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	news bulletins november 2007

• December is Body Image Month on BBC America
• Top Family Films Honored
• Free Carpool Scheduling Website For Parents
• Data Magnifies the Need for Early Vision Screenings

December is Body Image Month on BBC America

This December, BBC AMERICA Reveals takes a look at body image with five compelling, hour-long, US premiere documentaries: Super Skinny Me, 476-lb. Teenager, My Small Breasts and I, My Big Breasts and Me, and Teen Transsexual. The shows will air on Sunday nights, via the BBC America, available on digital cable and satellite tv.

SUPER SKINNY ME premieres Sunday, December 2, 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.
Super Skinny Me is a shocking, reverse version of Super Size Me. In this graphic account of extreme dieting, two journalists, Kate Spicer and Louise Burke are followed as they adopt extreme weight-loss methods used by celebrities and models—everything from colonics to protein shakes—with the goal of dropping five dress sizes in five weeks, plummeting from the average size 8 to a catwalk size 0. Along the way, the journalists—and the audience—are forced to confront the serious mental and physical side effects of such an experiment, revealing the true cost of the Hollywood look. Said Louise of her experience, "The last thing I want to do is show people how to lose the weight. The aim of the experiment is to show and highlight all the horrible, nasty side effects. I don't think I've ever been so unhappy in my life."

This program is a must-see for anyone even considering a pre- or post-holiday crash diet.

476-LB. TEENAGER premieres Sunday, December 9, 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.
Teenagers often feel awkward and self-conscious, but at four times the size of the average teen, Bethany Walton has never felt pretty. At the start of 2006, Bethany was Britain's fattest teenager, weighing in at 476 pounds. When she was told she would not make to adulthood, she opted for radical stomach-reducing surgery.

She's since lost 96, but surgery hasn't stopped her life-long habit of comfort eating. Even worse, with her new, smaller stomach, she finds eating certain fibrous, healthy foods difficult. The surgery also doesn't shelter her from stares and hurtful comments. Bethany said of her experience, "People stare at you, children say, 'Mummy, why's she like that?'"

Obese for almost a decade, her biggest battle is ahead. In order to get to the root of her problem, she decides to see a therapist. Even though she desperately wants to change her ways, she sometimes worries she'll be a different person, and may even lose her friends. Bethany hopes to focus on the things she is proud of, like her studies. Will she learn to overcome the psychological effects of being obese? Will she ever wean herself from an emotional attachment to food?

MY SMALL BREASTS AND I premieres Sunday, December 16, 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.
This documentary uncovers the complex, poignant and sometimes amusing relationship women have with their breasts. Speaking candidly, three women reveal how they feel about their small chest size. Through visits to bra makers, psychologists, photographers and surgeons, three women try to make their own breasts look bigger and also hope to accept what they've got.

MY BIG BREASTS AND ME premieres Sunday, December 23, 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.
The average chest size of a teenager has grown dramatically over the past ten years. Find out what it's really like to have a cup size at the far end of the alphabet in this documentary tracking the experiences of three large-breasted women. Some may think large breasts are a blessing—but at least for these three, they're a curse.

TEEN TRANSSEXUAL premieres Sunday, December 30, 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.
When Lucy Parker celebrated her 18th birthday, all she wanted was to become a woman. An especially daunting wish, considering Lucy was born a boy named Richard. Teen Transsexual documents the voyage from Richard to Lucy—one that's complicated by her young age. As a minor, gender reassignment was impossible—illegal, even. But Lucy started her journey in her early teens with her family's blessing and hormone therapy.

Now that she's 18, there's another hurdle in her way. At an age where few people solidly know who they are, she has to prove that she's ready for this irreversible surgery, and that it will allow her to function better, psychologically and socially. With the support of her family, her therapist and surgeons, will she finally be able to leave her former gender behind?

For more information about BBC AMERICA visit www.bbcamerica.com

Top Family Films Honored

The television premiere of the 2007 CAMIE AWARDS show, recognizing Character and Morality in Entertainment, is slated to premiere on the Starfish Television Network on Friday, November 23, 2007 at 8pm EST with an encore presentation at 11pm. Ten films were presented with CAMIES at the organization's annual Hollywood event. This unique award is presented to entertaining films that provide positive messages and role models.

