Health ShortsChildren & Young Adults
5 Steps to Prevent Childhood Obesity Based on a survey of about a thousand nutritionists, the American Dietetic Association recently developed a set of recommendations for parents who wish to prevent childhood obesity. As adapted into the "Quaker Oatmeal Strive for Five" program, these include: · Be a nutritional role model for your children by adopting healthy eating habits. · Buy and use more whole-grain products, rich in fiber and nutrition. · Eat a healthy breakfast and encourage your children to do the same. Studies show that breakfast eaters are more likely than others to maintain normal weight. · Pay attention to portion sizes and avoid super-sized soft drinks, candy bars and fast-food items. Measure your progress in establishing better family eating habits. [SOURCE: "Survey Helps Develop Program To Prevent Childhood Obesity," Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week, November 22, 2003] Onset Now Occurring in Youth American children and teens are fast forwarding to a disease formerly associated with adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control. A combination of rising obesity levels and inactivity is fueling an explosion of type 2 diabetes among the young. Experts say that if current trends continue, one in three American children born in 2000 will develop diabetes.
[SOURCE: Janet McConnaughey, Associated Press, June, 2003] A Solution for Childhood Obesity A school-based intervention in the United Kingdom has apparently found a simple, effective approach to curbing childhood obesity-stop drinking soda pop. Among 644 children, ages 7 to 11, those given four one-hour classroom sessions discouraging consumption of both sweetened and unsweetened carbonated beverages did better than other subjects. They decreased their consumption of soft drinks while those in control groups were increasing theirs. In the intervention group, the percentage of overweight and obese children decreased by 0.2 percent compared to a 7.5 percent increase for the control groups.
[SOURCE: J. James, et al, "Preventing Childhood Obesity by Reducing Consumption of Carbonated Drinks: Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial," British Medical Journal, May 22, 2004; Journal Watch, July 15, 2004] About Sleep, Children Know Best If you see a doctor because of your child's sleep problems, it's important to let your child answer the doctor's questions. For children under age 12, one study found, the child's answers, given separately, differed significantly from the parents' responses. Only 19 percent of parents, but 70 percent of children, said their children had nightmares. Only 25 percent of parents, but 84 percent of children, said the children were sleepy at bedtime. For children over age 12, the study found less significant differences between the responses of children and those of parents.
[SOURCE: "Sleep Problems," Pediatrics for Parents," August, 2001] Anxious Parent, Anxious Child Anxiety disorders tend to run in families, and scientists believe genetics may play an important role. An anxious parent may also make a child's anxiety worse by being overly protective-leading the child to see the world as a dangerous place. Too many restrictions may also make it harder for the child to develop autonomy and self confidence.
[SOURCE: Michael S. Jellinek, "Calming the Anxious Child," Pediatric News, November, 2002; John Piacentini and Tami Roblek, "Recognizing and Treating Childhood Anxiety Disorders," The Western Journal of Medicine, May, 2002] Babies Like It When Mom Laughs A study of 48 babies with eczema and allergies found that their symptoms improved when their mothers watched a funny film before breast feeding them.
The placebo-controlled study asked the mothers to view either a Charlie Chaplin DVD or a non-humorous video providing weather information. When the mothers watched the funny video and laughed, their breast milk contained higher levels of melatonin compared to when they watched the factual one. Levels of melatonin, a hormone associated with relaxation, are generally lower in persons with eczema.
[SOURCE: “Laughter is the breast medicine,” New Scientist, June 16, 2007; H. Kimata, “Laughter elevates the levels of breast-milk melatonin,” Journal of Psychosomatic Research, June, 2007] Baby Talk, Baby Thought Can babies think before they can talk? Scientists have in fact produced reliable studies that demonstrate thought in babies. Pet owners know that although they can't speak, animals are capable of relatively sophisticated thought that demonstrates anticipation, correlation and deduction. Infants who have not yet learned to master words may think in a symbolic language made up of images (such as of the mother's face), sounds, colors, movements, smells and tastes. Adults still think in all these symbolic modes, they just add the words as well.
[SOURCE: "The Last Word," New Scientist, July 6, 2002] Back Sleepers Have Fewer Infections To reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) doctors have for several years advised parents to put their babies to sleep on their backs. A National Institute of Health study recently found that back sleeping babies also have fewer doctor visits for ear infections and a reduced incidence of fever, stuffy nose and upper respiratory infection.
