Childhood Obesity: Physical Effects

Obesity can be a problem as early as kindergarten for some children. Children who suffer from obesity will most likely endure a lifelong struggle with physical and emotional consequences.

Physical effects of obesity in children include difficulty keeping up with physical activities, problems sleeping, and trouble with breathing. Not only are obese children more often affected by asthma, they also have problems with sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is being recognized with more frequency as the incidence of pediatric obesity rises. Clinically significant effects on learning and memory function have been documented in children with obstructive sleep apnea as a consequence of obesity. (Must, Aviva, Ph.D., ET AL, 2003 “Effects of Obesity on Morbidity in Children and Adolescents” Nutrition in Clinical Care, p. 8).

Childhood obesity clearly impacts the health of the growing child. Furthermore, it is considered an important disease because of its link to long-term health problems including type II diabetes, hypertension, some forms of cancer, lack of energy and asthma. The incidence of type II diabetes in children is expected to grow in parallel with the rise in obesity. Onset diabetes in childhood is a predictor of early onset of diabetes complications including cardiovascular disease, kidney failure and amputations (Must, p. 131). Approximately 60% of overweight five to ten year old children experience at least one associated biochemical or clinical cardiovascular risk factor, such as hyperlipidemia, elevated blood pressure, or increased insulin levels, and 25% have two or more (Koplan, JP, Deitz WH., “Calorie Imbalance and Public Health Policy” The Journal of the American Medical Association, 1999. p 1579).

Children from lower income families are at a greater disadvantage because the majority of this population resides in neighborhoods with intimidating playgrounds. Concerned with street safety, children are often kept inside by parents and they tend to spend more time in front of the television or playing video games.

Playgrounds in lower income neighborhoods tend to be filthy, with broken bottles, trash and graffiti covering the park. Although the playground has basketball courts, swings and jungle gyms, they are generally not child friendly. The parks are usually populated with young adults hanging out, intimidating the younger children. This is not a safe environment for children to play in and not one in which children could safely play unsupervised.

Schools are contributing to childhood obesity by failing to make physical education an important part of the curriculum. Children don’t get enough exercise at school. Time allotted for gym is inadequate and infrequent. Teachers can try to compensate by providing their classes with additional outside play time. The physical education program is extremely vital and deserving of more attention.

Implementation of after school programs that emphasize physical activities such as kickball and basketball should be a priority. There is a need for an after school athletic program at the elementary level to augment the physical education program and provide a safe, healthy environment for lower income children as well. This would be a benefit for children as well as parents, and an important factor in reducing obesity in children.

Copyright (c) 2007 Gurion Blattman

An Open Letter to Parents and Educators Who Refuse to Give Up on Childhood Obesity Prevention

One of our biggest challenges is finding adults (i.e. parents and educators, including physical educators) who actually believe that today’s kids can be systematically motivated enough to tackle a difficult task like learning to do pull ups, in front of their peers and stick with it week after week, month, after month, all year long, until they naturally immunize themselves against obesity for life.

That is to say, it’s easy for most adults agree with the claim that kids who can do pull ups are never obese. Most have witnessed that during their school years. Furthermore they also agree with the claim that those kids who successfully learn to do pull ups have naturally immunized themselves against obesity for life as long as they maintain the ability, because they intuitively know that people who can do pull ups can’t be obese.

Too Much for Them to Swallow

But to think that today’s generation of couch potato laden, video gamed, fast food oriented kids can be systematically motivated enough to take the action necessary to learn to do pull ups is just more than most parents or educators can swallow. And when adults really believe that it can’t be done, the world’s simplest solution to childhood obesity never even gets a chance to succeed. As we all know, when you fail to try at anything, failure becomes a foregone conclusion, a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Aimed at Adults Who Refuse to Quit on Kids

With all that said, this message is aimed at those unique parents and educators who refuse to believe that today’s kids are just too lethargic, too preoccupied, too self absorbed, and too lazy to tackle a difficult task like pull ups, in front of their peers, week after week, month after month, all year long until they finally succeed. If you refuse to swallow this conventional indoctrination then consider the following scenario.

