Kids with obesity-linked gene like fattening foods

submitted by maria 1 year, 8 months ago

news.yahoo.com — ntists may have figured out one reason some people reach for the french fries instead of an apple. It could be a gene that's been linked to an increased risk of obesity. A study of children found those with a common variation of the gene tend to overeat high-calorie foods. They ate 100 extra calories per meal, which over the long term can put on weight, said Colin Palmer, who led the study at the University of Dundee in Scotland. The findings don't mean that everyone with that version of the gene will eat too much and become obese, he said. They just might have a tendency to eat more fattening foods. "It's still your choice," he said. "This gene will not make you overweight if you do not overeat." read more...

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Use of Kids' Meds on the Increase

published 1 year, 9 months ago, submitted by tictac 1 year, 10 months ago

news.yahoo.com — Medication use among children across the United States is dramatically increasing as more kids are being treated for diabetes, asthma and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), researchers report. Increased prescribing may be due in large part to increasing obesity among children and the health consequences of that trend, researchers say. "Across all the medication classes we looked at, the rates of use increased -- sometimes dramatically," said study co-author Dr. Donna Halloran, an assistant professor of pediatrics at St. Louis University. "This is particularly concerning, given that several of these diagnoses have been linked to obesity -- diabetes, hypertension, depression, asthma." The report was published in the November issue of Pediatrics. For the study, Halloran's team looked at medication use among U.S. children from 2002 to 2005. Using a database of prescription claims from children with private health insurance, they were able to find prescriptions for almost 4 million children. read more...

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Brain Waves May Help in Diagnosing Autism

healthnews.com — One child in 150 in the United States is diagnosed with autism, the majority affected being boys. Autistic children usually are slow in communicating, have difficulty connecting with others, and are prone to repetitive activities. Autistic children can be helped with education and medication, but professionals agree that for intervention to be successful it must start early. Doctors usually diagnose a child with autism based on what their parents observe and by observing the child themselves. The diagnosis usually comes after the child is two years of age. read more...

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Acid Reflux Linked to Chronic Croup

published 1 year, 11 months ago, submitted by zya 1 year, 11 months ago

health.msn.com — Children who have continuing recurrence of croup could be suffering from stomach acid reflux problems, University of Utah researchers report. Croup is typically recognized by a loud cough that often sounds like the barking of a seal. The condition can cause fast or difficult breathing, and sometimes wheezing. Croup has been thought to be caused by a virus, but upper airway problems have also been suggested as a possible trigger. read more...

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FDA: No quick decision on cold medicines for kids

published 1 year, 10 months ago, submitted by zya 1 year, 11 months ago

news.yahoo.com — A top government health official Thursday rejected pediatricians' calls for an immediate ban on over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for young children, saying it might cause unintended harm. But Food and Drug Administration officials at a public hearing also said they were uncomfortable with the lack of solid scientific data to support continued use of OTC remedies with youngsters, particularly from ages 2-6. A ban — as sought by leading pediatricians' groups — might only drive parents to give adult medicines to their youngsters, said Dr. John Jenkins, who heads the FDA's Office of New Drugs. read more...

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Limit on cold remedies for kids was FDA's idea

published 1 year, 10 months ago, submitted by babulin675 1 year, 10 months ago

news.yahoo.com — When drug makers made a surprise announcement this week that they no longer recommend cough and cold remedies for youngsters under 4, they didn't let on that it was the government's idea.And why age 4 rather than the age 6 that pediatricians' wanted? Because the Food and Drug Administration suggested that, too. FDA officials proposed the cutoff earlier this year in private discussions with the industry, government and industry officials confirmed Friday. The companies agreed, and this week announced they were "voluntarily" changing their advice to parents. The maneuvering is an example of how government health officials and the industries they regulate seek to come to an accommodation behind the scenes on tricky issues. In this case, there is scant evidence that the widely used over-the-counter medicines really do work in children. Emergency-room data shows that they sicken some 7,000 kids a year, mostly because of overdoses. read more...

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Kids' eye problems often emerge in homework battle

published 1 year, 10 months ago, submitted by babulin675 1 year, 10 months ago

news.yahoo.com — WASHINGTON – Your 9-year-old's eyes hurt during homework? Your teen's a slow reader plagued with headaches? They may have a common yet often missed vision problem: Eyes that don't turn together properly to read. As many as one of every 20 students have some degree of what eye doctors call "convergence insufficiency," or CI, where eye muscles must work harder to focus up-close. And those standard vision screenings administered by schools and pediatricians won't catch it — they stress distance vision. When symptoms such as eye strain, headaches, double vision or reading problems trigger the right diagnosis, doctors prescribe any of a hodgepodge of exercises designed to strengthen eye coordination. Now a major government study finally offers evidence for the best approach: Eye training performed in a doctor's office for 12 weeks. read more...

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Bullying Top Concern of Parents With Overweight Child

submitted by sal18 1 year, 11 months ago

health.msn.com — Bullying is the top "health" concern among parents with overweight and obese children, according to a new report. Parents of these children, aged 6 to 13, also are much more likely than parents of children at a healthy weight to call bullying a top health issue for kids, according to a report released Monday by the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health. read more...

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