Physical Activity Interventions for Postpartum Depression

Physical Activity Interventions for Postpartum Depression One of the most hazardous occasions for women to indicate depressive symptoms is the period that follows childbirth (Robertson, Celasun Stewart, 2003). According to http://www.apa.org (2015) the percentage of women that are likely to experience symptoms of postpartum depression ranges between 9% and 16%. According to the same source (http://www.apa.org, 2015) new mothers diagnosed with postpartum depression lose the ability to cope with everyday tasks and infant care and are prone to experience stress and melancholia. Robertson,Celasun Stewart,(2003) underline the correlation of the postpartum depression symptomatology with symptoms of severe depression such as lack of energy, low mood and loss of the ability to experience pleasure and report the probable presence of suicidal thoughts. The same researchers also address this complex disorder for new mothers as a severe health issue that affects the immediate family of the women and pinpoint the need to provide efficient solutions to the target population. According to the official website NHS.uk(2015) physical activity has been identified as one of the most prevalent options of treatment of mild depression and evidence supports the coping skills physical activity provides to depressive patients.The website also informs that the psychological therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and interpersonal therapy, are the first choice of treatment for moderate postnatal depression to women with no psychiatric history. Robertson, Celasun Stewart,(2003) associate the lack of evidence on successful physical activity interventions as potential alternative treatment for postpartum depression with the undermining of the disease by patients and health professionals, particularly when there is scientific evidence on the positive impact of physical activity on depressive symptomatology(Nice.org.uk, 2009). Currie, Develin, (2002) acknowledge the lack of leisure time due to childcare and financial struggle as potential barriers for mothers with postnatal depression to engage to physical activity programmes. The meta-analyses conducted by Dennis Dowswell(2013) on postnatal depression revealed that, compared to standard treatment ,when women received interventions with psychological or psychosocial context, they were less inclined to develop symptoms of the condition. In their meta-analysis, Daley, Jolly, MacArthur(2009) did not attain evidence to support the replacement of traditional treatment of post-natal depression , with exercise interventions that can deliver results as successful as standard treatment. In a meta analysis (Dally, Jolly, MacArthur,2009)pram –walking group intercessions have been reviewed as easily accessible to women that are diagnosed with postnatal depression and are promoted by well-being practitioners as beneficial. The findings also indicate that Intervention focused on aerobics have successfully reduced the levels of depression for mothers and it might be profitable for future interventions targeting PND to include a mixture of aerobic and mild exercise. The first intervention to be discussed is conducted by Armstrong Edwards(2004), where they designed a 12-week randomised controlled trial for women that have delivered a baby in the past year. The aim of the RCT was to investigate the impact of a physical activity intervention group which involved pram-strolling women with their infants contrasted with the control group that provided social support. Kanotra et al(2007) acknowledge social support as one of the basic needs that arise for women postpartum.The meetings of the social support group were non-organized. In the pre-intervention stage of physical wellness, depression levels and social support were evaluated by quantitative measures. The same measures evaluated the effects after the 12th week when the Intervention was completed. The aim of the Intervention was for the pram-strolling group to indicate a decrease of the symptoms of postnatal depression while enhancing their wellness levels. The enhancement of the social support levels of both groups and the participants’ perspectives of the activities were defined as secondary endpoints. The researchers deduced that pram-strolling groups, integrated with psychological treatment and medication, can provide a cost-effective alternative form of coping with postnatal depression and improving their personal lives, especially when traditional treatment fails to provide efficient results. Robertson, Cesalun, Stewart (2013) acknowledge the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Rating Scale (EPDS), a set of 10 question self-rating scale as the most efficient and approximate to medically evaluated measures for depression. The researchers (Armstrong Edwards, 2004) supported that there was a correlation among fitness and depression; the improvement of the one had a significant effect on the improvement of the other. The results supported this rationale. The authors also suggested that other factors could influence the amelioration with regards to the depression levels.. The findings of the trial showed that in the first