Childhood Obesity: the Epidemic Throughout America and Some Adverse Effects

Many people in America can go out on their block, their supermarket or their school or workplace can see the widespread epidemic that is childhood obesity. There are some disturbing facts about how present it is in our society. Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period. In 2012, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.

Overweight is defined as having excess body weight for a particular height from fat, muscle, bone, water, or a combination of these factors. Obesity is defined as having excess body fat. Overweight and obesity are the result of “caloric imbalance”—too few calories expended for the amount of calories consumed—and are affected by various genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors. Obese youth are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure. In a population-based sample of 5- to 17-year-olds, 70% of obese youth had at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Obese adolescents are more likely to have pre-diabetes, a condition in which blood glucose levels indicate a high risk for development of diabetes. Children and adolescents who are obese are at greater risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem.

People, especially parents, need to realize that it’s crucial to avoid giving kids unhealthy food. There are too many adverse effects to ever justify feeding children foods that will cause so many health risks.

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New “Thinspo” and “Thigh Gap” Craze Promoting Anorexia

Thinspo or Thinsporation: refers to the promotion of the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. Pictures, poems, quotes about being thin.

Today’s society seems to put a lot of pressure on people to look ‘perfect’. Young women seem to have the most pressure to look like the “16” year old girls in magazines. 69% of girls in 5th-12th grade reported that magazine pictures influenced their idea of a perfect body shape.

As a teenage girl I was always wondering when I would finally have the body of those “16” year old girls that I saw on TV. Too bad those actresses are actually 25 year old women pretending to be 16. Needless to day I am still waiting for my figure. Having unrealistic expectations of a woman’s body seems to be the norm and it is getting scarier.

There is a new trend in the ‘dying to be thin’ world and that is the “thigh gap”. If you don’t know what a thigh gap is, it is when a woman’s legs are so skinny that they don’t even touch. This is a terrifying new goal for young women. The human body is not meant to have such skinny legs that they can not touch. I am all for creating goals and obtaining new fitness levels but this is a scary trend.

This is scary because it is so unrealistic. Polly de Mille is an exercise physiologist in New York City. She pointed out that “No dieting or fitness regimen is going to change your bone structure.” A thigh gap is only obtainable through genetically wide hips. However most girls do not know about this.

According to a 10 year study in 2000 conducted by The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders 86% of college age students report onset of eating disorder by age 20. Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental disorder.

There is a small light of hope! American Eagle is starting a campaign to not Photoshop their models. Ideally it would be great if every company got on board with this new campaign to show girls that even models have bumps and curves.

So what can solve this epidemic? More emphasis on  eating healthy and exercising daily can really help our young women see their bodies as healthy and be happy with what they have. Instead of focusing on unrealistic goals we should have campaigns promoting loving yourself, good nutrition and exercise.

81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat (Mellin et al., 1991). What do you think should be done to stop our society from hating our bodies?

 

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Over 900 Workers Have Died Preparing For The World Cup In Qatar

Qatar plans on hosting the World Cup of soccer in 2022.  An event of this magnitude requires a lot of planning and building of an infrastructure to handle the amount of people that will be coming to view the games.  Qatar has been working on building the facilities since 2012, and in that time, more than 900 migrant have lost their lives on the job.  A recent report from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) says that, if conditions do not improve, at least 4,000 workers will die on the job.

The amount of workers who have died sounds shocking, but when compared to the casualty numbers from other large work projects in the past,  it is simply staggering.  In preparation for the recent Winter Olympics in Sochi, only 25 workers lost their lives.  Brazil, who is hosting the World Cup in 2014, has only lost six workers.  The fact that 900 workers have already died in Qatar and work isn’t even close to being finished shows that something is seriously wrong in Qatar.

There are currently 1.2 million migrant workers in Qatar right now working in deplorable conditions on the World Cup facilities.  They are living in overcrowded barracks and sickness is spreading fast through the tight quarters.  There are some reports of workers being denied everything from their wages, to clean drinking water.  With more than one million more workers expected to come to Qatar to work before the World Cup, the problem will only get worse.  That is why Fifa needs to take action and take it soon.  They should threaten to hold the World Cup somewhere else unless Qatar can fix the things they have done wrong and provide a safe work environment for the workers.

