Rhode Island, U.S.A. — Throughout the month of August, which is National Immunization Awareness Month, CVS/pharmacy’s Project Health (“Proyecto Salud” in Spanish) is offering free health screening events focusing on vaccination reviews, vision acuity, glucose, blood pressure and BMI (Body Mass Index) for individuals in multicultural communities who have difficulty accessing preventive care.

Along with these free health screening events, CVS pharmacy designated Project Health store locations are also holding “Flu Voucher Fridays” each week during the month of August. Qualifying Project Health attendees who complete the entire health screening process and identify themselves as not having health insurance will be eligible to receive a voucher redeemable for a flu shot at CVS pharmacy or Minute Clinic this flu season.

More than 200 Project Health events will take place during the month of August in the following cities: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Parents are encouraged to bring their children’s immunization records to the events in preparation for school. Although children age seven and older can participate in only two screenings – vaccination reviews and vision acuity – they are eligible to qualify to receive a flu shot voucher. The minimum vaccination age at CVS pharmacy will vary based on the state in which they are being offered.

Project Health was launched in February and is expected to deliver more than $21 million worth of free health screenings to multicultural communities by the end of 2012. The program will focus on dental hygiene in October and diabetes in November.

“Preventive care is so important, particularly when we’re talking about the yearly influenza vaccine,” said Troyen A. Brennan, M.D., M.P.H., Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, CVS Caremark. “Project Health is a program that offers people the chance to assess their health and the health of their families and gives them the information they need to help them on their path to better health.”

Project Health events, while offered to address and raise awareness of ethnic health disparities, are open to everyone and will not require an appointment. Once screened, CVS pharmacy will help patients through on-site consultations with bi-lingual (Spanish/English) nurse practitioners and pharmacists who will analyze the results and refer patients to no-cost or low-cost medical facilities within that neighborhood or to their primary care physician should additional follow-up be required.

In 2011, CVS pharmacy provided free and low-cost medical screenings and services valued at $150 per person through the To Your Health/A Su Salud programs, which evolved into the Project Health campaign.  Last year over 162,000 people were screened, underscoring the demand for these important services. Of those tested, the program detected that:

• 57 percent had at least one abnormal screening result
• 48 percent had at least one abnormal risk factor for heart disease
• 42 percent had risk factors for osteoporosis
• 27 percent had abnormal glucose readings

The Project Health events will be held at designated CVS pharmacy locations on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, from 2 – 6 pm daily with no appointment necessary. For more information, and a full calendar of Project Health events, please go to www.cvs.com/projecthealth or www.cvs.com/proyectosalud.

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The 23^rd Annual Billboard Latin Music Conference Presented by State Farm will gather hundreds of industry leaders and influencers, featuring panel discussions with today’s top artists and executives.

Held April 23 to 26, at the JW Marriott Marquis in Miami, Florida, the conference kicks off with a showcase honoring “El Caballo Mayor” Johnny Ventura on his 55 years of musical career. Information about registration can be found at www.BillboardLatinConference.com.

“When it comes to supporting the best in Latino artists, few things make us more proud than to again be the title sponsor of the Billboard Latin Music Conference and Awards,” said Pam El, State Farm Marketing Vice President.

“Not only does Billboard do a great job in recognizing and promoting the talented pool of Latino artists that are climbing the charts, they also bring together a veritable who’s-who of the music industry and marketing world to discuss the powerful role music plays in the lives of today’s Hispanic audiences. We feel privileged to be able to support such an important occasion that highlights the central role music plays in our customer’s lives.”

Internationally renowned Pitbull will be showcased at the Superstar Q&A discussing his rise to the top and entrepreneurial ventures. Other celebrity panels include: Q&A with Don Omar : Unveiling the Strategy Behind the Hits. The Being Social panel features urban music pioneer, entrepreneur and social media leader, Daddy Yankee.

Q&A with Jenni Rivera : The Diva We Want To Know where Jenni will discuss her career as an artist and entrepreneur. How I Wrote That Song – Presented By BMI featuring Chino & Nacho; Horacio Palencia and Gocho. Gerardo Ortiz , 3BallMTY and the teams behind their success will participate in the Regional Mexican panel.

The Marketing Exchange hosted by Telemundo and Mun2 features panels such as Targeting Music about winning strategies from music mogul Emilio Estefan and Target VP of Entertainment John Butcher; and Reaching The New Latino: How brands and agencies are targeting the “New” US Born Latino via music and music branded events.

The Exchange features guest speakers from PepsiCo, Republica, Globalhue, Verizon Wireless and UMLE; and culminates with the presentation of the Marketing Awards honoring the year’s best advertising, branding and sponsorship campaigns that use Latin artists and their songs.

The conference will also feature sessions with Pandora CEO Joe Kennedy, the SBS Entertainment team, a presentation by LiveNation, and a Q&A with Univision Radio President Jose Valle.

The week culminates with the Billboard Latin Music Awards Presented by State Farm – the most prestigious awards show in the Latin music industry. The awards show, produced and broadcast live by Telemundo on Thursday, April 26 at 7PM (6PM Central), honors the biggest stars based on the Latin Billboard charts, and features performances by top artists across all genres of Latin music.