[SOURCE: “Help Your Baby Fight Ear Infections,” Vibrant Life, July-August, 2005] Be Sure Kids Wear Helmets Correctly About 73 percent of American children are now wearing a helmet when they ride a bicycle compared to only 18 percent 15 years ago, according to a Massachusetts study. To protect the frontal region of the child’s skull, the most common site of impact, the helmet must fit well and be adjusted so that the helmet does not rest too high on the forehead or slide too easily forward or backward.
[SOURCE: “Helmets Help,” Vibrant Life, November-December, 2003] Bed Sharing–The Other Side About half of all SIDS death occur while the child is sleeping with the parents, and the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) 2005 guidelines for the prevention of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome include a recommendation against bed sharing. Not all medical groups agree.
In Alaska the incidence of SIDS has declined by 50 to 70 percent since 1993 while the percentage of mothers sleeping with their infants increased from 16 to 40 percent. As a result, the Alaska Division of Public Health and the Alaska chapter of AAP called on the AAP “to revise their recommendations to reflect the scientifically defensible position that bed sharing is only a risk if the parent is impaired or the sleeping surface is inappropriate.”
The AAP’s Section on Breastfeeding stated that “bed sharing under safe conditions may prove to be an important factor in the success of breast feeding.” Exclusive breast feeding for six months, according to this group, is an important preventive practice.
[SOURCE: Bradford D. Gessner, et al, “Bed Sharing with Unimpaired Parents Is Not an Important Risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome,” (Letters to the Editor) Pediatrics, March, 2006] Bipolar in Children Increasing Bipolar disorder has been diagnosed in substantially larger numbers of adolescents and children over the past decade. The increase is believed to be due primarily to changing definitions and recognition that mania in youth may be seen as irritability, reckless behavior, aggression and explosive outbursts. These symptoms are also common with other problems such as attention deficit disorder, conduct disorder and substance abuse. Once thought to be rare among children, bipolar disorder is now believed to have a prevalence of about one percent in younger age groups. There is controversy, however, about how broadly to define the criteria for diagnosis. African American girls drink less than one glass of milk a day on average. Black adolescents, both male and female, get less than half the calcium and vitamin D they need for good health and bone growth, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
[SOURCE: "Black Youths Not Getting Enough Calcium," USA Today (Magazine), February, 2002] A dramatic reduction of SIDS deaths among all groups has occurred since 1992, but a disparity between white and black infants remains. African-American infants have sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) at double the rate of white children.
[SOURCE: Duane Alexander, “Reducing the Risk of SIDS Through Community Partnerships,” American Family Physician, July 15, 2005] Child Care Can Shape Kids’ Weight About three quarters of American children under age six spend a significant part of their time in some form of non-parental child care. These facilities can have a major influence on a child’s eating and physical activity behavior, which in turn can determine a child’s risk of becoming overweight or obese.
A recent study found that few states had regulations regarding nutrition and physical activities in child care facilities. Factors covered in the study were: 1) water freely available 2) sugar-sweetened beverages limited 3) foods of low nutritional value limited 4) children not forced to eat 5) food not used as a reward 6) support for breast feeding 7) screen time is limited 8) some physical activity required every day
Children Suffer Early Complications Girls frequently have a steep decline in physical activity during adolescence that frequently leads to weight gain. A study of 1,152 black and 1,135 white females followed through adolescence found a direct relationship between lower physical activity and increased body mass index and skin fold measurements.
[SOURCE: “Lack of Activity Puts Adolescent Girls at Risk of Obesity,” Nursing Standard, October 19, 2005] Diabetic Youth Want To Feel Normal Several studies have found that children with diabetes are most concerned with being like other children as opposed to being singled out as different. Particularly during the teen years this desire to be normal is likely to lead to poor management of the disease.
Adolescent males may engage in risky behavior such as smoking, drinking and use of recreational drugs. Females are more likely to ignore or neglect their treatment plan.
[SOURCE: Karina Huus and Karin Enskar, “Adolescents’ Experience of Living with Diabetes,” Paediatric Nursing, April, 2007; Janet Silverstein, et al, “Care of Children and Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes,” Diabetes Care 2005;28(1):186-212] Adolescent girls are more likely than boys to skip breakfast, and the reason they most frequently cite is dissatisfaction with their weight. Studies consistently show, however, that persons who fail to eat a healthy breakfast have a higher risk of being overweight or obese. Skipping breakfast tends to lower a person's metabolism, resulting in fewer calories consumed for the same amount of effort. Individuals who skip breakfast also tend to eat more calorie-dense foods later in the day, resulting in a greater overall calorie intake.
