Aging motorcyclists are nearly twice as likely as their younger counterparts to die in a motorcycle accident, say researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

To reach this conclusion, Mark Gestring, who directs the Center’s trauma program and his colleagues studied nearly 62,000 motorcycle crashes in the US between 1996 and 2005. The ages of involved riders ranged from 17-89 years old.

The scientists found that during that 10 year period, the mean age of bikers who were involved in crashes rose from 34 to 39, and the proportion of injured riders who were at least 40 years old increased from 28% to 50%.

Motorcyclists in the 50-59 year age range experienced the most rapid rise in injuries, while those in the 20-29 year-old age range had fewer accidents in 2005 than in 1996.

“We made the clinical observation that older patients — people in their 50s, 60s and even 70s — were being injured on motorcycles with increasing frequency,” Gestring told MSNBC. “We wanted to see if this observation was true on a national level and we found that it was.”

The scientists also noted that riders who were at least 40 years of age had more severe injuries and longer lengths of ICU stay than younger bikers. 

“Treating a 60-year-old who has been in a motorcycle accident is very different from treating a 21-year-old who has been in a similar accident — 60-year-olds bring a lot more medical baggage with them, and this can adversely impact outcomes following injury,” Gestring said.

The write-up appears in American Surgeon.

People thought Columbus was nuts when he set off to find a shorter route to China, so let’s try not to snicker at the scientists who’ve announced plans to develop healthy ice cream.

Ingolf Gruen, a professor of food chemistry at the University of Missouri-Columbia, proposes to add fiber, antioxidants and probiotics to the real thing.

Gruen and his fellow ice cream professors chose these additives because they are known to contribute to good health and because consumers are familiar with them.

The Ice Cream Professor doesn’t anticipate that his concoction can match the seductive flavor or texture of the real stuff, however. 

What he’s after instead is consumers saying, “Oh it’s not as good as the full-fat heavy ice cream, but because it is good for me, and it still tastes good, I will purchase it,” Gruen explained.

“Our major challenges are texture, flavor and psychological acceptance,” Gruen continued.

“The nutrients we add often have bitter tastes and affect the texture of ice cream that we have to mask.”

Luckily for some ice cream fans, “flavors like chocolate are easier to work with because the flavor is so strong that it can overcome other flavors from the nutrients,” Gruen added.

The Ice Cream Professor has decided to include enough fiber to account for 10-15% of the recommended daily allowance, despite the gritty texture it will impart. “We want to make sure if you consume it there is a significant contribution to health benefits from these ingredients,” Gruen reasoned.

Gruen plans to have a prototype ready by spring. We know some denizens of Murray Hill that would be willing to give it a try.

Lincoln University, a historically black college located west of Philadelphia, requires that overweight students take a fitness course if they want to graduate, and that’s not sitting well with a number of students.

The rule was enacted 4 years ago. It requires that students get their body mass index checked, and those found to be obese—a BMI of 30 or higher—must take a class called “Fitness for Life,” which meets three hours per week.

The course involves physical activities including walking and weight training as well as information on nutrition and stress management.

James DeBoy, chairman of the Lincoln’s department of health said the school had become concerned about high rates of obesity and diabetes in the African-American community.

“We’re in the midst of an obesity epidemic,” he told MSNBC. “We have an obligation to address this head on.”

Protests bean last week when seniors—who are the first class affected by the new rule—began realizing they were running out of chances to meet the requirement.

Senior Tiana Lawson wrote in the student newspaper that she “didn’t come to Lincoln to be told that my weight is not in an acceptable range. I came here to get an education.” Lawson added that she has no problem with the general concept so long everyone must take the class.

As of this fall, about 80 seniors — 16% of the class — had neither had their BMI tested nor taken the class. At least some of them are expected to be cleared because they are not obese, officials said.

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UPDATE: After this post was written and scheduled for publication on Pizaazz, faculty at Lincoln decided to nix the idea of a required “fat course.” So obese students at Lincoln can now graduate without taking the class. 

In lieu of the requirement, the school will “suggest” to certain students that they enroll in a “Fitness for Life” class.

The familiar metaphor about tightening one’s belt during hard times may be a bit misleading, public health experts warn. There is growing concern in fact that the Great Economic Crisis of 2008 will promote further expansion of America’s already plump waistline.

Faced with shrinking cash on hand and increasing food prices, tens of millions of American consumers are likely to turn to inexpensive but calorie-leaden meals such as fast food or macaroni and cheese.

“All evidence suggests that obesity is the toxic consequence of a failing economic environment,” Adam Drewnowski, an epidemiologist at the University of Washington, told MSNBC.

Drewnowski’s most recent investigation of the matter showed for example that obesity rates were 5 times higher in poorer sections of Seattle than in its tonier suburbs.
 
The disheartening trend has already begun. According to a survey published last week by Hormel Foods, 60% of US households have cut back on either the quality or the quantity of purchased food during the past year.

“It is quite possible to spend less and eat more,” Drewnowski added. “The very cheapest foods are calorie-rich and nutrient-poor. Because they contain refined grains, sugars and fats, they also taste good and, of course, are easy to come by.”

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one third of US children and adults and children are obese, but recently the incidence of obesity had begun to stabilize, especially among those younger than age 20. But even that modestly positive development is unlikely to be maintained.

“Now that we are all poor, the rates will go up again,” Drewnowski told MSNBC. “I predict an increase that will become apparent in about three years.”