A Two Factor Problem

Childhood obesity can be boiled down into two simple factors. If kids eat better and exercise more, there are very few of them who are unable to eliminate obesity from their lives for ever and ever. That being the case, the issue can be boiled down even further. Childhood obesity prevention is all about motivating kids to eat better and exercise more. Yes, it’s all about motivation, motivation, and more motivation.

The Two Components of Motivation

Motivation in this case has two components including regular, documented progress, and regular peer approval/celebration. In other words, in this program most participants can actually see themselves growing a little bit stronger (it’s documented twice a week) week after week for eight, ten, and even twelve consecutive weeks before they reach a point where the workload becomes seriously challenging. Most kids then are easily motivated by experiencing a regular (and tangible) return on their investments of time and effort week after week, month after month, all year long.

Not only that, every time they finish a set of pull ups they get high fives and are congratulated by their peers and teachers for eight, ten, or twelve straight weeks. Under these conditions it doesn’t take long for these kids to understand that succeeding in public at a difficult task in front of your friends is FUN, and it’s something to take pride in.

And When the Going Gets Tough

Under these conditions, when the challenge increases and the going gets tough, these same kids will dig down a little deeper in order to find a way to keep that regular success and public adulation flowing freely. It’s cool. And once they recognize that they’re so close to the finish line, you’d be amazed at how dedicated these 21st century kids can be to mastering the art of pulling their own weight. That level of dedication I like to call Relentless Persistence and it’s the key of keys to winning in life.

But When the Adults Fail to Believe…

But the unique experience of seeing kids develop their own personalized edition of relentless persistence is only possible when the adults who work with them cough up the conventional (no we can’t) kool-aid and understand that 21st century kids want to succeed just as much as generations of kids before them. You just have to present them with the right opportunity in the right light and let them get after it. In the process they’ll naturally immunize themselves against obesity for life by learning to physically handle their own weight. A greater educational achievement would be hard to imagine.

Backpacking Trip

Many people are looking for a more active and healthy alternative to the typical vacation. Some are heading out into various beautiful wilderness areas on backpacking trips. Or they may be traveling to far away cities around the world. Whether looking for inexpensive and adventurous ways to get away from it all or having had some hiking and camping experiences in the past, planning a backpacking trip could fulfill your needs.

There are many things that people think about when they hear the term backpacking trip. For some, it recalls urban backpacking culture, where men and women would crisscross the urban landscape with their backpacks, living without anything except what rests in their packs. To others backpacking often refers to an intense, outdoor camping experience. A backpacking trip can take a single weekend or a few months, depending on what the backpacker wants. Traveling by backpack can take you across the globe. A backpacker can see the landscape and meet people on a personal basis at a slower pace.

There has been a significant increase in backpacking trips across places like southeast Asia. You may find backpackers in a truly wide variety of areas. Not only will they frequent the cities, but they will also head out into vast stretches of wilderness, displaying a truly formidable type of self-reliance. If you are interested in backpacking trips, don’t worry! There’s no need to start off in this fashion; you will find plenty of different opportunities to hit the trail, many of them no further than your own home state.

There is a real trend of environmental awareness on many backpacking trips. You will find that many people subscribe to the idea that you should take only photographs, leave only footprints and kill only time. This is an environmentally responsible credo and you will find that when you go backpacking that you are often responsible for your own trash, so plan accordingly. There are many different ways that experienced backpackers will conserve resources and reduce their waste products.

There are many ways to get started backpacking; few people simply hit the trail alone. Most often, people end up going with friends or family that will give them a lifelong love of the event, but other people won’t be introduced until a great deal later in their life. You will find that if you are really determined and can’t talk any of your friends or family into going with you, you will find that there are plenty of backpacking tours and guides that are available. Even if you can’t find anyone else who is interested, there is no reason you can’t take to the trail on your own.

