Raising the price will lower the fat

Raising the prices on soda reduces America’s wasteline.

When the prices are raised on something then the consumption tends to drop. This trend is common and it’s just as common with raising prices on what we call pop, soda or soft drinks.

A hospital in Boston recently experimented with this trend by raising the cost on soft drinks by 35%. The sale of soft drinks dropped 26% with this drop.

By increasing prices on soda it reduces consumption and by reducing consumption it can reduce the waistline of Americans. Fooddemocracy.com said, “The relationship between soft drink consumption and body weight is so strong that researchers calculate that for each additional soda consumed, the risk of obesity increases 1.6 times.”

If Americans aren’t drinking soda then they are decreasing their chances of getting fatter and from other health risks, “Adolescents who consume soft drinks display a risk of bone fractures three to four-fold higher than those who do not.”
Soft drinks are unhealthy, they amount to at least 7 percent of all calories consumed by a person daily and sticking a couple coins in a machine won’t buy a soda for much longer when the price keeps steadily increasing.

The sky is falling or maybe you are just depressed

Its not the wheelchair, the lead dog or chemotherapy that ranks the highest patients with disabilities between the age of 15 and 44.

Approximately 14.8 million American adults have been diagnosed with major depressive disorder this year. My sister was one of the 14.8 million people. She dropped out of college, dated men who mistreated her, gained a lot of weight, stopped associating with friends and left the Church.

Why? How can we catch the symptoms of depression before they become a major disorder? If a person has five or more of these symptoms, for over two weeks then something may be wrong:

Agitation, restlessness, and irritability
Dramatic change in appetite, often with weight gain or loss
Extreme difficulty concentrating
Fatigue and lack of energy
Feelings of hopelessness and helplessness
Feelings of worthlessness, self-hate, and inappropriate guilt
Inactivity and withdrawal from usual activities, a loss of interest or pleasure in activities that were once enjoyed
Thoughts of death or suicide
Trouble sleeping or excessive sleeping

These symptoms can be treated by making the person aware of them. Seek counseling, advice from a doctor, medication, or a change in lifestyle. Be aware of yourself and others around you. My sister used her depression as an excuse instead of something to overcome.

Can you finish reading this and not get distracted?

A quiz, recently posted on MSN, tested to see if adults had Attention Defecit Disorder (ADHD). More of these quizzes are being posted for more adults than just for children.

It's not just children affected by ADHD. 4.1% of adults in the U.S. suffer from ADHD while children lead with 8% between ages 3-17.

Adults suffering with any of these signs are warned to see a doctor if they are present:
• difficulty paying attention to details and tendency to make careless mistakes in school or other activities; producing work that is often messy and careless
• easily distracted by irrelevant stimuli and frequently interrupting ongoing tasks to attend to trivial noises or events that are usually ignored by others
• inability to sustain attention on tasks or activities
• difficulty finishing schoolwork or paperwork or performing tasks that require concentration
• frequent shifts from one uncompleted activity to another
• procrastination
• disorganized work habits
• forgetfulness in daily activities (for example, missing appointments, forgetting to bring lunch)
• failure to complete tasks such as homework or chores
• frequent shifts in conversation, not listening to others, not keeping one's mind on conversations, and not following details or rules of activities in social situations

While these symptoms may not seem life altering when looked at independently, they are a big deal when several of them are combined. If you feel they are present then consider seeing your doctor to get treatment.

I'm so addicted to. . .

Alcohol, drugs, pornography, gambling and cigarretes pop into my head when I hear the word addiction but how many Americans suffer from extreme addictions to other things?

I recently looked up types of addictions and while the list mentioned above showed up there were other addictions that listed including: Food, shopping, work, video games, and the internet.

While we frown upon those addicted to the things listed in the beginning we need to be aware of what an addiction is and what we could possibly be addicted to. Addiction symptoms, according to www.addictionz.com are
• Resentful Attitudes
• Risky Behaviors
• Aggressiveness or Passiveness
• Mood Swings
• Physical Symptoms
o Weight gain or loss - using food as a drug to calm the storms
o Addiction to prescription or other drugs
o Nervous twitches and ticks
• Reactive Behavior instead of proactive behavior
• Always feeling overwhelmed
o Not trusting of your own feelings
o Never feeling good enough
o Depression, Anxiety and Lethargy

Addictions can come in any form. Be aware that there are addictions that may not seem so ordinary.
Avoiding addiction should include finding balance and moderation.