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How Top Youtuber “Pewdiepie” Accomplished Stardom

YouTube is a way for people to display their talents, thoughts, and opinions and is filled with  thousands upon thousands of video content. Whether its a cute British kid getting his finger bit by his brother or a girl filming her drunk cooking excursions, YouTube has it all.

Founded by Paypal employees in 2005, YouTube has more than 1 billion users that visit the site each month with over 6 billion hours of video content watched monthly. In other words, YouTube is huge and is essentially a world wide broadcasting company with over 80% of its viewers “tuning in” from outside the U.S.

There are all types of popular channels most of us know of like Epic Meal Time, Smosh, Rooster Teeth and Machinima. Each are unique and fall under different categories, but who is the most watched YouTuber of all? Well, that would be none other than Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg…basically some guy from Gothenburg, Sweden. You might know him as his more pronounceable name Pewdiepie.

What type of videos does “Pewds” make? He specializes in video game-play commentaries, otherwise known as “Let’s Play” videos. The videos feature a face-cam showing his reactions as well as the game-play. They are no doubt interesting to watch but why is he the number one subscribed individual out of every other channel? The answer would be timing, content, and productivity.

Felix made his first channel on Youtube in 2010. He got a few subscribers and then made a new channel because he didn’t like the other one’s name. He came up with Pewdiepie and started making videos. His first videos are very similar to the new videos he comes up with each week, but when he first started out Youtube was relatively new and not many people had really established their channels. Also Youtube hadn’t completely figured out how to cipher out good content from bad. When Youtube figured out how to do this through filters like rating videos by views, amount of thumbs up, time watched, and making playlists an option, Pewdiepie had a channel that was already developed and had some support from subscribers.

Next is the content of his videos; gaming. Gaming makes up 16 of the top 100 most subscribed channels. Not impressed? Looking at it from the perspective that 20 of the top 100 are large companies like Redbull, the NBA, and Youtube itself and another 15 are music artists like Britney Spears, One Direction, and Katy Perry, you can see just how much power video-gamers have. The reason why this is so  is because of theproductivity factor.

The key difference of gaming channels from others is that gaming allows for many video uploads fast. In a let’s play, for example, the video could consist of over 20 videos depending on how long the game is. Also when one of those videos are done, the viewer can instantly click the next video in the playlist. This allows for seamless, constant viewing and is why gamer channels have an easier time finding viewers and subscribers. Other channels may have to make more of a production out of their videos, like Smosh for example who comes up with funny skit like routines. Gaming channels simply hit record and play a game.

With new consoles already out and the amount of new games coming to the market, it looks like gaming channels will continue to dominate Youtube.

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FC Barcelona wins 4-3 over Real Madrid in thrilling “El Clasico” match, reviving title hopes

Sunday’s El Clasico game between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid may have been one of the more exciting Clasicos in recent times, and it has left the Catalan team only one point behind both Madrid teams, who sit on top of the table at 70 points, in what will be an exciting finish to this 2013-2014 season. Sunday’s game was not lacking in excitement, with 3 lead changes, great individual performances, stunning goals, 3 penalty kicks which led to goals, a red card for Madrid defender Sergio Ramos, and the usual confrontations between players as only this rivalry can provide.

The much anticipated game went off to a flying start when only 4 minutes into the game, Barcelona striker Lionel Messi received the ball nearly 30 yards out and played it through to his teammate on the left side, Andres Iniesta, who struck the ball from 16 yards out with his left foot, putting it into the roof of the net and beating Madrid goalkeeper Diego Lopez.

However it was the Madrid combination of midfielder Angel Di Maria and striker Karim Benzema that highlighted much of the first half. The two players had combined for 2 goals in the first half, with a Di Maria cross meeting an unmarked Benzema in the box, who buried the chances with a header and a volley. Both goals came within 4 minutes of each other, thrusting Madrid into a 2-1 lead after the 24th minute.

Lionel Messi was once again the central cog in the Barcelona machine, when 3 minutes before the end of the first half, the Argentine weaved his way through defenders, attempted a through ball to Brazilian teammate Neymar Jr., but then quickly recovered the ball and managed to shoot through 3 defenders and bring Barcelona back on level terms. The first half was filled with calls and replays indicating that referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco may have made some questionable decisions.

