Despite all these avenues for accessing knowledge about our health, inaccurate or conflicting information continues to be spread — whether passed from parent to child, or from Web site to Web site. It can be challenging for even the most wellinformed people to discern between what medical information is credible and what is not.

Our health can depend on our own ability to sort through all of the information and determine what is reliable. To help with that task, we consulted with some of the top doctors and researchers at KU Medical Center to help uncover the truth (or fiction) behind a few commonly held beliefs about medicine and public health.

Fact

Recent studies have suggested that a surprising number of overweight people – about half – have normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels. This is bolstering the argument that you can be hefty and healthy, or at least healthier than has been previously believed.

Christie Befort, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, said research does indicate that physical fitness reduces all-cause, cardiovascular, and diabetesrelated mortality across all body mass index (BMI) categories. But that doesn’t mean overweight and obese people are in the clear if they exercise.

“Being overweight or obese continues to be a large and substantial risk factor for developing Type 2 diabetes and other health problems, even among individuals who meet physical activity recommendations of 30 minutes a day, five days a week,” Dr. Befort said.

Fiction

It has been estimated that just 5 to 10 percent of all female breast cancer cases are hereditary. They occur as the result of an inherited alteration in a gene. Cancers that arise as a result of these powerful alterations in genes are termed “hereditary” breast cancer. In hereditary breast cancer families, approximately 50 percent of women will be affected, and half of these cancers occur before the age of 50.

“Most often, breast cancer is not a result of change in one of these powerful genes, but rather a complex interplay of changes in weaker genes, a woman’s reproductive history, environmental influences, and lifestyle choices,” said Carol Fabian, MD, director of KU’s Breast Cancer Prevention Center.

Fact

Familial Alzheimer’s disease (FAD) or early-onset Alzheimer’s is an inherited, rare form of the disease, affecting less than 1 percent of Alzheimer’s disease patients. FAD develops before age 65, in people as young as 35. It is caused by one of three gene mutations on chromosomes 1, 14 and 21. But the majority of Alzheimer’s disease cases are late-onset, usually developing after age 65, said Jeffrey Burns, MD, assistant professor and director of the Alzheimer & Memory Center at KU Medical Center.

“A family history of Alzheimer’s disease might mean your risk is slightly elevated, but it by no means indicates that occurrence of the disease is inevitable,” said Dr. Burns. “Genetic risk factors alone are not enough to cause the late-onset form of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers are actively exploring education, diet and environment to learn what role they might play in the development of the disease.”

Fiction

If only the human brain had an untapped 90 percent reserve that could be used for psychic powers, excelling at trivia games, or remembering relatives’ names at reunions! Alas, that doesn’t appear to be the case. For better or worse, most people’s brains are running on all cylinders. The origin of this myth is unclear. Researchers have speculated that the theory materialized from misconstrued scientific papers by early brain researchers, which referred to a huge percentage of the cerebral hemisphere as the “silent cortex.”

“Brain imaging scans clearly show that the vast majority of the brain is used, though just as people don’t use all of their muscle groups at one time, they also don’t use all of their brain at a given time,” said Richard Dubinsky, MD, MPH, professor and program director for the Department of Neurology at KUMC. “We don’t use just 10 percent of our other organs, such as the heart, liver, or lungs, so why would the brain be any different?”

Fact

A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that spreads through human populations across a large region; for instance a continent, or even worldwide. Over the past 300 years, 10 influenza pandemics have occurred among humans. A number of current events and factors, including the recent spread of the avian influenza strain that circulated in Asia, have significantly heightened concern that a near-term pandemic may be imminent. Elizabeth Ablah, PhD, MPH, an assistant professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the KU School of Medicine in Wichita, said another pandemic is probably unavoidable.

“Prevention will be the key,” Dr. Ablah said. “The only way to deal with an influenza pandemic will be to minimize the number of people getting sick. Consistent and comprehensive hand-washing, strictly enforced social distancing measures, and the development of comprehensive contingency plans will be critical to health and survival.”

Fiction

Gum is made up of four general components, and our bodies can easily break down three of these. The gum’s flavorings, sweeteners and softeners are no match for human digestion. It’s the gum base that is indigestible. But Daniel Buckles, MD, an assistant professor with the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, said that does not mean gum lingers in the human stomach.

“Chewing gum passes through the human GI tract essentially in the form that it was swallowed,” Dr. Buckles said. “And it actually travels through at about the same rate as other digestive waste products, so is usually eliminated in about 24 to 48 hours.”