Thursday, November 26, 2015

the obesity paradox

The irony is that as a scientist, I heard it first on NPR.  I was taking a trip to our storage unit to get out some winter coats, sweaters, gloves, and hats and Wait Wait Don't Tell Me came on.  They were cracking jokes, as usual, and cited a study that DIDN'T link obesity with early mortality.  In fact, this phenomenon has a name, "the obesity paradox" and it isn't a totally new idea.

I couldn't tell you the countless minutes of each day I spend telling myself, "we shouldn't be letting ourselves get this fat" and then eating a few more pieces of halloween candy.  The guilt and shame of being overweight is momentous due to society's expectations of beauty.  Add to that a generous helping of medical studies that link obesity to decreased life expectancy, and you get a recipe for body image demons.

I read a great book many years back called "Learning Curves" which attempted to reprogram one's thinking about self and food.  But I think the ultimate goal of the book was to get an overweight or obese person to lose weight and achieve that "Normal" weight status.  The scientific data shows that as a person ages, being in the "Normal" weight bracket isn't necessarily going to extend one's lifespan.  In fact, those who are carrying extra weight in their 60s and 70s have a boost in life expectancy compared with their peers.

And, this may sound horrible, but for me in my 30s or my husband in his 40s the probability of death is not even doubled by having a BMI of 35 (or 32, respectively).  I guess one wouldn't want to knowingly engage in behaviors that would knowingly double one's risk for death, but we do dangerous things all the time.  I don't know what it is that makes my weight go up and down, it's complicated.  I've tried using electronic devices, tracking calories, beating my body into submission to get into that "Normal" bracket.  Unfortunately, happiness is more difficult to quantify.

At least knowing about this obesity paradox is going to help me relax and ease off the self-deprication (the silent soundtrack in my mind) this Thanksgiving.  I'm going to be grateful for the health I do have and enjoy the body as is.  We're heading to Zion National Park for some hiking this weekend and I have no doubt my body will perform.  Maybe the extra fat will come in handy with the winter weather we're having right now.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_paradox

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/why-being-overweight-means-you-live-longer-the-way-scientists-twist-the-facts-10158229.html

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleID=1555137&%E2%80%9D

http://www.nature.com/news/the-big-fat-truth-1.13039

http://www.npr.org/2015/11/21/456922659/whos-bill-this-time

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Edit this

“Editing is the very edge of your knowledge forced to grow--a test you can't cheat on.”
S. Kelley Harrell

I've been up to so much since my last post, and the more time that passes makes it more impossible to summarize everything I've learned in one post.  But procrastination is the enemy of productivity and I may have to go on a ramble to get caught up with myself.

November almost didn't exist.  I was so focused on the activities of October.  National Chemistry Week (Oct 18-24, 2015), for example.  We went to San Diego Miramar College.

"Chemistry Colors Our World"
I still need to do a write-up of all the hands-on activities visitors to our booth were invited to interact with.  Many of the items involved recycled materials, we really kept our costs down this year.

After the ChemExpo, we headed to Downtown San Diego for the bike summit (Oct 25-28), which I did summarize in a previous post.  What I didn't discuss was my play-day in the bay.

"Cat" Niki de Saint Phalle (1999) 
I have always loved the Niki de Saint Phalle's work and it was a real treat to walk along the bay with my dog, Edna.  I had an idea to walk to Cabrillo National Monument, which I didn't quite make.  I got as far as the USS Recruit and hopped on a BikeShare bicycle to ride back to where I started.

After that, it was time to prepare for the American Chemical Society Western Regional Meeting (Nov 6-7, 2015) in San Marcos.  It was a real treat to visit another CSU campus.  I saw a handful of friends, old and new, and it was a good retreat from the everyday teaching life.

Mission San Juan Capistrano
After the meeting ended, I drove up the coast to Dana Point.  While waiting for the check-in time for my hotel across from Doheny State Beach, I visited the Mission San Juan Capistrano.  It was gorgeous!  I had made it a goal to see the California missions in a previous post.

It looks like camping at Doheny State Beach costs $35/night for up to 8 people, 2 vehicles.  The campsites are right on the beach.

Pedestrian Overpass (33.458311, -117.672942)
There are restrooms and showers and a place to get firewood.  This is definitely something to consider for a bicycle camping adventure.  There's a Ralph's grocery store in Dana Point.

