Childhood Obesity – Exploring the Current Research on Child Obesity and Learning How to Reverse It
Childhood obesity statistics in the Unites States are at record highs – just like all health issues involving diet and exercise habits. In short, obesity in America is at epidemic levels as we have became the fattest nation on the planet. As we continue to tell ourselves that we are “just too busy” to plan and prepare healthful meals at home, we, and our children, grow continually larger and are significantly more likely to develop a variety of preventable diseases and health issues including, but certainly not limited to:
High cholesterol; High blood pressure (hypertension); Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes Insipidus; Kidney issues; Heart disease and circulatory problems; Cancer; Strokes; Liver disease; Arthritis; Gout; Premature aging and even death; More… While these issues used to be thought to lay in wait for adults only, they are now becoming increasingly evident in our children. The single most prevalent reason is our poor dietary habits.Causes of obesity in our children:Modern research on child obesity is quite disturbing indeed. Our children are being introduced to health problems at staggeringly young ages because parents are not feeding them correctly and ensuring that they get adequate exercise. Here are some tips to reverse your child’s progression towards childhood obesity:
Recognize that children do not need to have diets specifically for them. Healthy food is healthy food. It really doesn’t matter if your child prefers a Big Mac meal with supersized fries to a salmon filet and wild rice. You are the parent and you need to provide healthy food choices for your child. Just because your child is growing does not mean that they need every bit of food that they can possibly stuff down their throats. More is definitely not better. Sensible portions of nutrient-packed foods are what is needed. Just because a teenage boy feels like a big man because he can gobble down 3 nutritionally-void Whoppers from Burger King doesn’t mean anything at all. In fact, it is simply an invitation for lifelong health problems. Soda pop is a worthless concoction that should not be consumed. It is only simple sugars (monosaccharides), artificial flavorings and preservatives – a recipe for acne and health issues. Ensure that your children drink water, low-fat milk, green teas, fruit juices and loads of other non-soda beverages. Every living animal must exercise daily to remain healthy. That is a simple fact of nature. You and your family members should all get 20 to 30 minutes of daily exercise that is semi-challenging. The benefits are immeasurable. Make your children step away from the video games, computers and televisions to get outside in the fresh air and play for hours. Childhood obesity is the direct result of poor food provision and lacking physical activity levels – most often nothing more. Sure, we can attribute our overweight children to socio-economic factors, psychological turmoil, genetic predisposition and the like, but it all really just boils down to diet and exercise – the same as always. Take control of your child’s health beginning today. Make and take the time to plan and prepare wholesomely nutritious meals and enjoy them with your family after your daily exercise sessions. Living healthily is the best way to avoid both adult and childhood obesity.
What Are The Focus Areas in Small Business IT For 2008?
2008 will be here before you know it, are you ready with what the market will throw at you in a couple of months. With 2008 just around the corner, now is a good time to start the discussion of what needs to be the focus areas in 2008 for the small business IT professional and small business specialist.In 2007 we experienced a tremendous amount of innovation in the small business technology world. Innovation included releases of a new desktop operating system, new productivity suites of applications and enhanced methods to share information and communicate with each other. 2008 will be no different! The excitement around new versions of the Windows Server operating system that will scale from the smallest of business requirements right through to the largest of enterprises offerings. Plus we will see new innovation with how business manage, share and secure corporate data and how applications are written that deliver solutions to today’s global economy.However, I personally do not feel that our focus be totally on the ones and zeros around all of this new technology. Small business owners, managers and users today do not care about what the technology specifications are, they have business needs that must be addressed and they need to be running all the time. Downtime, breakdowns and complicated solutions are not an option in today’s one world market.Where will today’s IT professional or small business specialist be focusing their efforts for the upcoming year in order to grow their business sustainably in 2008? Here are some ideas to kick start the planning processes for 2008:Focus on people – Small Business does business with those who they trust and can establish a relationship with. It is not about the speeds and feeds any longer, small business owners don’t care about how fast something runs or how much memory is in a laptop. Meeting business needs is no longer expectable by throwing technology at a problem, it is now about exceed expectations and having their technology investments work. The systems or software most of the time is transparent to the end user.The importance of data – Having their data accessible and secured is very important to