A good backpacking trip can really change your entire life and world view. When you go backpacking, you will find that getting away from it all means a lot more than just turning your cell phone off. There are plenty of different reasons why you might want to go on a backpacking trip, but one great reason to go is to give yourself time to think. Find out a little bit more about this overwhelmingly rich opportunity by heading to backpacking trip.

Acne Skin Products – How to Choose the Best One?

Acne skin products are made with the aim to reach out to thousands of sufferers trying to cope up with this awful skin condition. These products usually work quickly towards making improvements in the skin by removing acne and leaving the skin much cleaner and healthier as well. With the sudden rise in concern about this skin problem, countless products have come up as a healing solution. However, not all of these products are safe and effective.

The recent acne products target the acne and aim to clean them up from their roots. This is achieved by cleansing the face thoroughly without being very harsh. This helps in limiting the proliferation of bacteria and results in impurities removal. They help in eliminating acne and in turn provide a supple texture to the skin that further helps in limiting the production of oil and preventing the bacteria from proliferating. This in turn helps in clearing acne within a very short span of time.

Skin care products range from the topical over-the-counter solutions to oral pills and medications. Also there are natural remedies to relieve the condition. You can avail the OTC medications from online pharmacies and local stores, while for the topical and the oral solutions, you would have to see a dermatologist.

Before purchasing OTC, one must be very careful about the ingredients contained in them. The best treatment for acne includes benzoyl peroxide, resoycinol, sulfur and salicyclic acid. These ingredients must be contained in a good OTC product. The ingredients help in maintaining the physiological balance of the skin while eliminating harmful bacteria completely. However, you must follow the directions mentioned on the label.

The recent acne skin products are by far the best in the business and have also been influencing the cause of acne outbreaks. They are widely available in the form of gels, lotions, creams, ointments, pads and oral solutions. But the basic remains unchanged – cleansing the skin is the very first step to start off your session.

Once your skin is clean, chances of developing acne reduce significantly. However, if you are still suffering, you must choose a product that will not just cure your acne but will also prevent scarring. That’s a must!

Making Grocery Shopping Less Of A Chore

I don’t know about you, but going food shopping is not at the top of my list of favorite things to do. I have too many other things I either have to do or want to do with my time.

The thought of preparing the shopping list, gathering the coupons to go with the list, trudging off to the supermarket to run up and down the aisles, finding the items you need, comparison shop and then stand in a long line to pay for your purchases can definitely cause a feeling of dread.

However, grocery shopping is a great way to start learning how to get organized by saving time and energy. You do need to be organized in order to make that shopping excursion less stressful and not so time-consuming.

