In Lexington, Mass., my hometown, teens are reading books like “Into the Wild” (Jon Krakauer), “The Awakening” (Kate Chopin) and “A Street Car Named Desire” (Tennessee Williams, of course). But they’re not necessarily at the local library or bookstore because they’re bibliophiles – this literature is required reading at the Lexington High School.
When my son [...]
Summer Reading Isn’t for the Birds
July 29th, 2010 by Cindy Atoji · No Comments · Childhood, Current Events, Teen Health, Teens
BodiMojo goes to Salzburg: International Conference on Eating Disorders
June 22nd, 2010 by Cindy Atoji · No Comments · Childhood, Current Events, Obesity Prevention, Technology, Teen Health, Teens, healthcare
BodiMojo founder Tara Cousineau, Ph.D, recently attended a meeting of the Academy of Eating Disorders, June 10-12, in Salzburg, Austria. The 2010 International Conference on Eating Disorders is a primary gathering place for professionals and advocates engaged in research, treatment and prevention of eating disorders. ICED attendees, faculty, supporters and exhibitors create a unique and [...]
Tags: Academy of Eating Disorders·body image·International Conference on Eating Disorders·Maudsley approach·nutrition·Technology
Eating Disorders: Not just an Adolescent Illness
June 19th, 2010 by Cindy Atoji · No Comments · Healthy Eating, Teen Health, Teens, girls, healthcare
Eating disorders are often depicted as the tragic consequence of teen fame, but women of all ages can suffer from its hold. A surprising number of “Desperate Housewives” in their late 40s and 50s are relapsing after having overcome an eating disorder in their youth, while others are experiencing them for the first time in [...]
Tags: anorexia·body image·bulimia·eating disorders·nutrition
Fighting Obesity at Local Level: Recovery Act at Work
March 24th, 2010 by Cindy Atoji · 1 Comment · Current Events, Healthy Eating, Obesity Prevention
Just last month, Michelle Obama’s campaign to end childhood obesity promised to get kids moving and revamp school lunches – an effort that involves family and community. Now, the grassroots-level obesity push continues with Communities Putting Prevention to Work: as part of the recovery act, 44 states, including here in Massachusetts, were awarded funds for obesity [...]
Tags: childhood obesity·exercise·junk food·nutrition·obesity·prevention·smoke free·tobacco
How Millennial Are You?
March 2nd, 2010 by Cindy Atoji · No Comments · Current Events, Technology, Teens
OK, so I just took a Pew Research Center test on “How Millennial are You?” My score was 40 out of a possible 100, showing that I’m not so Millennial, even though my score was boosted by having a Facebook profile, sending a couple text messages in the last 24 hours, and not yet reading [...]
Tags: Gen X·generation next·Millennial·Pew Research Center·Technology
Michelle Obama Tackles Childhood Obesity: Game-Changing Tactics Needed
February 9th, 2010 by Cindy Atoji · No Comments · Childhood, Current Events, Healthy Eating, Technology, Teen Health, Teens
First Lady Michelle Obama formally announced today a “very ambitious” initiative to end childhood obesity, one of her signature causes. “We want to eliminate this problem of childhood obesity in a generation. We want to get that done,” said Obama, in the launching of the national campaign, “Let’s Move,” which aims to educate parents, make [...]
Tags: childhood obesity·community·health·michelle obama·nutrition·obesity·physical activity
Lack of Exercise May Not Be Only Culprit in Teen Obesity: Study
November 20th, 2009 by Cindy Atoji · No Comments · Healthy Eating, Obesity Prevention, Teen Health, Teens
Lack of Exercise May Not Be Only Culprit in Teen Obesity: Study
A surprising new study, published earlier this month in the journal Obesity Reviews, showed that the amount of exercise among teens hasn’t decreased significantly over the past two decades, even while obesity rates among youngsters have skyrocketed. Does this mean that exercise isn’t [...]
Tags: cereal·commercials·exercise·junk food·nutrition·obesity·running·sedentary·sugar·television
BodiMojo’s a Top Vote Getter at Health 2.0
October 13th, 2009 by Cindy Atoji · No Comments · Current Events, Technology, Teens
This just in: Health 2.0’s Launch! featured a rapid-fire preview of the most exciting product and company introductions in health care this year. And guess what: at this user-generated healthcare conference, recently wrapped up in San Fran, among some really tough competition (health interfaces, personalized decision support tools, and more), BodiMojo was chosen third among [...]
Tags: health 2.0·health IT·Technology·user-generated healthcare
BodiMojo Leaps into Health 2.0
October 4th, 2009 by Cindy Atoji · No Comments · Technology, Teen Health, Teens
Splash. After over a year of planning, meetings, and collaboration – and so much brain-grinding that you can possibly see the smoke in San Fran – BodiMojo is testing the waters for the first time publically at the Health 2.0 conference this week, including making its debut at the “Launch!” session on Oct. 7.
What is [...]
