Losing weight and being healthier are at the top of everyone’s New Year’s resolutions. But, despite the best intentions, work, kids, and social events often push lifestyle changes to the bottom of the list. While many are familiar with type 2 diabetes, fewer are aware of prediabetes, a serious health condition that affects 86 million Americans (more than 1 in 3) and often leads to type 2 diabetes. People with prediabetes have higher than normal blood glucose (sugar) levels, but not high enough yet to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
To raise awareness and help people with prediabetes know where they stand and how to prevent type 2 diabetes, the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the American Medical Association (AMA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have partnered with the Ad Council to launch the first national public service advertising (PSA) campaign about prediabetes. The PSA campaign, featuring first-of-its-kind communications techniques, was developed pro bono by Ogilvy & Mather New York for the Ad Council.
Nearly 90 percent of people with prediabetes don’t know they have it and aren’t aware of the long-term risks to their health, including type 2 diabetes, heart attack, and stroke. Current trends suggest that, if not treated, 15 to 30 percent of people with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes within five years. The good news is that prediabetes often can be reversed through weight loss, diet changes and increased physical activity. Diagnosis is key: research shows that once people are aware of their condition, they are much more likely to make the necessary lifestyle changes.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7731551-ad-council-prediabetes-psa/
Extremely painful and destructive, gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis with elevated serum uric acid (sUA) a root cause of the disease. Even with the growing incidence of gout, recent research from the Gout & Uric Acid Education Society (GUAES) found that just 16 percent of Americans overall know the target sUA number for gout (6 mg/dL or below) – and just 38 percent of people with gout had their sUA levels checked within the past six months, the timeframe recommended by the American College of Rheumatology. Additionally, the majority of gout sufferers don’t understand the importance of taking daily uric acid-lowering medications, with four in 10 incorrectly believing that they can stop taking medications when they aren’t experiencing flares.
Seeking to increase recognition of the severity of gout and need for routine sUA testing and management, GUAES hosted a professional roundtable discussion on October 3, 2015. The roundtable brought together several experts – rheumatologists, a family care physician, and representatives from the American Association of Diabetes Educators, the National Kidney Foundation and CreakyJoints – to explore how to more effectively educate about gout and improve access to public education and treatment.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7715851-guaes-gout-roundtable-discussion/
With the onset of winter season in the country, breathing problems and respiratory diseases will also be on the rise. To ensure that patients with respiratory problems breathe with ease, a comprehensive patient Mobile App named “My Breathefree” has been launched as a virtual caregiver by ‘Breathefree’, a public service initiative by Cipla. This app is specifically designed for Indian conditions and is available on Google play store and iOS platform for all patients, caregivers and doctors.
One of the major chronic respiratory problems in the country is asthma and “My Breathefree” app will be a great help towards better asthma management and control. Asthma causes limitations in daily activities, loss of school and work days, lung function impairment, reduced quality of life and an adverse socioeconomic burden. However, if monitored and treated properly, asthmatics can control their disease and lead an absolutely normal and healthy life.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7562351-lung-care-asthma-mobile-app/
With the 125th Red Kettle Campaign well underway, donors and supporters of The Salvation Army have rallied in pursuit of a new way to give to those in need: by entering their #RedKettleReason video for a chance to win The Salvation Army’s first-ever Giving Spree Contest. After five finalist videos were selected, and tens of thousands of votes from the public, the results are in.
Fifteen-year old Maddie Bonocore from Overland Park, Kan. was named the winner, receiving a paid trip to New York City to shop for toys and necessities for a local Salvation Army children’s program. Maddie shopped for the Kansas City Children’s Shelter, which provides shelter care for children unable to remain in their homes due to a family crisis, or issues of abuse and/or neglect.
Actor, producer, musician and Salvation Army supporter Nick Cannon helped announce the contest and joined Maddie for the shopping event. Highlights from the event were featured on TODAY.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7612654-salvation-army-redkettlereason-winner/
The period between Christmas and New Year’s typically has one of the highest rates of impaired driving fatalities, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In an effort to reduce drunk and buzzed driving related incidents during the holidays, NHTSA, the Ad Council and the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) launched their 12th annual “Project Roadblock: Local TV Puts the Brakes on Drunk Driving.”