  • DON’T FEEL OVERWHELMED Organizing your grocery shopping trip can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t need to be. You just need to be prepared. It’s important to know what you need at the store before you begin.
  • THE FIRST STEP Preparing the grocery list is the first step you need to take and it can either be complicated or easy. If you wait until you need to go to the store because the cabinets are bare before you begin to compile your list, you’ve wasted valuable time. Start to compile your list as you are preparing a meal, finishing a snack, or any other time you notice that you are running low on an item. Don’t rely on your memory to recall what you need days later. Prepare the list as you go instead of having to do an entire inventory in your pantry. When the list gets long enough, it’s time to go shopping.
  • TWO WAYS TO PREPARE YOUR SHOPPING LIST You can either manually prepare a shopping list by writing down each and every item or you can have a prepared list that you simply check off as you run out of items. The second choice definitely will save you time. Having a list of all possibilities at your finger tips that you simply check off is definitely easier and less time consuming. Think about how much time you will save by just checking off items as opposed to having to manually write each one down on a list.
  • CATEGORIZE When preparing your shopping list, be sure that like-items are categorized together to save you time when in the store. You will avoid having to run back and forth from aisle to aisle to get what you need. Grouping items together makes sense.
  • UTILIZING COUPONS When it comes to utilizing coupons, the first step you need to take is to have a coupon organizer. There are several choices. You can purchase a prepared grocery coupon organizer with the various categories already printed on the tabs or you can create your own. You can purchase a pocket check file with dividers at your local office supply store and create your own categories. You can use a simple pocket file and input separate envelopes for either particular categories of items. Another alternative is to separate your coupons into envelopes by month of expiration to avoid being unable to utilize that coupon because it expired. Any of these systems are perfectly fine. If you need to locate coupons other than those you get in your Sunday newspaper or in the mail, there are plenty of sites on line for you to download coupons from such as www.coolsavings.com or www.smartsource.com. You can also go onto the product website itself to get what you need. You can even swap with neighbors, friends or family members from time to time to get the ones you use.
  • COMPARISON SHOPPING If you want to do some comparison shopping, you will need to take some time to look at the fliers that come in the mail each week. There are two theories. You can either run to several stores to get the best deals or you can save time and just go to the local grocery store that, in general, gives you the best prices. You need to weigh the extra time and extra gas used to get your around vs. the extra savings. More than likely, if you locate the store that on average gives you the best deals, you will be making out about the same and saving lots of time and energy. Again, when you get to the store, having a shopping list that is categorized with like-items together will save you lots of time. If you are not familiar with the layout of the store, you can probably get a store map at the Customer Service desk.
  • SAVING TIME WHEN CHECKING OUT In order to avoid spending extra time standing in line to pay for your items, determine the times when it is least crowded. Avoid shopping on weekends if possible towards the end of the week at night after most people get their paychecks. Try to shop during the day at the beginning of the week if possible or very late at night to avoid those long lines.

By taking these steps, you will find that you can make your grocery shopping less of a chore. Seek out the tools that will help you be more efficient when it comes to doing your grocery shopping. You have better things to do with your time and being organized at the grocery store can help.

Small Business Ideas – Turn That Soap Making Hobby Into Cash!

In today’s business world, anything goes. With the arrival of the internet and its ability to reach potential customers in every corner of the world, businesses that never would have made it off of the ground 10 years ago, are able to take off with little effort. There has never been more freedom in small business, and any hobby or any dream you have held in the back of your mind for years and years can easily be turned into your own business, and a great stream of income.

Take soap making for example, throughout the years, many people have made their own soap. What started out a necessity for early settlers has become a hobby for most, and a way to ensure that we know exactly what is going in and on our bodies. Coupled with the boom on handmade products these days, a soap making business is sure to be a success. Even if you have never made your own soap before, you can easily learn. There are countless websites devoted to soap making, and books and videos can be found at your local library.

There are also very little start-up costs involved. Soap base is fairly inexpensive, and additives like oils, creams, dried herbs, and exfoliating ingredients such as ground walnut shells and loofah bits can also be purchased in bulk at low prices. You can purchase molds for your handmade soap, or you can use everyday things you have lying around your house such as loaf pans and interesting muffin tins. These produce that great rustic look that so many consumers are looking for, and will pay good money to get it.

Urban Fashion – The Ultimate Fashion Statement Of The New Generation

A distinctive style of dressing originated among the African American youths centering the cities of Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Detroit, Atlanta, Virginia etc. This style of dressing is known as the Hip Hop fashion or the urban fashion. Urban fashion, as we know it today is not the product of one single city, but all the cities have added some flavor of their own to make it popular. In general, this fashion is closely related to the expressions and the attributes of the hip hop culture. Urban fashion has evolved with the passage of time and it has made its own mark in the fashion world. In the present times it is accepted and followed by people of all ethnicity.

In the 1990s, Tommy Hilfiger was one of the most celebrated and prominent brands regarding sportswear though other brands like Nautica, DKNY, Calvin Klein etc were also popular. When Snoopy Doggy Dogg, the famous American rapper wore a Hilfiger sweatshirt during his performance on Saturday Night Live, all the stocks of that particular shirt were sold out the very next day from the New York City stores. This incident clearly shows the popularity of urban fashion among the American youth population.