[SOURCE: Elizabeth M. Young and Stuart W. Fors, "Factors Related to the Eating Habits of Students in Grades 9-12," Journal of Public Health," December, 2001] Don’t Push Young Bikers Biking is good for a child’s motor development, but introducing it too early in life may have the opposite effect. One study found that kids who started biking at ages three to five had more injuries of all kinds than those starting at age six or seven.
[SOURCE: “Stay on the Trike,” Psychology Today, January-February, 2005] A child who suffers a severe ankle or foot injury is more likely to have a fracture than a sprain, whereas the reverse is true for an adult. The growth plates of young bones are weaker than the calcified bone, ligaments and tendons surrounding them.
[SOURCE: Gary D. Hals, et al, "Management of Acute Foot and Ankle Disorders in the Emergency Department: Part I-The Ankle," Emergency Medicine Reports, September 22, 2003] Getting Students on the Ball If you walk into a classroom and see students heads bobbing up and down, it may be that they are sitting on balance balls rather than chairs.
Physical therapists and exercise trainers recommend sitting and doing various exercise routines on balance balls in order to develop core body strength and balance. Recently studies have found that younger students, particularly those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, have better attention spans and learn more when they sit on balance balls in the classroom.
Some middle schools have also started replacing traditional chairs with balance balls, with positive reactions from students and parents.
[SOURCE: Gregory A. Patterson, “New seating has students on the ball,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 18, 2008] Good Preparation Reduces Anxiety The increased use of outpatient surgery for procedures such as tonsillectomy has made surgery less traumatic for children and their parents. A family-centered behavioral approach can also be helpful in easing anxiety and improving outcomes, according to a study presented at the meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists [January, 2007]. The pre-operative sessions for pediatric patients and their families included: anxiety reduction measures; video modeling and education prior to surgery; use of distraction on the day of surgery; parental coaching; and inclusion of parents at the surgery and during post-operative care.
[SOURCE: “Preparation before surgery reduces children’s anxiety,” AORN Journal, May, 2007] Head Lice More Prevalent? If you think the head lice problem is a bigger issue than it was when you were a child, you’re right. In the United Kingdom, the number of prescriptions written for head lice shampoo increased 37-fold between 1980 and 1995. It’s believed that a similar increase occurred in the United States. Six to twelve million American children are bothered by head lice each year. Some of the increased prevalence can be attributed to the evolution of strains of lice that are resistant to available medications.
[SOURCE: Rachel Nowak, “Hair Wars: They Have Sucked Our Blood for Millenia, Resisting All Efforts To Defeat Them,” New Scientist, December 25, 2004] Heading Off Head Deformity With more parents putting their babies to sleep on their back rather than their stomach or side, the incidence of positional head deformity (a flattened back of the head) has increased dramatically since 1992 and now affects 1 of every 60 live-birth infants. Prevention involves giving the child plenty of supervised play time on his stomach and avoiding prolonged use of a swing or car seat. For feeding, doctors recommend approaching the child from the side opposite the flattened area. Positional head deformity can be treated with physical therapy and a helmet orthosis. [SOURCE: Wendy S. Biggs, “Diagnosis and Management of Positional Head Deformity,” American Family Physician, May 1, 2003] To keep current on their immunizations, infants and children may have to get five or more shots in one visit. Parents should realize that children can tolerate multiple injections well as long as they get proper comfort and support before and during injections.
To maintain trust, parents should be straightforward and truthful about the injections and never use them as threats to improve behavior. Fear of pain is usually worse than the pain itself. A pacifier, story telling or music may take the child’s attention away from the injection.
[SOURCE: Donald B. Middleton, Richard Kent Zimmerman and Karen B. Mitchell, “Vaccine Schedules and Procedures, 2007,” Journal of Family Practice, February, 2007] How To Keep Your Kids Fit and Trim Dieting is not advised for children, but parents can help children establish good habits that will help keep them fit.
