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Healthy lifestyle

Can the ads

Justine HodgeBy Justine Hodge

Will baby steps be enough to keep our kids healthy?

Last week the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) released its revised ‘Advertising to Children Code' heralding "major changes". This was a great opportunity for the advertising industry to demonstrate corporate responsibility and to attempt to make significant impact towards improving the health of Australian children.

Australian children are amongst the world's highest viewers of junk food advertisements on television. Nearly 30% of children are now overweight or obese and levels are rising rapidly. This is no mere coincidence. Obesity and health experts across the globe agree that children are directly influenced by the foods they see advertised on television, and that the use of premium such as toys and competitions result in increased pestering for the specific products that they are associated with.

Sadly, the new AANA Code does not make any real headway in controlling the high levels of junk food advertising to children or the use of pester power to sell unhealthy foods. The media release distributed by AANA claims that the new Code includes a "prohibition against ‘pester power'"; however the detail of the Code actually states that an advertisement "must not contain an appeal to children to urge their parents or carers to buy a product for them".

Growing Our Own in Melbourne: Self Sufficient Gardens Report

A research project discussing sustainable, self-sufficiency gardening in Melbourne has found an increasing trend toward sustainable, self-sufficient gardening and highlights broader influences impacting on this, and uncovers a variety of community gardens and educational opportunities. The research involved consultation with many participants at the forefront of community and self sufficient garden solutions. It includes a holistic consideration of the topic and explores a diversity of options available. This project could also be of value to compare to other cities and highlights some innovative activities to develop local community food security through growing our own food, herbs and beneficial use plants.

full report @ http://growingourown.wordpress.com

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY - happiness, well-being and satisfaction with life

Positive Psychology: take a short survey, learn simple techniques how to be happier. 

There are many simple ways to improve the quality of our lives and to live a more meaningful and fufilling life. With the growing research in POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY, maintaining our mental stability and satisfaction from, and gratefullness for, various events that we come across are made easy.

In many cases, there is no need to visit a professional once or twice a week to obtain external help for dealing with our daily problems, burdens, or worries.

We are usually stronger than we think we are. If we just trust ourselves enough, to get to the roots of our problems, most of us will be surprised. Our minds and hearts know what is best for us much better than any psychologist or psychiatrist, or other professionals. We just need to be taught to listen to ourselves.

I am a psychology student, and always have been and always will be in the exciting endless journey of discovering my innest self, and to help others discover theirs. POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY is a movement that tries to balance people's strengths and disadvantages, rather than todays traditional philosophy of exploring the negatives only. The idea is to gain better insight into what we are really good at, and direct ourselves to achieve goals that are consistent with our strengths.

Working  through our strengths was found to lead to success in relationships, work, studies, and self exploration. Knowing our strong traits and talents tend to lead to a more meaningful life, with deeper appreciation and greater fullfilmet. Positive Psychology techniques and interventions were found to be extremely beneficial for our phisical health (for anyone who is interested inacademic reference for that, I am happy to provide it).