Tags: bodimojo·body image·fitness·health 2.0·Healthy Eating·mojo·nutrition·social networking·Technology·teen·Teen Health·teenagers
Think Before You Hit ‘Send’ – Avoiding Facebook Remorse
April 20th, 2009 by Cindy Atoji · No Comments · Current Events, Technology, Teens
It’s a given that teens are impulsive. Now that impulsivity might be showing up as “Facebook Remorse” – embarrassment over what they wrote in a hasty fit of rage, infatuation, or brashness. Call it a bad mark on your permanent Internet record.
Although kids use social networking sites for positive experiences, such as keeping in [...]
Tags: teens technology Facebook Internet Computer Social Networking Relationships Blogs
Grrrr… Teen Stress Follows Into Adulthood: Study
March 23rd, 2009 by Cindy Atoji · No Comments · Current Events, Teen Health, Teens
Ahhh, the teen-age years: the first kiss, the freedom of a driver’s license, the glory of staying up all night.
It’s the agony and ecstasy of being young and innocent; a time of highs and lows, when the stresses of life seem particularly edgy. “I’ll just die if he breaks up with me.” “My SAT score [...]
BT, FT (By Teens, For Teens): T’s BMJ (That’s BodiMojo)
March 9th, 2009 by Cindy Atoji · No Comments · Current Events, Technology, Teens
Teens have always had a mind – and language – all their own, but with today’s cyber-teens, even more so. They’re plugged in, they’re mobile, and if there’s an aitr (adult in the room), well, ttyl (talk to you later).
Since BodiMojo is all about teens, we’ve made it our [...]
Obesity: The challenge remains for all of us
February 6th, 2009 by Cindy Atoji · No Comments · Obesity Prevention
“F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America,” a recent report from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is certainly a hefty document, worthy of its weighty topic. The report calls for the creation of a National Strategy to Combat Obesity and includes state-by-state data about obesity [...]
Tags: Obesity Prevention
Health IT: Getting a Plug from Social Media
January 26th, 2009 by Cindy Atoji · No Comments · Technology
Let’s talk about healthcare and technology, and in particular, pushing health concepts by using social media.
First: setting the landscape. Compared to other industries—finance and retail—healthcare is in the dark ages with technology. Physicians have been slow to adopt electronic medical records, and only 8 percent of doctors are truly [...]
Tags: health IT·healthcare·mobile technology·social media·Technology
2008 Health Flashback: Naughty and Nice News to End the Year
December 29th, 2008 by Cindy Atoji · No Comments · Technology, Teen Health, Teens
We’re compiling a year-end naughty or nice column for 2008. Here’s what we found:
· Naughty?: Statins are known as a wonder drug for their ability to lower cholesterol and reduce heart attack risk. And now, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended cholesterol testing for kids as young as age 2—and tots can get these meds [...]
Tags: Obesity Prevention·Technology
Food For Thought During Girl Scout Cookie Time
December 19th, 2008 by Cindy Atoji · No Comments · Childhood, Current Events, Healthy Eating, Obesity Prevention
Here’s a fun bite of trivia. It’s almost Girl Scout cookie time. And as part of my many occupational “hats,” I recently interviewed Kace Wilson, product sales manager for the Girl Scouts in eastern Massachusetts. She’s the logistical brain behind coordinating the annual cookie sale for more than 45,000 girls, directing 17,000 volunteers in 178 [...]
Tags: childhood obesity·Current Events·Healthy Eating·Obesity Prevention
New Health Rx for Obesity? Take Two Books and Call Me In the Morning
December 12th, 2008 by Cindy Atoji · 1 Comment · Childhood, Current Events, Obesity Prevention, Teens
Could reading a book be a possible treatment for childhood obesity? Duke University researchers say yes: the right kind of book can help kids lose weight. And that’s no fairy tale.
The Duke researchers asked overweight girls between ages nine to 13 who were already enrolled in a comprehensive weight loss program to read a novel [...]
We Twitter—Do You?
November 22nd, 2008 by Cindy Atoji · No Comments · Technology
So, a bunch of us here at BodiMojo just signed up for Twitter, per the recommendation of our head Mojo-er, Tara. It’s a real-time communication tool that asks, “What are you doing?”
I’m not sure how to Twitter, or what to even say. Or how to stalk, or, er, I mean, “follow” fellow Twitters. But micro-blogging [...]
Tags: blog·bodimojo·social networking·twitter
Obama—and Teens—Elect To Use Technology
November 5th, 2008 by Cindy Atoji · No Comments · Current Events
The votes are in: cyberspace rules. If there is any doubt about the alchemy of social networking, just take a look at Obama’s supersized victory yesterday in the presidential election. His technology-based campaign will go down in the history books as a new model for campaigning and fund-raising, with a transformative effect on both national [...]
Tags: new voters·Obama·Technology·Teens·voting
Plugging into Healthcare Innovations for Teens and Beyond
November 1st, 2008 by Cindy Atoji · No Comments · Technology
As a BodiMojowriter who also frequently covers healthcare technology, I was curious to see what a recent seminar on wireless and mobile services would say—if anything—about how teens play into this ever-changing arena. Quite a bit, it turns out. The session, which was part of the Center for Connected Health’s conference this week at Harvard [...]
Tags: biosensor·healthcare·Technology·texting·web-based wellness