The Starfish Television Network is a new broadcast outlet with programming that focuses on the great charitable and humanitarian causes going on all over the world.

"We hope families will gather together to watch this truly unique show," said Kent Norton, CEO of Starfish. "We know that there are many people out there who would like to see more uplifting entertainment... and the mission of the CAMIE organization is to promote these kinds of films. This is exactly the kind of thing Starfish is all about—programming and shows that you walk away from feeling inspired."

The 2007 CAMIE AWARDS were given to five made-for-television movies and five theatrical releases:

Theatrical Releases

• Akeelah and the Bee (LIONSGATE)
• Charlotte's Web (Walden Media, Paramount Pictures)
• One Night with the King (Gener8Xion Entertainment)
• Eight Below (Walt Disney Pictures)
• The Nativity Story (New Line Cinema)

Made-for-Television

• The Christmas Card (Hallmark Channel)
• Hidden Places (Hallmark Channel)
• Mother Teresa (FoxFaith)
• Candles on Bay Street (Hallmark Hall of Fame)
• The Water is Wide (Hallmark Hall of Fame)

The Starfish Television Network can be viewed on DISH Network 1000 on channel 9408, or on the Internet. Just go to http://starfishtv.org/main.php and click the "Watch Live Starfish TV" button.

Free Carpool Scheduling Website For Parents

For millions of American parents who carpool their children to and from school, activities, and points in between, creating carpool schedules can be a daunting task. Trying to coordinate and keep track of everyone's driving availability, pick-up times and last minute schedule changes can be a logistical nightmare. These real life issues are the motivation behind Divide The Ride, a newly launched carpooling website designed to help busy parents by creating carpool calendars based on their schedules and driving availability.

Divide The Ride utilizes web based technology and is remarkably fast, easy, and free of charge to use. Most importantly, Divide The Ride is safe and secure. Getting started is simple. Parents choose families they know to join their carpool. Once carpool members are onboard, all participants enter their driving availability and Divide The Ride creates a carpool schedule for them?all in a few moments. The carpool schedule is emailed to everyone in the group along with text messages and email reminders. Divide The Ride eliminates the time, effort and often confusion that can go along with traditional carpool scheduling.

"Divide The Ride provides parents with a viable tool that enables them to quickly and easily create carpool schedules in a safe and secure manner," said Bryn Tindall, founder of Divide The Ride. "Divide The Ride is a wonderful resource for parents who are looking for a simple and uncomplicated way to organize their life while gaining some valuable, much needed time back for themselves."

Data Magnifies the Need for Early Vision Screenings

Eye assessments from one in nine babies have shown an overall need for concern, according to new data collected by the American Optometric Association (AOA) via 10,000 InfantSEE® assessments conducted during 2006 and 2007. The overall need for concern has increased from one in 14 last year and clearly reveals a growing need for early vision examination in infants.

The data also showed that the two groups at greatest risk for abnormal prescription status were premature babies and minority babies. InfantSEE®, a public health program developed by the AOA in partnership with The Vision Care Institute of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., was designed to provide professional eye care for infants nationwide at no cost regardless of family income. The program launched in 2005 with support from former President Jimmy Carter, honorary national chair and spokesman. To date an estimated 125,000 to 150,000 babies have had their eye health and vision assessed.

"These results magnify the growing need for early eye and vision assessments for infants, particularly in premature and minority babies," said Scott Jens, O.D., F.A.A.O. and InfantSEE® chairman. "InfantSEE is growing to meet that need, and I encourage all parents to take their babies to any of the more than 7,600 optometrists nationwide who provide InfantSEE assessments to detect the risk for potential eye and vision problems."

Although infants cannot respond verbally, the first year of life is an ideal time to conduct an extensive eye assessment. Not only is this a critical time for eye and vision development, but generally children at this age do not yet fear doctor visits and find the assessment painless and often enjoyable. Typically, infants sit on their parent?s lap during the assessment, in which the optometrist uses lights and other hand-held objects to check that their eyes are working together and that there are no significant refractive or health issues that will impede proper vision development.

To learn more, visit http://www.infantsee.org/.