The second half went underway, and 10 minutes into the second half Real Madrid were awarded a penalty kick for a foul Dani Alves committed as Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo made a weaving run into the box. Debate ensued as the replay showed that Ronaldo was fouled outside the box, a potential mistake made by the referee. The Portuguese man made no mistake, however, and it became 3-2 after 55 minutes.

10 minutes later, Barcelona were awarded their own penalty as Neymar was tripped up by Madrid defender Sergio Ramos, who the referee had sent off for the challenge. Lionel Messi had converted the penalty, and Madrid manager made the decision to take off his striker Benzema in order to strengthen his defense in putting on Raphael Varane. Barcelona were once again level with over 20 minutes left to play.

Towards the end of the game Barcelona were awarded their 2nd penalty, when Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso missed his challenge for the ball and fouled Andres Iniesta in the box, leaving Messi to take another penalty kick which he sent into the top corner, completing his hat-trick and giving his team a much needed victory against their rivals, with 4-3 the final score.

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Tires, Kyle Busch Star In NASCAR California Slugfest

200 laps at Fontana’s Auto Club Speedway provided a sellout crowd a show for the ages. Between teams coping with tire wear and a frantic final run to the checkered flag, Sunday’s Auto Club 400 lived up to the expectations after last year’s frantic finish that left Kyle Busch in victory lane and Denny Hamlin in the hospital with a broken back after a wreck with Joey Logano battling for the lead on the last lap. Ironically, Sunday’s race started without Hamlin after a sinus infection imparing his vision caused him to leave for the hospital before the race. Sam Hornish Jr. took over driving duties for Hamlin and managed to come away with a 17th place finish.

But Sunday’s major story during the race was teams pushing the fine line between performance and destroying their tires throughout the race. A combination of factors, including teams running lower left side tire pressures than recommended, cars having more downforce and speedway officials grinding out bumps on the track’s backstretch led to several left side tire failures during the course of 400 miles. Several drivers contending for the win had their shots ruined by blown left side tires, including Jimmie Johnson. Johnson led over half the race only to lose the lead with six laps to go when his left front tire blew out, handing the lead to teammate Jeff Gordon. Gordon himself had a tumultuous race, which began with a pit road speeding penalty 20 laps in that resulted in the #24 car passing nearly the entire field before another miscue sent him to the back. In a situation similar to Bristol’s race ending, an official caused the pit road entry lights to not switch until after Gordon had passed the entry under caution. Gordon had to pit a lap later and then move through the field again.

The final 5 laps of the race became a tense showdown between Gordon and his tires to see whether the four-time Sprint Cup champion could make it to the end without an issue. But more tire problems arose after Johnson’s blowout and several cars began to come to pit road with blown out tires. Last week’s runner-up, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., had a left rear go flat that resulted in last year’s rookie of the year to spin out, but no caution was thrown for his spin. With two laps to go Clint Bowyer had a similar situation, but as he spun in turn three NASCAR threw the yellow, setting up green-white-checkered finish that erased Gordon’s nearly eight second lead over Kyle Busch.

During the caution Landon Cassill stayed out of the pits and inherited the lead, but was quickly swept away by the rest of the field on the restart. Kurt Busch took over the lead from Cassill, only to be passed out of turn two on the final lap by his brother Kyle. Following closely in the younger Busch’s tire tracks was Saturday’s Nationwide race winner Kyle Larson, as he moved into second as Busch took over the lead. Larson was unable to make a challenge for the race lead and Kyle Busch made it back to the line to claim his first victory of the season and second in a row at Auto Club Speedway. Busch’s win makes it five different winners in the first five races of the season and practically guarantees him a spot in the Chase. Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart finished third and fifth, respectively, with pole-sitter Matt Kenseth splitting the two in fourth.

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Dallas Buyers Club: A movie with superb acting

It has been about 2 to 3 weeks since I have seen the movie Dallas Buyers Club, and yet at the same time, for me at least, I cant get over the film. It was brilliantly written, the acting was phenomenal, the editing was impeccable, and the over all feel of the movie kept me interested the entire length of the film. It was such an excellent movie.

For those of you that haven’t seen the film, let me give you a short synopsis. The film follows a man in the 80s by the name of Ron Woodroof who is played by Matthew McConaughey who is a guy who constantly drinks and sleeps with numerous women. He is then diagnosed with HIV and begins to treat it with different medication and also selling them as well. At first he is trying to make a lot of money but as the movie progresses you see him slowly start to change. This is a very watered down plot of the movie but I guarantee it is so much better than I am describing.