Project Roadblock was created in 2004 in support of NHTSA and the Ad Council’s Buzzed Driving Prevention public service advertising (PSA) campaign. To date, broadcast TV stations across the nation have donated more than $40 million in media to support this effort. The partnership aims to unite local television stations in creating a nationwide advertising roadblock by airing Project Roadblock PSAs (Public Service Announcements) between December 26 and December 31. Local broadcast stations voluntarily participate in the campaign by donating on-air, online and mobile time and space with a special push at 10 p.m. local time on New Year’s Eve. In addition, TV stations will be reaching out to their communities on social media to share social graphics and messaging to further reach audiences.
“Drunk driving remains a serious threat on our roads and claims more than 10,000 lives a year,” said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind. ”Local broadcast television is an effective tool in reaching consumers, and we thank the TVB, all the stations, and the Ad Council for their ongoing support of drunk driving prevention, especially during the holiday season.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7701751-ad-council-nhtsa-buzzed-driving-psa/
As 2015 starts to wind down, Americans are already starting to make travel plans for 2016. But what are Americans–particularly Baby Boomers–looking for in their 2016 vacations?
A new survey released today from AARP Travel (http://travel.aarp.org), a valuable resource for America's 76 million Baby Boomers who spend over $120 billion annually in leisure travel, provides some great insight into how Americans want to get away in 2016, from desired destinations to lodging options to favorite trip planning tools.
“The vast majority of Baby Boomers are planning to drive, fly or set sail on leisure trips in 2016, with an average of 4 or 5 trips already in the works,” said Stephanie Miles, VP, Products & Platforms, AARP. “Boomers make up a large segment of the traveling public, and so it's particularly important for the travel industry to be aware of what Boomers are looking for in their vacations going into 2016. This new survey finds that their travel desires often differ greatly from younger travelers.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7488431-aarp-travel/
“Want to enjoy life,” “like to learn things,” “look for adventures and like to take risks” – these traits tell the story of how Americans perceive entrepreneurs, as revealed in the 2015 Amway Global Entrepreneurship Report (AGER).
It’s an optimism that permeates the research again this year, with 86 percent of Americans expressing positive attitudes toward entrepreneurship, up a remarkable 24 percent from 2014 and a resounding 11 percent more than the 2015 global average (75 percent). Echoed by their strong desire for “independence from an employer” and “self-fulfillment, possibility to realize own ideas,” at 75 percent and 72 percent respectively, this positivity is indicative of the country’s thriving entrepreneurial spirit.
“The attitude toward entrepreneurship is not only remarkably high but significantly increased from last year when fewer than two-thirds of respondents reported a positive attitude,” notes Dr. David B. Audretsch, professor and director of the Institute for Development Strategies at the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs. “What’s more, the secondary importance of financial compensation contradicts the most prevalent stereotypes and myths about why people choose entrepreneurship.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7402451-amway-ager-spirit-index/
Christina Nicols, senior vice president and director of strategic planning and research at Hager Sharp, was named the Washington Women in Public Relations’ (WWPR) 2015 Washington PR Woman of the Year Friday in a ceremony honoring top public relations executives and celebrating women in communications.
Nicols was one of three public relations professionals chosen as an honoree for the 26th annual award. The other finalists were Carrie Fox, president of C. Fox Communications, and Lisa Throckmorton, chief operations officer at SpeakerBox Communications. The three finalists represent women who have led some of the most influential communications campaigns in the District and across the country.
“This is a phenomenal honor and I am humbled to be surrounded by such exemplary leaders in the field who are dedicated to mentoring and supporting the next generation of public relations professionals,” said Nicols. “It is a special privilege to join the ranks of previous PR Woman of the Year recipients including Hager Sharp’s own cofounders Susan Hager and Marcia Sharp, as well as our CEO Jennifer Wayman and executive vice president Debra Silimeo.”
Nicols was presented the award by Silimeo, the 2010 PR Woman of the Year, at Friday’s luncheon.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7695751-2015-wwpr-woman-of-the-year-award/
International research led by University College London (UCL) as part of the ‘Cities Changing Diabetes’ partnership programme challenges current scientific understanding of the rapid rise of diabetes in cities. The findings suggest that in cities around the world, social and cultural factors play a far more important role in the spread of the epidemic than previously thought.
