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Shirley was best known for her role of ‘Edna Birch’ in ‪Emmerdale, which she had played for last 15 years. The RADA trained actress had a varied career on stage and screen, appearing in many West End and leading TV Read More ...

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Today's children will live fewer years and with worse quality of life than their grandparents, because of the problems caused by obesity and passivity, as warned the president of the organizing committee of the Congress of the Society of Endocrinology and Nutrition in Spain.

In the last ten years, childhood obesity has doubled reaching 13.9% in this country. Moreover, 30% of obese children will remain so well into adulthood.

The comfortable habit of leaving children in front of the TV to not importune too, does a disservice to the health of children. Two New Zealand scientists have shown that watching too much television during childhood increases the chances of being obese more directly than a poor diet or not exercising. 41% of people who are overweight at 26 years of age coincides with those who spent more hours during their childhood watching television.

According to the Aladino study, also in Spain, 19.1% of children aged between six and nine years are obese and 26.1% are overweight.

The causes for this are lack of exercise and nutritional habits. The most serious consequence of obesity is sleep apnea. It can also cause joint and back disorders, and is the leading cause of hypertension, according to the Center for Biomedical Research Network-Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition.

An obese child between 10-14 years old is 22.3% more likely to remain so between 21 and 29 years than one who was not obese. This situation can be avoided doing sports and eating well, "which does not mean eating less or more, but properly," says the study.

The main problems of childhood obesity are cardiovascular and endocrine. But there is another great danger: cancer.

According to a study published in the journal "Cell" overweight acts as a tumor promoter in general and particularly in the liver. Nevertheless, the US Center for Consumer Freedom launched a campaign against overweight under the slogan "Obesity: epidemic or exaggeration?".

It seems that some would deny the obvious in the fattest country in the world. The Journal of the Medical Association stated that obesity was the second cause of death in this country.

clementeferrerrosello@gmail.com Author and journalist Clemente Ferrer has led a distinguished career in Spain in the fields of advertising and public relations. He is currently President of the European Institute of Marketing.

The Super Bowl 2015 was held on February 2, playing the winner of the AFC with the winner of the NFC. This year the New England Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28-24, with Tom Brady inspired, broking the record of passes of the legendary Joe Montana and becaming the third quarterback in history to win four Super Bowls.

The commercials issued in the interim are the most expensive in American television, and agencies made original, spectacular and emotional spots that can impact and move an audience of over one hundred million viewers.

Nissan participates in this occasion with an emotional and familiar spot, "With dad", which tells the story of a professional racing driver, who every weekend wake up in a different city. The spot opens with the birth of his son and the good wishes of the father to share the maximum possible time with his wife and him.

Gradually, as he is winning awards and improving, contacts are moving away, and the wife and son only can talk to him on the phone. His wife felt in the soul his constant distance, but tries to hide it in front of the child. And both see on television every race of the father, not without risks and dangers.

The story deals with the difficult task of parenting when physical absence from home is frequent and prolonged. The good background song ("Cats in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin) is a counterpoint to the efforts of this father who tries to find a balance between work and family. The child grows and, upon reaching adolescence, all he wants is to be "with Dad", so much he misses his presence in many moments of his life.

Despite all this, the ad transmits a positive message to both involved parties, father and son. A touching message that can be summarized this way: physical distance can be overcomed when there is emotional closeness.

clementeferrerrosello@gmail.com Author and journalist Clemente Ferrer has led a distinguished career in Spain in the fields of advertising and public relations. He is currently President of the European Institute of Marketing.

‘Letters from the Atlantic' - by Barrie Mahoney

Barrie Mahoney was a head teacher and school inspector in the UK, as well as a reporter in Spain, before moving to the Canary Islands to launch and edit a new English language newspaper. He enjoys life in the sun as a columnist and author, and continues to write a series of popular novels, books for expats, as well as designing mobile apps and websites to promote the Canary Islands.

Techie Toys for Expats: Stay Smart with DNS

As a newly arrived or intending expat, you will be given many pieces of advice; some will be useful, whilst it is best to ignore others. The best piece of advice is, of course, to learn the language, because by doing so you will add a new depth and valuable dimension to your new life in the sun. The second piece of advice that I often hear is to only watch TV and listen to radio in the language of your adopted country. In other words, forget 'Eastenders' and 'Strictly Come Dancing', in favour of some of the endless quiz and reality shows on Spanish television; I think not. I have come to the opinion that to remain in touch with the language and culture of birth is important, which helps to ease some of the lonelier and unsettling aspects of expat life, even if the sun is shining. So, in order to continue to enjoy watching 'Coronation Street' and 'Dr Who', and films in your home language, it is important to be able to watch television from your home country.

