Adolescents with higher levels of physical activity performed better in school during transition; from primary school to lower secondary school than their physically inactive peers; a new study from Finland shows. However, the researchers, from the University of Jyväskylä, found that increased physical activity did not necessarily result in improved academic performance. Previous cross-sectional studies…
Although food preferences are largely learned, dislike is the main reason parents stop offering; or serving their children foods like vegetables. A new study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, published by Elsevier; demonstrated that repeatedly offering a variety of vegetables increased acceptance and consumption by children. “In Australia, dietary guidelines for vegetable…
Parents should help their children with better sleep patterns; along with any problem behavioural issues, because this can lead to severe insomnia in middle age, a groundbreaking new study shows. Published in JAMA Network Open journal today, Australian researchers have used data from a long-running UK population study to find links between moderate to severe…
Pediatric critical care medicine has evolved over the last 3 decades into a highly respected; board-certified specialty that has become an indispensable service for inpatient programs of most children’s hospitals as well as a highly valued resource supporting most community-based programs. The earlier published guidelines for pediatric critical care medicine; used to help establish the…
Body mass index (BMI) in infants, children and adults is influenced by different genetic factors that change as we age, according to a major new study. An international consortium of researchers, led by scientists at Imperial College London, the University of Surrey; and the University of Oulu, Finland, discovered that BMI in babies is influenced…
Part of a growing trend toward nature-based early learning; outdoor preschools could very well hold the key to combatting childhood obesity. It is why one Washington State University Health Sciences researcher is partnering with Tiny Trees; to study the impact of an outdoor preschool model on children’s health outcomes. “One third of children in the…
Where a mother lives and the temperature outside while she is pregnant; among other environmental factors, can impact whether her child is prehypertensive or hypertensive during childhood; according to a study published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Only in recent years have studies begun to link these risk factors to prehypertensive…
A new language-skills study that included infants later diagnosed with autism; suggests that all children can benefit from exposure to more speech from their caregivers. Dr. Meghan Swanson, assistant professor at The University of Texas at Dallas, is the corresponding author of the study, published online in Autism Research. It is the first to extend…
Claire Mowling, Ed.D., an assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham; discussed the impact of balance training on development in children in a recent peer-reviewed article in the Alabama State Association for Health; Physical Education, Recreation and Dance journal. “Developing a child’s motor skills early in life; may help them pursue…
Each year, more than 135,000 twins, triplets, and higher-order multiples are born in the United States. Many are delivered prematurely and require; over a month of treatment in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The study published online today in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. Wrong-patient order errors orders for medications, tests; and procedures that are…
Current research findings are mixed as to whether preschool programs; can improve individuals’ outcomes in the long term, with some studies pointing to benefits years later; and others showing a fadeout of cognitive gains as early as elementary school. A new longitudinal study explored the long-term impacts of a preschool quality improvement program for low-income…
Among nearly 50,000 eighth, 10th, and 12th graders from the 2018 Arizona Youth Survey; a biennial survey of Arizona secondary school students, one-third (33%) had tried some form of marijuana; and nearly a quarter (24%) had tried marijuana concentrate. Nearly one in four Arizona teens have used a highly potent form of marijuana known as…