"The Earth Path" by Starhawk

"Phantom Parks: The Struggle to Save Canada's National Parks" by Rick Searle

Interesting Links:
Utne Reader
David Suzuki Foundation
New Scientist
Discover Magazine
The Medical Post Online
Ad Busters!
New Internationalist
Mother Jones.com
Salon.com
NOVA On-line
The Book of Zines
Killing the Buddha
London Review of Books
American Council on Exercise
Runner's World
The Great Illusion


Recent reads:
"A Deepness in the Sky" by Vernor Vinge

"Celtic Folklore Cooking" by Joanne Asala

"Power Spellcraft for Life" by Arin Murphy-Hiscock

"Reinventing Medicine" by Larry Dossey

"Wicca: A Year and a Day" by Timothy Roderick

"The Science of the Craft" by William H Keith

"50 Years of Wicca" by Frederic Lamond

"The Magical Life" by Vivianne Crowley

"Which Witch is Which?" by Patricia Telesco

"Perdido Street Station" by China Mieville

"Cyberhenge: Modern Pagans on the Internet" by Douglas E. Cowan

"An Ye Harm None: Magical Morality and Modern Ethics" by Shelley Rabinovitch

"Crystal Ball" by Sibyll Fergusen, revised and expanded by Witch Bree

"Gaia Eros: Reconnecting to the Magic and Sprit of Nature" by Jesse Wolf Hardin

"A Century of Spells" by Draja Mickaharic

"Evolutionary Witchcraft" by T. Thorn Coyle

"Witching Culture: Folklore and Neo-Paganism in America" by Sabina Magliocco

"Kundalini for Beginners" by Ravindra Kumar

"Ka: Stories of the Mind and Gods of India" by Roberto Calasso

"Magical Tattwa Cards" by Dr. John Mumford

"WitchCraft Today (Expanded edition)" by Gerald B. Gardner

"Self-Initiation for the Solitary Witch" by Shanddaramon

"The Second Circle: Tools for the Advancing Pagan" by Vanecia Rauls

"Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard" by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart

"Black Magick Woman: The Sinister Side of the Song of Solomon" by Janet Tyson

"Everyday Moon Magic" by Dorothy Morrisson

"Advanced Witchcraft" by Edain McCoy"

"Handfasting and Wedding Rituals" by Raven Kaldera and Tannin Schwartzstein

"Joing Hearts and Hands: Interfaith, Intercultural Wedding Celebrations" by Rev Susanna Stefanachi Macomb

"Handfasted and Heartjoined" by Lady Maeve Rhea

"Handfasting: A practical Guide" bu Mary Neasham

" Goddess in the Grass: Sperpentine Mythology and the great Goddess" by Linda Fourbister

"Theories of the Chakras: Bridges to Higher Conciousness" by Hiroshi Motoyama

"The Knife Thrower" by Steven Millhauser

"Schizophrenia: A Very Short Introduction" by Christopher Finn and Eve Johnstone

"Schizophrenia: The Facts" by Ming T. Tsuang and Stephen V. Faraone

"A Community of Witches" by Helen Berger and Colleagues

"American Gods" by Neil Gaiman"

"Scherzo" by Jim Williams"

"Goddess in the Grass: Serpentine Mythology and the Great Goddess" by Linda Fourbister

"The Forest of Souls" by Rachel Pollack

"Wiccan Roots" by Philip Heselton

"A User's Guide to the Brain" by John J Ratey, MD

"A Goddess Arrives" by Gerald Gardner

"A Community of Witches" by Helen Berger

"Nature Spirits" Selected lectures by Rudolf Steiner

"Fatal Majesty" by Reay Tannahill

"Myths to Live By" by Joseph Campbell

"The Secret Life of Germs" by Philip M Tierno Jr, PhD

"Adam, Eve, and the Serpent" by Elaine Pagels

"Whiteout: Melt" by Greg Rucka illustrated by Steve Lieber

"Whiteout" by Greg Rucka illustrated by Steve Lieber

"Queen and Country-Operation: Crystal Ball" by Greg Rucka illustrated by Leandro Fernandez

"Tunnel in the Sky" by Robert Heinlein

"The Sex Chronicles" by Zane

"The Black Man's Guide to Good Health" by Reed, Schulman and Shucker

"The Withdrawing Room" by Charlotte MacLoed

"Queen and Country-Operation: Morningstar" by Greg Rucka illustrated by Brian Hurtt

"The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2000" edited by David Quammen

"The Bourne Identity" by Robert Ludlum

"Gerald Gardner: Witch" by J.L. Bracelin

"Queen and Country-Operation: Broken Ground" by Greg Rucka illustrated by Steve Rolston

"The Ferryman Will Be There" by Rosemary Aubert

"Philosophy of Wicca" by Amber Laine Fisher

"Wilderness Tips" by Margaret Atwood

"Origins of Modern Witchcraft" by Anne Moura

Monday, December 02, 2002

WHO Top Ten List

According to the World Health Organisation, the top ten risks factors causing death and disease worldwide were (in order) being underweight, unsafe sex, high blood pressure, tobacco use, alcohol, lack of clean water and sanitation, iron deficiency, indoor smoke from fires, high cholesterol and obesity. Together these risk factors account for over a third of deaths world-wide. Yikes! What a collection.