small business. Data has to be managed and controlled and combined with ease of access. Complicated file shares and network systems are no longer acceptable to the end users. Data must be accessible to enhance collaboration and sharing throughout any organization. Small Business IT firms that understand and promote the importance of data, who can offer their clients services like the SharePoint Starter Site and Exchange mail services through their mail clients, mobile telephones and web access will win in the end.Securing Small Business – As the world shrinks in size when it comes to business, emerging threats continue to show their ugly face and threaten commerce. Securing small business will continue a challenge for the small business specialist. It must be a main focus for many of us in the IT community. Luckily, we haven’t seen a major virus outbreak for a while; however, the threats are still out there. Educating small business against the threats from social engineering, corporate espionage and also the “threat from within” must be a major focal point in 2008. As social networking gains momentum, small business needs to understand the importance of ensuring information flow is secure without jeopardizing productivity. Small Business IT Professionals that offer their clients a managed firewall service that controls SPAM, virus, spyware and other threats will have a competitive advantage of those who offer transactional firewalling solutions.Business Process – How small business does business will be an important trend for the small business IT professional to understand in 2008. If a small business consulting firm can master how small business does business and how information flows within their clients will end up ahead in 2008. Business Intelligence services that once purely an enterprise play will start to move into the small business space. Those who master this will come out of 2008 with a definite advantage.IT as a Service – Managed Services is all the buzz in the SMB community it has been for a number of years, however, in 2008 the focus on “as a service” will grow, firms that can offer software or hardware as a service will have a competitive advantage over those who do not, and those that can bundle their complete IT solutions as a service will win in the end. It will no longer matter how it is structured from a billing perspective, (annual, monthly, weekly or hourly) the service component is the important key and this is what small business is after.The Complete Solution – SMB consultants that can deliver the complete solution will win in 2008. This is nothing new, small business wants a solutions partner that can offer the complete end to end offering. From systems, software, solutions and service, today’s small business client needs to be “under” one umbrella. Partnering will continue to be an advantage in the marketplace. Partnering to extend geographic service, specialty services and complete services must be on the top of your list to achieve in the early part of 2008. Those firms that can extend their service offering to other partners will have a strong advantage over those who just stick to their own small silo.Marketing – The small business consulting firm that can market all of this effectively will hold the trump card over those that do not see the importance of marketing. There has been a lack of focus on the importance of marketing with small business partners over the past few years, while those that continued to actively market have grown faster and have separated themselves from the masses. Small Business partners must have a resource dedicated to marketing in 2008. This can be outsourced or hired in-house. One word of advice to the owners of small business firms, you are responsible for the strategic marketing direction, never outsource that component. If you are not comfortable with marketing, seek the advice of someone who can help you. There are a number of great marketing coaches and consultants that can assist you.Strength in Peers – Teaming up with peers will continue its strong momentum in 2008. Once again, no IT firm can know everything nor do everything. This is where having a strong peer group relationship is vital to the success of your business. Information and idea sharing, technical specialties, and relationships are keys to success in the IT business. TechSelect and Heartland Technology Groups offer peer group services to firms that specialize in small business and are open to sharing information, best practices and resources with each other. Our involvement in the Heartland Peer Groups has been a key to the success of my business and offers us a competitive advantage over firms that have not engaged in this business practice.”I think the marketing continues to present great opportunities for partners who execute, deliver great service, and provide true solutions to clients…and that’s where we’re focusing for 2008,” states Erik Thorsell, President of Minneapolis’ Success Computer Consulting. “Managed services support for network infrastructure is important, but that doesn’t get our business owner-clients excited…solutions do! If we can provide technology that solves business problems, makes work better, faster or cheaper, then we all win!”2008 will be an exciting year in the small business space across the globe, boundaries will continue to disappear in our global economy, peer relations will strengthen, and collaboration will continue to become more and more important to small business, however, it needs to happen in a secure fashion so that small business can maintain a competitive advantage in the marketplace that they service.
