Nine-year-olds stressed out by chronic violence, poor housing, poverty and family turmoil are more likely to become obese by age 13 than those who aren’t – probably because these stresses erode self-control.
Cornell University researchers evaluated exposure of 244 children to nine different ongoing stressors, measured their height and weight at age 9, and measured their ability to delay gratification by waiting for a large plate of candy rather than having a smaller plate right away. Four years later, they evaluated the children’s height and weight again.
The children who were exposed to chronic stress were heavier than they otherwise would have been, the researchers concluded. Adults who can “self-regulate” are better able to follow healthy habits, and the study’s authors believe this is true of children as well. And there is evidence that parts of the brain that are sensitive to stress are also involved in helping us regulate our behavior and control impulses.
Previous studies have also linked stress to weight gain in children, and researchers involved with this study suggest that a multi-pronged approach – targeting all areas of stress rather than just one – is the best way to help these kids.
The study was published online Jan. 30 in the journal Pediatrics.
Sure, you buckle your 7-year-old into her booster seat whenever she rides in your car. But what happens when she carpools to soccer practice with her friends?
In Long Beach and Riverside, traffic-related pollution is adding $18 million per year to the cost of childhood asthma, almost half of which is due to new asthma cases caused by pollution. That’s the finding from a study released Jan. 25 in the online European Respiratory Journal. The study is the first cost estimate to include cases attributable to air pollution.
In 2007, rare-cancer patient Jennifer Goodman Linn held a small cycling event with a few friends at an Equinox club in New York City, hoping to raise $10,000 for research into rare cancers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). Jen had been diagnosed with sarcoma, a soft tissue cancer, a few years earlier, and she and her husband, Dave, were surprised to learn that research into rare cancers is often underfunded, leaving patients with limited treatment options – even though they account for more than half of all cancer diagnoses and are well-recognized by name. In fact, leukemia, lymphoma, brain, pancreatic, ovarian and all pediatric cancers are considered rare forms of the disease.
School cafeteria food is getting a major facelift. For the first time in 15 years, the USDA has raised the standards for school meals eaten by nearly 32 million American kids each week day. It’s just one part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act championed by First Lady Michelle Obama in her Let’s Move campaign to combat childhood obesity.
Building a healthy adult brain literally begins with enough iron intake in your teens. That’s the finding from a new study by UCLA researchers. “We found that healthy brain wiring in adults depended on having good iron levels in your teenage years,” lead author Paul Thompson, a neurology professor at UCLA, said in releasing the study Jan. 11.
Cold and flu season is a great time to meet this little bear, the Bed Buddy Warming Bear from Carex. For your little one’s earache, or a grown-up’s aching back or menstrual cramps, pop this little guy in the microwave for a few seconds and his warm tummy and paws are ready to soothe.
There’s not really a radon “season.” This colorless, odorless gas is around all year around – maybe even in your home. It’s a natural, radioactive gas that comes from the breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water, then seeps into homes through cracks in the foundation, piping, etc.
