Childhood Obesity News and Research

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Researchers create model of different components that contribute to an obesity-prone home food environment

What parents make available for their children to eat can contribute to an obesity-prone home food environment, according to researchers at Kansas State University.

12 Dec 2008

Overweight children may inherit faster eating behaviour

Overweight children may inherit faster eating behaviour according to a Cancer Research UK study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

10 Dec 2008

Childhood obesity may change thyroid

In addition to its strong associations with hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, pediatric obesity may induce alterations in thyroid function and structure, according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

3 Dec 2008

Banning fast food ads on TV would reverse childhood obesity trends

A ban on fast food advertisements in the United States could reduce the number of overweight children by as much as 18 percent, according to a new study being published this month in the Journal of Law and Economics.

19 Nov 2008

High-fat diet during pregnancy makes new cells in fetal brain that cause early onset obesity

A study in rats shows that exposure to a high-fat diet during pregnancy produces permanent changes in the offspring's brain that lead to overeating and obesity early in life, according to new research by Rockefeller University scientists.

11 Nov 2008

Fatty diet during pregnancy produces new neurons in fetal brain

11 Nov 2008

Elimination of sugar-sweetened beverages from school menus shown not to affect total consumption by adolescents

With childhood obesity increasing, school administrators and public health officials are reducing availability of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) in schools.

11 Nov 2008

Study looks at chronic medication use in children ages 5 to 19

America's tweens and teens more than doubled their use of type 2 diabetes medications between 2002 and 2005, with girls between 10 and 14 years of age showing a 166 percent increase.

4 Nov 2008

Breastfeeding and reduced risk of childhood obesity - researchers look for behavioral link

Breastfeeding has a number of positive health benefits for baby: it can prevent ear infections and allergies, and lowers the risk of developing respiratory problems. It can also help prevent against obesity later in life, but the reason for this still isn't known.

28 Oct 2008

Lots of neighborhood greenness linked to lower children's body mass

In the first study to look at the effect of neighborhood greenness on inner city children's weight over time, researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and the University of Washington report that higher neighborhood greenness is associated with slower increases in children's body mass over a two year period, regardless of residential density.

28 Oct 2008

Walking the dog - the way to curb childhood obesity

A study by researchers at Deakin University has found that young children who have a dog were 50% less likely to be overweight or obese than those without a pet dog in the family home.

14 Oct 2008

Experts say more exercise and better diet the key to childhood obesity

With experts saying the life expectancy of Australian children will be shortened by two years if something is not done about the country's obesity epidemic, researchers in Britain are saying the one hour of moderate exercise a day recommended to children from health experts may not be enough to tackle the problem of childhood obesity.

13 Oct 2008

Mother's stress may contribute to her young children being overweight

A mother's stress may contribute to her young children being overweight in low income households with sufficient food, according to a new Iowa State University study published in the September issue of Pediatrics, the professional journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

9 Sep 2008

Bullying parents' top concern for obese kids

As the new school year begins, many parents with overweight and obese children are worried about how their kids will be treated by other students on the playground and in the classroom.

8 Sep 2008

Women who give birth at California hospitals serving mostly minority, low-income patients less likely than others to breastfeed

Women who give birth at California hospitals serving mostly non-white, low-income women and children are less likely to breastfeed than women who give birth at other hospitals around the state, according to a report released from the University of California-Davis Human Lactation Center and the California WIC Association, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports (Dean, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 9/2).

4 Sep 2008

The impact of soft drink availability in elementary schools on consumption

The consumption of soft drinks is generally considered to be a contributing factor in childhood obesity. Because children spend a substantial amount of time at school, the school food environment plays a central part in shaping eating behaviors.

2 Sep 2008

Impact of school based programs for childhood overweight

Childhood overweight and obesity are serious, large-scale, global, public health concerns and the number of children affected is still increasing every year. As the treatment of overweight and obesity is rarely effective, its prevention has priority today.

1 Sep 2008

Middle ear infections in childhood linked to obesity later in life

Researchers are reporting new evidence of a possible link between a history of moderate to severe middle ear infections in childhood and a tendency to be overweight later in life. Their study suggests that prompt diagnosis and treatment of middle ear infections - one of the most common childhood conditions requiring medical attention - may help fight obesity in some people.

20 Aug 2008

Top Sydney hospital appoints specialist to treat childhood obesity

As Australian children appear to be getting increasingly overweight one of the country's top hospitals has taken the apparently unprecedented step of appointing a specialist to treat childhood obesity.

18 Aug 2008

Children who spend more time outdoors are less likely to develop short-sightedness

"The results of this study are consistent with an American study which found that outdoor sport was protective, however our study shows that the crucial feature is being outdoors irrespective of the activity you are doing."

11 Aug 2008