Some say the media contribute to eating disorders; others say the media play a part in the obesity epidemic. Can it be both?

Recently, Spain’s top fashion show banned the use of ultra skinny models, prompting a worldwide debate about the influence of the fashion media on girls’ body image and eating disorder rates.

This week, the Federal Communications Commission and Congress announced the formation of a joint task force to examine the media’s contribution to America’s childhood obesity epidemic.

So which is it?

Counterintuitive as it might seem, research has shown that the media contributes to the prevalence of both eating disorders and obesity.

Eggplant Parmesan

Serves 4 to 6

INGREDIENTS:

1 large eggplant, about 2 pounds

3/4 cup olive oil

2 cups cups canned tomato sauce

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

8 ounces shredded Mozzarella cheese

There’s much to be said about America’s multiculturalism and diversity. Though some of it is coming across negatively recently, there’s one aspect we can say is totally positive, and that’s the diversity of foods. Now as Caribbean people, we like to eat our own thing because “we ain’t know what dey is put in dere” and so sometimes we don’t want to try new things. But, alas, sometimes something new is just what the doctor ordered.

Why shouldn’t we go Italian? If your only exposure to Italian food is pizza and maybe lasagna, then you are missing out! Italian foods utilize lots of cheeses, tomatoes, herbs, garlic of course, pasta and who could forget the olive oil? This is the kind of cooking that’s mmmm mmmm good.

Like the cuisine of many countries, Italian cuisine is extremely varied reflecting the cultural variety of its regions and its diverse history. Its cuisine is influenced by Greek, Roman, Norman and Arab civilizations. Italian cuisine could be considered as a prime example of the Mediterranean diet.

Now with this cuisine, in Italy, each area has its own specialties at the regional level and is usually very seasonal since Italians place a lot of emphasis on the use of fresh produce in their cooking. This is something that is unusual in other countries; however, since we’re not in Italy, let’s get as close to it as possible, take Italy to your kitchen and let’s eat Italian!

Make Google Safe for Kids

Like it or not, there is a lot of unsavory content on the Web. When you perform a Google search, some of these undesirable pages can end up in your search results – which is not a great thing if it’s your kids who are doing the searching.

Fortunately, Google offers a content filter that you can apply to Google searches. Google’s SafeSearch filter screens the Google index for sites that contain adult information and then eliminates those pages from your search results.

Goggle applies complex algorithms and technologies to its search applications, but this SafeSearch content filter is surprisingly simple. Google checks keywords, phrases, directory categories against a list of objectionable words and topics. The technology looks for the appearance of certain naughty words such as “sex”, “porn” or “girls” (list is kept a secret by Google) and when a web page contains one or more of these objectionable words in either the page text or address the page is immediately omitted from Google results.

Tens of millions of people suffer from lower back ache and stiffness. A series of simple, full body, stretching exercises can cure an achy and tight lower back.

Chronic lower back stiffness and pain -- It’s a condition that affects millions of people, from sedentary couch potatoes to elite athletes. The National Center for Health Statistics reports that 14 percent of new patient visits to physician offices (approximately 13 million annually) are for complaints of low back pain. In fact, an estimated 18 percent of the population has debilitating back pain at any given time.

Lack of proper stretching for flexibility is a key contributor to this widespread health care issue, according to exercise physiologist, Joey Atlas.

“When you factor in the number of people that don’t bother to go to the doctor, the number is probably double and quite possibly higher,” claims the fitness expert.

Avoidance of stretching exercises, lack of knowledge regarding specific stretches and limited flexibility are three causes of the lower back pain epidemic. The biggest complaint from many sufferers is the challenge of waking up to morning stiffness and backache on a daily basis, with some days being worse than others depending on previous day’s activities and overnight sleeping position.