Live in California or know someone who does? A precedent-setting ballot initiative campaign is underway in California to ban the cruelest confinement systems on factory farms, including battery cages. Voters will decide this November, and you can get involved in helping make a difference for farmed animals by visiting CaliforniaHumane.com.

Please have a look at the Frequently Asked Questions from time to time.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is HealthBlogs?
  HealthBlogs is a program of the Online Patient Empowerment Project, a US 501(c)(3) Corporation (non-profit). The goal is to provide a blogging space for people to write about health.
• What’s not allowed on HealthBlogs?
  Commercial blogs are not permitted. “Splogs,” or spam blogs, are not permitted. Humans review new blogs every day. Those which are considered inappropriate for any reason are quickly deleted.
• Are you trying to sell anything? When we come across blogs which were created for the purpose of selling or promoting a product, we delete it. Remember, this site is supported by volunteers and donations. If you wish to pay for a blog, please contact us.

Childhood obesity, a serious problem in the United States for the last 25 years, may have hit its peak. A report published in the May 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association indicates that the epidemic may have leveled off during the past eight years. Researchers say that the number of overweight children is still three times what it was back when I was a kid though (in the 1960s and 70s).

This is interesting for a few reasons. It could mean that a certain percentage of the population of US children is simply immune to obesity. That’s one of my extremely non-scientific guesses, and was not suggested by any of the research. Researchers didn’t draw any conclusions from the data, but there will no doubt be much study. Is it possible that a segment of US citizens just eat right and exercise and teach their children to do the same?

What are your thoughts?

Wordpress, the software used to run HealthBlogs.org, has been updated to the latest version. We think you’ll find the interface much cleaner and easier to use. Be on the lookout for some short video tutorials in the near future.  In the meantime, if you have any trouble, please use the contact form to let us know.

This is a must-see!

For more information, see http://www.pbs.org/unnaturalcauses/

Unnatural Causes…is inequality making us sick?
Premiering Tuesday, May 20, at 10 PM
Part one of a four-part series examining the root causes of health and illness to help reframe the debate about health in America. In this premiere episode, the program explores how we get sick in the first place, and why patterns of health and illness reflect underlying patterns of class and racial inequities. In the second episode on Tuesday, May 27, at 10 PM, producers investigate how race affects pregnancy risks and infant mortality. The series returns in June to explore the causes and effects of diabetes within two Native American communities and Place Matters connects health, wealth and zip codes. The concluding episode traces health challenges of Marshall Islanders from the South Pacific to Springdale, AR, and explores the toll taken by layoffs and job insecurity.

There’s a new online community called Health Power, on which members can start discussions, upload videos and photos, make new friends and share information. Sign up today at www.HealthPower.org.

Health Blogs.org was created for you to use to share experiences with others, to vent and to document your health challenges, whatever they may be. Blogs, or Weblogs, provide an outlet for expression. Think of a blog as your online journal. You can upload photos, configure your blog to allow comments from your readers, set up an RSS feed and choose from a variety of attractive templates. You don’t have to know html to create a blog. The setup is fast, easy, and it’s free! HealthBlogs is available for use by patients, caregivers, healthcare providers and practitioners and anyone with an interest in matters concerning health. You’ll find this the perfect place for documenting anything from diet and exercise to sharing your strategies for coping with any illness or condition:

Exercise Quitting smoking Diet Illness or disease Diabetes Chronic pain High blood pressure Caregiver issues Fitness

These are just a few of the challenges our users are blogging about. Dozens of themes and plugins are available!

If you’d prefer to just view and comment on others’ blogs at first, that’s fine too. Either search for a term you are interested in or click on one of the bloggers in the Blog Directory. When you have questions about health blogging on healthblogs.org please click here.

Note to new users: Healthblogs is operated by a non-profit agency and is not for use for commercial purposes or for “Business Builders.” Blogs created for reasons such as this will be deleted.

How do you find time to exercise and stay healthy? As the health blogs editors, we are interested in what techniques you have found to fit exercise into your busy workday. Maybe you are a working parent trying to find time for exercise. Maybe you are a workaholic who just knows that exercise is key to good health but you don’t seem to find time to squeeze into your busy schedule. What are your tips to share with others? Realistic tips that people can really use in everyday life would be great to share!
Here is a fun clip to share when you are able to get together with family to swim and play. It’s great exercise![youtube]jKruJ79cSuI[/youtube]

SWAT -Smart Working Available Time Moms - is a fairly new term for flexible work for stay at home moms. It is good for the mental health of mothers who were previously employed as professionals to stay active in their areas of expertise. When a woman’s mental health is balanced between the love of children and the love of work, physical health more easily remains in balance. This is the general consensus and an interesting theory to google about.

You may have already read some reasons to start your own health blog. Please use the calendar to locate health events in your area. If you know of a health fair, health seminar or other informative health gathering and it’s not listed on Health Blogs, please let us know by contacting us and we will post it to share with all!http://healthblogs.org/2008/05/09/health-events/
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Please tell us the name of the event, type of event, location (address, city, state) and contact information. The event can be for a particular health awareness for a condition such as diabetes or cancer, or just a health and wellness event. If it’s a health fair for children or adults, we don’t care. We want to share with everyone as part of our mission to empower individuals using the Internet. Please click below to add your events in the comments. First please login to the right or by going to http://healthblogs.org/wp-signup.php and either setup a site or just create a user so you can post comments.

Thank you in advance!
Beth and Monica