For more information about the 2012 Billboard Latin Music Conference, visit: http://www.BillboardLatinConference.com. Follow Billboard Latin Music Conference at www.facebook.com/BillboardConferences and Twitter @BillboardEvents.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnrudolph/

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The US government decided that the problem of obesity amongst children in America has gone far enough and will be stepping in to regulate. The government will be limiting what foods can be advertised to children.

Data from the National Health and Examination Survey shows that about one-third of U.S. adults (33.8%) are obese. Approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2—19 years are obese.

According to the New York Times 11 food giants, including McDonald’s, Campbell Soup and PepsiCo, have already agreed to stop advertising products that do not meet nutritional standards to children 12 years old and younger.

“We are hopeful that people will look at this and say that the community has done a substantial, enormous amount of work,” Dan Jaffe, executive vice president of the Association of National Advertisers told the New York Times.

The Council of Better Business Bureaus and its Children’s Advertising Review Unit will be reviewing these companies marketing plans and will report to the public on their findings.

The Times reports, according to industry estimates, advertisers spend almost $900 million annually on television made for children younger than 12.

“This is great public relations for the companies, but it doesn’t go nearly far enough,” said Susan Linn, co-founder of the Boston-based group Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. “It is going to be impossible to monitor if the companies are actually doing what they say.”

Obesity currently results in an estimated 400,000 deaths a year in the United States and costs the national economy almost $122.9 billion yearly.

Obesity and weight gain are caused by consuming more calories than the body needs. It is most commonly cause by having a poor diet, consuming high calories, fatty foods, and living an inactive lifestyle.
Obesity impacts more than people’s lifestyles, it can also lead to lower self-esteem, cause depression and can cause people to be uncomfortable in social situations; Obesity can considerably weaken someone’s quality of life.

The government stepping in plays a role in the fight against childhood obesity. But parents need to do their part as well. To avoid childhood obesity, parents should incorporate healthy diets and exercise into their children’s daily lives.

Both children and parents should participant in activities that involve physical exercise and limit the time watching TV, playing video games or on the computer.

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Environment News Network (ENN) states that “more than 1.9 billion people worldwide were overweight in 2010, a 25 percent increase since 2002.” Doctors have found that people throughout the world are getting fatter with the possible exception of East Asia.

Overall, 24 percent of men and 27 percent of women seeing their doctors in a typical day are obese, and another 30 percent of men and 40 percent of women are overweight. This trend is strongly correlated to rising income and to an increase in preventable health problems.

The trend over the last decade toward heavier populations cuts across regions and income levels. In India, 19 percent of adults are overweight, up from 14 percent in 2002. In Mexico, the figure has risen by 8 percent since 2002, while Brazil’s is up by 7 percent and the rate in the U.K. is up by 5 percent. East Asia has seen a 4 percent increase over the period. The United States leads all industrialized countries with 78.6 percent of the adult population overweight.

That analysis shows that some 75 percent of adults in the 10 richest countries are overweight, while in the 10 poorest, only 18 percent are. On a regional level, the correlation between income and being overweight holds reasonably well. Europe generally has elevated levels, for example, while low-income sub-Saharan Africa averages lower body mass index (BMI) levels.

At a national level, however, the situation is more complex. A comparison of percentages of overweight people in all countries and their GDPs reveals a positive but weak correlation, with cultural, societal, and possibly genetic factors playing heavily into the mix.

People with a BMI between 18-24 are considered healthy. A BMI of 25 or greater is considered overweight, while a BMI of 30 or above is labeled “obese.”

Only about 7 percent of people in eastern Asia were obese, compared to 36 percent of people in Canada, 38 percent of women in the Middle East, and 40 percent in South Africa. In Northern Europe, men had an average BMI of 27 and women 26, just into the overweight category. Southern Europe, Australia, and Latin America had similar averages BMI of 28.

However, these are the calculations of those people who were all seeing doctors at the time of the study. While the poorest people in industrialized countries tend to be among the most overweight, this is not the case in the developing world, where the poorest have a very little chance of seeing a doctor, not to mention they are often undernourished.

People who are overweight and obese have a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes and some types of cancer. Exercise alone will not cut the risk of heart disease unless they also slim down.

“Even high quantities of physical activity are unlikely to fully reverse the risk of coronary heart disease in overweight and obese women without concurrent weight loss,” said Dr. Amy Weinstein of Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

In a study conducted by Weinstein, active women with normal weight had the lowest risk of developing heart problems while there was a slightly higher risk for those with normal weight who were not active. The risk was next highest for active women who were either overweight or obese, and the highest for similar women who were inactive.

Weinstein explained that fat cells produce chemicals that can speed up hardening of the arteries and increase inflammation, harming blood vessels. On the other hand, physical activity makes for healthier blood vessels and reduces the risk of blood clots.

Before trying any exercise or diet regiment, Weinstein and other researchers urge people to visit their doctors first. Only with the right method and with someone watching over them can people lose weight and maintain it.

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