More than two thirds of the world’s 400 million people with diabetes live in urban areas.1,2 The year-long study for Cities Changing Diabetes, a unique public-private-academic partnership, sought to better understand what makes people vulnerable to type 2 diabetes in cities in order to inform solutions for one of the most pressing modern-day public health challenges. To explore this complex issue, more than 550 interviews were undertaken with at-risk and diagnosed people in five major cities – Copenhagen, Houston, Mexico City, Shanghai and Tianjin.
“By largely focusing on biomedical risk factors for diabetes, traditional research has not adequately accounted for the impact of social and cultural drivers of disease,” says David Napier, Professor of Medical Anthropology, UCL. “Our pioneering research will enable cities worldwide to help populations adapt to lifestyles that make them less vulnerable to diabetes.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7690951-study-rethink-rise-diabetes-in-cities/
As part of their ongoing Stop the Texts. Stop the Wrecks. Texting and Driving Prevention campaign, the Ad Council and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are partnering with YouTube creator and actress Meg DeAngelis to raise awareness of this dangerous behavior. The collaboration also coincides with the release of new television campaign public service advertisements (PSAs) and the launch of Project Yellow Light, a national video contest and scholarship program that aims to educate young drivers on and generate engagement around this issue.
Meg is joining the effort as part of the Ad Council’s Creators for Good program by distributing new exclusive video content to her almost four million subscribers on YouTube. The video amplifies the campaign message, showing drivers that no matter how “safely” they think they can drive while doing other things, distracted driving is always dangerous. Created as an advice video, Meg runs through “10 Everyday Things You’re Doing Wrong” - from putting in bobby pins to folding your clothes - and ends with a serious message to her fans about the dangers of texting and driving.
“Texting and driving is such a serious issue, so I'm really proud to be a voice of this important campaign,” said DeAngelis. “I want all of my viewers to stay safe, so I hope that together, we can spread the word on the dangers of distracted driving.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7682151-ad-council-project-yellow-light/
As sleaze oozes from the Pentagon,
banished Marine and Naval Academy alum Susanna Marcasi finds a web of
corruption and must take on a man to whom all are beholden, Defense
Secretary Manfred Stahl. Can she bring down the cloistered power
brokers deep within the military’s superstructure and survive? Blood
Stripe: The Susanna Marcasi Chronicles. Find out more at:
http://www.GinaMariaDiNicolo.com or on Amazon at:
http://j.mp/Blood-Stripe Cincinnati City Beat and
Amazon reviewer John Kelly says “Like a literary version of ‘A Few Good
Men (and Women)’ on steroids, Gina Maria DiNicolo rips into your
emotional core like a ‘kill shot’ from page one and never lets up for
322 pages. This book, not for the weak of heart, tells the story of
strength, courage and no mercy in the most elite units of the U.S.
Armed Forces.” Baltimore native Gina Maria DiNicolo graduated
from the U.S. Naval Academy with a degree in history and an attraction
to the unconventional. She accepted a commission in the U.S. Marine
Corps where she worked in aviation, recruiting, history, and public
affairs. As a fulltime author and historian, in addition to her two
books, DiNicolo has written scores of articles for the Military Officer
Magazine and other publications. After publishing Blood Stripe, she
sought to get her historian game on and accepted a one-year, work/study
assignment as a senior editor for the U.S. Army Center of Military
History in Washington, D.C., producing studies on military operations
in Iraq and Afghanistan. She is a dancer specializing in Argentine
Tango. For a review copy of Blood Stripe: The Susanna
Marcasi Chronicles or to arrange an interview with Gina Maria
DiNicolo contact Scott Lorenz of Westwind Communications Book
Marketing http://www.book-marketing-expert.com/ or by phone
734-667-2090.
Shell today celebrated the official opening of the Quest carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Alberta, Canada, and the start of commercial operations there. Quest is designed to capture and safely store more than one million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) each year – equal to the emissions from about 250,000 cars. Quest was made possible through strong collaboration between the public and private sectors aimed at advancing CCS globally.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7680751-shell-quest-carbon-capture-storage/
