Can Video Games be Healthy?

Obesity is becoming one of the major health concerns among North America today, and many health professionals are attributing this issue to the lack of physical activity that is displayed. For instance, after a long day at work or school, many typically go home exhausted, with exercise being one of the last things that we worry about. Additionally, with our current preoccupation with leading a fast-paced and hectic lifestyle, whenever we are able to spare some free time, we tend to spend our time performing leisure activities such as surfing the internet, watching televisions, or playing video games.

With the recent development of the Wii console however, which features a unique sensor bar that allows for physical movement to become a part of the gaming experience, it is to no surprise that health and fitness games emerged themselves into the video gaming world. For example, games such as Wii Sports, Wii Fit and Wii Resort allows for various types of sports and activities to be enjoyed, played, and experienced within the comfort of our own homes. One can even develop a personal training routine with a virtual fitness trainer teaching us what types of activities we should be focusing on, when enjoying these games. As I browsed around the video gaming section of Best Buy, a thought suddenly came into my head; can such games be healthy to us in any way? I know that video games, even with a Wii console, will obviously never be as physically exerting as truly participating in a real game of tennis or golf, but isn’t having some form of movement in front of the television screen better than having no movement at all?

I like where the concepts of these Wii games are going because it plays on the idea of allowing us to perform physical movement and play certain sports that we may never be able to play with the busy lifestyles that many of us lead. To my surprise, I have actually even seen the Wii console used within practice recently. The long term care home that I volunteer at actually used Wii games to assist the elderly residents in practicing their hand coordination and movement. When I saw this, I was very impressed because it allowed for a fun and creative way for the residents to obtain some form of physical movement that is not too tiring or physically straining for them. On the flipside however, such consoles and games are quite costly. Only individuals fortunate enough to afford the console itself, as well as the various ad-ons (controllers, balance board, etc...) and games, are able to participate and enjoy the activities offered. I understand that gaming and watching television are leisure activities that only people who can afford to do such activities partake in, but are we being a little too critical and biased towards video games? Health promoters are consistently discouraging individuals from partaking in such sedentary activities, but are all video games bad? What about the ones that promotes brain health and thinking? What about ones like these that promote movement and coordination? In no way am I promoting video gaming because I too have one of these consoles and to be honest, I barely ever play with it anymore. In my opinion, I think it depends on how we use these games. We should not spend our entire day at home playing such games, but I suppose on days where we feel extra sluggish and tired, playing these games are better than playing ones that only requires thumb motions and pushing buttons. It will also be interesting to see what technology holds in the future. Who knows, maybe someday we can actually participate in sports, in the same ways as we do in real life, within our own homes!

Hot Dog, Not So Hot Anymore!

Source: http://www.healthzone.ca/health/parentcentral/familyhealth/article/769499--redesign-the-hotdog-doctors-urge

Mustard, ketchup, and relish might be losing a friend, as the well-known shape of the hot dog may change. According to the above article, the hot dog is in need of some serious redesigning, as it has become one of the leading choking hazards to small children. The article notes that due to the distinctive size and shape of the hot dog, it can effortlessly lodge itself into a child’s throat, thus blocking his/her air passages completely. Being a human manufactured food item, pediatricians believe that the shape of the hot dog can be changed without any difficulty.

I agree with the idea that because the hot dog is a highly manufactured food item, the shape of it can be changed effortlessly. This however, does not mean that the shape of it should be changed. To me, a hot dog just wouldn’t be a hot dog if its shape were to be redesigned. For instance, it is because of its unique shape, which allows for it to be consumed so conveniently on the go. Through redesigning the hot dog, a lot of money as well as jobs (from hot dog stands and sellers) can be lost. Additionally, if the hot dog’s shape needs to be redesigned, does this not mean that other potentially dangerous food items should also be redesigned? Perhaps parents should just not provide their children with such food items at such a young age. I understand that parents cannot be watching their children at all times, but the children are obviously obtaining these potentially dangerous food items from somewhere within the house or environment in which they live in. This thus ties into the importance and increased need for community education in parenting. Perhaps more parenting programs should be initiated within communities, teaching parents what foods are acceptable and not acceptable for their children to consume at different ages. On another note, hot dogs arn't exactely the most nutritional food items that children should be encouraged to consume anyways, so perhaps restricting children from eating hot dogs would not be such a bad idea after all. This is evidently my opinion on the matter, so I end this post with the question:

Should the shape of the hot dog be changed?