· Eat meals together as a family as often as possible with a variety of healthy foods on the table. · Forcing children to eat certain foods doesn’t work, but you can make an effort to establish healthy eating habits early. · Don’t force kids to participate in organized sports, but encourage physical activity by making sure bikes, basketball hoops, skates and other outdoor play equipment are available and in good working order. · Spend time with your children playing catch, hiking in the woods, dancing or other physical activities. · Encourage them to reach for water first when they’re thirsty. Even fruit juices add extra calories. · Pay attention to your child’s weight as he or she grows and talk to your pediatrician if you suspect a weight problem. Immersion Burns–Keep Kids Safe An adult’s skin can tolerate temperatures as high as 111 degrees Fahrenheit for fairly long periods, but a child will suffer severe burns in three seconds in water hotter than 120 degrees.
Placing a child–or an elderly person–in a bath tub filled with water that’s too hot is particularly dangerous since large areas of the body can be burned. The longer the person is in the tub, the greater the injury. Be sure to test the water with a sensitive area of your own skin before placing a child in the tub. And make sure your hot water heater is set for temperatures lower than 120 degrees if you have a child or older adult in your home.
[SOURCE: Richard F. Edlich, et al, “Burns, thermal,” emedicine from WebMD, article last updated October 3, 2007] Keep Your Tree Baby-Safe If you have an under-three child in your home or coming to visit for the holidays, be sure to child proof your decorations as well as your house. Any ornaments within the child’s reach–or that might fall to the floor–should not be breakable or small enough to fit inside the child’s mouth. Generally speaking, that means less than one and one-quarter inches in diameter and two and one quarter inches in length.
It’s also a good idea to secure your tree well so there is no danger that it will tip.
[SOURCE: “Baby’s First Holidays: Here’s How To Make Them Fun–and Safe,” American Baby, December, 1997] Kids More Prone to Ear Infections For pre-school children, ear infections are more common than any other illness except the common cold. By age five or six, ear infections have become much less common.
Young children are more vulnerable because: •Their eustachian tubes, which connect the nasal passages with the middle ears, are shorter, more horizontal, narrower and less stiff than those of adults.
•The adenoids, located in the back of the throat near the eustachian tubes are large in children and often block the opening.
• A child’s immune system is not fully developed until about age seven. As a result, young children are more vulnerable to infections.
•Children who attend large day care centers or pre-schools have greater exposure to disease-causing organisms, particularly during the winter months.
[SOURCE: “Middle Ear Infections,” Nemours Foundation, KidsHealth, updated and reviewed by Barbara P. Homeier, M.D., January, 2005] Kids Not Tested for Lead Exposure When 539 children were tested in two inner city Chicago communities considered high risk for lead exposure, 27 percent of the subjects were found to have high blood lead levels, mostly attributed to chipped exterior house paint. Yet 61 percent of children in these neighborhoods had never been tested previously.
[SOURCE: “High-Intensity Targeted Screening for Elevated Blood Lead Levels among Children in 2 Inner-City Chicago Communities,” The American Journal of Public Health, November, 2004] Kids Often Outgrow Food Allergies About 85 percent of children who are allergic to eggs, milk or soy outgrow their allergies by age 10, according to the Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. An allergy to peanuts is more likely to continue past that age, persisting into adulthood for 8 of 10 persons.
A Johns Hopkins study found that a widely available blood test can safely determine if the allergy has subsided. Introducing food to which the child has had a reaction should not be done without consulting a doctor.
[SOURCE: Laura Flynn McCarthy, “Myth Buster,” Parenting, November 1, 2005;”New Food-Allergy Test,” Prevention, January, 2005] Children weighing 20 to 40 pounds are safest when they travel by auto in forward-facing child safety seats with full harnesses, a recent study confirmed. Toddlers riding in shield booster seats had more severe injuries to the head, chest and abdominal/pelvic region and more intensive care unit admissions after automobile accidents, with longer average stays. As a result of previous research, use of the shield booster seats for toddlers is discouraged by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway traffic Safety Administration.
[SOURCE: Patrice G.W. Norton, "More Injuries Are Seen When Shield Boostger Seats Are Used: Study Finds Specific Injury Patterns," Family Practice News, April 15, 2004] Kids with Asthma Need Flu Shots For a child with asthma, yearly vaccination against the flu is an important way of avoiding asthma attacks and worsening of symptoms. According to one study, “vaccinating all children with asthma could prevent 59 percent to 78 percent of asthma hospitalizations” and emergency room visits during flu season. [SOURCE: P. Kramarz, et al, “Does influenza vaccination prevent asthma exacerbations in children?” Journal of Pediatrics, 2001;138:306-310; K.M. Neuzil, “Influenza vaccine in children with asthma: why no progress?” Journal of Pediatrics, 2001;138:306-310] | ArchiveAIDS & HIV |
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