This Week's Herman Trend Alert Women---Expanding their Sphere of Influence

The Herman Trend Alert March 24, 2010 Global Health Trends The recently released annual Harris Poll that measures key health risks---smoking, weight, and obesity---offers mixed reviews for the health of the United States' population. The good news is the proportion of adults who smoke cigarettes declined in every five year period. However, at the same time the total number did not significantly decrease from 2005. From other sources, we find smoking declining in most places around the globe. In part, these declines are due to bans that have made smoking less convenient and more expensive. Countries banning smoking include the US, Canada, many of the European countries, and even South Africa. Brazil and Argentina lead the way for South America. The big surprises are Japan and China, where rates are relatively high (over one-third). Despite these bans, rates in some countries remain stubbornly high: According to The World Health Organization over 70 percent of Russian Federation men smoke. China is a close second at 59.5 percent, and Turkey is third with 51.6. "Male smoking rates have now peaked, and trends in low-and middle-resource countries indicate slow but sure declines." The problem is the trend is extremely slow and meanwhile, millions die every year from direct or indirect effects of smoke; in fact 13 percent of all worldwide deaths are smoking-related. The really bad news is that US obesity rates continue to rise, having increased for every five year period since Harris started measuring the trend. The proportion of adults who are obese has not changed significantly since 2006. Globally, there are more than 1 billion overweight adults, at least 300 million of them are obese. These numbers are increasing, due to the consumption of "more energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods with high levels of sugar and saturated fats". Combine these poor eating habits with reduced physical activity and you have a sure recipe for weight gain. As human beings worldwide cling to their bad habits, expect these trends to continue. We have already seen intensified campaigns to address smoking (by employers) and childhood obesity (by world governments). As society discovers the real human and bottomline costs, we will see more attempts to guide people to healthier behaviors. © Copyright 1998- by The Herman Group, Inc. -- reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: From "The Herman Trend Alert," by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists. (800) 227-3566 or http://www.hermangroup.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group, Inc." EMPLOYERS AND JOBSEEKERS: MARK YOUR CALENDARS Advertise at or attend VetJobs Virtual Career Fairs. VetJobs, the top veterans' job board, and PSI, the premier diversity job fair producer, are teaming up to launch these VeteransCONNECT events. Employer registration is now open with loading by February 15th. Candidate loading begins March 1st. Expect 25-30 employers and an attendee goal of 2,000 skilled jobseekers. Promoted extensively, early registration begins NOW. To register or request additional information, contact VetJobs at 877-838-5627 or email info@vetjobs.com; Employers: Mention the Herman Trend Alert to receive a Bonus. LOOKING FOR A UNIQUE VALENTINE’S GIFT? Give the gift of leadership advice in our weekly Lessons in Leadership to help your supervisors and managers remind your leaders about what’s really important The 52-week subscription is only $47, a bargain when you think about the savings to your organization in reduced turnover. Quantity discounts available by emailing Joyce at joyce@hermangroup.com. http://www.hermangroup.com/store/subscription_all.html#3 Order today! PREVENT EMPLOYEE TURNOVER IN 2012 Yes, you can prevent costly employee turnover, when you train your supervisors, managers, and executives. They will learn dozens of low and no-cost strategies and tactics that they can implement right away. We have an impressive track record and stand ready to help you. Call Carl at 336-210-3547 for a no-obligation conference call. Herman Trend Alerts are produced by the Herman Group, strategic business futurists, Certified Management Consultants, authors, and professional speakers. New subscribers are welcome. There is no charge for this public service. The Herman Trend Alert is received by over 30,000 subscribers in 78 countries, in addition to other websites and printed magazines. Do you enjoy receiving this weekly e-mail update? Contact us about our co-branded Trend Alert service. Click here to sign up for the Herman Trend Alert. Subscribe or Unsubscribe to weekly Herman Trend Alert View this week's Herman Trend Alert Archived Weekly Herman Trend Alerts

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