Unethical Business and Fair Trade

The goal of this presentation is to educate others about the impact of America’s businesses on the global community. We will do this by first discussing the history of foreign trade in America, highlighting the exploitative characteristics our international business has for decades. From here, we will move into five specific industries that consume American life and the ways they violate social, environmental, and economic justice worldwide. These three industries include: the fashion industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the oil industry, and the food industry. We will end our presentation by challenging our audience to think about the spirit of consumerism that exists in America, and the ways in which this affects their buying. With this, we will offer examples of businesses that create products ethically and encourage our listeners to become more aware and conscientious of the products and businesses they support

Optimal macronutrient content of the diet for adolescents with prediabetes: RESIST a randomised control trial

CONTEXT: Prediabetes and clinical insulin resistance in adolescents are rapidly emerging clinical problems with serious health outcomes. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of 2 structured lifestyle interventions, both differing in diet macronutrient composition, on insulin sensitivity. DESIGN: This study was a randomized controlled trial, known as Researching Effective Strategies to Improve Insulin Sensitivity in Children and Teenagers, in 2 hospitals in Sydney, Australia. PARTICIPANTS: Participants included overweight or obese 10- to 17-year-olds with either prediabetes and/or clinical features of insulin resistance. INTERVENTION: At baseline adolescents were prescribed metformin and randomized to a structured diet, which was either high carbohydrate or moderate carbohydrate with increased protein. The program commenced with a 3-month dietary intervention, with the addition of an exercise intervention in the next 3 months. OUTCOMES: The outcomes included an insulin sensitivity, anthropometry, and cardiometabolic profile at 6 months. RESULTS: One hundred eleven subjects (66 girls) were recruited and 98 subjects (58 girls) completed the 6-month intervention. After 3 months the mean insulin sensitivity index increased by 0.3 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.2–0.4]. After 6 months the mean insulin (picomoles per liter) to glucose ratio (millimoles per liter) decreased by 7.2 [95%CI −12.0 to −2.3], body mass index, expressed as a percentage of the 95th centile, decreased by 9% (95% CI −3 to −15), but there was no significant change in the lipids. There were no significant differences in outcomes between the diet groups at any time point. CONCLUSIONS: These results are in contrast with our hypothesis that adolescents randomized to the increased protein diet would have better outcomes. Further strategies are required to better address prediabetes and clinical features of insulin resistance in adolescents. AFFILIATIONS Institute of Endocrinology and Diabetes (S.P.G., M.G., J.H., S.S., G.R.A., C.T.C.), The Children's Hospital Institute of Sports Medicine (C.R.B.), and Nutrition and Dietetics, Weight Management Services (S.B., K.C.), and The Centre for Research into Adolescent's Health (M.R.K.), The Children's Hospital at Westmead, The Children's Hospital at Westmead Clinical School (S.P.G., M.G., M.H., L.A.B., G.R.A., C.T.C.), University of Sydney, Westmead, New South Wales 2145, Australia; Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Food and Nutritional Sciences (M.N.), Adelaide Business Centre, South Australia 5000, Australia; Department of Paediatrics (H.J.W.), Campbelltown Hospital, Campbelltown, New South Wales 2560, Australia; Department of Diabetes and Endocrinology (H.J.W.), Sydney Children's Hospital Network, Randwick, New South Wales 2031, Australia; and Academic Department of Adolescent Medicine (K.S.), Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, New South Wales 2066, AustraliaSarah P. Garnett, Megan Gow, Mandy Ho, Louise A. Baur, Manny Noakes, Helen J. Woodhead, Carolyn R. Broderick, Susie Burrell, Kerryn Chisholm, Jocelyn Halim, Sukanya De, Katherine Steinbeck, Shubha Srinivasan, Geoffrey R. Ambler, Michael R. Kohn, and Chris T. Cowel