Goodbye Ox, Hello Tiger

Chinese New Year is one of the biggest holidays within the Chinese culture. This year is the year of the tiger, which begins on February the 14th (Valentine's Day!!!). Being someone who grew up within a fairly traditional Chinese family, it is one of my favourite "holidays". I call it a "holiday" because China recognizes Chinese New Year as a public holiday, allowing people to spend time with their families. This is one of the many reasons why I love Chinese New Year, it serves as a way for my entire family and I to spend time together, just eating and joking around. To me, Chinese New Year also means decorating the house with red and gold decorations, cleaning the house to welcome in the new year, red envelopes, and of course my favourite part: awesome food!!!

Food plays a very large role during Chinese New Year. For one, many (if not all) of the dishes eaten will have some sort of meaning behind it. Seeing as each family will most likely have their own traditions of what is eaten during the new year, I will introduce some of the food that my family typically eats at gatherings.

For one, normally nine dishes are served because the number nine represents longevity. Secondly, fish, meat & a vegetable dish must appear at least once on the menu, as this symbolizes starting the new year with all the major food groups, so that one will not go hungry throughout the year. The fish and meat (typically chicken) are served whole to represent togetherness within the family. Another prominent dish is shrimp because in Chinese, the word shrimp sounds like the word happiness. For dessert, black sesame dumplings served in a sweet syrup is typically eaten. The roundness of the dumplings signifies reunion between family and the sweetness of the syrup represents happiness throughout the new year.

These are just some of the many dishes that are served, but I thought it would be interesting to mention some of them on this blog. Since Chinese New Year begins this weekend, I guess I will end this blog entry with a saying that is normally said during Chinese New Year. Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Type 3 Diabetes?

I read an article today called “Why Alzheimer’s is called type 3 diabetes” and was immediately very interested in reading the article. For one, the title was very appealing because I had never really heard of Alzheimer’s disease described in such a way, and secondly, even after studying nutrition for four long years, I simply could not see the link between Alzheimer’s and diabetes.

The article mainly discussed how recent studies have shown that the development of Alzheimer’s disease is strongly linked to insulin and diabetes, and that insulin actually plays a large role in the formation of memories. The article also concluded that diabetics are at a higher risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease, and that glucose does not get utilized properly in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s.

After reading this article, I was very surprised with the findings! Whenever I hear the word insulin, the first thing that comes to my mind is blood glucose, glycemic index, and diabetes. I seriously never knew that insulin was involved with the formation of memories as well, which really surprised me. This then brings me to my next point: if newer studies are finding such a strong link between Alzheimer’s and Diabetes, then shouldn’t we be educating more people about this? I mean, I’m pretty sure that most people know about diabetes and how it’s important to control their blood glucose, but I don’t think they know why it’s so important, or what actually causes diabetes. I constantly hear people talking about diabetes, and how it’s a condition that only older individuals get, but this is obviously not true. Why are there so many misconceptions about diabetes? I just think that we need to educate the public more about diabetes prevention and not just about diabetes management. I hear a lot about what we should eat if we have diabetes, but not enough about what to do to prevent one from getting diabetes.

On a second note, the article also talked about a woman whose father has both Alzheimer’s and diabetes, and how he constantly forgets whether or not he ate because he had Alzheimer’s, which in turn affected his diabetic condition. It was just interesting to see that Alzheimer’s can also have an impact on diabetes, and not just the other way around. I also felt bad for her because the management of both of these conditions is troublesome, and it’s hard for her to monitor her father all the time. I guess I can relate to this as my father is also diabetic, and it can be frustrating sometimes convincing him to eat smaller portions of certain food. I can tell that it’s hard for him, and at the same time I feel horrible for having to remind him all the time.

source: http://healthzone.ca/health/yourhealth/agingwell/article/752820--why-alzheimer-s-is-called-type-3-diabetes