See: http://www.who.int/whr/2002/overview/en/

In its report, the WHO also examined risk factors of death and disease by groups of similar countries. Not surprisingly, among high-mortality, developing countries the strongest risk factor was being underweight, while in developed western countries it was tobacco use. Unsafe sex was attributed to the about same amount of death and disease in high-mortality, developing countries as high blood pressure in developing countries; both were ranked second. Being overweight didn’t make it into the top ten of high-mortality, developing countries, but was ranked number four in developed nations; but three of the top ten listings in these countries were nutritional deficiencies (zinc, iron and vitamin A).

There seems to be a few theme running through this top 10 list. Many of the risk factors may be linked to poverty (underweight, unsafe sex, lack of clean water and sanitation, iron deficiency, indoor smoke from fires); some can be linked to modifiable life-style choices (unsafe sex, high blood pressure, tobacco use, alcohol, iron deficiency, high cholesterol, obesity), and a few seem to focus around diet (underweight, iron deficiency, high cholesterol, obesity). Also, some risk factors may be consequences of larger risk factors. For example, obesity has been associated with high blood pressure and high cholesterol; smoking is associated with high blood pressure, and being underweight may be associated with iron deficiency.

The fact that both being underweight and being obese appear on the list is interesting to me. Both seem to represent opposite ends of the scale on a pattern of consumption: too much or too little. According to the WHO, over 170 million children in poor countries are underweight and over 300 million people worldwide are clinically obese. In North America and Western Europe about half a million people die from obesity-related diseases every year. Without having the actual numbers and geographic distribution in front of me (no mention is made of incidence of obesity if poor countries, or underweight in North America and Western Europe), it would appear on the surface that death and disease from being underweight is predominant in poorer or “developing” countries, while death and disease in richer, western countries may be attributable to the complete reverse – obesity. Now to flip-side that even more, in Western countries where obesity is epidemic (and it is epidemic, look at the charts) , some men and women voluntarily starve themselves to achieve the “perfect” body represented by models and movie stars, and promoted by fashion and popular magazines. How screwed up is that?

Unsafe sex is an interesting one, especially since it made rank #2 on the top 10 list, ahead of tobacco and medical conditions. Unsafe sex is a is modifiable risk factor, and again, death and disease from this risk factor is probably most attributable to developing countries, given the spread of AIDS in these countries. Indeed the WHO report estimates that 99% of new HIV cases in Africa are due to unprotected sex. According to the WHO, HIV/AIDS is now the world’s fourth largest cause of death and 70% of people infected with HIV are in Africa. However, incidences of HIV in Eastern Europe and central Asia are the fastest rising.

People don’t usually think of obesity as being a killer disease. But there it is, up ahead of heart disease, cancer and even diabetes, none of which even made it in to the top ten. Obesity has been linked to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, hypertriglyceridemia and insulin resistance, which in turn have been linked to heart disease, diabetes, stroke and some forms of cancer. According the WHO report, obesity is killing The report shows that obesity is responsible for the deaths of about 220 000 men and women a year in the United States and Canada, and over 320 000 people in the 20 countries of Western Europe.

Obesity itself is a state of over-consumption. Looking closely at the top 10 list for developed countries, many of the risk factors are themselves over-consumption or attributable to over-consumption: tobacco, blood pressure, alcohol. cholesterol, overweight, illicit drugs. Interestingly, 30% of the list are problems of under-consumption: low fruit and vegetable intake, physical inactivity and iron deficiency. Even more revealing about “western” lifestyle when you consider that overweight shares the limelight with iron deficiency and inadequate consumption of fruits and vegetables. The last risk factor on developed countries was unsafe sex, the only item that I probably not a consumption issue.

When you look at the top 10 of developed countries (tobacco, blood pressure, alcohol. cholesterol, overweight, low fruit and vegetable intake, physical inactivity, illicit drugs, unsafe sex, iron deficiency) and compare them to those of high-mortality, developing countries (underweight, unsafe sex, poor sanitation, indoor smoke from solid fuels, zinc deficiency, iron deficiency, vitamin A deficiency, blood pressure, tobacco, cholesterol), what seems to jump out is that all of the risk factors of the developed countries are lifestyle-related and probably modifiable; whereas in the developing countries many of the risk factors are a consequence of standard of living and resources, and not modifiable by the individual. One thing that was not done by the WHO, which I think would be very interesting is to see if the underprivileged in developed countries have risk profile similar to those of developing countries, or to those of the “western” profile in which they live.

Amanda 12:15 PM
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