MS Maze

Obesity is estimated to affect an estimated five million young people in the United States alone. Studies are currently underway to evaluate laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding as a possible treatment option for adolescents.

A randomized trial reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association compared the outcomes of gastric banding with an optimal lifestyle program and concluded that “among obese adolescent participants, use of gastric banding compared with lifestyle intervention resulted in a greater percentage achieving a loss of 50 percent of excess weight, corrected for age. There were associated benefits to health and quality of life.”

Is gastric banding for obese teens a reasonable solution to a serious problem… or part of a larger problem?

Read this post in its entirety:

Gastric Banding Proposed for Obese Teens

Photo: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/845205

In 2009, The Fresh Air Fund‘s Volunteer Host Family program, called Friendly Town, gave close to 5,000 New York City boys and girls, ages six to 18, free summer experiences in the country and the suburbs. Volunteer host families shared their friendship and homes up to two weeks or more in 13 Northeastern states from Virginia to Maine and Canada.

The Fresh Air Fund relies on donations to provide memorable summers to NYC children. The Fresh Air Fund needs hosts for the summer of 2010.

More than 65% of all Fresh Air children are reinvited to stay with their host family, year after year. Thanks to host families who open up their homes for a few weeks each summer, children growing up in New York City’s toughest neighborhoods have experienced the joys of Fresh Air experiences.

Fresh Air Fund Host Families

“It is rewarding to see the smile on our Fresh Air child’s face as she enjoys the simple things we take for granted…”

Friendly Town host families are volunteers who live in the suburbs or small town communities. Host families range in size, ethnicity and background, but share the desire to open their hearts and homes to give city children an experience they will never forget. Hosts say the Fresh Air experience is as enriching for their own families, as it is for the inner-city children. There are no financial requirements for hosting a child. Volunteers may request the age-group and gender of the Fresh Air youngster they would like to host. Stories about real Fresh Air host families and their New York City visitors are just a click away! Click here to learn more about becoming a host or call (800) 367-0003!

Fresh Air Children

“We made s’mores and hot dogs over the fire. I’ve never cooked outside before!”

Fresh Air children are boys and girls, six to 18 years old, who live in New York City. Children on first-time visits are six to 12 years old and stay for either one or two weeks. Youngsters who are re-invited by the same family may continue with The Fund through age 18, and many enjoy longer summertime visits, year after year. A visit to the home of a warm and loving volunteer host family can make all the difference in the world to an inner-city child. All it takes to create lifelong memories is laughing in the sunshine and making new friends.

The majority of Fresh Air children are from low-income communities. These are often families without the resources to send their children on summer vacations. Most inner-city youngsters grow up in towering apartment buildings without large, open outdoor play spaces. Concrete playgrounds cannot replace the freedom of running barefoot through the grass or riding bikes down country lanes.

Fresh Air children are registered by more than 90 participating social service and community organizations located in disadvantaged neighborhoods in the five boroughs of New York City. These community-based agencies are in close contact with children in need of summer experiences in rural and suburban areas. Each agency is responsible for registering children for the program.

You can give a child the experience of a lifetime with your gift to The Fresh Air Fund!

Every year, The Fresh Air Fund gives thousands of inner-city children the priceless gift of fun – and opens the door to a lifetime of opportunities.

Whether it’s a two-week trip to visit a volunteer host family, or a fun-filled and educational stay at one of our camps, our programs make for unforgettable memories – and open a world of new friendships and fresh possibilities.

We are a not-for-profit agency and depend on tax-deductible donations from people like you to keep our vital programs flourishing. Donate online now

On March 21st, the Fresh Air Fund-Racers will take to the streets at the NYC Half-Marathon! Thank you to the Fresh Air Fund-Racers and their supporters for participating in this world class event. You are making a huge difference in the lives of thousands of Fresh Air children!

We have limited availability for this amazing race. If you would like to run, please register here right away.

Submitted by the Fresh Air Fund

While the health care bills remain stalled, the problem of soaring health care costs continues. For those who are insured in the individual market, but barely hanging on, the news is grim.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius dispatched a letter to Anthem Blue Cross of California earlier this week asking for justification for the individual insurance premium increase of as much as 39 percent. The rate increase will affect as many as 800,000 Californians who currently pay for individual policies, but does not affect those with employer-based plans. These increases are up to 15 times that of inflation.

Read this post in its entirety:

Health Insurer Defends 39 Percent Premium Increase

In the midst of a 30-inch snowstorm, I felt a mixture of unearned guilt and helplessness. From the kitchen window I peeked out at my husband every so often as he labored in the wintery whiteness.

