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12/16/2007: "Incontinence a byproduct of Western lifestyle"

One in four U.S. adults will experience incontinence at some point, a surprisingly high toll, and the condition is so embarrassing that many suffer silently, a government panel said Wednesday.

Women are most prone to incontinence, which is the inability to control urination or bowel movements. But everyone's risk rises as they get older. Being overweight and a couch potato adds to the risk.

With the population rapidly graying and fattening, scientists convened by the National Institutes of Health issued an urgent call for research to find better ways to prevent incontinence and to remove the stigma so more people will seek help.

[ We have a problem, so let's talk it to death and make it seem acceptable, which means that in public we pretend it's normal but in private we roll our eyes, knowing the real problem is being fat and old and lazy. We can't fix old, but what about the other two? Maybe instead of blaming incontinence on the gods we should look toward our own failings. ]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/conditions/12/12/incontinence.ap/index.html