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Children enrolled in kid-oriented diet and exercise programs are likely to adopt healthier eating and activity patterns

...according to an updated systematic review. Although the youngsters did not experience significant weight loss during the studies, most of which lasted a year or less, the reviewers note promising trends.

19 Jul 2005

Decline in physical activity plays key role in weight gain among girls

Girls who were inactive during adolescence gained an average of 10 to 15 pounds more than active girls, according to results of a 10-year observational study of obesity. Total calorie intake increased only slightly and was not associated with the weight gains.

19 Jul 2005

1 in 166 children under age 10 are affected by autism

New statistics surrounding autism make it the number one growing developmental disability in the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates as many as one in 166 children under age 10 are affected by the disorder. Nearly two million people in the U.S. are living with autism.

19 Jul 2005

Shaken Baby Syndrome research

Australian researchers are hoping to prove the dangers of shaking babies by creating a model that will show how quickly babies can be injured.

18 Jul 2005

Oral midazolam more effective than rectal diazepam for the emergency treatment of seizures in children

Administering a drug called midazolam via the mouth cavity is more effective than rectal diazepam for the emergency treatment of seizures in children, concludes a study published in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

14 Jul 2005

Small-bowel injuries are more common in abused children but can arise accidentally as a result of falls or road-traffic accidents

Published work on the cause of abdominal injury is limited. This paucity of data may make if difficult to distinguish between accidental injury and abuse at first referral, throughout clinical care, and in the courts.

14 Jul 2005

Shared-environmental influences on gender-role behaviour may be more important in early childhood than in adolescence and adulthood

Whether little boys prefer to play with trucks or dolls depends more on the family environment than genetics, while genetics seems to play a larger role in little girls' preferences for dolls over trucks, according to a study published in the July/August 2005 issue of the journal Child Development.

14 Jul 2005

Efforts to help parents of young children move out of poverty likely to have long-term benefits for children's school performance and social-emotional well being

It is well known that children who live in poverty have more trouble in school and more problems socially than other children. Now investigators funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD) find that while children who live in chronic poverty from birth through age 9 score lowest on tests of school readiness and social competence, poverty at any time during early childhood is detrimental.

14 Jul 2005

Expert says newborn health screening inconsistent throughout the U.S.

According to the March of Dimes, although every state requires newborn babies to receive health checks, requirements vary widely among the individual states.

13 Jul 2005

Every baby born in the United States should receive screening for a uniform panel of 29 disorders

Expanded newborn screening is now required by law in dozens of states, but most infants still are not covered by the full panel of 29 tests recommended by experts, according to the March of Dimes 2005 state-by-state report card on newborn screening.

12 Jul 2005

Babies at greater risk of cot death when they sleep in parents bed

According to new research babies who sleep in their parents' bed are at increased risk of cot death even if their mother and father are non-smokers.

11 Jul 2005

Helping children deal with chronic pain

One in fifty children and adolescents live with severely debilitating and recurrent pain but there is an "embarrassing" lack of data on the best ways to treat them, according to researchers.

6 Jul 2005

All trampolines, including small ones, a child hazard

Researchers at the Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, say that small, one-person trampolines, intended for exercise, are not toys and because of the risk of injury, children should not be allowed to play on them.

6 Jul 2005

Sexual abstinence unrealistic - pediatricians say teens need birth control and emergency contraception pill

In complete contrast to the abstinence-only approach to sex education favored by religious groups and President Bush, an eminent group of pediatricians is saying that what todays' teenagers need is better access to birth control and emergency contraception.

6 Jul 2005