group, the symptoms of depression were diminished as well as the physical condition of the mothers was considerably ameliorated. Furthermore, social support was sustained at the same levels for the two groups. Although one of the hypothesis was confirmed, several weaknesses of the study have been acknowledged by the researchers that can undermine the value of the trial and establish it as not applicable to new mothers with postnatal depression(Armstrong Edwards,2004). As it has not been supported by evidence that the Cornish Walking Wheel, which was the measure used for fitness evaluation, can provide an accurate representation of â€Å"the maximum volume of oxygen consumption (VO2max)† (Armstrong Edwards, 2004, pp.6), it is not a reliable measure for fitness evaluation and needs to be examined in future research. Although it is acknowledged that the researchers tried to evaluate the Cornish Walking Wheel in the pilot study they conducted, this evaluation is not sufficient for the fitness measure to be perceived as reliable for fitness evaluation and future research on physical activity interventions of postnatal depression can explore the validity of the measure. Another weakness of the trial as recognised by Armstong Edwards(2004) is the choice of Social Support Interviews (SSI) in the Social Support Group. Although the questionnaire has been used in previous research (O’Hara,1995), it was not assessed for this Intervention against other validated measures. The authors recognise that the lack of results on the levels of social support could be attributed to the brief span of the trial and the measurement’s inability to recognise even mild variation of the social support levels provided to the targeted population. In order for Interventions to be reliable measurement-wise, Armstong Edwards (2004) suggest that the formulation of appropriate measures for each exercise group of postnatal women needs to be established. Armstrong Edwards(2004) raise another issue regarding the small sample of the trial (19 participants) which does not allow the results of the interventions to be generalized. Some other traits that confine the generalizability of the findings include the demographic homogeneity of the trial’s participants as well as the correlation of their high educational, socioeconomic background and regional proximity. As a result, the findings of the interventions, although successful to an extent, they are not applicable to different populations. In order to confirm the success of the randomised controlled trial for postnatal depression focused on pram- walking activities, future trials should be designed to target demographic heterogeneity and the recruitment of participants from various ethnical and socioeconomical backgrounds(Armstrong Edwards,2004). The second study of choice is a pilot study conducted in the UK. In their pilot study Gillinsky, Hughes McInnes(2012) executed a randomized controlled trial that consists of two groups with exercise courses and one 10-week body with pram-strolling activities. The pilot study aims to alter the behaviour of exercise and physical wellbeing and research the efficiency of behavioural and motivational intercessions. The application of accelerometers in the MAMMiS trial (Gillinsky, Hughes McInnes,2012) provides validity to the trial by measuring impartially the levels of physical activity of the participants for a week. The fact that the accelerometer is on for all the wakening hours of their daily schedule is one of the criteria to differentiate this study to more traditional ones on postnatal depression, is ithe fact that it provides flexibility to the daily schedules of new mothers by measuring the physical activity around the clock. One of the advantages of the study is the design (RCT),due to the nature of randomised controlled trials providing evidence that the results of an intervention are caused by the treatment option via randomization(Ebbp.org,2015) and the 12-week follow-up after the intervention is completed. One of the limitations of this trial is that it is a pilot study and pilot studies are implemented to locate certain weaknesses and modify them in order to design a larger, successful trial. Pilot studies explore the potential of an intercession and their results should not be taken at face value, especially because the sample sizes of a pilot study are always small(Leon, Davis Kraemer,2011).Furthermore, the efficacy of the study is potentially limited due to the fact that the trial is delivered by only one health-care professional and to a specific population in the Scottish countryside. In order to design successful intercessions of physical activity on PND based on this pilot study, the target population and the researchers involved need to be distinctive(Gillinsky, Hughes McInnes,2012). On an analysis focused on the impact of exercise on depressive symptoms Daley, Jolly McArthur(2009) concluded that physical activity interventions can be successful only as complementary treatments of postnatal depression, as there was no evidence to indicate successful rates when patients replace standard treatment(medication and psychological support) with exercise. Strà ¶hle (2008) in his paper reaches the same conclusion by