What would you guess is the greatest threat to the health and well-being of future generations? Gun violence, dysfunctional schools, or drug and alcohol abuse? Nope. Many experts say that the epidemic of obesity poses the most significant and far-reaching danger.
All of us, but especially growing children and adolescents, need to eat healthier food and get more exercise. The consequences of obesity are serious and potentially life threatening. However, those in public health careers can help.
First Lady Michelle Obama has made this her platform issue and says, “Childhood obesity isn’t just a public health issue, and it is an economic threat.” According to the Centers for Disease Control:
Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years, increasing in children 6 to 11 years old from 7 percent in 1980 to nearly 20 percent in 2008, and in adolescents 12 to 19 years old from 5 percent to 18 percent over the same period.
In 2008, more than one-third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.
Various genetic, behavioral and environmental factors cause obesity, but medical researchers do not yet have effective treatments or easy solutions. The next generation is at risk of increased heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other diseases that will increase medical costs and reduce life expectancy.
Public health advocates have improved the health of Americans and saved lives by educating the public with campaigns on topics ranging from encouraging women to seek mammograms to anti-smoking initiatives. Successful tobacco-free programs have demonstrated that public health advocates can be effective with campaigns that achieve reduced product consumption.
It is possible to change knowledge, attitudes and behaviors, but increasing awareness about food consumption and healthy lifestyles represents a complex communication challenge. Mark Bittman, columnist in the New York Times' Opinionator blog, says, “The surgeon general’s report that identified smoking as a public health issue appeared in 1964. The food movement has not yet reached its 1964; there’s isn’t even a general acknowledgment of a problem in need of fixing.”
Goals for a public health initiative to fight obesity include:
Educating families about nutrition and making good food choices;
Providing fitness education for all and, especially for young people, increased opportunities to exercise;
Improving sustainable food production that promotes healthier food for all;
Creating better access to healthy food for lower-income Americans;
Reducing the consumption of sugar-laden beverages;
Increasing public pressure that leads to better care for animals grown for food, including reducing the use of antibiotics, elimination of gestation crates and regulating humane slaughter.
You can join Michelle Obama and public health educators in the fight to reduce obesity. Social workers and others who work closely with families play an important role as teachers, advocates and role models for healthy lifestyles. Other occupation areas in public health include nutrition, counseling, nursing, rehabilitation, health education and promotion, and health care administration and management. Obesity is a public health crisis, and initiatives to reverse unhealthy trends require multidisciplinary and focused professional efforts.
This article was written by Social Media Outreach Coordinator, Sarah Fudin on behalf of CAREEREALISM-Approved Partner, 2tor – an education-technology company that partners with institutions of higher education such as the George Washington University to deliver their MPH degree degree online.
The leaves are changing, the kids are back in school, and that familiar chill is in the air. You think it's the perfect time to look for a job, and it is! But are your job search fears preventing you from making that leap?
It's not uncommon to feel lost when embarking on your job search journey. After all, school teaches us everything except how to get a job. What should you put on your resume? What questions should you ask in an interview? How can you stand out in the hiring process when there's so much competition?
Are you feeling spooked yet?
Believe it or not, there's no need to be afraid of the job search process! You can land your dream job with the right tools and strategy. You can find a job that won't give you nightmares. Here are three spooky secrets every job seeker should know as they look for a job this fall.
1. An Effective Job Search Starts With An Interview Bucket List
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Despite your fears, you've decided to take the plunge and look for a new job. You might be asking yourself, "Where do I start?" The answer is simple: start by creating an interview bucket list.
An interview bucket list is a list of 10-20 companies you'd love to work for. Are you passionate about a company's products or services? Do you feel connected to its mission? Can you relate to its values and beliefs as an organization? If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, that company probably belongs on your interview bucket list.
Once you create an interview bucket list, you'll be able to conduct a targeted job search, one with direction and a foundation upon which everything else will be built. An interview bucket list helps you focus your job search and networking strategies on the right opportunities, making it easier to get your foot in the door at one of your dream companies.
2. Your Job Application Needs To Disrupt Hiring Managers
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In order to stand out in the hiring process, you need to disrupt recruiters and hiring managers. You accomplish this by doing two things: optimizing your resume and writing a disruptive cover letter.
A well-optimized resume includes keywords from the job description. This ensures your resume gets past the ATS and into the hands of the hiring manager. Once it's in front of the hiring manager, it needs to grab and keep their attention. Quantifying your work experience—adding numbers to your bullet points—will make you stand out from other applicants. Hiring managers will want to know more about you and your accomplishments, and that's how you land a phone interview.
Before that, though, a hiring manager will read your cover letter. To disrupt them, you need to write a disruptive cover letter (obviously!). A disruptive cover letter gives you the opportunity to tell a story about why you feel connected to the company you're applying for. It's that storytelling aspect that will stand out to hiring managers and compel them to pick up the phone and give you a call.
3. Employers Hire You Based On 3 Things
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You can't get hired unless you know what employers are assessing you on in the interview process. While your skills and expertise matter, companies actually hire for three things: personality, aptitude, and experience (in that order).
Most job seekers don't realize how important it is to demonstrate their personality, aptitude, and experience in an interview. You could have the right experience for a job, but if the hiring manager doesn't think your personality is a good fit for the company culture, you probably won't get a job offer.
Make sure you demonstrate your soft skills and learn how to answer behavioral interview questions to prove you're the best candidate for the job you're applying for, not just the most qualified.
Want To Learn More Job Search Secrets?
As you look for a job this fall, it might be helpful to know some more spooky secrets so you can get over your job search fears and finally take control of your career.
We know the job search process can be scary. However, it's important to get clear on what you want to do next and focus on conducting a strategic job search, or what we refer to at Work It DAILY as job shopping. This is the only way to effectively market yourself to employers. If they can't see exactly where and how you add value, then that's going to decrease your chances of landing the job.
The competition is fierce, and there are a lot of factors that are out of your control. But the one factor you can control is your job search strategy, the tools and tactics you use to land a job.
If you want to learn the secrets to conducting a strategic job search, sign up for our Job Search Bootcamp, a two-hour, on-demand video workshop that comes with a free workbook.
In this video workshop, you'll learn:
How to use backchanneling to get directly to hiring managers.
The secret to using a connection story to stand out against the competition.
How social media can be your secret weapon to get job interviews.
The resume format that is getting job seekers more job interviews.
