ADVERTISER.COM.AU TUESDAY DECEMBER 23 2014 NEWS 27

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Online program for women who worry about weightWOMEN concerned aboutbody image are avoiding see-ing relatives at Christmas be-cause celebrations inevitablyinvolve lots of food, a FlindersUniversity researcher says.

Dr Simon Wilksch from theSchool of Psychology is re-cruiting women aged 18-25concerned about their body

weight or shape to participatein trials of three programs toprevent eating disorders.

The Promoting PositiveBody Image Online trials useprograms accessed on compu-ters, tablets and smartphonedevices. Dr Wilksch saidChristmas can be a stressfultime for women worried abouttheir weight.

“Unfortunately, the Christ-

mas season can cause greatdistress to people sufferingfrom body image concerns,” hesaid. “In some cases this caneven prevent people from see-ing loved ones due to worriesthat celebrations will involvefeared foods.

“Meanwhile, body imageconcerns can prevent peopleattending events out of fearthat their appearance will be

judged critically by others. Forpeople experiencing these con-cerns, it could be a valuabletime to be participating in thisresearch.”

The free programs run overnine weeks and participantswill be asked to complete a sur-vey when the program finishes,then six months later, thenagain 12 months later. The pro-grams are designed to prevent

development of an eating dis-order, they are not designed asa form of treatment.

Survey participant’s an-swers which suggest an eatingdisorder will receive recom-mendations for treatment andsupport options in their area.

Dr Wilksch said about 15per cent of Australian womenexperience an eating disorderacross their lifetime, while

many more will experimentwith disordered eating thatleads to a range of negativeconsequences.

“We know that youngwomen rarely access help forbody image concerns and thusan online program that theycan complete confidentiallycould be of real value,” he said.

SEE WWW.PPBIO.ORG.AU

CARE FOR OTHERS: Mike Dumbleton and Phil Cummings read their books to Jack and Ruby. Picture: NOELLE BOBRIGE

Books that celebrate the joy of giving

IT’S nearly Christmas, andkids everywhere are makingtheir lists and checking themtwice. But two new picturebooks by Adelaide authorshelp them look past their wishlists and open their eyes to theconcept of giving to others.

Mike Dumbleton and PhilCummings joined a class ofthree- to five-year-olds at the

Precious Cargo MontessoriEarly Learning Centre in StPeters, where the childrenhave spent the past monthlearning about celebrationsaround the world and donatinggifts to the giving tree.

Cummings’ book Bridie’sBoots, with illustrator SaraActon, and Dumbleton’sSanta’s Outback Secret, withillustrator Tom Jellett, are theDecember selections for TheAdvertiser Little Big Book Club.

Cummings drew on his ownfamily experience for the storyof Bridie, who grows out of herbeloved red wellies and sendsthem on a journey far awaywhen her mother takes theboots to a charity shop.

“My sister works in a char-ity shop, and her granddaugh-ter donated some shoes,” saidCummings. “It started methinking, I wonder where theyend up.” He did some researchand found out about the

Soles4Souls charity, which col-lects shoes for people in needaround the world.

In Dumbleton’s book, Santaresponds to a special letter,sent by Ben, by disguising him-self as a jackaroo to help outthe boy’s struggling outbackfamily. “Did Santa send you?”asks Ben.

For make and do activitiesbased on the two books andthe chance to win copies, go tothelittlebigbookclub.com.au.

DEBORAH BOGLEBOOKS EDITOR

Cheers to our $330msplurgeAUSTRALIA loves a Christ-mas drink — to the tune ofmore than a quarter of a billiondollars of beer and wine alonethis week in the lead-up to thebig day.

Industry data across the al-cohol sector, taking in averageweekly retail sales figurescrunched upwards to take inthe usual expected rise in tradebefore Christmas suggestswe’ll fork out close to $180 mil-lion on beer and $150 millionon wine in the countdown toDecember 25.

While we might be drinkingless beer by volume over thewhole year, we’ll be spendingmore overall as craft and im-ported beer grabs buyers look-ing for something special overthe celebration season.

Wine buyers also tend totrade up from their usual priceranges as they seek out giftsand more premium drinks toshare with family and guests,according to industry analystsIbisWorld.

“Liquor retail spending isanticipated to jump 59.4 percent with Christmas partiesdriving increased demand andalcohol consumption risingover the holiday period,” Ibis-World senior industry analystLauren Magner said.

The big rush is a culturalphenomenon, according toTaylors wine company ownerMitchell Taylor.

“When people plan forChristmas Day, the wine tendsto be one of the last things onthe shopping list,” Mr Taylorsaid.

“Everyone’s got a long list of

things to prepare, and theyspend a lot of time and energyfirst on gifts for their family.

“Next comes planning a bigChristmas meal and preparingthe shopping.

“Because wine buying canbe done relatively quickly, it al-ways comes at the end.”

Sales figures from Nielsendata research group whichcomprises retailers BWS,Woolworths Liquor, Liquor-land, Vintage Cellars, FirstChoice and a number of small-er independent groups, but notDan Murphy’s and many otherindependent stores, points tothem alone selling more than$50 million of wine this week,not including Christmas Eve.

Anecdotal evidence fromretailers indicates on Christ-mas Eve alone the rush to buydrinks for the peak holiday pe-riod is equal to sales for the en-tire previous week, taking theoverall wine sales figure to$150 million.

The big mover in wine ac-cording to the data will be sau-vignon blanc. We bought $29million of it last summer, andsales for the white wine, muchof it sourced from New Zea-land, are still strong.

The next favourite variety isthe red shiraz, which notchedmore than $13 million lastsummer.

While Dan Murphy’s does-n’t reveal specific dollar fig-ures, senior management in-siders predict premium singlemalt whisky sales will increase300 per cent. The retailer ex-pects to sell more than 30,000bottles of 12-year-old ChivasRegal this week, at an estimat-ed $1.5 million turnover.

BRAD CROUCH

TONY LOVE

TWO DAYS TO CHRISTMAS

CHEERY: Volunteer Diana Thomas and Tim Vasudeva with dogs Cup Cake and Princess Pickle. Picture: CAMPBELL BRODIE

Furry friends not forgottenAS CHILDREN open theirpresents on Christmas morn-ing and families prepare theturkey, RSPCA volunteers willbe spreading the festive love toforgotten furry friends.

About 60 volunteers are ex-pected to converge on theLonsdale shelter on Thursdaymorning — one of the onlydays of the year it is closed —to feed and spoil the dogs, cats,

rabbits and other animals wait-ing for a new home.

RSPCA South Australiachief executive Tim Vasudeva,who will be at the shelter onChristmas morning, says he isalways amazed by the volun-teers’ dedication.

To find out more visit rspca-guardianangel.com.au or toadopt an animal visit adopta-pet.com.au