arguing that although exercise has not been assessed on delivering clinically valid findings and as a result it cannot be applied instead of traditional treatment, whose clinical value is established. However, he acknowledges the helpful reaction exercise has on depression and encourages future researchers to investigate the appropriate duration and regularity of physical activity interventions(Strà ¶hle,2008). In addition, Robertson, Celasun Stewart(2003), recognise as unlikely for researchers to develop a single effective treatment option for the whole po pulation of postnatal depression, considering there is a variety of probable factors than can lead to the development of postnatal depression. Nevertheless, they underline the demand for sufficient evidence that can be used as a manual from professionals in primary and secondary care.(Robertson, Celasun Stewart,2003). Conclusively, it has been reviewed that studies investigating the efficiency of physical activity on postpartum depression (Daley, Jolly McArthur, 2009) lack sufficient follow-up findings and are characterised by small samples. These two factors indicate that postnatal depression interventions targeting exercise have not been sufficiently explored and future researchers should concentrate on developing interventions with larger populations and longer span of follow-up effects.After the literature review conducted by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in England (NICE)(Nice.org.uk,2009) that supports the benefits of exercise on patients that indicate mild depressive symptoms, the next steps of the research community should be the formulation of cost-effective interventions of moderate exercise that can contemplate the treatment of women diagnosed with postpartum depression (Daley, Jolly,McArthur, 2009). REFERENCES http://www.apa.org,.(2015). Postpartum Depression Fact Sheet. Retrieved 2 March 2015, from http://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/depression/postpartum.aspx Armstrong, K., Edwards, H. (2004). The effectiveness of a pram-walking exercise programme in reducing depressive symptomatology for postnatal women. International Journal Of Nursing Practice, 10(4), 177-194. doi:10.1111/j.1440-172x.2004.00478.x Currie, J., Develin, E. (2002). STROLL YOUR WAY TO WELL-BEING: A SURVEY OF THE PERCEIVED BENEFITS, BARRIERS, COMMUNITY SUPPORT, AND STIGMA ASSOCIATED WITH PRAM WALKING GROUPS DESIGNED FOR NEW MOTHERS, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA. Health Care For Women International, 23(8), 882-893. doi:10.1080/07399330290112380 Daley, A., Jolly, K., MacArthur, C. (2009). The effectiveness of exercise in the management of post-natal depression: systematic review and meta-analysis. Family Practice, 26(2), 154-162. doi:10.1093/fampra/cmn101 Dennis CL, Dowswell T. (2013). Psychosocial and psychological interventions for preventing postpartum depression. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2, Art. No.: CD001134. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001134.pub3 Ebbp.org,. (2015). EBBP. Retrieved 3 March 2015, from http://www.ebbp.org/course_outlines/randomized_controlled_trials/ (EPDS), E., Depression., P. (2015). Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Psychology Tools. Retrieved 4 March 2015, from https://psychology-tools.com/epds/ Gilinsky, A., Hughes, A., McInnes, R. (2012). More Active Mums in Stirling (MAMMiS): a physical activity intervention for postnatal women. Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials, 13(1), 112. doi:10.1186/1745-6215-13-112 Kanotra, S., D’Angelo, D., Phares, T., Morrow, B., Barfield, W., Lansky, A. (2007). Challenges Faced by New Mothers in the Early Postpartum Period: An Analysis of Comment Data from the 2000 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) Survey. Matern Child Health J, 11(6), 549-558. doi:10.1007/s10995-007-0206-3 Leon, A., Davis, L., Kraemer, H. (2011). The role and interpretation of pilot studies in clinical research. Journal Of Psychiatric Research, 45(5), 626-629. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2010.10.008 Nhs.uk,. (2015). Postnatal depression NHS Choices. Retrieved 2 March 2015, from http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/postnataldepression/pages/introduction.aspx Nice.org.uk,. (2009). Depression in adults: The treatment and management of depression in adults | treatments-for-mild-to-moderate-depression | Information for the public | NICE. Retrieved 2 March 2015, from http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg90/ifp/chapter/treatments-for-mild-to-moderate-depression Ohara, M., Swain, A. (1996). Rates and risk of postpartum depression— a meta-analysis. Int Rev Psychiatry, 8(1), 37-54. doi:10.3109/09540269609037816 Robertson, E., Celasun, N., and Stewart, D.E. (2003). Risk factors for postpartum  depression. In Stewart, D.E., Robertson, E., Dennis, C.-L., Grace, S.L., Wallington, T.(2003). Postpartum depression: Literature review of risk factors and interventions. Strà ¶hle, A. (2008). Physical activity, exercise, depression and anxiety disorders. Journal Of Neural Transmission, 116(6), 777-784. doi:10.1007/s00702-008-0092-x

To What Extent Was the Considerable Growth of the Nazi Party?