The first one to set the trend of the emerging hip hop fashion is Karl Kani. He started a completely new fashion movement by combining his passions, and thereby he was followed by many fashion designers in the near future. In the late 90s many hip hop artists launched their own fashion labels and clothing lines, for instance, Russell Simmons (Phat Farm), Diddy (Sean John), 50Cent (G-Unit Clothing) etc. This fashion genre has been dominated by the upcoming urban clothing lines and will continue to do so.

However, nowadays in the world of the hip hop fashion there has been a resurgence of the old fads with the emerging new ones. In the last few years of the last decade music artists popularized the trend of getting tattoos all over the body. Tygart, Soulja Boy etc are some of the typical examples. Though tattoos have been much common in the film industry, but it has never been of much importance in the hip hop industry.

In spite of its huge popularity, the urban fashion had to face much criticism from the commentators of both the inside and outside communities, regarding the cost of the accouterments of this specific fashion. Some even expressed disappointment regarding expensive hip hop or urban fashion brands in several magazines.

Future Online Video for UK Business: Online Multimedia, Content Creation and Fast Distribution

Companies streaming videos online are showing an exponential increase in usage. Year on year the figures keep rising. Two key contributing factors are:

• Better broadband speeds

• Development of efficient backbone networks that speed delivery of content by providers

The future of online video for business will surely continue to increase. This market is truly lucrative and has been compared by some to the dot com boom of 2000.

Within the UK, our digital industries pull in around 10% of the country’s GDP, which equates to the princely sum of approximately £130 billion. With the digital economy employing near to 2 million people, this represents nearly 6% of total UK employment. The UK also has the largest creative sector within the EU and is a real force within the global market. The demand for creative content is also a growing industry, in particular, content in English.

The Prime Minister just announced his ambitions to make the UK have Europe’s best superfast broadband by 2015 and also, to turn a corner of east London into a Tech City. The UK’s answer to Silicon Valley.

Some Interesting and Relevant Stats from The Oxford Research Agency:

• 85% of the UK is now online

• A Third have uploaded to a Video Sharing Site

• 85% watch Video Clips Online

• A Quarter write Blogs

• In the Past Year the number of people watching TV Online has grown by 600%

• 78 of UK user look online before making a purchase

All these contributing factors make the future of creative online content creation a veritable gold mine. Figures show that this growth is set to continue by an estimated 4% each year.

The future of the internet will mean that every user can become a multimedia producer. It has never been easier to produce a whole variety of media from publishing pictures, video recordings, slideshows and podcasts. It is also just as easy when it comes to uploading content and of course sharing which is inherently what makes online communities so popular.

Content distribution will be available over a whole host of networks; this streamed content will be available on everything from mobile smart phones to high-definition home theatres.

A full integration of all our online media is just around the corner with everyone wanting everything in one location, storage and distribution will be effortless.

Many businesses are slowly coming round to the fact, that they may be better, to move with the times rather than hold off any more. We can expect to see a vast increase in video streaming suppliers and content creators. TV as we know is slowly making way for a more interactive and connected internet TV platform. Television advertising revenues in the UK are showing a continued decline. The rate of revenue in 2009 was down to £3.54bn, to put this in context this was lower than the market in 2003.

As the UK technology industry continues to grow this can hopefully act as a catalyst to help other UK businesses take advantage of a highly skilled local workforce and reap the benefits of this digital revolution.

University Devry’s Online Bachelor Degree Programs Review

University Devry is a brick & mortal university founded on 1931 as a film and radio repair teaching establishment. Today, it has become one of the top ranking and the largest university that run for profit in United States. The degree programs offered by the university cover almost every career fields. In conjunction with the growth of online education, University Devry has followed the technology trend to offer online degree programs for students who prefer to earn their degree through online media. Here we will review the major online bachelor degree programs offered by University Devry.

By understanding the tight working schedule and family commitment for today’s working individuals, University Devry opens most of their class-based degree programs to online students so that they can pursue their degree from anywhere and at anytime that fit the best to their schedule. Most of online bachelor degree programs offered by University Devry are focus on technology-based and career-oriented which will prepare students to earn their related career degree to compete in the constant changing working environment of today’s businesses and industries.

