Bobby Miller
Writer Website
Helping Your Health
A Fresh Look at Fast Food: Just One Pillar of Obesity?
2,500 words
Just about everyone knows obesity is a growing problem in our nation, but a shocking number of people aren’t even aware that they’re overweight. According to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive in 2010, about one third of overweight Americans classify themselves as “normal” in size. Plus, 70 percent of clinically obese individuals only consider themselves “overweight.”
Click here to read more.
Technology for Exercise and Healthy Living
2,500 words
. . .
Technology might hold the key to combating obesity. Dr. Susan Woolford, a member of the University of Michigan’s Pediatric Comprehensive Weight Management Center, told Yahoo, “Most often we think using technology is part of the problem.” After all, many teenagers would rather pretend to be an acrobatic Italian plumber or a cybernetically-enhanced supersoldier in a video game rather than move around themselves. Yet Woolford hopes that new technology will help us.
Click here to read the full article.
Paging Dr. Smartphone:
How Medical Apps are Revolutionizing Healthcare
1,400 words
Smartphones can let us take pictures, record videos, browse the Internet, play games and so much more thanks to the endless ocean of apps that grows deeper and broader every day. Thanks to everything smartphones can do, some people feel like they can’t live without them. Someday, that could literally be the case, thanks to the increasing popularity of medical apps.
Click here to read more.
Meditation around the World:
New Research on Old Traditions
1,000 words
At its core, meditation involves deep concentration to achieve tranquility and insight. In the 1960s, Americans usually associated the practice with hippies, who openly acknowledged meditation’s connections to Eastern religions.
However, in the 1970s, medical researchers began examining the therapeutic effects of meditation, such as stress relief. According to Adiba Osmani, who dubs himself a “novice meditator” on his website Bidushi.com, the amount of scientific inquiry concerning meditation has grown dramatically since then. Studies have shown that meditation can make people more compassionate and creative while relieving the symptoms of depression and anxiety. Because of these practical benefits, people now perform meditation for a variety of reasons, whether spiritual or secular.
Click here to read more.
Advice to Remember: Keeping Your Memory Sharp
2,000 words
If you want to add memory to a computer, you can just hook it up to an external hard drive. Improving your own memory isn’t so simple, though. Everyone could benefit from a better memory, whether you’re a student aiming for a high GPA or a senior citizen avoiding Alzheimer’s disease. So thankfully, even if we can’t plug storage devices into our brains yet, we can take a number of steps to improve our memory for now and for the future.
Click here to read more.
New Technology for Aging People: Innovations in Elderly Care
1,800 words
According to the Census Bureau’s projections, the elderly population of the United States will reach 80 million by the year 2050, which is more than double the current population. Since birth rates have fallen in the last few decades, as reported on PewSocialTrends.org, there won’t be as many young people to “replace” the older ones. In fact, by 2050, as many as one in five Americans could be elderly.
Caring for elderly people today is already costly. eHow.com estimates that Americans spend more than $300 billion a year to provide care for senior citizens. As their population continues to increase, so will the costs. And as the elderly become a larger fraction of the population, it could be more difficult to find young people who are willing to care for them.
In light of this situation, there is a growing need for technology that can assist senior citizens. Some innovations are geared toward helping the elderly live independently longer, while others help caregivers to perform their jobs more efficiently.
Click here to read more.
Treating Autism: There's an App for That
The US government has estimated that one in eighty-eight children has autism, though new surveys suggest that it could be as high as one in fifty children, according to AutismSpeaks.org. Those falling under this diagnosis have issues in brain development that are characterized by “difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors,” as the website goes on to explain.
Click here to read more.
1,300 words
Children with autism are at increased risk of self-injurious behaviors such as head banging. Although it can be startling to see your child hit their head against a wall, floor, or piece of furniture, this behavior is not a form of self-mutilation. Typically, your child is not trying to harm themselves, but rather trying to cope with strong, confusing feelings. Let’s look at four constructive ways you can help your child navigate through these sensations.
Click here to read more.
What Should I Do if My Autistic Child is Banging Their Head?
4 Ways Parents Can Help
500 words