To what extent was the considerable growth of the Nazi party, between 1918 and 1933, a result of economic factors? The Weimar republic was introduced on the back of Germany’s defeat at WWI, the resignation of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the widely despised signature of the Treaty of Versailles. These conditions led to its collapse in 1933, and also the great rise in popularity for the Nazi party during this period. There is no doubt that a number of economic factors played a crucial role in the collapse of the Weimar republic and the rise of the Nazis, however, numerous other factors also played a part.Some historians consider a lack of effective opposition a major contributing in the expansion of the Nazis. It has also been argued that the appeal of the Nazi party won them many votes. Finally, the impact of other political factors cannot be ignored when considering this issue. Economic factors were a crucial component in the collapse of the Weimar republic and therefore, the rise o f the Nazi party between 1918 and 1933. According to Hugo Preuss, â€Å"Weimar was born with a curse upon it. This refers to the harsh conditions set by the Treaty of Versailles, and also the huge reparation payments of $6600 million that Germany were forced to pay as a result of their part in WW1. This was particularly difficult for Germany as their economy was weakened from funding their war effort. However John Hiden felt that other factors contributed more to the collapse of Weimar and the expansion of the Nazis. â€Å"Versailles certainly did not doom the Republic from birth. † Another important ingredient in the rise of the Nazis was the hyper inflation of 1923. It came as a result of Germany missing one of the reparation payments.This gave the French and the Belgians the excuse to invade the heart of the German economy, the Ruhr. To limit the benefit to the invaders, a general strike was called. However this slowed and nearly stopped their economy. More money was prin ted to try and solve this problem yet this only made the issue worse as it resulted in the hyper inflation of 1923. The worst hit were the middle classes who saw their savings become worthless in a very short period of time. This resulted in an increase in popularity for the Nazis as middle classes looked to extreme parties to bring stability to the German economy.A time of economic calm followed during the â€Å"Stresemann Era†. However calm came at the cost of an over reliance on loans from abroad, especially from the USA. A further economic factor in the expansion of Hitler’s party at this time and often seen as the crucial factor in his coming to power was the Great Depression. According to Finlay Mckichan, â€Å"Hitler would almost certainly have remained on the extremist fringe of politics had it not been for the Great Depression†¦ and the hardship it brought. † Germany’s reliance on US loans meant that when Wall St crashed and the US demanded repayments, their economy crumbled.This is an important factor in the rise of the Nazis as in times of economic stability, people are on the whole happy to continue to vote in the same party. However, like in Germany, when hardships occur, many look to extreme parties for a better way of life. This reasoning saw a vast growth in popularity for Hitler which culminated in his appointment as chancellor in 1933. Furthermore, the appeal of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party cannot be ignored when considering the growth of the between 1918 and 1933.During the hard times brought upon by the Great Depression and the Hyper Inflation, the German population looked for a strong leader to bring stability. Hitler fitted this role perfectly. He was very patriotic and strived for Germany to become an industrial power once more after the upset of WW1. However, more importantly, he was an extremely talented orator. His speeches inspired many people and this saw an increase in votes f or the Nazis. Furthermore, Hitler made very vague promises when campaigning. This meant that although appealing to other right wing parties, the Nazis were also seen as a viable alternative to a left wing government.This gained support for the party and helped them to expand up to their coming to power in 1933. Hitler also made promises to working classes to provide jobs and increase their share of the national wealth. This gained additional support and votes for the NSDAP and helped their rise to power. These factors led one historian to suggest the idea that â€Å"Hitler was the Nazi party’s greatest electoral asset. Finally, an important point to consider when looking at the attractions of the Nazis is the role played by propaganda and Joseph Goebbels.He portrayed Hitler as a deity and this image of a very powerful leader spread throughout Germany. Goebbels also spread other Nazi ideologies around the country by taking advantage of two types of growing media. The populari ty of radio and cinema was rocketing at this time, and this therefore