Daily Archives: October 2, 2012

Does BPA in Water Bottles cause Childhood Obesity?

If I told you that material found in water bottles and food packages contributed to childhood obesity would you believe me?  Recently scientists have performed some experiments suggesting that a chemical  called bisphenol A, or BPA, is related to health problems and obesity in children and adults. For the experiment, they measured BPA in urine and found that the children with higher levels of the BPA were more likely to be obese than children with lower or no amounts of BPA. This July the Food and Drug Administration banned products with BPA in it, such as some water bottles, sippy cups, and aluminum soup cans.   The FDA actually didn’t ban the use of the chemicals in metal-can liners and other plastics, saying that there wasn’t much proof that the exposure to lower levels of BPA was unsafe.

Normally I would find it hard to believe that plain old water bottles and packages could contribute to America’s obesity problem. But after learning that kids who have higher percentages of BPA are more obese, I thought again. I think that it’s weird that every day reusable water bottles can make you more obese. Even though they are going to ban BPA, many people still will use old products and hand me downs that will affect them. If you need more information about the link between BPA and obesity, check out BPA and Obesity

~Lily Kurtz

No More Large Soda?

Can you believe what New York City has done?  The city’s health department became the first to pass a law that bans sugary sodas and sweetened teas which are 16 ounces or larger. The law passed on September 13, 2012.  However, the ban does not include diet sodas, dairy based drinks such as milkshakes, fruit juices or alcoholic beverages which are also fattening.  Plus, drinks like “The Big Gulp” at 7 Eleven are not included in the ban because grocery and convenience stores do not apply to the law.  New York City’s mayor Michael Bloomberg has led the charge.  He believes that the law will reduce the percentage of overweight Americans, especially elementary aged children.  The ban won’t come into play until March of 2013, however.

I do not agree with this ban, people should be able to choose what they want to drink as well as how much, without the government getting involved.  It will cause even more angry Americans in New York City, because they will not be able to get an average small soda when they go to restaurants or to school. What do you think about the ban, should more cities join in?  If this continues, what else will the government ban?  Should we go as far as letting the government ban all unhealthy ingredients and put a tax on sugar.  

~Rosa Palmieri

Babysitters Guide…

To be a good babysitter you have to be experienced, good with children, and always put safety first. Babysitting may look easy, but it really isn’t  I enjoy babysitting because I like children. The parents usually talk to you before they hand their kids over to you, and they tell you some rules. ALWAYS follow those rules! If a child ever does something wrong, you should put them in a time out for 5 to 10 minutes, usually after that, they won’t want to mess around again.

Before you go to a house to babysit, you should think of some games you can play with the kids, that way the kids will be distracted and they’ll have fun. You also should bring over a snack for yourself just in case you get hungry, you don’t want to be sneaking food from their cabinets! You should read the children stories before they go to bed, it makes them fall asleep faster. After they go to bed, you can help out by cleaning up or doing the dishes. This way the parents will want you to come back, and maybe you’ll get a little more money. If you follow these few tips I’m sure you will be a great babysitter.

~Julie Roche

A Big Waste of Money

Do we really need a pool in our town? Each year the town of Cheshire spends millions of dollars on the pool. Is it beneficial? Maybe, but there is no reason that the town should be spending their money on the pool. Every year there is some kind of problem with the pool that just makes the town spend money like crazy. One year we had such a bad winter that the roof collapsed! Well there goes about two million dollars trying to fix that. The money we spend on this pool can go to much better needs for this town.

In my opinion, the Cheshire town pool is a total waste of money. The only people that use it are the boys and girls swim teams in the town.  But they are in their swim season right now and they can’t even use it because of course there is a problem with it. I know that I have only been there about three times ever since it opened. Cheshire needs to be spending their money on something the town will use. For example, give some money to the school systems or make something useful like a shopping center or movie theater where kids and adults will actually go. Recently a Cheshire citizen who has been living here for their entire life told me that when she was a kid there was an ice skating rink and a movie theater  Well what happened to those?! They are gone. Now we live in a boring town that wastes their money on a pool.

~Jacqueline Allard

iPod Touch 5th Generation

September 12, 2012 Apple announced the iPod touch 5th generation (finally, that only took what two years). Now, everybody is all into the latest and greatest kind of thing nowadays ( if not, please wake up and join the rest of us in the 21st century). So the big question is what are the new features? The rumours were everything from a larger screen to a 3D screen. New features include better camera, and processor (as expected) but Apple also changed a few things such as a wristband to prevent people from dropping it (thankfully its optional) which I find unlikely to catch on and, a new charger (another way for Apple to earn more money). The big feature is the new iPod sports a larger screen (six icons tall now) and better graphics (yay!) along with the ability to now be bought in multiple colors red (looks like a light red), green (strange looking), blue (more turquoise), yellow, black and, white.
My opinion on this is that the iPod 5th generation will do great in stores and be another huge hit. The better cameras, graphics, and, processor chip were expected so that was not really that big of a new feature on the surprise ‘o’ meter scale. What was a real surprise was the color option, I think that the black and white versions will sell the best but some will find interest in the other colors. The wrist strap does not look like many will use (its detachable) but adds a nice safety feature which is good for younger kids who have a tendency to drop their iPods. Apple also only is selling a 32 and 64 gb memory version meaning that the iPod will start at $299 instead of $199 (another way for Apple to make more money). Finally Apple has also changed the cable to their new lightning cable design, although I think this cable will just end up making people mad  because they will have to buy a ton of new cables and adapters.

~Quentin Arai