Candy canes, Yuck or Yum? Gotta love the candy canes!

Grand Rounds

Grand Rounds 3.12 is now up and running over at Anxiety, Addiction and Depression Treatments. GR is up early this week. Thanks to the bloggers over there for including my submission this week. I really appreciate it.

A recent AAP report on advertising and children drew our ire. It also drew the ire of Doctor Anonymous, and he discussed his reactions in a great post that led to some healthy comment discussion.

On a quick glance, I counted 36 links (unless you count My Three Shrinks as three separate posts instead of one). Well done. However, I couldn't leave a kudos comment over there because the verification characters wouldn't come up on my firefox. Oh well, Kudos to AAaDT for their work this week.

Look out! Next week, GR journeys to Nurse Ratched's Place. But meanwhile, enjoy the best the medical blogosphere has to offer - It's Grand Rounds!

Pro-ana and Pro-mia sites

Someone sent me a link to an article from Newsweek entitled "Mixed Messages." It talks about websites taking us into the world of anorexia (called pro-ana sites) and bulimia (called pro-mia sites). Here's a sample of what they say:

Drink ice-cold water ("your body has to burn calories to keep your temperature up") and hot water with bullion cubes ("only 5 calories a cube, and they taste wonderful"). When a food craving strikes, give yourself a manicure ("applying extra layers of slow-drying polish. It will keep your hands occupied").

The article goes on to outline the debate that is occurring on whether these sites are good or bad. Those in favor of the websites state that the internet is a huge support group for these (in general) troubled teens who visit it. Others say that these sites promote and glamorize this type of lifestyle.

It's a pretty balanced article and I encourage you to check it out. The question comes back to this: Can a website CAUSE a change in behavior, especially in younger people? Here is one point of view from the article:

The pro-eating-disorder sites feed into anorexics' competitive nature, says eating-disorder specialist Dr. David S. Rosen, a professor of pediatrics and internal medicine at the University of Michigan. "They're constantly trying to be the sickest, the thinnest, the most unhealthy. If you go to a Web site where people are describing their eating habits, their vomiting practices, if you're in the throes of a serious eating disorder, no matter how that information was intended when it was put out there, it may be a challenge to eat less, to take more diet pills, to weight less. That's where the harm is."

Here is another point of view:

Could the sites somehow lure a completely healthy girl into becoming an anorexic? "You've still got to have some sort of predisposition," says John Levitt, director of the eating-disorders program at Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital in Hoffman Estates, Ill. "It's a little bit difficult to believe they went there and were pure." Most patients "don't need the advice," he says. By the time he sees them, they already know the tips and tricks. But, he says, "if you have a predisposition for something, you get reinforcement for it."

I have never been of the opinion that media (whether it be violent movies, certain video games, certain types of music, etc.) has a causal relationship with a person's behavior. People should be accountable for their choices and actions. For parents, they should be accountable for supervision of their children and teens.

But, this article does make some compelling arguments to make me think. I haven't changed my position. But, as I alluded to in Direct to Kid Advertising, it seems like it's getting more and more challenging for parents to de-program their kids from the media message saturation.

Countdown

I'm not talking about the first nighttime shuttle launch in four years. This was great to see on television. I would love to see this live and in person.

But, I digress. I'm talking about the countdown to my six month blogiversary. I can't believe that it's coming up next week. To be honest, I didn't think I would make it this long.

Thanks so much to all of you for continuing to stop by and occasionally leave comments. Forgive me over the next week as I may look back a little bit, to reminisce, and to reflect. It's that holiday spirit, I guess.

Finally, thanks to those of you who sent notes when I was feeling ill. I really appreciate it. I guess all the handwashing in the world can't totally prevent getting a cold this time of year around here. I'm feeling better - Just in time for me to be on call for the Christmas holiday. Oh well...

Heart Attack Grill

Now, we here at Doctor Anonymous are not afraid to cover the hardest hitting news stories out there in the internet....

There's a huge controversy occuring in Tempe, Arizona over a restaurant called the Heart Attack Grill. Surprisingly enough, the controversy is not over its menu which includes things like quadruple bypass burger and flatliner fries.

The waitresses call themselves nurses and what they're wearing is nothing that I've ever seen in a hospital. You'll see in this picture from the Heart Attack Grill what I'm talking about.