saw a great number of people exposed to attractive Nazi policies. Subsequently, many votes were gained by the Nazis. This shows that the attractiveness of Hitler’s party was one of the crucial factors in the rise of their rise to power. A number of further political factors may also have contributed to the rise of the Nazis between 1918 and 1933.By introducing a democracy at a time when Germany was unstable having just lost WW1, the Weimar republic made maintaining power very difficult for themselves. They tried to make the country too democratic, in far too short a period of time. This was in an attempt to limit the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The majority of the population however failed to adjust and this led historians such as Ritler to say, â€Å"The rejection of democratic slogans became one of the essential conditions for the rise of Hitler’s party. † This was therefore an import ant factor in their rise to power by 1933.Proportional representation, the voting system introduced as part of the Republic’s democracy, also contributed to the growth of the Nazis. The system led to a number of weak coalition governments as no party could achieve a majority. Consequently, decision making was poor and many German's became disillusioned at the lack of achievement from their government. A more crucial mistake leading directly to the Nazis coming to power was the appointment of Hitler as chancellor in 1933. This decision was unexpected, mostly because Hindenburg openly disliked Hitler. However, two factors are considered to have influenced his decision the most.Franz Von Papen argued for Hitler to be appointed chancellor with himself as vice. He felt that with a cabinet full of conservatives, Hitler could be controlled and a repeat of his attempted uprising in 1923 could be avoided. Furthermore, Von Papen had been replaced as chancellor in 1932. Unhappy at this decision, formed an alliance with Hitler. Another possible reason for Hitler’s appointment as chancellor involved Hindenburg’s link to the Osthilfe allegations. This involved the president using government funds to pay for things such as gambling debts and holidays.Hitler may have been designated the role in order to end these investigations. Whatever the reason behind the appointment, it is seen as a key factor in the Nazis gaining power in 1933. Salmon feels that â€Å"Nazism came to power as a result of a miscalculation by conservative politicians. † Overall, although the Weimar Republic was weakened by political means, its complete collapse came as a result of economic factors. This therefore limits the influence of political factors when considering the rise of the Nazi party between 1918 and 1933.A lack of effective opposition to the Nazi party must also be considered when looking at their growth up to 1933. The lack of cohesion between the parties opposin g the Nazis made Hitler’s rise to power easier. A left wing challenge to Weimar came in 1919 with the Spartacist uprising. However, this was brutally suppressed by the Freikorps and over 700 people were killed. A year later, a challenge from the extreme right wing known as the Kapp – Luttwitz Putsch occurred. This involved the movement taking over Berlin. A general strike was called and this paralysed Berlin, forcing the Kapp government to flee.These events ensured that cooperation between the two extremes would be impossible, and therefore that no coalition would ever form between the two. Despite the failure of the Spartacist’s uprising, the KBD still provided a significant threat to the Nazis. Be that as it may, their opposition was limited as they only targeted working class votes. Hitler’s party appealed to a much larger proportion of the German population. Therefore, a lack of effective opposition cannot be ignored when considering the growth of the Nazi party as it allowed the Nazis to become the dominant political presence in Germany.In conclusion, a number of factors influenced the rise of the Nazis between 1918 and 1933. These components varied in their importance. A lack of effective opposition to the Nazis was important; however this ingredient was not crucial in the rise of the Nazis. The role played by political factors was even further unsubstantial as although they weakened the Weimar republic, its collapse-and therefore the rise of the Nazis to power- was brought about by other means. A much more key factor in the growth of the NSDAP was their attractiveness.Vague policies and expert propaganda won many votes for the party and contributed greatly to their exponential growth between 1918 and 1933. However, the pivotal component in the expansion of the Nazis was economic factors. They provided the hardship which encouraged Germans to look for extreme parties for economic stability. As support fell for the Weimar repub lic, votes increased for the Nazis and this resulted in their appointment as the new government of Germany in 1933.

Are We Taking It Too Far by Blaming Fast Food Restaurant?

