News Notes

           A health topic that is constantly in the news is obesity. Obesity is especially a problem in industrialized nations like the United States because many of us are much more sedentary than past generations and we eat fast food often, according to mayoclinic.com. We don’t live the same way our ancestors did. Past generations engaged in more physical activity because it was a part of life—it took more physical work just to live.

           An astonishing 31 percent of adults in the United States are obese, according to a study by CDC epidemiologist Cynthia Ogden, PhD. The problem isn’t only with adults, either. Over 10 million school-age children are considered overweight and during the last 25 years the percentage of adolescents who are overweight has tripled, according to yahoo.com. These statistics are scary. We are becoming a very unhealthy country, and it is evident even just looking around your community. While you are at the mall pay attention because you will almost certainly see quite a few people who would be considered obese.

            I think society needs to realize how serious this problem actually is so they will want to change their lifestyles. “The challenge is to get the public to recognize that this is a health problem and it’s one that they can do something about,” says William Dietz, MD, PhD, the director of the division of nutrition and physical activity in the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the CDC. If people would understand how important exercise and healthy eating are there would be less of an obesity problem. So much of our society doesn’t see the importance of a healthy lifestyle or are too lazy to do anything to change how they are living.

            People need to realize how great of a difference adding exercise can have, whether it is playing tag with their kids or going for a walk through the neighborhood. Parents have to be encouraging their children to engage in physical activity as well. Kids can go outside and play or join an after school sport.

Exercise is an important part of leading a healthy life, but it isn’t the only factor. Healthy eating is just as important in this fight against obesity. One important thing to keep in mind is eating at fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s or Burger King should be done only once in a while. Remember how many calories are in those burgers and fries. Go home and cook yourself or your family a meal. That home cooked meal would be a much healthier choice because it can include fruit, vegetables, and especially nothing deep fried.

            I feel as if obesity is a health problem that can be helped if everyone realizes they have choices to make. Choices as simple as taking a twenty minute walk or eating some carrots instead of chips can make a huge difference. Over time these healthy choices will become a lifestyle. Obesity is something that can be changed as long as people start to pay attention to the way they live and eat.  

This week’s point: By eating right and exercising obesity can be combated.

A weekly column dealing with national news issues

            One of the most exciting things to happen in the lives of teenagers is finally getting their driver’s license. Freedom. Freedom to go where they want when they want and if they’re lucky even a car of their own.

            My little brother just got his license a couple of months ago and since I’m an overprotective older sister, I have to worry a little. I think it’s my job. The leading cause of death for 15- to 20-year olds is vehicle crashes, according to the National Highway Safety Administration. Estimates are that 16-year-olds are 3 times more likely to die in a motor vehicle crash than the average of all other drivers on the road, according to rmiia.org. After learning those statistics I decided I have good reason to worry.

            Buckling up is always the number one thing to remember, but my main worry is the distractions while driving. Teens do not only have the road and other drivers fighting for their attention. Many times they also have music playing on the radio, other passengers in the car or are chatting on a cell phone. Recently I pulled up next to a young girl who was curling her eyelashes at a stoplight. Knowing she was on the road with me was not exactly a comforting thought.

I am guilty of talking on my cell phone and listening to music while driving—but never something as ridiculous as curling my eyelashes. I’m not saying it is only teens that do distracting things while driving. We all do. Every driver needs to pay more attention to the road.

            The issue is teens are less experienced drivers, and many probably don’t even realize the risk distractions such as cell phones and music can be. A huge distraction for teenage drivers is having other teenage passengers in their cars with them. In 2003 almost half of the deaths from car crashes involving 16-year-old drivers happened when there were other teenage passengers in the car as well, according to rmiia.org. Research has also shown teen drivers with two or more passengers are five times more likely to have a fatal crash, according to USA Today.

            As long as teenagers remember to buckle up and pay attention to the road they will be much safer drivers. It is important for them to focus on driving even when there is a good song on the radio or a couple of friends in the car. Having a driver’s license is new and fun and as long as the responsibility of driving is kept in mind, they will have the rest of their lives to enjoy it. Remembering this and paying attention to driving is not only for their safety but for the safety of everyone else on the road.

           This week’s point: Teens need to focus on driving no matter what is going on in the car. Their cell phones can wait and the good song on the radio will be on again later.

A weekly column dealing with national news issues

One of the most popular social networking services on the Internet today is MySpace.com. Many of my friends have a MySpace account and are constantly telling me I need to get one too. Even my not-so technologically savvy mom has heard of MySpace. According to msnbc.com, MySpace now has more than 50 million members, who range in age from young teenagers to adults. The site is free, and an easy way to stay in contact with friends through messages, photos and videos.

News of parents being upset with MySpace for what has happened to their children is something we seem to be hearing more of lately. Recently four different families sued MySpace because their underage daughters were sexually abused by adults they met through the website. Personally I think it is ridiculous that parents feel the need to blame someone else for their lack of parenting and for not keeping an eye on their children. Parents need to take control and watch what their children are doing on the Internet. With potential predators on MySpace, parents need to know if their kids have a MySpace account. Parents should not only know if their kids have one, but they should also know what is posted on it.

It is not MySpace’s job to keep an eye on your children, and they cannot control what age someone will say they are, who they will be friends with on the site or what will become of this friendship. For parents who blame MySpace, at MySpace.com the website has posted safety tips for members and here are a few:

Don’t forget your profile is a public space; don’t post anything you don’t want the world to know.

People aren’t always who they say they are. Be careful adding strangers to your friends list.

Don’t mislead people into thinking that you are older or younger.

These safety tips seem to me to be pretty much common sense. Obviously the profile is public. It’s on the Internet. You can’t trust just anybody, so watch out and choose friends carefully. Also, making someone think you are older or younger than you are just sounds like a bad idea. I feel these kids who actually believe they can trust all their MySpace friends and set up meetings with them have no common sense. I don’t understand how as a 14- or 15-year old, it would sound like a good idea to go meet a stranger. Especially since I imagine the meetings are usually kept secret from parents. I mean—duh!

Through this column I’ll be looking at a different news event each week, exploring many different areas of news, not just technology-related.

This week’s point: Parents, pay attention to what your kids do online. Kids, use some common sense and think when you are online (think offline too, please).