I wanted to start this post off with a quote about "editing" because I feel like that's what my life needs right now.  There are so many opportunities to "say yes" to various activities.  Just like with one's wardrobe, it can be tempting to put on every neckalace, bracelet, watch, ring, and pair of earrings but good outfits need editing.  The same is true with writing.  The same is true with life.  I feel like my New Year's resolution this year will involve editing.  Learning how and when to "say no" to various activities will prevent me from feeling overcommitted and exhausted.

Monday, November 2, 2015

CalBikeSummit

Breakfast Plenary Session

Tony Dang, California Walks
Michele Hasson, Counsel for Justice & Accountability
Chanell Fletcher, Safe Routes to Shool National Parternship
Estuardo David Mazarigos, TRUST South LA

TD: We have to remove the financial strings attached to getting involved in advocacy
Case in point: I had to pay $200 for a one-day attendee registration fee!

MH: There's no data to use in proposals b/c safety issues are not accurately reported

Lead Organizer Estuardo Marzariegos
TD: Walking plans are in place for only 50% of communities, plans should be community-driven rather than consultant-driven.  Residents should define where they want to go.

EDM: Create a community that can stand up for itself.  Host bike rides.  Survey at the street level.  Recruiting people in this way will empower them.  Collect their stories.
Hold press conferences.  Visit Councilmember's offices.  Make inequity clear.
Out of 123 surveys, 38% of people have been in accidents, 67% use a bicycle as a primary form of transportation.  Collecting the voices of constituents (mothers, workers) has been convincing.

CF: Complete streets need reporting; climate health, equity.  If the project doesn't collect data the funding will be pulled.  The new idea of "Low Carbon Roads."

MH: When a continuing dialogue is ongoing with politicial leaders, it's easier to push when the time is right.  Continuing education at every interaction.

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Best Marketing & Promotion Practices

Cory Wilkerson, City of Santa Ana
Ryan Johnson, Alta Planning + Design
Nathan Wheadon, Orange County Transportation Authority

CW: $150,000 grant for direct education (school assemblys, bike rodeos), marketing & design

RJ: Community surveys conducted including key stakeholders (police, engingeering & public works, city staff, Spanish language translators)
8 month funding cycle, which took 3-4 months to secure contracts
Survey results were translated into word clouds (Wordle): the prompt was
"How would you describe Santa Ana in 1 word if it were a person?"
Goals of the image campaign: not graphically violent, not humorous b/c humor can be lost in translation, more simplistic/positive/uplifting, the expectation is "Travel Safely"
How a single person in a single day can be all 3: pedestrian, cyclist, driver

Outcomes: 12 bus stop posters (3 months, $17,000)
36 pole banners placed in areas of high bike-ped collisions
Printed brochures, safety sheet, webpage http://www.ci.santa-ana.ca.us/bike/
jenny@graphikdeziner.com
18 school assemblies during April/May
"Safe Moves" coordinated the bike rodeos
10 new League-Certified Instructors were inducted in an LCI seminar
1000 helmets were distributed

NW: A SWOT analysis is a way to begin a project, decide what/when to say something, choose a relevant/topical message, the audience is educating drivers
The best teachers use humor, voices, antics! If you can come up with a campaign and get the support of the more conservative board members, then it may eventually be approved.
Next campaign [B]right... be safe, be seen.

The video should be less than 60 seconds, educational, entertaining, positive, funny/creative.
The video should NOT be inspiring fear or victim-blaming.
The video can be distributed using social media (digital), at events (face-to-face), through email marketing, through print media (magazines, local newspapers) through a formal press release, and through your own network of contacts (city staff and bike advocates) ask them to share it!

It takes 2 months from the concept for a video to a publicly posted video, 2 weeks of filming
5 videos were made at a cost of $20,000

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On the Cutting Edge of Quantifying the Public Health Benefits of Bicycling

Dan Gallagher, San Diego Association of Governments
Sherry Ryan, San Diego State University
David Flores, Casa Familiar
Peter Jacobsen, Public Health Consultant
Sean Co, Toole Design Group
Carla Blackmar, Public Health Alliance of Southern California

DG: The built environment effects community behaviors, correlations between the geographical environment and health factors were calculated and used to prioritize infractructure projects
Active Transportation (trails, parks, sidewalks), Injury Prevention, Nutrition, Air Quality
all granular data fed into the model... Compared San Ysidro versus all San Diego County
Partial Correlations Analysis used to determine which factors had the most impact on health
http://sandag.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/?appid=fc149b3233eb48e796dd8e40d7e6eac4

SR: the percent difference between San Ysidro versus San Diego city was used to identify ramps and lighting, landscaping, traffic calming, new parks, wayfinding, crosswalks, bike lanes that could improve the health of San Ysidro
http://www.sandag.org/uploads/publicationid/publicationid_1933_18945.pdf
DF: promotoras are community leaders of health that volunteer to boost community awareness
they receive in exchange for their leadership training in first aid, zumba, which builds their skills.

