The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that on any given day, more than one-third of U.S. adults eat fast food. The figure is based on data collected between 2013 and 2016, which found that 45 percent of adults ages 20 to 39 ate fast food on a given day, compared to 24 percent of adults ages 60 and older.
Surprisingly, the CDC also found that as family income levels went up, so too did fast-food consumption. Forty-two percent of higher-income adults chowed down on fast food in a given day, compared to 32 percent of lower-income adults.
Body of Knowledge
After age 30, the brain begins to lose neurons at a rate of about 50,000 per day, shrinking by about 0.25 percent of its mass each year.
Counts
1 in 7: U.S. adults who have diabetes
1 in 4: Estimated U.S. adults who have diabetes but don't know it
Source: CDC
Doc Talk
DOE: A medical abbreviation for dyspnea on exertion, dyspnea meaning shortness of breath. It can be a symptom of a wide variety of conditions or ailments, including asthma, pneumonia, heart disease or panic disorder.
Phobia of the Week
Automatonophobia: Fear of ventriloquist dummies or wax statues
Life in Big Macs
One hour of punching a boxing bag burns 408 calories (based on a 150-pound person), the equivalent of 0.6 Big Macs.
Never Say "Diet"
Fast-food division: The Major League Eating record for crinkle-cut french fries is 4.46 pounds in six minutes, held by Cookie Jarvis, and 7.9 pounds of Curley's fries in 10 minutes, held by Bob Shoudt. According to Guinness World Records, Andre Ortolf drank a standard bottle of ketchup in 17.53 seconds (using a straw).
Best Medicine
A professional bagpipe player was asked by a funeral director to perform at a graveside service for a man who had no family or friends, but who reportedly had been an aficionado of Scottish music.
Unfortunately, on the day of the funeral, the bagpiper got lost and arrived late. He saw no one at the cemetery but a group of workers around a hole in the ground. They were eating lunch. The bagpiper peered into the ground and saw the metal top of the burial vault. He felt great remorse at missing the service and for his failure to honor the deceased. Pulling out his pipes, he began to play, better than he had ever played before.
Soon, the workers gathered around him. They wept. The bagpiper wept. It was a beautiful moment, and the bagpiper felt both joy and redemption as he packed away his instrument and headed back to his car.
"I've never seen anything like that before," said one worker, "and I've been putting in septic tanks for 20 years."
Observation
"The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook." — American chef and author Julia Child (1912-2004)
Self-Exam
Q: What is a teratoma?
A: A tumor composed of different types of tissue, such as hair, muscle, bone and even teeth. Typically, teratomas form in the ovaries, testicles or tailbone, but can appear elsewhere. They are a type of germ cell tumor (which begin in cells that give rise to sperm or eggs). They may be cancerous or benign, often have no symptoms and affect females more often than males.
Medical Myths
In 2008, a widely reported study found that the more overweight one is, the healthier.
Study authors reported that being 5 to 10 pounds overweight offered added protection from ailments ranging from tuberculosis to Alzheimer's disease. Even more excess poundage supposedly improved recovery from pneumonia and various other infections. And outright obesity purportedly improved eyesight, fended off cancers and reversed baldness.
The study was a hoax, which should have been obvious to readers perusing the funding agencies: McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, Domino's Pizza, Sara Lee and Krispy Kreme.
Last Words
"June 3. Cold Harbor. I was killed." — A note found in the blood-stained diary of a dead Union soldier at the Battle of Cold Harbor in Virginia, June 3, 1864.
To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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