“
Girl that's kind of the way I'm feeling, trying to stop your leaving
”- Dierks Bentley (Trying To Stop Your Leaving)
Do you think the British government is wasting money with vaccinations for everyone in Britain?
July 14, 2009http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7011757.stm
Obesity levels in Scotland are the second highest in the developed world behind the USA, new statistics have revealed.
The figures were published as the Scottish Government announced plans to remove sweets and fizzy drinks from schools.
Under new rules, the amount of chips served in school meals will also be cut and more fruit and vegetables provided.
Children's Minister Adam Ingram said he wanted to change young people's habits.
The figures , released by ISD Scotland, the statistical wing of the NHS, said the "obesity epidemic" in Scotland must be addressed and outlines the extent of the "major public health problem".
These figures provide little evidence that current approaches to obesity are having any impact
Public health information report
The report puts Scotland second bottom in a list of the developed world's most obese nations, with only America faring worse.
Since 1995, obesity in the adult population has increased by 46%.
There have been marked increases in men aged 35 to 64 and in women aged 35 to 44, while one in five children in primary seven were estimated to be obese in 2004/05.
The report said: "These figures provide little evidence that current approaches to obesity are having any impact.
"The increasing levels of obesity are of serious concern given the levels of morbidity and mortality associated with obesity.
"It is estimated that obese people in Scotland are 18% more likely to be hospitalised than those of normal weight."
'Sedentary lifestyles'
The cost of treating obesity-related disease in Scotland was estimated at £171m in 2001.
The prevalence of the condition in Scotland is among the highest of all Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries - above the UK as a whole, Mexico, Canada and Australia.
The condition is likely to result in rising levels of Type 2 diabetes, colon cancer and hypertension.
Declining levels of physical activity and "sedentary lifestyles" are highlighted in the report as a possible factor in the growing levels of obesity in developed countries.
The availability of cheap, energy-dense food could be a further factor.
Chips will only be served in schools as part of a nutritional meal
Meanwhile, ministers set out new nutritional guidelines for Scottish schools which will be written in to legislation and be applied from August 2008.
It comes in response to recommendations from a group of nutrition, child health, dental and education experts.
At least two portions of fruit and vegetables will be served every lunchtime, oily fish will be served once every three weeks, while deep fried food will be limited to three items a week.
Sweets and fizzy drinks will be removed from schools and chips will only be served up as part of an overall balanced and nutritional meal.
Mr Ingram said: "By targeting our youngest citizens we can make a lasting difference.
"Putting healthy options on a plate for pupils every day will develop their taste for the food that's good for them and stop unhealthy habits from taking hold."
Tory health spokeswoman Mary Scanlon said the findings of the obesity report were "horrific".
"This sends a clear message that we need to start educating people about the dangers of an unhealthy lifestyle, starting with mothers in ante-natal classes," she said.
In 2003, the Hungry for Success initiative was launched to change eating habits but since then the number of children taking school meals has dropped.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/02/youtube-popular.html
In the latest in a series of moves away from its early, freewheeling roots, YouTube has quietly changed the default filter on its highly trafficked main video page from "most viewed" to something called "popular."
Since its inception, YouTube's "most viewed" page has been the place to find the Web's hottest -- and, in a sense, most popular -- videos. The area is still available but is sure to become less prominent now that it's lost the default status.
YouTube has posted no blog entry about the change, and nowhere does it define or explain what "Popular" means (This we know: It doesn't mean most viewed). In December, when YouTube first introduced what was originally called the "most popular" tab, a spokesman wrote vaguely that "most popular incorporates more signals about video related to freshness and activity beyond just a view count."
But the site will not specify what those signals are. As for freshness, there's already a "rising videos" filter, which tracks up-and-coming clips -- so it's more than just that. And there are already filters for most comments, highest rating and most favorited. Is this mysterious new "popular" some kind of hybrid of the above -- or something else completely?
We may never know. In an effort to increase its appeal to advertisers, YouTube has tightened its grip on which videos it allows on its most visible pages, and we can only suspect that this is an extension of that trend -- a trend by which YouTube's user-facing policies have become less and less transparent. Everyone understands what "most viewed" means, and the clarity of that metric has allowed a meritocracy to develop among YouTube producers: Whoever gets the most views wins. But with a deliberately opaque algorithm deciding which videos to elevate, video makers will no longer know what it takes to get exposure for their content. That's a worrying prospect for those who have built careers on the success of their YouTube work.
"Wow ... youtube has changed the default to Most Popular," tweeted Marina Orlova, YouTube's HotforWords. "Was nice knowing you all."
Updated, Feb. 5, 8:49 a.m.: YouTube star Philip "sXePhil" DeFranco writes in to shed some light on the "popular" tab by sharing some info he says YouTube gave him. "Think of it as a Most viewed for interesting content. It is a mixture of views, audience attention (how long the viewer watches) and ratings. Why promote content that people aren't enjoying even after they watch it? Unlike Most Viewed, if someone watches for 10 seconds ... and leaves, [Popular] will not reward the video."
In other words, it's one way to minimize the effect of gaming, in which users employ racy thumbnails or video titles to trick viewers into watching less than racy videos -- and the viewers quickly lose interest. This would be a logical explanation that, if true, it seems YouTube could have fit into a blog update.
Also: It appears that last night, after this post was published, YouTube added a new, smaller "most viewed" module to its main video page above the popular area.
Latest Comments