How religious is your country?

on September 5, 2010 · 3 Comments

Which countries are the most religious? — Here is a ranking of the importance of religion to the residents of many countries of the world. This is based upon a Gallup survey.  

How religious is your country?

The Distribution of World Religions

The most religious countries tend to be either poor, Muslim or both. Your country is probably less religious if it is wealthy and European. Gallup just did a survey in 114 countries and found that religion pays an important part of the lives of most people in the world. I have taken their survey and worked with information from the CIA Factbook that I have listed on my “The Types of World Governments” post and came up with the table listed at the bottom of this page. 

Want to read more?

Wasting money on Childhood Obesity

on April 11, 2010 · 2 Comments
All thinking people can agree the childhood obesity is a problem in the United States. However many of us will disagree on how to solve the problem. I am certainly not an expert on the subject, but here is one way not to solve the childhood obesity problem. Want to read more?

The Great Food Stamp /Obesity Mystery

on March 17, 2010 ·

Backbench Media received a comment from “Q”, and that person linked to a fascinating article which suggests that those who receive food stamps weigh more than those who don’t use the program even after accounting for differences in socioeconomic status. Want to read more?

Color Blindness and the Internet

on February 18, 2010 · 7 Comments
Color Blindness and the Internet

The colors of the rainbow as viewed by a person with no color vision deficiencies.

Color Blindness and the Internet

The colors of the rainbow as viewed by a person with protanopia

I received a comment from a reader with protanopia; which is a severe form of red green color blindness. This person has difficulty reading some of this blog because of my color choices. I assume that this person is a male since this is a sex related genetic disorder.   

I have a couple of questions for any of my readers.   

  • First, is there any software solution to this problem?
  • Second, would anyone have any color suggestions for this blog (black and white in the side areas)?

Obesity and the Neighborhood Grocery Store

on February 6, 2010 · 4 Comments

Obesity and the Neighborhood Grocery StoreObesity and the Neighborhood Grocery Store

A study at the University of Utah reports that living close to a variety of restaurants, supermarkets and even fast food outlets actually lowers obesity risks for low income people.

According to an online press release from the University; people who live more than a half mile away from any food outlet tend to be fatter than those who live closer.

The studies’ coauthor; Cathleen Zick says, “A healthy grocery option may influence the food you choose to buy, while having multiple food destinations within walking distance might encourage you to walk, rather than drive, to your next meal.” Want to read more?

Pouring the Perfect Black and Tan

on January 23, 2010 ·
Pouring the Perfect Black and Tan 

If you are looking to do something that shows your friends that you are cooler than they are, try making this beautiful beer mix. A black and tan is a mixture of an English or Irish Ale, and a Guinness. It is made by pouring the ale into a glass and then gently pouring the Guinness on top so that the two beers don’t mix. Want to read more?

Satiety; the Key to Losing Weight

on January 17, 2010 ·
Satiety; the Key to Losing Weight

Gargantua

If you ever failed at dieting because you always felt hungry you are not alone. In fact you are in the population that includes approximately 100% of all dieters. Your diet will never be successful if you are hungry; and since almost all diets make you feel hungry almost all diets are doomed to fail.

I found this eye opening chart at mendosa.com. It is based on an experiment where the participants gave their feelings of fullness after eating certain foods. Foods with higher percentage ratings gave greater feelings of fullness per calorie than lower percentage foods. Want to read more?

My Brilliant Veterinary Advice

on January 17, 2010 · 2 Comments

My border collie mix; Nigel kills and eats 10-15 rabbits per year and a couple of weeks ago he was infected with tapeworms.

I assumed that Nigel got the parasites from eating rabbit meat. But after researching information about the infection, I discovered that tapeworms are almost always transmitted by fleas. Though, the fleas probably came from the rabbit that he killed. Want to read more?

American Obesity Trends

on December 4, 2009 · 2 Comments

Hey Fatso!

That’s right, I’m talking to you!

This is a slide-show map from the CDC. Tap on the left side of the map to see how much fatter we Americans have gotten over the last few years. Want to read more?

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