The latest statistics show that over 16% of adolescents and children in the United States are obese based on body mass ( BMI) and over 30% of adults are obese. This represents the largest increase in the past twenty years! Why are Americans gaining all of this weight? One theory is that we may not be eating more or eating more of the wrong foods but the big problem is that we're getting much less exercise. Our children are less active than we were as kids and we are less active than our parents were. One has to come to the conclusion that technology has something to do with it.

How many of us spend most of our time sitting in front of a computer all day? But it's not just our jobs that are to blame. Leisure activities today seem to put much more emphasis on the leisure rather than the activity. Sitting on the couch or lying on the couch each evening watching TV doesn't do much for our health. Food commercials entice you to head to the kitchen for a 'little' snack, media centers and home theaters and lifelike HD technology keeps you on that couch each night and you may end up with fewer years to enjoy it.

We probably remember our Mom having to hang clothes out in the sun to dry and getting the health benefits of lifting, carrying, bending and standing. Today it is far easier just to throw those wet clothes in the dryer. The same thing happens with dishwashers, microwave ovens, garage door openers and all other gadgets that do for us what we used to expend physical energy doing. There are even robotic vacuum cleaners that don't need your help. The man of the house doesn't even have to push a lawn mower anymore. He can just sit atop of a riding mower and let it do all of the work.

As for the kids, they are video game whizzes and many of them never get outside to run and play. In today's world, parents may be afraid to let their children walk to school or ride their bikes around the neighborhood in fear of being abducted. So the kids stay inside and watch TV, play games or update their MySpace page and may end up exposed to far more danger online than they would ever run into in their subdivision. So they stay inside and chat and surf the web, rack up points on their favorite game sites, while munching on chips or pizza.

Can technology also help to solve this problem? One of the best selling games in the game industry is the Nintendo Wii and the best selling point is player interaction. The Wii takes advantage of technology that can detect movement in three dimensions, allowing players to actually get up and move rather than using a hand held device. The biggest audience for this game turned out to be senior citizens. They can play tennis, golf, bowl, box, play baseball, etc. in the safety of their own homes and not even have to pay green fees or club memberships!

You can also use technology by taking advantage of software that will help you count calories, fat, carbohydrates and protein in your meals. You can type 'diet software' in a search engine online and you will get hundreds of results with this information.  This summer plan on swimming in your pool rather than soaking up the sun, take more walks, park your car further back in the parking lot and take the stairs more often than the elevator. Let's make those New Year's resolutions come true.

Crafts and Hobby Association Winter Convention

It was not just another trade show... it was the craft and hobby world's fair. There were over 900 exhibiters, over 16,000 attendees, 7,000 buyers and 60 countries represented at the show. The events included scrap booking, paper crafts, general crafts, art material and framing, fabric, quilting, needle crafts, imaging and license and design. There were international pavilions from Japan, Brazil, UK, Australia, Canada, Italy, France, Taiwan and India.

Mindware customers that exhibited at this year's show were Art Gone Wild & Friends, Hampton Art, Product Performers and JustRite Stampers.