Here are some of the current projects underway by Simply Give Health.

Upcoming Event - World Conference on Obesity
Dr. Visser has been chosen to present at the ECO2008 conference in Geneva, Switzerland. ECO2008 is the European Congress on Obesity. It is an annual conference hosted by The International Association for the Study of Obesity. Please visit these websites for more information - www.eco2008.org and www.iaso.org.

Upcoming Event - Extreme H Games – Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao in March 2008

In 2006, Dr. Visser started a program for the youth in Aruba called “Extreme H Games”. This program is designed to teach children about health, nutrition and physical movement. As important is the psychological empowerment that the children receive when they participate in this 4 hour workshop that is held monthly in alternating neighborhoods of the island. The Extreme H team leaders (10 total) consist of professional fitness experts and trainers, psychologists, dance/movement experts, a professional chef and Dr. Visser. Local banks have embraced the impact that the program has had on the island and have entered into agreements with Dr. Visser for partial sponsorship of this very progressive health program.

In 2007, Dr. Visser took Extreme H Games to Bonaire, the neighboring island when the governor of the island of Bonaire heard about the program from other officials from Aruba. He took notice that the very “hip and cool” way of teaching children about health in Aruba was changing the health status of the population for future generations and wanted to secure the same for his island.

In 2008, Dr. Visser will be taking Extreme H Games to Curacao, the other neighboring Dutch colony island. When Dr. Visser presented his Research on Childhood Obesity and the government Intervention plan in 2007, Dr. Visser also introduced them to the Extreme H Games program that he started in Aruba the previous year. The officials of this island of Curacao immediately requested that Dr. Visser consider coming to their island to implement the program for their youth population. Considering the training of the team leaders for such a program is very time consuming and intensive, Dr. Visser postponed the introduction to Curacao until 2008.

New Sailboat Video Game - Obesity is progressing at an ever increasing rate.

The epidemic of childhood obesity shows no signs of slowing down. On the contrary, it is progressing at an ever increasing rate. If permitted to continue at current levels, the consequences could be enormous in terms of mortality and morbidity and a substantive deterioration in our children’s quality of life.

Children become obese for many different reasons, both internal and external. These causal factors range from an inherent predisposition to gaining weight, to negative influences at home and in the schools, to one’s socioeconomic status, to the very culture in which we live which contributes to childhood obesity through a bombardment of media ads designed to sell food and an increasingly technological environment in which mental prowess has replaced physical labor.

The causes of childhood obesity are both numerous and intricate. However, the complexity of addressing this critical issue cannot deter us from implementing active interventions designed to counter this epidemic. Intervention must take place, and such intervention must be implemented on many fronts: in the family, in the schools, in legislative bodies, in the media, in the food industry, and in the community. Unfortunately, educating children about healthy choices represents a special challenge. Children are easily bored and have a short attention span. They feel indestructible and see eating healthy food and engaging in exercise as punishment rather than pleasure. And so, they resist positive change.

A new approach is needed… an approach that takes advantage of a child’s natural instinct to “play” and his inherent enthusiasm for doing things that are “fun”. This approach must be interesting, it must be informative, and it must involve active participation by the child, giving him the opportunity to make free and independent choices and then, to assume responsibility for the consequences of these choices.

Today, more than ever before, our children, living in a multi-media world that constantly bombards them with rapidly changing images, are easily bored and easily distracted. Traditional teaching methods must be changed to accommodate this shift through the introduction of innovative techniques that are fun, that are exciting, and that are highly interactive.

Computer games meet all of these requirements, and Dr. Richard Visser, an eminent authority on the subject of childhood obesity, has developed just such a game, “Sailing Toward Health”, which is designed to effectively counter this epidemic. He is now requesting funding to finance the development and testing of his unique computer game and to implement its widespread distribution.

Research of 3952 kids in Aruba - Obesity and an intervention plan for Government, Businesses, Schools, and parents.

A very specific Research was done in 2005 of Children’s Health Status in Aruba. The children were in Elementary School ages 6-11. This was done as part of the PhD program that Dr. Visser completed in 2007.

Feeding the Cuban Kids - Toddler Health

Having a soft spot for the Cuban Children because of Dr. Visser’s extended amount of time spent in Cuba while doing his doctorate program on Public Health at the Medical University in Havana, Cuba, (which he completed in 2007), in 2006, Simply Toddler LLC, a company owned by Dr. Visser, and located in Los Angeles, California donated 108,000 servings of Toddler Health, the balanced nutritional drink mix product that was created by Dr. Visser in 2005 to the Neurological Institute of Health in Havana, Cuba to support them in addressing chronic childhood diseases

Clinical Trials in Cuba

The Neurological Institute of Health in Havana, Cuba will be conducting various Official Clinical Trials test, cataloging the results of these products on specific health conditions and which results will be presented to the Company at the end of 1 year.

Obesity Research Project - Bonaire together with the VU Medical Centrum Amsterdam, starting in January 2008

The governor of Bonaire together with the government of Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles requested officially for Dr. Visser to conduct an inquest and Research Project on Obesity for the island. Dr. Visser teamed up with VU Medical Center and Obesity Professor, dr. R. A. Hirasing, PhD to begin research in the first part of 2008. The project will take approximately 1 year to complete and Dr. Visser will have a team of medical doctors, nurse practitioners, interns and therapists assist him in this project. Together with funding from the European Union, this project will become a long term study on this population.

Reach Out to Schools LA and Chicago - teaching kids, parents and teachers about sailing to a healthier life!

As another part of his commitment to GIVE BACK to the community, Dr. Visser has agreed to waive his speaking fees to a number of local schools. He has gifted Los Angeles Schools as well as Chicago and Texas schoolchildren in teaching a NEW way of how to empower kids to be responsible for their health and the support system that must be in place by parents, family and teachers.Through this innovative new food pyramid (the sailboat) he has developed a tool that quickens the absorption of information by these kids.

Obesity Project in Surinam Together with the VU Medical Centrum Amsterdam

Dr. Visser will be speaking in Surinam In November of 2007 by invitation of the VU Medical Center University in Amsterdam, Holland on his research and findings on CHILDHOOD OBESITY. He will be part of symposium to be attended by government officials, medical professionals, professionals and the community. This promises to be a next step for new projects in this region.

TV program “Raising Healthy Heroes” with LA 36 non profit educating California at large

As of December of 2007, Dr. Visser stated shooting a new TV Program called “Raising Healthy Heroes” with LA 36, an educational cable network channel dedicated to the local areas of Los Angeles. This TV Program will be based off his work in changing the way children learn about health. It will be an interactive program, both onset and at home. The airtimes and launch dates will be announced in December so visit often to make sure you don’t miss this opportunity to be part of this innovative TV reality program.