Children’s Health:
“Latest News | Updates | Information”

Latest News Story:
Breastfeeding children ‘cuts risk of obesity and diabetes in later life’
December 21, 2011 – Breastfeeding could help to prevent children developing diabetes and becoming obese later in life, scientists believe. New research shows that breastfed babies follow a different growth pattern to those who drink formula milk, which is likely to have future health benefits. {…}

Most Recent:
Kids’ leukemia risk tied to dads’ smoking
December 14, 2011 (Reuters Health) – Children whose fathers smoked have at least a 15 percent higher risk of developing the most common form of childhood cancer, a new Australian study finds {…}

A little reward might get kids to eat veggies
December 13, 2011 – If your preschooler turns her nose up at vegetables, giving her a small reward for taking even a taste might help, a new study suggests. Researchers found that when parents {…}


Breakfast Cereals Contain More Sugar Than A Twinkie
December 8, 2011 – The Environmental Working Group analyzed the nutrition labels of 84 popular children’ cereals and found that more half of the brands they reviewed deliver more sugar {…}

Can Fast-Food Toy Bans Really Help Kids Eat Better?
December 8, 2011 – We all know that kids are susceptible to advertising, so when fast food chains started using popular cartoon characters to promote their high-calorie food, it seemed like a no-win situation {…}

More obese children means more adult-type health problems
November 22, 2011 – (Kansas City) Doctors are seeing more young children and teenagers with type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol or blood pressure, sleep apnea and inflammation, all related to obesity {…}

House OKs bill that would block school-nutrition standards
November 18, 2011 – (Reuters) The House of Representatives has approved a spending bill that would block government efforts to improve nutrition standards in school meals. The food industry says {…}

Millions of kids’ antibiotic Rx’s unneeded: study
November 7, 2011 – Pediatricians write more than 10 million unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions — for conditions like the flu and asthma — every year, suggests a new study. Those ailments, and others not caused by bacteria, don’t respond to the drugs {…}

Obese teens may need more vitamin D
November 3, 2011 – Obese adolescents face an increased risk for vitamin D deficiency because they absorb vitamin D less efficiently than lean teens, U.S. researchers say. Catherine Peterson of the University of Missouri said {…}

Changing child diet helps adult health
October 28, 2011- Lowering fat and increasing dietary fiber consumption in childhood results in lower glucose levels and lower blood pressure in adulthood, U.S. researchers say {…}

Doctors ask McDonald’s to stop targeting kids
October 20, 2011 – More than one-third of all of children in the United States are overweight or obese, and a group of local doctors is calling on McDonald’s to help be a part of solution {…}

Can school nurses help teens quit smoking?
October 19, 2011 – Going to a few counseling sessions with a school nurse helped some high school students quit smoking in the short term — but it didn’t seem to influence whether they kicked the habit for good, according to a new study {…}

Screening children and teens for alcohol use
October 13, 2011 – The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Substance Abuse and others, today released a new tool for doctors {…}

Does Box Tops For Education Promote Junk Food?
October 6, 2011 – Perhaps one of the best-known links between food and academics is Box Tops for Education. But does Box Tops for Education encourage families to buy junk food? {…}

Finland vows care for narcolepsy kids who had swine flu shot
October 5, 2011 – The Finnish government and major insurance companies announced Wednesday they will pay for lifetime medical care for children diagnosed with narcolepsy after receiving the swine flu vaccine. {…}

A push for more farm-fresh food for schools
October 5, 2011 – U.S. Rep. Peter Welch introduced legislation in Congress Tuesday to allow Vermont to use federal funding for purchasing local produce for school cafeterias. {…}

Kids who watch more TV have poorer diabetes control
October 5, 2011 – Kids with type 1 diabetes who spend hours in front of a TV or computer each day may have poorer blood sugar control, a new study suggests. {…}

Obese children blood pressure risk
October 3, 2011 – Children can almost triple their risk of high blood pressure by being overweight or obese, research has shown. Scientists in the US studied more than 1,100 children {…}

Family dinners may have health benefits for teens
September 22, 2011 – The latest research suggests nightly family dinners is one of the most important things parents can do to keep their teens away from drugs and alcohol. {…}

Controversial BPA found in canned kids’ foods
September 21, 2011 – The controversial chemical BPA may be lurking in the child-friendly canned foods you’ve been serving your kids for dinner, a new report suggests {…}

Children poisoned by medications on the rise
September 16, 2011 – The number of children admitted to U.S. hospitals after taking a potentially toxic dose of medication rose dramatically in recent years, researchers say {…}

Lack Of Omega-3′s in mother’s diet may affect baby’s allergies
September 11, 2011 (UPI) – People eating fewer omega-3 fatty acids — found in salmon, tuna, walnuts and pumpkin seeds — may explain food allergy increases, French researchers say {…}

Phthalate exposure in pregnancy shows up in toddlers
September 7, 2011 – Seems we can’t get rid of phthalates fast enough. Yet another study suggests that the chemicals, which are found in many plastic toys, household items and personal care products, may be detrimental to children {…}

CDC: Doctors prescribing fewer antibiotics to kids
September 1, 2011 – ATLANTA — Health officials say a push to get pediatricians to stop prescribing antibiotics for the wrong illnesses is paying off a bit. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released {…}

Moms’ smoking tied to psychiatric meds in kids
August 28, 2011 – Children whose mothers smoked while pregnant were more likely to end up on medications such as antidepressants, stimulants and drugs for addiction, according to a study from Finland that hints at smoking’s {…}