Nurse advocates are outraged by this establishment. Not only do they dispute the way that the waitresses are dressed, but also that they're not real nurses. You're going to think I'm making up this next quote, but it's right from the Associated Press article.

"Nurses are the most sexually fantasized-about profession," said Sandy Summers, executive director of the Center for Nursing Advocacy, based in Baltimore. "We're asking people, if they're going to have these fantasies, please don't make it so public. Move these sexual fantasies to other professions."

Is this the best soundbite that this person could come up with? Keep your sexual fantasies private and not make them public? Doesn't make sense to me. But, oh well....

The restaurant is soaking up all the publicity. There's a section on their Heart Attack Grill Website devoted exclusively to 'the controversy over nurses.' They even have a theme song.

There are two problems that I have with this. First, I can't believe that I didn't think of this idea first. HA! Second, the only thing I would add is sexy male "chippendale" waiters and call them doctors. I mean, you're ignorning an entire demographic who also go to restaurants!

Courtney Chapman, a 20-year-old waitress at the grill, said she found nothing wrong with the uniform or the stares she gets.

"They definitely look at us, but they're guys," she said. "If our butts are coming out the bottom of our skirts, and our boobs are coming out the top of our shirts, we're kind of asking for it."

That about sums it up for me. So, if I'm out in Tempe any time soon, I'm going to have to check out the Heart Attack Grill. By the way, how's the food there? HA!

Direct to kid advertising

How upset do you get when you see drug ads which say, "Ask your doctor about..." This just burns me up sometimes! I see both sides of this in that patients come in and ask me about their medical conditions. But on the other hand, they sometimes demand to be placed on what they saw on television.

In the marketing world, they call this "direct to consumer" advertising. This has definitely transformed the sales of prescription medications. OTC manufactures have also followed suit. (What's that product you apply directly to the forehead? AHHH!)

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently published a report stating that children and adolescents are constantly exposed to advertising on television, and even in schools. If adults can be lulled into these ads, think of the effect on children.

"Advertisers have slowly but steadily infiltrated school systems around the country," the [AAP] committee [on communication] writes. "The '3Rs' have now become the '4Rs,' with the fourth R being 'retail.' Ads are now appearing on school buses, in gymnasiums, on book covers, and even in bathroom stalls," notes the AAP.

I defninitely agree with this. In doing more research on this, I found an article from the Palm Beach Post talking about marketing to kids for toys and video games.

Nine times. That's the average number of requests a kid has to make before Mom and Dad cave and buy a toy, according to a national survey commissioned by the Center for a New American Dream, a Maryland-based consumer group.

That's if Mom and Dad are lucky. One of every 10 kids ages 12 to 13 cheerfully reported he asks his folks more than 50 times for something he really, really, really wants.

Then, there's this article from USA Today talking with James McNeal who wrote a book about direct marketing to kids.

Last year, marketers spent $1.4 billion per month marketing to children — 15% more than the year before, McNeal says. "I call it 'surround selling.' "

Mattel Brands President Neil Friedman says Mattel will spend half its ad budget — estimated at $460 million by Advertising Age — in the fourth quarter.

The American society makes such a big deal of people like drug dealers and predator teachers preying on innocent children. In my opinion, there is another group who should be included in this outrage.

Frankly, advertising, as an industry, should be ashamed of itself. To target those in our society who are most vulnerable to slick marketing techniques is deplorable. Parents are put in the precarious position of trying to de-program their kids from the daily onslaught of these brainwashing messages. They're using your kids to help their bottom line. What do you think about that? Happy Holidays....

Holidailies

Now, I failed miserably at NaBloPoMo last month. For all of you who succeeded (and didn't win any real prize), there's this reward for you. HA!

So, anyway, I'm a glutton for punishment. I ran into another blogging challenge over there on the Frectis blog. The challenge is easy - Post every day from December 1st through January 1st (sound familiar).

I guess there are two tiers to Holidailies. The top tier registration is closed and they're enforcing daily posts. If not, then you're demoted to the lower tier which they are affectionately calling the "home game" version of Holidailies 2006.

So, the underachiever blogging self signed up for the Holidailies at Home. If you haven't checked it out over there yet, I encourage you to do so. Lots of great writing and reading over there.