Glancing around, I observed an elderly neighbor to one side and young children on the other, all tackling the mountains white stuff with a vengeance. Meanwhile, I was warm and dry, but not completely unproductive. I tackled a few chores that needed attention around the house, reminding myself that I, too, was making a contribution. But the question remained… why did he lie to me?

Read this post in its entirety:

Lie For Me

photo copyright: WebCamp One LLC

Mary and Jenny, of the blog Writing Without Periods, bestowed upon me the title of this week’s “Sensational Woman.” Thank you, ladies.

Mary and Jenny are multi-published authors and observers of their own crazy lives. Life after 40 is another story!

Since the dawn of time, women have been telling men that size doesn’t matter but, oh, how times have changed. Size does matter, at least when it comes to your benefits package.

These days, as you stroll out into the single scene, you just might want to dangle your group health insurance card as a tantalizing offering to the opposite sex. For maximum appeal, make sure the side with the co-pay amount is clearly visible.

That would be enough to capture the attention, and perhaps the heart, of Terri Carlson, the creator of the website: WillMarryforHealthInsurance.com.

Read this post in its entirety:

Size Does Matter

Photo: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1097370

On Writing

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” – William Shakespeare, from Romeo and Juliet

Does the same hold true for blog post titles? I think not. You can write an absolutely brilliant blog post, but if no one clicks on the title, what’s the point? If you’ve got an eye-catching title, but your post disappoints, you’re no better off.

“Ay, there’s the rub.” – William Shakespeare, from Hamlet

You’ve got to get their attention! You don’t want to get smarmy or cheesy, and you don’t want a title that has nothing whatsoever to do with what you’ve written. That might get you short term spikes in readership, but will hurt your reputation in the long run.

In the world of internet writing, titles are a very important part of the job — no title clicks, no readers. Coming up with just the right title is an art form, one borne of sweat and tears, hits and misses. It… and I… are a work in progress.

Around the Web this Week

“I want politicians to be nice to me… I’m sick,” says a woman with multiple sclerosis. One cannot put it more simply than that. She happens to live in England, but we’ve got the same problem in the states. Medical marijuana is back on the front burner. A Toke a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

“Medical experts have warned that our children are on track to be less healthy than we are.” – First Lady Michelle Obama. We should be ashamed of that fact. Michelle Obama Taking On Childhood Obesity Crisis

It’s not just a man thing. It’s not just an old lady thing. It is the number one killer of women. National Wear Red Day: A Wake Up Call to Women

Since the dawn of time, women have been telling men that size doesn’t matter but, oh, how times have changed. Size does matter, at least when it comes to your benefits package. These days, as you stroll out into the single scene, you just might want to dangle your group health insurance card as a tantalizing offering to the opposite sex. For maximum appeal, make sure the side with the co-pay amount is clearly visible, because Size Does Matter.

Read More
Care2 Healthy & Green Living with MS
Care2 Reform Health Policy

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WebCamp One, LLC: Full-service website design, management, and development company with clients throughout the USA and Canada. Expert in standards compliant website design. From website management to freelance writing, we’ve got the web covered. Visit: WebCamp One on Facebook.

It’s not just a man thing. It’s not just an old lady thing. It’s the number one killer of women.

Red is a bold color, used in this instance to serve as a wake up call to women, particularly young women.

Friday, February 5 is National Wear Red Day, part of the Go Red For Women campaign that seeks to wipe out heart disease — the number one killer of women, and encourages women to take heart disease personally.

Read this post in its entirety:

National Wear Red Day: A Wake Up Call to Women

Photo credit: istockphoto/Justin Horrocks 12-30-09 ©

“Medical experts have warned that our children are on track to be less healthy than we are.” – First Lady Michelle Obama

We should be ashamed of that fact.

Michelle Obama is leading the charge against childhood obesity. We’ve already seen her tending the White House vegetable garden and encouraging children to participate in the growing process. Now she’s taking that enthusiasm to a whole new level, with a national campaign.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that 12.4 percent of 2-5 year olds are obese; for 6-11 year-olds it’s 17.0 percent; and for the 12-19 year-old crowd, it’s 17.6 percent.

Read this post in its entirety:

Michelle Obama Taking On Childhood Obesity Crisis

Photo: WhiteHouse.gov

Alone in her Birmingham, England home, a woman stirs a half teaspoon of cannabis into her hot tea. By seeking relief from pain and spasms caused by multiple sclerosis in this way she is, in the eyes of the law, a criminal.

She doesn’t take this action lightly and is not out for a recreational high. She simply wants a reprieve from the relentless pain that plagues her and, after sipping her tea, generally experiences about three hours of relief. Only those who live in chronic pain can fully understand her anguish.

Speaking of her predicament she says, “I want politicians to be nice to me… I’m sick.” One cannot put it more simply than that.

Read this post in its entirety:

A Toke a Day Keeps the Doctor Away