I enjoyed everything about this movie but what really stood out to me was the caliber of acting. I did not for one second expect that Matthew McConaughey was able to put on a performance that made an audience believe the character was a real person. His usual roles were the handsome buff guy doing something whether it was wooing ladies or killing people. But after watching this movie you can truly see how much he cares about his craft. And Matthew McConaughey’s performance was just the  tip of the ice berg. Jared Leto’s performance was outstanding. Actally come to think of it there was not one okay performance they were all great. So if you get the chance, please watch this movie because it was worth watching.

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Facebook Creates High-Tech Facial Recongnition Program

Facebook has been working on a facial recognition system called DeepFace. This program identifies faces of people from pictures almost as well as a regular person. It correctly identified faces 97.25% of the time. Humans scored around 97.53%, which is really close. The program needs a picture of a forward-looking face and then it starts looking for features that match to the face it scanned. This will eliminate the step of people tagging one another in each picture they take. This technology will be great for airport security and other high criminal areas.

This technology sounds great at first, but it’s a big issue with privacy. Now companies can pay companies to find pictures of you doing things you shouldn’t. For example if you partied in college and you’re in a picture of someone smoking pot and you didn’t know and a company finds this then your might not get the job if it’s for government or being a teacher.

This technology could be good for online dating. It’s one way to find out if people are really posting pictures of themselves or taking them from other peoples profiles or from the Internet. This could also be good for paying sites as well. They can do background checks on each member and have the ability to know if your answers to their questions are true or false.

With any new technology there will always be pros and cons to it. The question at hand is if this technology will be used mostly for good or will it be used for someone’s own benefit for evil?

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President Obama Launches New Website to Reduce Climate Change.

One issue that has constantly been at the forefront of concerns is that of global warming. Although some may not like to think such a thing actually occurs, undoubtedly, climate change is a serious issue. As a result, President Barack Obama took steps to bring awareness to the subject.

Last week, President Obama initiated a website known as climate.data.gov which will transfer data from reports on changes in the Earth’s environment into comprehensive presentations.

The website is in preparation for the President’s latest plan to enact steeper regulations aimed at reducing emissions produced by plants run on coal. Mr. John Podesta, President Obama’s counselor, is at the forefront of the upcoming regulations and is working to eliminate the negative criticism of the fight against global warming.

The overall desired outcome of the project is to bring awareness to the local populations about what is occurring in their own neighborhoods. This way, they will be more likely to take action and do what they can to reduce carbon emission.

Without a doubt, this is a great step towards eliminating the atmospheric pollutants and other harmful agents present in the environment. With such things as reducing the amount of time spent driving or carpooling with others, the simplest things can help accomplish this goal.

Communities can further help the environment by limiting time spent showering and cutting down the amount of water spent on lawns and flower gardens. Additionally, another great and simple way one can help the Earth is by recycling.

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Vince Wilfork: His contract situation with the New England Patriots and what should happen

 

With all of the offseason success that the New England Patriots have encountered so far in the new NFL year, there is still one glaring negative that hasn’t been resolved so far, the contract situation regarding defensive captain Vince Wilfork. Wilfork, who is 32, had his 2013 NFL season cut to only 4 games due to an Achilles injury against the Atlanta Falcons. With Wilfork having only one year left on his contract, creating an 11 million dollar cap hit, the Patriots have approached him with the idea of restructuring or extending his contract to try and lower that cap number and have more flexibility with free agents and rookies in the draft.

However, Wilfork isn’t taking well to the idea of a restructure and has since requested the organization that he has been a part of since 2004, to release him and let him go in to the free agent market. The Patriots haven’t granted his request as of now and it leaves the two sides in an interesting stand-off. With both sides having valid arguments, the Patriots feeling that Wilfork is up there in age and shouldn’t be costing the franchise that much. Wilfork on the other-hand is arguing that he has given so much to the franchise for so long that he deserves all of that money.

Ultimately, I think cooler heads will prevail and they will both come to their senses and figure out a way to be able to keep him on the roster. Even with the countless examples of players in the past that have been let go, Wilfork could be a special case and stick around.

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