Speaking of which, I'm still considering accepting Cathy's challenge of writing a post ending with the line, "I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them." Hmmmmm. I don't know if I have the creative juices for that. Still thinking...

Grand Rounds

Grand Rounds 3.11 is now up and running at The Antidote: Counterspin for Health Care and Health News. The host is Emily Devoto. No theme this week. Thirty-seven links are divided into nine categories. Here's my contribution:

Dr. Anonymous briefs on this week's new research findings on chemo-brain - now there's evidence of a neurologic basis for the phenomenon; with luck, the findings could spur further research to understand and address the problem.

Thanks Emily for including my submit this week. Next week, Grand Rounds moves to Anxiety, Addiction, and Depression Treatments. Experience the best the medical blogosphere has to offer this week. It's Grand Rounds!

McDonald's Children's Hospital

How was your weekend? Mine was wonderful and relaxing, thanks for asking! A time to just take a break. Until, this morning when I read the news....

Here's a question, how often have you seen McDonalds or other fast food restaurants somewhere in the hospital? How about if you have ever been at a children's hospital?

In a study recently released, researchers in Pittsburgh are very upset about this. The article is in today's Washington Post and is entitled, "Fast Food at Kids' Hospitals Causing Worry."

The researchers queried 200 pediatric residency programs in 2002-03. About 30 percent, or 59, had fast-food restaurants in their hospitals. McDonald's alone or in combination with other fast-food restaurants were located in 22.

The article goes on to say that this sends a mixed message to parents, especially with the growing problem of childhood obesity in the United States (no pun intended).

Now, I totally agree that childhood obesity is a problem. But, do hospitals serve McDonalds in patient rooms? I don't think so. Who buys the fast food for their children? Oh yeah, that's right! The families of children buy the fast food.

Now, I know what you're going to say. "Dr. A, if fast food wasn't IN the hospital, then it wouldn't be a problem." Are fast food places the ONLY places to get food in the hospital? How about parents taking their kids to the hospital cafeteria? I'm sure a children's hospital would choose healthier food for their own cafeteria, right?

Here's are some facts that are left out of the above article. I did a quick search of the website for Ronald McDonald House Charities. Did you know that as of 2004, more than $400 million in grants worldwide have been distributed to benefit children. How many times have you heard about the Ronald McDonald House helping someone you know?

Also, I did a quick scan of the sponsor lists for charities like St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, the Children's Miracle Network, and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Did you know that they have sponsors like Anheuser-Busch, Wal-Mart, Dairy Queen, and Coca-Cola? Oh no! This is definitely sending the wrong message to children! C'mon, gimme a break.

In my opinion, this Pittsburgh study is another attempt to attack fast food establishments and give parents a free pass on the care of their own children. So, according to this article, the solution is simple - If you want to solve the problem of childhood obesity, go to the hospital cafeteria!

Condom Olympics

After my last two posts, here is something a little lighter today. Question: How are you observing World AIDS Day? Here are two examples...

A Canadian community is holding the condom olympics which organizers call a "light-hearted face on a very serious issue." Events will include blowing up condoms, condom relay races, shooting condoms, and condom volleyball using flyswatters to keep blown up condoms in the air. Laurel Petty, the city's AIDS Community Action Project coordinator says said this, "It will be a fine evening brainstorming with the kids."

If you haven't had your fill of condoms (*cough*), then get on a plane to Thailand. Because there, you will be trying to make history with a Guinness World Records attempt at the "longest condom chain". I'm not making this up. Here's the quote:

Participants at the "Condom Chain of Life" festival will link 25,000 condoms and will be led by UN Aids special representative Mechai Viravaidya, a national Aids activist formerly known as "Mr Condom", who was named a 2006 Time magazine hero for his groundbreaking HIV prevention efforts. The attempt will take place at 7:30pm inside the King Rama VI entrance to Lumphini Park.

I just want to go on record right now, and place my rubber stamp of approval (*cough again*), to these two projects. Now, before you throw stuff at me, don't get me wrong. I realize that AIDS worldwide is a considerable concern.

But, the condom olympics and the condom chain of life? Pleeze! Will hyped events like these have an overall positive effect over time to advance the cause of worldwide AIDS education? I guess time will tell.

Update: Just when you thought you had enough condom talk, I saw this item at MedGagdet this morning. The title of the article is Spray On Condom = Instant Lovin'. No joke! Check it out.