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Free fruit scheme in schools may not help that much

The free fruit scheme in schools, introduced by the UK government in 2004, may confer no long term benefit, says a study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health .

12 Jul 2007

40% of community pharmacists don't tell parents they are dispensing off-label drugs to children

Forty per cent of community pharmacists have dispensed an off-label drug to a child in the last month, according to research published in the July issue of the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

12 Jul 2007

Free fruit at school - a fruitless exercise!

According to researchers a government scheme in Britain to hand out free fruit in schools has been fruitless! - as it has done nothing to encourage children to eat more healthily.

12 Jul 2007

Simple blood test for newborns would save lives

The president of the March of Dimes Dr. Jennifer Howse says a simple blood test could save many newborns from premature death or mental retardation.

12 Jul 2007

Kids who prefer evenings are more likely to exhibit antisocial behavior

A propensity for activities in the evening rather than in the morning may offer clues to behavioral problems in early adolescence, according to psychologists who have found that kids who prefer evenings are more likely to exhibit antisocial behavior, rule-breaking, and attention problems.

11 Jul 2007

Vitamin D deficiency remains an under-recognized problem in children

Many otherwise healthy children and adolescents have low vitamin D levels, which may put them at risk for bone diseases such as rickets.

10 Jul 2007

Democrats work to reauthorize, expand SCHIP while Bush administration tries to limit program growth

Congressional efforts to reauthorize SCHIP, which expires on Sept. 30, are "intensifying," but the Bush administration "has taken several steps to slow momentum for expansion of the program," the New York Times reports (Pear, New York Times, 7/9).

10 Jul 2007

Summer is an opportunity for introducing more fruits and vegetables in children's diets

The abundance of summer's fresh produce - from farmer's markets to roadside stands - offers families the perfect opportunity to introduce the healthy habit of eating more fruits and vegetables, say UT Southwestern Medical Center clinical nutritionists.

9 Jul 2007

Include children in research to make breakthroughs in child medicine

Scientists will only make real breakthroughs in children's medicine if they include children in research programmes as well as adults, according to a leading paediatric expert.

9 Jul 2007

Link between autism and triple vaccination questioned again

According to a new but as yet unpublished study, the number of children in Britain with autism is far higher than previously thought.

8 Jul 2007

Delinquency in children now linked to biology

How do sweet children turn into delinquents seemingly right before our eyes. A unique study appearing in the June issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, shows that, in children, a highly reactive autonomic nervous system, which regulates our cardiovascular, digestive and respiratory functions, paired with a stressful family environment leads to increased instances of maladaptive personality change.

29 Jun 2007

Type of curriculum influences child behavior

Children who were taught a curriculum that focused on self-control and awareness of their own and others emotions were found to exhibit greater social competence and fewer behavioral and emotional problems.

29 Jun 2007

Toddlers learn first words better from people than TV

Toddlers learn their first words better from people than from Teletubbies, according to new research at Wake Forest University.

28 Jun 2007

Alcohol billboard boost kids' urge to drink

In the world depicted in an alcohol billboard, bikini-clad babes clutch icy bottles, frothy beer flows over frosty mugs and the slogan reads,Life is good. Ads like these may target adults, but children are getting the message too, a University of Florida and University of Minnesota study shows.

28 Jun 2007

Mothers' second-hand smoke exposure while pregnant linked to children's ADHD

Children whose mothers were exposed to second-hand smoke while they were pregnant have more symptoms of serious psychological problems compared to the offspring of women who had no prenatal exposure to smoke, according to a new University of Washington study.

28 Jun 2007

Hib vaccine could save hundreds of thousands of children in Asia

A new study from Bangladesh published online in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal shows that routinely vaccinating infants against H. influenzae type b (Hib), a bacterium that causes deadly Hib pneumonia and meningitis, could save hundreds of thousands of children in Asia.

28 Jun 2007

Thousands of children and teens diagnosed with diabetes each year in the U.S.

According to a major national study, as many as 15,000 children and adolescents in the United States are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and about 3,700 youth are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes each year.

27 Jun 2007

Family-based weight management program cuts diabetes risk, improves BMI in overweight children

Children who participated in a family-based weight management program designed for inner-city minority children had better outcomes regarding weight gain, body fat, body mass index (BMI) and insulin sensitivity compared to children who received traditional weight counseling in a clinic, according to a study in the June 27 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, a theme issue on chronic diseases of children.

27 Jun 2007

15,000 children and adolescents in the United States are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes annually

Approximately 15,000 children and adolescents in the United States are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and about 3,700 youth are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes annually, according to estimates from a major national study called SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth.

27 Jun 2007

Gene variant increases risk for alcoholism following childhood abuse

Girls who suffered childhood sexual abuse are more likely to develop alcoholism later in life if they possess a particular variant of a gene involved in the body's response to stress, according to a new study led by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

27 Jun 2007