The Best Investment Strategy for 2013
For the average investor, the best investment strategy for 2013 likely won’t be the traditional investment strategy commonly recommended by the investment companies and their representatives. Change is in the wind, and one of the best ways to deal with this is to make adjustments to the asset allocation strategy in your investment portfolio.For over 30 years the investment industry recommended that the best investment strategy for most investors was an asset allocation of: 50% to 60% in stocks and 40% to 50% in bonds. The investment vehicle promoted was mutual funds – stock funds and bond funds. This kept things simple and actually worked quite well. Losses in one asset class were often offset by gains in the other. This investment portfolio produced both good growth and income for average investors over the years.As 2013 unfolds it’s time to review your asset allocation. Sometimes the best investment strategy is to be a bit more conservative than the tried and true strategy of yesterday. The stock market has more than doubled in value since early 2009. Bond prices are near historical highs, with interest rates pushing all-time lows. The markets are in a state of uncertainty, as Americans in general are fed up with the lackluster economy and the Congressmen who represent them.Having followed the markets for over 40 years, I have never seen a tougher environment to invest in. Putting together the best investment strategy has never been more difficult. All of the investment asset classes appear to be selling at high price levels, with real estate being perhaps the exception. So, let’s take a look at the things to consider in your asset allocation strategy.If you are one of the millions of every-day Americans who are relatively heavy into bond funds, consider cutting back on your asset allocation to these funds. Bond funds are NOT safe investments in today’s low-interest-rate environment. Your best strategy: no more than 30% or 40% invested in bonds or bond funds. Even U.S.Treasury bonds (T-bonds) will lose significant value if interest rates go back up to normal levels.Also, if you hold long-term bond funds, consider moving to intermediate-term funds that hold bonds with an average maturity of about 5 to 7 years in their investment portfolio. Bond funds that hold long term bonds, maturing in 20 years or more, can lose significant value when interest rates head upward. With this investment strategy you will receive a bit less in dividend income, but you will gain by significantly increasing the safety factor.Millions of Americans have lost faith in the stock market, and many have sold their stocks funds to buy bond funds. The average diversified stock fund gained more than 100% between early 2009 and early 2013. If you missed this opportunity, it is not the best investment strategy to jump in big time and play catch-up now. But, depending on your risk profile and age, you should consider an asset allocation with 20% to 50% going to stock funds.In times of high uncertainty diversification is one of the investor’s best friends. Let this thought guide your investment strategy and asset allocation when picking stock funds for 2013 and beyond. Include a variety of stock (equity) funds in your investment portfolio. The perfect place to start is with a diversified large-cap equity fund like an S&P 500 index fund. With an S&P 500 index fund you own a small piece of 500 of America’s largest, best known companies. Make this your largest holding in the stock portion of your investment portfolio.Then, add an international equity fund to your portfolio. Also include specialty funds in your investment strategy that focus on specific sectors like real estate, gold, natural resources and basic materials. These funds have sometimes been the best investment when the stock market in general is weak.Now that you have cut your asset allocation to stocks and bonds, where do you invest those proceeds? Cash is your other friend when uncertainty is high. Cash refers to safe, liquid investments like money market funds or money in bank savings accounts. Sometimes the best investment strategy includes keeping some powder dry awaiting future opportunity.Your best investment strategy for 2013 is to modify your asset allocation in stocks and bonds so that risk is only moderate. Diversify broadly across the asset classes, and have cash available so you can take advantage of future investment opportunities. This strategy will keep you in the game, with less risk than yesterday’s conventional investment strategy.