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Jan 19
Junk food not behind weight gain in kids
Candy, soda, chips, and other junk food available at schools doesn't cause weight gain among children-at least for middle school students, a new study has suggested.

The study relies on data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999, which follows a nationally representative sample of students from the fall of kindergarten through the spring of eighth grade (the 1998-1999 through 2006-2007 schools years).

"We were really surprised by that result and, in fact, we held back from publishing our study for roughly two years because we kept looking for a connection that just wasn't there," said Jennifer Van Hook, a Professor of Sociology and Demography at Pennsylvania State University and lead author of the study.

Van Hook and her co-author Claire E. Altman, a sociology and demography doctoral student at Pennsylvania State University, used a sub-sample of 19,450 children who attended school in the same county in both fifth and eighth grades (the 2003-2004 and the 2006-2007 school years).

They found that 59.2 per cent of fifth graders and 86.3 per cent of eighth graders in their study attended schools that sold junk food.

But, while there was a significant increase in the percentage of students who attended schools that sold junk food between fifth and eighth grades, there was no rise in the percentage of students who were overweight or obese.

In fact, despite the increased availability of junk food, the percentage of students who were overweight or obese actually decreased from fifth grade to eighth grade, from 39.1 per cent to 35.4 per cent.

"There has been a great deal of focus in the media on how schools make a lot of money from the sale of junk food to students, and on how schools have the ability to help reduce childhood obesity," Van Hook said.

"In that light, we expected to find a definitive connection between the sale of junk food in middle schools and weight gain among children between fifth and eighth grades. But, our study suggests that-when it comes to weight issues-we need to be looking far beyond schools and, more specifically, junk food sales in schools, to make a difference," she said.

According to Van Hook, policies that aim to reduce childhood obesity and prevent unhealthy weight gain need to concentrate more on the home and family environments as well as the broader environments outside of school.

Jan 19
Why teens are prone to addiction
Ever wondered why teenagers take more risks and are more prone to addiction? It's because their brains respond differently to a situation than adults, says a new study.

In experiments on mice, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have pinpointed some differences in brain response to a food reward between adolescent and adult rodents.
The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, could explain why adolescents take more risks and are more prone to addiction, depression and schizophrenia, the researchers said.

"The brain region that is very critical in planning your actions and in habit formation is directly tapped by reward in adolescents, which means the reward could have a stronger influence in their decision-making, in what they do next, as well as forming habits in adolescents," study researcher Bita Moghaddam told LiveScience.

"Teens could do stupid things in response to a situation not because they are stupid, but because their brains are working differently. Somehow they perceive and react to a situation differently," Moghaddam said.

The study was performed in rats, but teenagers throughout the animal kingdom show the same risk-taking and impulsive behaviours as human teens, so the results are likely to be applicable in humans too, the researchers said.

Other studies have shown that the teen brain is also more susceptible to stress than the adult brain. Teenage brains are especially susceptible to addiction and mental illness, and the differences in the brain at that time may play a big role in these diseases. "If your brain is processing the exact same thing differently, that could give us clues as to why their brain is more vulnerable," Moghaddam said. "By understanding what is happening in the brains of adolescents we can better understand how to prevent disease."

The nucleus accumbens is the part of the brain that reacts with happy "reward" chemicals when we eat, have sex or do other things that ensure our survival. Drugs activate this region as well, creating an artificial reward signal by making these neurons send out their feel-good chemicals.

The researchers saw very similar reward responses in the nucleus accumbens when the rats received food pellets; the big difference between the brains of teenage and adult rats occurred in the dorsal striatum, where more activity showed up for teen rats about to get a food pellet.

This brain region gets activated by the reward signals from the nucleus accumbens and is involved in habit formation, sort of sealing in the memory of "I put my nose in here and I get a treat that makes me feel good."

These brain differences could manifest as the impulsive and risk-taking habits of your average teen, Moghaddam said.

"It could make the adolescent brain more vulnerable to what goes on around them in the environment, to things that are expected to be rewarding, and could make the brain more vulnerable to addiction," she said.