University Devry offers 5 online bachelor degree programs for online students and each bachelor degree programs have various concentrations for students to choose one that best fit their needs. The bachelor online degree programs offers are:

[1] Business Administration Degrees

The online bachelor degrees in business administration have 12 concentrations for you to choose from. These concentrations are: Accounting, Business Information Systems, Finance, Health Services Management, Hospitality Management, Human Resource Management, Operations Management, Project Management, Sales & Marketing, Security Management, Small Business Management & Entrepreneurship and Technical Communication. The business administration degrees prepare the students for the required credential to increase their competitive edge in making a success in their career.

[2] Computer Information Systems

University Devry offers career-oriented computer information systems degrees for online students. Among the concentrations that designed specially to help their students meet their career goal are: Business/Management, Computer Forensics, Database Management, Information Systems Security, Systems Analysis and Integration, Web Development and Administration.

[3] Game & Simulation Programming

Gaming and software simulation industries are in the rapid grow trend, the market is in highly demand for graduates in this major. If you choose to pursue online bachelor degree majoring in game & simulation programming, you can even select to master in one of the programming languages such as C++ and C#, artificial intelligence, industry-standard software packages, game engine development, and much more so that you can be expert in an area of your interest.

[4] Network and Communications Management

In today’s modem businesses, nearly every business depends on network. This career fields require experts to effectively manage the network and communication infrastructure. Hence there are huge career opportunities for those who are interested in this career field. University Devry offers the online option on bachelor degree in Network and Communication Management to prepare students with the necessary skills and knowledge to success in this career field.

[5] Technical Management

If you are interested to start your career in the fastest growing field of Criminal Justice and Healthcare Industries, then you might want to consider the online bachelor degree in technical management. The degree has two specializations for your choose from. You can choose to major in either Criminal Justice or Health Information Management depends on your area of interest.

Summary

The online bachelor degree programs offered by University Devry which focus on technology-based and career-oriented prepare the online students with the required skills and knowledge for their selected career field.

Why You Should Consider a Career in Culinary Arts

Are you a certified foodie? Do you always have well-attended parties because of the food you serve? You definitely should think about a career in culinary arts.

You may be earning well in your current profession, but does the job make you happy? Your love for food and your passion for preparing them can actually give you a much better career than what you have right now. Even if there is a growing number of culinary professionals nowadays, there is always room for one more.

If people have been telling you to become a chef or try your hand in the restaurant business, give it some thought. If you are undecided which area of the culinary arts you want to concentrate on, you may get yourself an associate degree in culinary arts. The programs under it are geared towards training you with the basics. There are some programs however, that give you a taste of some specialized area like baking. This is a good education option that can actually help you see which definite area of the culinary arts you want to pursue. After you have established your interests, you will be ready to go further with your education and get a bachelor’s degree in culinary arts.

Cooking schools and culinary institutes will also give you courses on business and give you the needed exposure through internship programs. These methods will more than prepare you for the competitive culinary arts industry.

It does not happen often when one makes a living doing what he wants. Most of the time, people struggle to go to work because they are stuck with jobs that do not stimulate their interests, except of course for the paycheck that come with them. It is important to understand though that if you want to consider a career in the culinary arts, it can mean spending plenty of time in the workplace. Culinary professionals are generally workaholics. They work long hours and most of the work is physically demanding. It does not exactly mean that you need to lift heavy boxes most of the day, but some work would entail you to roll several pounds of dough or mix barrelful of ingredients. Plus, holidays are mostly the “must work” days and your weekends could become nonexistent, not to mention your social life.

This reality would scare anyone. Some people will be proud and happy to have some other kind of job. But for those who have the genuine passion to cook and the ultimate fondness for preparing food, these are all part of the satisfaction that comes with the job. Most culinary professionals say that the industry is only for those crazy enough to take on the hard and exhausting work. But their job gives them the self-fulfillment that they can not find anywhere else.