Blog #7: Financial System Delayed Until Next Week

Good morning Campers, Buster here again.  It’s cold out there but Spring is right around the corner – I predicted an early one this year so its gotta happen real soon.  

I had planned to get into our systems of finance this week, but old pappy has been reluctantly becoming an expert on the intricacies of the aging process.  He’d been taking a bunch of pain killer drugs for about five months, and when he was able to stop them last week or so, he was hit with the unpleasant detox symptoms.  He even finds himself feeling a tad of empathy for that old hero of right thinkers everywhere, Rush Limbaugh.  

So, the world of high (and low) finance must wait another week to get a bit of much needed exposure here.  Bet you can’t wait!

In the meantime, though, I wanted to share a, sadly, very rare instance of good news.  Could we be turning the corner on childhood obesity?

Finally, some good news in America’s battle with obesity.  A major survey by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that obesity rates among children ages 2 to 5 fell 43 percent over the past decade —the first significant decline in a condition that can lead to myriad health problems.  Obesity rates among preschoolers dropped to just above 8 percent in 2012, down from nearly 14 percent in 2004.  Obesity rates in other age groups remained largely unchanged, but lowered rates among kids bode well for the future, scientists say.  Overweight toddlers are five times more likely to be obese as adults, putting them at higher risk for cancer, heart disease, stroke, and other illnesses.  “This is the first time we’ve seen any indication of any significant decrease in any group,” CDC epidemiologist Cynthia Ogden tells The New York Times.  Though unable to pinpoint the reasons for the decline, researchers cited several factors:  children are consuming fewer sugary drinks, more women are breast-feeding — which correlates to a healthier weight range in young children — and, thanks in part to the national campaign spearheaded by Michelle Obama, many child-care centers are offering more nutritious foods and opportunities to exercise.  

 Quoted from The Week Magazine - March 14, 2014

Now, if old Guv Christie could just try setting a good example for the rest of us…

Keep the old chin up and we’ll see ya next week, 

Bus