One of the most frequent questions that I am asked by both would be and newly arrived expats is "Will I still be able to watch British television?" Although not strictly legal, the answer is "Yes, of course you will, and things are getting better all the time." However, you do need to be a little tech savvy to ensure that you are getting the best connection, and that doesn't necessarily mean spending a great deal of money on monthly TV contracts.

When we first moved to Spain, the choice was either installing a large and expensive satellite dish, or having a baking tray kind of contraption strapped to the highest point of the building. Both systems worked, but were not always reliable, since providers and connections changed and, indeed, satellites moved to other positions, which required adjustments, upgrades and yet more expense. Over the last few years, things have moved on, and it is now perfectly possible to receive a good television signal from your Internet connection; indeed, it is now the preferred choice for many reasons.

Watching television through your Internet connection doesn't mean sitting in front of your laptop all evening. We now have the option of purchasing Internet ready TVs, although my own personal preference is using a computer (in my case a Mac Mini) linked specifically to our main television for only Internet television and film viewing.

Of course, television programmes from the UK and other countries are blocked, to prevent them from being watched in other countries. However, there are many ways around this. Until recently, my preferred option has been the use of a Virtual Private Network (VPN), which basically tricks the television provider into thinking that you are in your home country. The signal is diverted to your home country and then forwarded back to the sender. Clearly, the downside of this process is that VPN reduces your signal by around 30 per cent, reducing picture quality or producing that maddening buffering, and spinning 'circle of death' that we all hate so much. In many parts of the Canary Islands where I live, and rural Spain, France, Italy and Portugal, Internet signals are very slow offering maybe only 3 to 10mbps. I am fortunate, since I now have a connection called VDSL (Very High Bit Rate DSL), which offers a speed of around 30mbps. Even so, I managed to get a decent signal on a speed of only 10mbps. It is important to shop around and obtain the highest speed possible. Try to request VDSL if a fibre optic connection is unavailable in your area; it is a little more expensive, but well worth it. Secondly, if you can afford it, dump the modem and router provided by your telecoms provider, since most are of the most basic quality and purchase the best, high-speed version modem/router that you can afford. It will be worth it in the long run, since speed is the key to success.

My much-preferred option now is Smart DNS, which is simply a case of changing the DNS numbers on your computer or router. It sounds complicated, but isn't and full details of how to do this are given by the company providing the service. Smart DNS has the advantage of maintaining the full strength of your signal, which in areas with low Internet signal strength is highly important, but has the disadvantage of not being secure in the same way as VPN. My best advice is to get both, and then you can use Smart DNS to receive television programmes, access films etc., whilst using VPN for security and to hide your presence if, for instance, you are using your laptop in an Internet cafe to access your bank account.

For space reasons, I cannot go into more details in this article, but you can find more information, as well as details about the companies and products that I use, on the Expat Survival section of my website.

If you enjoyed this article, take a look at Barrie's websites: http://www.barriemahoney.com and http://www.thecanaryislander.com or read his book, ‘Expat Voice' (ISBN: 9780992767174). Available in paperback, as well as Kindle, iBooks and Google Play editions.

iPhone/iPad and Android Apps: ExpatInfo, CanaryIsle and CanaryGay now available.

© Barrie Mahoney

IAB Spain has presented the results of the first study on the use of video in digital marketing in Spain.

The research, conducted in cooperation with AdMan Media, a leader in online video distribution, and with the consultancy TNS, is based on a digital survey of one hundred directors of marketing and communication companies in all sectors.

Javi Clarke, director of "mobile and new media" at IAB Spain, made a brief introduction to the context of video in Spain, where "YouTube" stands out as the preferred platform for users to view the contents of digital video.

Moreover, Clarke said the study shows how digital video is replacing traditional television, since foreign films and series appear in the first place of the content most viewed by consumers of digital video.

The great advantage of video is interactivity, enabling dialogue with consumers. In this aspect, although social networks are still leaders as a platform to generate user interactivity with 68%, they have fallen by 4% and by contrast the level of interactivity increases in the companies' own pages.

For forms of vision video content, Clarke has recognized that the model of pay per view is still "very little rooted in Spain," but compared to this, there is a 77% of users who accept advertising in exchange for access to free content and that 44% does not reject "cookies". As a final conclusion, Clarke emphasized that internet "is increasingly audiovisual", creating new opportunities to reach the user and "democratizing the content market, as well as advertising in prime time".

The study shows that nearly 9 out of 10 marketing professionals surveyed (87.5%) used the video in their campaigns during 2013. Of this group, 9 out of 10 professionals (90.5%) believes that the online video has a positive impact on their campaigns, compared to 9.5% who think otherwise.

Clemente Ferrer Author and journalist Clemente Ferrer has led a distinguished career in Spain in the fields of advertising and public relations. He is currently President of the European Institute of Marketing.

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