Backpedalling Because of Collateral Damage

Mark Edward John Woolhouse FRSE FMedSci OBE (born 1959) is professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the Usher Institute in the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh, and a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviors that advises the government. 

Now that the collateral damage from governmental mandates has been done, he's had time to review the facts, the forecasts, the science, and the outcomes:

"At the time I agreed with lockdown as a short-term emergency response because we couldn’t think of anything better to do," he confesses. It was a "panic measure."

"I believe history will say trying to control COVID-19 through lockdown was a monumental mistake on a global scale. The cure was worse than the disease. I suspect right now more people are being harmed by the collateral effects of lockdown than by Covid-19."

"This," says Woolhouse, "is why we need a broader range of people on the government advisory board SAGE [Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies] with equal input from economists to assess the damage to incomes, jobs and livelihoods, educationalists to assess the damage to children and mental health specialists to assess levels of depression and anxiety especially among younger adults, as well as psychologists to assess the effects of not being able to go to the theatre or a football match."

"I would not dignify waiting for a vaccine with the term 'strategy.'"

Daily Caloric Needs

This is fun and informative. Remember, "Learn & Enjoy."

I used to have an online calculator that did this automatically for me and my patients, but this is more fun, if not more laborious. Follow along.

I did average out "Active" and "Very Active" somewhere in-between because of the weather. It's pretty hard to be "Very Active" with this virus thing I heard is going around.

Determine Your Daily Caloric Needs:

There are several ways to determine how many calories you need:

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

Physical Activity

Thermic Effect of Food

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The Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the amount of energy (calories) your body needs while resting. This accounts for about 60-70 % of calories burned daily. In general, men have a higher BMR than women +because muscle and testosterone). One of the most accurate methods of estimating your Basal Metabolic Rate is the Harris-Benedict Formula:

Adult male: 66 + (6.3 x body weight in lbs.) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years) = BMR

Adult female: 655 + (4.3 x weight in lbs.) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years) = BMR

To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows: 66+(6.3*170)=1203 +(12.9*71)= -(6.8*62)=2118.9-421.6=1697.3

If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2

If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375

If you are moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55

If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725

If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

Total Calorie Needs Example

If you are sedentary, multiply your BMR (1745) by 1.2 = 2094. This is the total number of calories you need in order to maintain your current weight.

Calorie Needs to Lose Weight

There are approximately 3500 calories in a pound of stored body fat. If you subtract 3500 calories each week through diet, exercise or a combination of both, you will lose one pound of body weight. (On average 75% of this is fat, 25% lean tissue) If you create a 7000 calorie deficit you will lose two pounds and so on. The calorie deficit can be achieved either by calorie reduction alone, or by a combination of eating less and doing more. This combination of healthy eating and physical activity is best for achieving and maintianing a healthy weight.

If you want to lose fat, a useful guideline for lowering your calorie intake is to reduce your calories by at least 500, but not more than 1000 below your maintenance level. For people with only a small amount of weight to lose, 1000 calories is too much. As a guide, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that calorie levels never drop below 1200 calories per day for women or 1800 calories per day for men. Even these calorie levels are quite low.

Drink A Little Bit. Drink A Little Bit If You Can

 It is an interesting state of affairs when the research on drinking alcohol is so ambiguous that the recommendations are "U-shaped," meaning that they THINK a couple of drinks a day enhances cognition better than no drinks at all and drinking too many.

So pour yourself a strong one (or two) and think about THAT.

"The majority of studies observed a U-shaped relationship between regular alcohol consumption and cognitive function: frequent heavy consumption of alcohol alters brain functions and decreases cognitive performance; regular light and moderate consumption may have a protective impact. In many studies, total abstainers show an inferior cognitive performance than people with moderate or light consumption."

https://bit.ly/2EsrrAE