This paper examines the potential benefits that regular, sustained martial arts activity may have for children who have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder (AD/HD). The author suggests that martial arts training, under certain conditions, can help children and their caregivers deal with AD/HD issues without resort to aggressive and possibly harmful drug therapies, which are currently the predominant treatment approach to the disorder.
The pace of global sourcing of business functions is
rapidly increasing as more and more enterprises look not only to outsource the non-core aspects of their business but also to subcontract expertise in areas in which they are lacking. In such an environment, driven primarily by global sourcing of business activity and standardization of various business functions, the business architecture of a service-oriented enterprise is of interest not only for business design but also for the design of the information technology (IT) solutions that affect all aspects of the operations of a business.
The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide. Among 25-64 year-old Finns, 19.8% of men and 19.4% of women had a BMI ?30 kg/m in 1997 (Lahti-Koski et al. 2000a). The most alarming trend is the increasing prevalence of abdominal obesity (Lahti-Koski et al. 2000b), which is strongly associated with the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Obesity is also associated with several other chronic conditions, such as coronary heart disease, obstructive sleep apnoea, asthma and other pulmonary syndromes, degenerative joint disease, and certain types of cancer. On a societal level the health risks associated with obesity pose a serious and costly public health hazard. On an individual level obesity not only shortens life expectancy but also reduces the number of healthy and functional life-years (WHO 2000).
Quality of life is a broad concept including physical, mental, and social well-being. Health-related quality of life is a narrower concept including attempts to define the impact of diseases and their treatments on functional status and well-being (Testa and Simonson 1996). The basic principle of measuring quality of life is that the patient is asked what he/she can do (functioning) and how he/she feels (well-being). Information on HRQL may influence the development of clinical pathways, service provision, health care expenditures, and public health policy.