PJ: He was a contributor to the Bike Plan for the City of Pasadena and noticed that the amount of cyclists in a city actually decreased the risk of injury (collisions b/w cars and cyclists)
If you double the # of cars, you double the # of collisions b/w cars but the same is not true for cyclists/pedestrians "Safety in Numbers"
The reasons for this are twofold 1) physiology 2) psychology
Physiologically we evolved to understand a 15 mph pace, beyond that our minds simplfy situations and ignore some of what is going on.  This is a learned behavior
Psychologically, rare events are hard to detect.  When there are fewer cyclists, drivers simply don't recognize them or "see" them.  If cyclists are commonplace, they're easier for drivers to "see"
Driver education alone is insufficient/unsuccessful, it's better to encorage more people to bike/walk

SC: Montlhy pass riders in Washington DC choose to take BikeShare instead of walking (35%) or taking public transportation (45%), but ~13% of them would have otherwise taken a car or taxi.
The motivation was for time savings (73%) and exercise (41%) even though 23% admit the BikeShare is more costly than other means of transportation.

CB: Public health benefits are important to measure and will be required as a part of future proposals for funding.  Active Transportation has a greater impact on quality of life benefits when compared with "Low Carbon Driving"  Water infrastructure should be a part of complete streets plans

Active transportation accounted for a 7% reduction in depression and 5% decrease in breast/colon concer, a 13% reduction in cardiovascular disease and diabetes, a 9% reduction in dementia

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Modeling Benefits & Costs for Equity & Connectivity

Sherry Ryan, San Diego State University
Laura Cohen, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
Michael Jones, Alta Planning + Design
Eric Anderson, City of Berkeley
Brett Hondorp, Alta Planning + Design

We rode past this counter on Wed 10/25/15
SR: $300,000 investment to monitor 37 sites in San Diego County
24 bike-only counters (in street) Class II, III bike infrastructure
9 bike/ped counters for Class I bike infrastructure
4 ped-only counters (sidewalks, urban)
Goal: track trends over time as the bike network was built out

SR: when a buffered bike lane opened, the # of cyclists per month jumped from 1000-1500 to 1800-3000 per month, which is roughly double.  On a scatterplot this data looks awesome.
New "rules of thumb" found that 16.5% of cycling activity occurs between 4-6 pm regardless of whether the counts were done in San Diego or Maricopa counties
http://www.eco-public.com/ParcPublic/?id=681 is the link to live count data
Class I bike paths were more used on weekends, whereas Class II and III were used on weekdays

LC: Trail Modeling and Assessment (T-MAP) tool
3 year $1,200,000 effort to collect data, model the data, and disseminate the info to the public
"Trail Score" likened to Walkability score.  The question is "What % of the population can get to a majority of their destinations using a low-stress route?"  The goal is that by 2020, 90% of Americans will live within 3 miles of a trail system

MJ: National Bike & Pedestrian Documentation (NBPD) recommendations stipulate that if you do a bike/ped count only once per year that it happens on the 2nd week of September.  You may consider 4th of July the peak and try to count on both weekday and weekend.
Rather than choosing random placement of counters, consider relevant places within your transportation network. http://bikepeddocumentation.org/
Key Findings: 76% of walking trips and 29% of biking trips are for work or essential activities
70% of respondants biked once per week

MJ: Alta Benefits Cost Model (ABC) takes into account reduction in greenhouse gases
Property values (of real estate) increased $2,200,000 within 500 ft of bike/ped projects


BH: Strong & Fearless = will ride no matter what; Enthusiastic & Confident = need bikeways; Interested but Concerned = the majority of people; No Way, No How = won't ride anyway
To reach all people there was a random sampling by zip code and a door-to-door survey on a tablet showing streets in their community with either: no markings, sharrows, bike lanes
The streets shown in the mock-ups were residential all the way to arterial streets
A segregated cycletrack was preferred and least desirable was a 4-lane arterial with fast traffic

Note: this graphic was re-created in Google Sheets based on percentages presented in the session

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Coronado Bike Tour

Mariah VanZerr, City of Coronado Transportation Planner
John Holloway, KTU+A Planning + Landscape Architecture

Met some good people on this outing!


If you ride from Los Angeles to San Diego, it can be done in 2 days, camp at Doheny!