Overweight 2-year-olds showing signs of major health problems
August 16, 2011 – If you think a fat baby is cute and healthy, you need a new baby picture. “An overweight child is being set up to be an unhealthy adult,” says Dr. Sarah Messiah, a research associate professor and pediatric epidemiologist at the {…}

Yale: Cereals’ health claims confuse many parents
August 11, 2011 (AP) – A study by Yale researchers finds parents often misinterpret health claims on children’s cereals, assuming they are more nutritious than they actually are. The university’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity found that {…}

CDC: Hospitals fail to encourage breastfeeding
August 2, 2011 – Despite all the attention paid to the health benefits of breastfeeding, fewer than 4 percent of US maternity hospitals give new mothers the type of services they need {…}

Teens eat more junk food if it’s handy
July 28, 2011 (UPI) — Teens in neighborhoods with lots of fast-food restaurants and other junk food outlets are more likely than others to eat fast-food, U.S. researchers say {…}

Severe ADHD lowers child quality of life
July 27, 2011 (UPI) — The greater the severity of a child’s attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms, the more negative the child’s quality of life, U.S. researchers say {…}

McDonald’s to offer healthier Happy Meal
July 27, 2011 (UPI) — For a healthier Happy Meal, McDonald’s is providing a low-fat dairy option, a half-serving of apple slices and fewer french fries, the U.S. company says {…}

Link of antidepressants to autism has expectant mothers worried
July 25, 2011 – This month, a report in the Archives of General Psychiatry by Kaiser Permanente researchers suggested that pregnant women who use SSRIs might increase their likelihood {…}

Should Children Join Social Media Sites
July 11, 2011 – Andy Affleck is debating whether to allow his 11-year-old son, Jack, to have a Facebook account. Director of engineering at a small tech company near Providence, R.I., Affleck says {…}

Environment, not just genetics, at play in autism
July 5, 2011 – (Reuters) – Environmental factors may play a greater role in autism than previously thought, tipping the scale away from a strict focus on genetics {…}

Form Good Eating Habits Early
June 26, 2011 – From movement in Congress to entertainment television programming, the topic of school meals has recently generated national attention. While healthy school breakfasts and lunches {…}

Teen eating disorders persist in adulthood
MINNEAPOLIS, June 25, 2011 (UPI) — Adolescents who diet and develop eating disorders carry these unhealthy practices into young adulthood and beyond, University of Minnesota researchers found {…}

Food allergies affect 1 in 12 kids: study
June 20, 2011 (Reuters Health) – One in 12 kids in the United States may have a food allergy, according to new findings based on an online survey. The study, published June 20th in Pediatrics {…}

Premature birth stress lasts into adulthood
PROVIDENCE, R.I., June 17, 2011 (UPI) — Infants born prematurely are less healthy, have more social and school struggles, and face more risk of heart-health problems as adults, U.S. researchers say {…}

Early child sleep loss ups ADHD symptoms
MINNEAPOLIS, June 15, 2011 (UPI) — Preschoolers who get less sleep are more likely to be hyperactive and inattentive in kindergarten, U.S. researchers found {…}

Prenatal pesticide exposure tied to birth size
June 14, 2011 (Reuters Health) – Exposure to even moderate amounts of certain pesticides during pregnancy may affect infants’ birth size, a new study suggests. Researchers found {…}

Breastfeeding linked to lower risk of SIDS
June 13, 2011 (Reuters Health) – Babies who are breastfed – especially those only fed breast milk, and not formula as well – are less likely to die of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, suggests a new analysis of past studies. {…}

Teen girls ADHD predicts substance abuse
June 13, 2011 (UPI) – Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder is less common in girls, but those who have it are more likely to abuse alcohol or drugs, researchers in Finland say {…}

EPA’s tests of air outside schools find problems
USA Today (June 9, 2011) – WASHINGTON — The federal government’s first attempt to assess the dangers from air pollution around schools is nearing completion, and the findings underscore the need {…}

Autism Experts Urge Reform of U.S. Chemicals Law
WASHINGTON, DC, June 8, 2011 (ENS) – Environmental health and autism experts Tuesday called for reform of the outdated U.S. law regulating chemicals, the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 {…}

Choice is key in getting children to eat their vegetables
UPI (June 2, 2011) – Allowing children a choice of vegetables results in the children eating as much as 80 percent more veggies, researchers in Spain said {…}

Little people, lots of pills: Experts debate medicating kids
CNN (May 24, 2011) – Increasingly more U.S. kids are taking behavioral drugs, according to several studies. But children’s conditions could be misdiagnosed and drugs prescribed for minor symptoms {…}

One in six children have a developmental disability
USA Today (May 24, 2011) – The number of children with developmental disabilities has increased by 17% in 12 years, driven largely by big jumps in diagnoses for autism and ADHD {…}

Children are feebler than 10 years ago
The Independent (May 23, 2011) – Children are feebler and less able to carry out physical activities than those born only a decade earlier, research shows {…}

Child food allergies linked to asthma
MADISON, N.J. (May 19, 2011) UPI – Food allergies are common in infants and toddlers, but dust, ragweed and mold allergies are more common in teens and adults, U.S. researchers say {…}

Obesity in childhood may lead to psoriasis; psoriasis may lead to heart disease
Los Angeles Times (May 18, 2011) – Obesity in childhood significantly increases the risk of developing psoriasis, and psoriasis may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease later in life {…}

Study links lead exposure, low student test scores
(May 18, 2011) HARTFORD, Conn. — Children who ingested even small amounts of lead performed poorly later on school tests compared to students who were never exposed to the substance {…}