Are we taking it too far by blaming fast food restaurant for obesity? Although throughout the years many people have claimed that obesity is a genetic disorder for the most part; results of recent studies strongly indicate that lifestyles rather than genetics are what are causing an obese society, because people choose to not exercise, not watch their diet, and eat fast food. For the past few decades, food companies had aimed their marketing at single meals, pushing to inflate portion sizes. That initiative was wildly successful.As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported, the average restaurant meal in the United States is now an unfathomable four times larger than it was in 1950(Health). That has translated into â€Å"Americans now consume 2,700 calories a day, about 500 calories more than 40 years ago,† according to The Atlantic Monthly. One predictable result of this trend is an obesity rate that's poised to top 40 percent and that already costs the nation hundreds of billions of dollars in additional health care expenditures.The other result is that the supersize campaign has become a victim of its own success. Indeed, food companies are coming to realize that, in terms of per-meal product sales, they are quickly approaching the point where the human body simply cannot — or will not — accommodate any more calories in a single sitting. That has left Big Food fretting about a profit-making path forward, and that's where the innovators at Yum Brands come in.Known for ignoring public health concerns and pioneering weapons-grade junk food, this conglomerate's subsidiaries have most recently given us the cheeseburger-stuffed pizza (Pizza Hut), the Doritos-shelled taco (Taco Bell), and the â€Å"Double Down† (KFC) — a bacon-and-cheese sandwich that replaces bread with slabs of deep-fried chicken. So it should come as no surprise that with the three meals hitting their caloric max-out point, Yum Brands has been leading the effort to add a whole new gorging session to America's daily schedule.The campaign is called â€Å"fourth meal† and was originally launched in a series of Taco Bell spots telling kids that â€Å"everyone is a fourth mealier — some just don't know it yet. † Now, new â€Å"fourth meal† ads are once again popping up all over television, insisting that â€Å"sometimes the best dinner is after dinner(Dhar Tirtha). † The ads are backed by an eponymous website and a â€Å"cravinator† Smartphone app that helps binge eaters select their junk food of choice.Though the â€Å"fourth meal† campaign has been ongoing since 2006, it is particularly notable today because it proves that such marketing will persist even as the obesity epidemic becomes a full-fledged, headline-grabbing emergency. And it persists, of course, because these kinds of ads are wholly unregulated and tend to deliver for the food industry. A staggering 66% of p eople in America are considered obese. Studies suggest that fast-food consumption has increased fivefold among since 1970(Health). The fact of the matter is that obesity is spreading exponentially as well as fast food chains across the nation.Several different components attribute to these high numbers of obesity. When these components are combined, the likelihood of obesity increased as well. The three major components that are the catalyst to obesity in our nation are food choices, society, and lifestyle. Obesity is an end result of the intricate interactions of behavior, and environment. Recent hypotheses in the scientific community suggest the current obesity epidemic is being driven largely by environmental factors (e. g. , high energy/high fat foods, fast food consumption, television watching, â€Å"super-sized† portions, etc. rather than biological ones. Individuals are bombarded with images and offers of high fat, high calorie, highly palatable, convenient, and inexpe nsive foods. These foods are packaged in portion sizes that far exceed federal recommendations. Furthermore, the physical demands of our society have changed resulting in an imbalance in energy intake and expenditure. Today's stressful lifestyles compound the effects of environmental factors by impairing weight loss efforts and by promoting fat storage.Combating the obesity epidemic demands environmental and social policy changes, particularly in the areas of portion size, availability of healthful foods, and promotion of physical activity. Food choices are often made without thinking. The fact of the matter is that many Americans do not have time to sit down and have a home cooked meal. This is unfortunate, because our society is always on the run. Many turn to fast food as a quick and easy option. What they fail to realize is that the choices they make are more harming then effective. Bibliography Dhar Tirtha, amd Kathy Baylis. fast food consumption and the ban on advertising targ eting children. † The Quebec experience (2011): 799-813. This article talk about amid growing concerns about childhood obesity and the associated health risks, several countries are considering banning fast food advertising targeting children. In this article, the authors study the effect of such a ban in the Canadian