Children News and Research

RSS

Higher BMI linked to brain differences in preschool children

Children as young as 4 with a higher body mass index (BMI) showed differences in several brain regions involved in reward, taste and hunger, according to a new study from Florida International University.

22 Sep 2026

C-Path awards $1.7 million to advance five drug development projects

Critical Path Institute (C-Path) today announced that its Translational Therapeutics Accelerator has awarded $1,699,500 through five Bridging Research and Innovation in Drug Development Grants (BRIDGe).

22 Sep 2026

Open-source website maps global food webs using citizen science

An interdisciplinary team of researchers has created an open-source website to learn what different organisms eat, and what eats them.

22 Sep 2026

Childhood trauma linked to risky health behaviors in late adolescence

Experiencing childhood trauma appears to increase a young person's likelihood of smoking, substance use and developing unhealthy eating habits by contributing to behavioral problems during adolescence, such as impulsivity and poor self-control.

22 Sep 2026

CAR T-cell therapy enables safe pregnancies in autoimmune patients

Autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus mainly affect young women, often in a phase of their lives where they would like to have children.

22 Sep 2026

Waist-to-height ratio reliably detects chronic liver disease risk in children

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is now the most common chronic liver disease in children and adolescents, closely mirroring the global rise in childhood obesity.

22 Sep 2026

Poor sleep health in late pregnancy linked to higher childhood obesity risk

New research has found that mothers with poor sleep quality in late pregnancy had babies with lower weight in the first 6 months of life, but higher weight after age 1-2 years.

22 Sep 2026

Prenatal cannabis exposure linked to subtle brain and behavioral differences in children

A large ABCD study of 10,838 children found that prenatal cannabis exposure was associated with small differences in resting-state brain connectivity, higher behavioral and emotional problem scores, and lower performance on several cognitive measures in late childhood. PCE-related connectivity patterns partly overlapped with those linked to psychopathology and cognition, although the cross-sectional observational design cannot establish causality or mediation.

22 Sep 2026

Children who ate healthier plant foods had slightly lower blood pressure later

Researchers followed 3,990 Dutch children for an average of 1.6 years and found that higher healthful plant-based diet scores were associated with modestly lower blood pressure and total cholesterol. Children with higher unhealthful plant-based diet scores had lower estimated food costs and distinct metabolite profiles, while healthful scores showed no clear cost association.

22 Sep 2026

Cognitive reappraisal strategy alters sensory brain activity in autistic children

For many autistic children, everyday sensations such as the feel of scratchy fabric or a loud car alarm can be intensely distressing.

21 Sep 2026

Daughters inspire closer parental relationship bonds, study finds

Children can be hard on a relationship, but some kids can bring parents closer together.

21 Sep 2026

GLP-1 medications place children at risk for nutritional deficiencies

Children prescribed GLP-1 medications for weight loss, prediabetes, or type 2 diabetes are at risk for nutritional deficiencies – diagnosed in nearly one in six patients (16.8%) within the first year – according to a new study published in the journal Childhood Obesity.

21 Sep 2026