Jan 18
Serious Injuries Triple for Headphone wearing Pedestrians, Study Says
Serious injuries involving pedestrians wearing headphones have more than tripled since 2004, a US study showed.

Researchers from the University of Maryland found that people often were hit by vehicles because their music blocked out horns or sirens alerting them to danger.

In 70 percent of cases, the headphone wearing pedestrians died as a result of the injuries they sustained from being hit by traffic.

The researchers studied the data of 116 accidents involving pedestrians wearing headphones between 2004 and 2011. The number of incidents rose from 16 in 2004 to 47 in 2011.

"Everybody is aware of the risk of cell phones and texting in automobiles, but I see more and more teens distracted with the latest devices and headphones in their ears," lead author Dr. Richard Lichenstein said. "Unfortunately, as we make more and more enticing devices, the risk of injury from distraction and blocking out other sounds increases."

Jan 18
Sitting too long is bad for your mental health, Too much time in a chair also raises obesity, diabet
More bad news for office dwellers, all that sitting at your desk all day not only may put your health at risk but is bad for your mental well-being, at least according to a new study.

In research presented last week at the British Psychological Society's Annual Occupational Conference in Chester, England, scientists warn that the more you sit, the more risk you have for both a higher body mass index score and decreased mental well-being.

In a survey of more than 1,000 workers, nearly 70 percent surveyed did not meet recommended guidelines for exercise. The findings also revealed that the more you sit at work, the more you are likely to sit on your off hours, further raising your risks of health problems and mental strain.

According to the British Psychological Society, people spend on average five hours and 41 minutes per day sitting at their desks and eight hours sleeping at night -- and researchers warn that is "too much sitting."

Lead researcher Dr. Myanna Duncan, from Loughborough University in the UK, said the findings may be due to the fact workers "just forget" to stand up, she told the BBC last week.

"People don't need a psychologist to tell them to get up and walk around," she added in a press release. "But if it helps, I'd tell them to put a post-it note on their computer to remind them. Anyway go and talk to your colleagues face to face, it's a lot more sociable and better for you than emailing them."

The new study adds to growing scientific research suggesting that sitting can raise your risks for a host of problems, including obesity and diabetes -- this is especially true if you spend time outside of work lounging in front of the television or commuting. In one study, researchers found that people who spend more than two hours per day of leisure time watching television or sitting in front of a screen face double the risk of heart disease.

Jan 17
India: Full Year Without a Reported Case of Polio
For the first time, India has gone a full year without a new polio case, the World Health Organization announced last week.
The last case, the only one in 2011, was of an 18-month-old girl in West Bengal State whose sudden paralysis was confirmed as polio on Jan. 13. There were 42 known cases in 2010.

Polio eradication officials described a year without new cases as a "game-changer" and a "milestone" because India was for decades one of the biggest centers of the disease.

But the country won't be certified as polio-free until it has gone three years without a new case, and there have been new cases recently in three nearby countries: Pakistan, Afghanistan and China. For every case of paralysis, there are an estimated 200 asymptomatic carriers, any of whom can spread the disease.

There have also been recent cases in several countries in Africa; in 2009, an Indian polio strain turned up in Angola, so the virus could theoretically travel in the opposite direction, to India from Africa.

India, which has spent more than $2 billion fighting polio, must keep vaccinating to suppress any possibility of an imported case's taking hold, and in rare cases the weakened live strain used as a vaccine can mutate back into a form that can paralyze and spread. The country's vaccine drives have tried to reach 175 million children twice a year.

India's health minister described his country as "excited and hopeful" but also "vigilant and alert."

Jan 17
Conquering the chilly workouts of winter
The short days, the weak sun, and the warm beds of winter can wreak havoc on your fitness routine.

As the outside temperature plummets, so too can the will to brave the elements for outdoor exercise. Experts say as long as you layer up, drink up and tune into how cold is just too cold it shouldn't impact your fitness.

"Come with a different game plan for the winter," advises Jessica Matthews, an exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise (ACE).

"Motivation tends to wane a bit, so explore different activities, including things you can do in your own home. Have a flexible approach to your fitness routine as the weather changes."