province of Quebec. Using household expenditure survey data from 1984 to 1992, authors examine whether expenditure on fast food is lower in those groups affected by the ban than in those that are not.The authors use a novel triple difference-in-difference methodology by appropriately defining treatment and control groups and find that the ban’s effectiveness is not a result of the decrease in fast food expenditures per week but rather of the decrease in purchase propensity by 13% per week. Overall, the authors estimate that the ban reduced fast food consumption by US$88 million per year. The study suggests that advertising bans can be effective provided me dia markets do not overlap. Health, BMC Public. â€Å"Neighborhood fast food restuarant and fast food consumption. BMC Public Health (2011): 543-550. The article presents a study conducted to estimate the effect of neighborhood fast food availability on frequency of fast food consumption in a national sample of young adults in the U. S. , a population at high risk for obesity. The study found that there are chances that policies aiming to reduce neighborhood availability as a means to reduce fast food consumption among young adults will not be successful. The future research needs to consider individual lifestyle attitudes among other things. Hung- Hao, Chang and Rodofo M. Nayga Jr. Childhood obesity and unhappiness: The influence of soft drinks and fast food consumption. † Journal of Happiness Studies (2010): 261-275. Hung-Hao explains the growing body of literature has examined the determinants of childhood obesity, but little is known about children’s subjective wel lbeing. To fulfill this gap, this paper examines the effects of fast food and soft drink consumption on children’s overweight and unhappiness. Using a nationwide survey data in Taiwan and estimating a simultaneous mixed equation system, our results generally suggest a tradeoff in policy implication.Fast food and soft drink consumption tend to be positively associated with children’s increased risk of being overweight but they are also negatively associated with their degree of unhappiness. Current and future policy/program interventions that aim to decrease fast food and soft drinks consumption of children to reduce childhood obesity may be more effective if these interventions also focus on ways that could compensate the increase in degree of unhappiness among children. Settler, Nicolas. Fast Food Marketing and children's fast food consumption:Exploring Parents Influences in an Ethically Diverse sample. † Public Policy & Marketing (2007): 221-235. Settler shows how fast-food marketing to children is considered a contributor to childhood obesity. Effects of marketing on parents may also contribute to childhood obesity. The authors explore relevant hypotheses with data from caregivers of 2- to 12-year-old children in medically underserved communities. The results have implications for obesity-related public policies and social marketing strategies.

GMO to Be or Not to Be

GMO: to Be or Not to Be Genetically modified organisms (GMO) are created by means of genetic engineering methods. Genetic engineering is a science that allows people place DNA fragments into the genome of plant, animal or microorganism from any other body and give them certain properties. For example, tomatoes possess frost resistance gene from the Arctic flounder, potatoes have a bacteria gene, whose venom is deadly for the Colorado potato beetle, rice feature a human gene that is responsible for the ingredients of breast milk, which makes the cereal more nutritious. Experimental creation of genetically modified organisms began in the 70s of the 20th century. In 1992 in China they began to grow tobacco that was resistant to pesticides. In 1994, genetically modified tomatoes that were resistant to transportation appeared in the USA. Since that time, the production of GMOs was gaining momentum. As a result, now we have GM soy, corn, rice, potatoes, tomatoes, canola, sugar beets, wheat, peas, sunflower, papaya, cotton, tobacco, cows with high fat content of milk, salmon that can live both in salt and fresh water, as well as many other products. Still, growing and consuming genetically modified organisms is accompanied by several risks. Environmentalists fear that genetically modified forms may accidentally penetrate into the wild, which will inevitably lead to catastrophic changes in all ecosystems. For example, cross-pollinated weeds can get a GM-gene of resistance to pests and pesticides. Then, the multiplication of weeds will be uncontrollable. Self-regulation in ecosystems will be destroyed. Weeds will displace many species that are unable to compete with them and occupy large areas, which will be constantly expanding. In addition to the environmental risks, associated with the problems of cultivation of GMOs, there are dietary risks. Consuming of a transgenic products, recieved after transplantation of Brazil nut’s gene into the DNA of soybean, caused many people have allergic reactions to protein. Plant varieties that are resistant to pesticides can accumulate harmful substances and cause poisoning when consumed.