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By Tom Gilliam, Ph.D.

The holidays are here in full (fattening) force. And unfortunately for the health conscious, along with the tinsel and the tree comes the onslaught of temptation: the rich turkey gravy, the dressing, the sugar cookies, the eggnog, the pie—all those comfort foods that taste especially comforting during a recession-marred holiday. But as we mentally prepare ourselves to push away from the festively set table, it’s easy to forget we aren’t the only ones facing tempting treats—our kids are too.

That’s right. Between parties at school and stockings stuffed with sugary surprises, our kids are just as susceptible to the guilty pleasures we allow ourselves during the holiday season. The bad news is that the “special occasion” indulgences we allow during the holidays can quickly morph into harmful bad habits for our children—habits that will last long after the gifts have been unwrapped.

A lifetime of fitness always begins at home, and that’s also true when the home is covered in tinsel and lights. Research shows over and over that the only way to combat childhood obesity is to make nutrition and exercise family priorities. And while it’s okay for them to indulge a little bit during the holidays, you should gently steer your kids away from the third buttery dinner roll and the double handful of chocolate candy.”

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If one takes an in-depth look at the fashion industry, one can see that this industry is larger than the music, film, and book publishing industries. The fashion industry makes its mark by setting newer trends in clothing and by influencing the fashion conscious consumers through various means to make them fall in line with those trends. In a way, trend-driven spending is good for the fashion industry as a whole, because it generates more profit for the designer houses. In fact, the creation of new trends is facilitated by a designers’ relative freedom to copy, a trait typical of the big dollar fashion industry. However, if the law had prohibited copying of the various designs churned out by fashion designers, then everything would have taken a different course. Then, the fashion industry, as such, would have had a much difficult time creating and responding to the different trends at different times.

Change is constant, and that is how this industry has turned out to be. Since modern day fashion is in a state of flux, one has to keep one’s finger on the pulse to catch up with the pace. Fashion industry comprises clients that include public as well as privately-held domestic manufacturing units, foreign apparel manufacturers, big house designers and the retailers. In fact, setting trends means inducing or luring the consumers to follow the latest in styles and trends. This process has led to a sea change in the popular concept leading the public to treat fashion clothing as a medium to express one’s attitudes and status. These fashion goods will get replaced in accordance with the changes in fashion and trends. In other words, these designer clothes are not treated as durable goods that need to thrown away only when they are unfit to be used. But, a bill is pending before the House which is seeking to extend copyright protection to the various designs in fashion. And, if copyright law is extended to fashion designs in clothing, the exclusive innovation culture in the fashion industry will come under the legal scanner.  Read more...

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