If you're keen to exercise outside in all seasons, says Matthews, learn to dress for workout success.

"Wear layers. That's really important when it's cold outside and make sure you're not becoming wet. Heavy cotton soaks up sweat, so you might want to stick with wool or polyester something water repellent."

Matthews suggests a first layer of lightweight synthetic.

"The second can be a little heavier, but still avoid heavy cotton," she said.

And don't leave home without hat and gloves. Heat loss from the head alone is about 50 percent at the freezing mark, according to ACE's safety tips for cold weather.

Keeping hands and feet warm is crucial because in cold the body shunts blood away from the extremities to warm internal organs at the center.

"In temperatures below zero, consider a scarf or face mask, kept loosely over mouth, to warm the air a little bit before it gets into your body," Matthews said.

Sometimes it's just too cold outside.

"Check the air temperature and wind chill factor before exercising in the cold," Matthews said. "Data from the National Safety Council suggest that when the wind chill factor falls below -20 degrees Fahrenheit (-29 Celsius), a danger zone exists."

Hypothermia is a potentially fatal condition. Warning signs include light-headedness, dizziness and lethargy.

"Those are the beginning stages," Matthews said.

Most people are not likely to forget to layer up in the cold, but they will more easily neglect to hydrate.

"It's too easy to forget to hydrate in the cold, and it's so important to stay hydrated in winter," said Matthews. "You are going to sweat."

She suggests drinking up to 20 ounces (0.59 liters) of water two or three hours before working out.

Deborah Plitt is a trainer with the Illinois-based equipment company Life Fitness, which recently broke down the calorie burn of 30 minutes of winter activities, such as sledding (250 calories), ice skating (230 calories), shoveling snow (230 calories).

"Of course there's a lot of wiggle room (in the calculations). It's based on an average woman of 145 pounds," said Plitt. "And sledding and snow shoveling depends on whether the snow is wet or fluffy."

Plitt said the point is to stay physically active, regardless of the weather, even if that means just taking the dog for a walk (125 calories).

"They're mixing things up; they're enjoying what they're doing," she said. "And believe it or not you burn more calories when you're shivering."

Jan 16
Maternal smoking not linked to autism in kids
A new study has refuted any link between smoking during pregnancy and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in children.

Researchers have considered a variety of chemical exposures in the environment during pregnancy and early life as possible contributing factors in the development of autism spectrum disorders.

Many have considered prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke a possible cause due to known associations with behavioral disorders and obstetric complications.

Past studies of maternal smoking and autism have had mixed results.

"We found no evidence that maternal smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of autism spectrum disorders," Dr. Brian Lee, an epidemiologist at Drexel's School of Public Health, who led the research in collaboration with researchers from Sweden's Karolinska Institute and the University of Bristol (Bristol, UK) said.

In the new study, Lee and colleagues analyzed data from Swedish national and regional registries for a set of 3,958 children with autism spectrum disorders, along with a control set of 38,983 children born during the same period who did not receive an ASD diagnosis.

Overall, 19.8 per cent of the ASD cases were exposed to maternal smoking during pregnancy, compared to 18.4 per cent of control cases.

These rates showed an association between maternal smoking and the odds of an autism spectrum disorder, in unadjusted analyses.

The report helps to reassure mothers who smoked during pregnancy that their behavior was not likely responsible for their child's autism,

Lee said, and "crosses off another suspect on the list of possible environmental risk factors for ASD."

However, he cautioned that smoking during pregnancy is still unhealthy for mothers and has other known risks for their children.
The study will appear in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders .

Jan 16
Breast cancer treatment affects memory
Experts have revealed that breast cancer survivors may experience problems with certain mental abilities several years after treatment, regardless of whether they were treated with chemotherapy plus radiation or radiation only.

The study indicated that there might be common and treatment specific ways that cancer therapies negatively affect cancer survivors` mental abilities.


Previous research had suggested that chemotherapy could cause problems with memory and concentration in breast cancer survivors.

To compare the effects of different types of cancer treatment on such mental abilities, Paul Jacobsen, PhD, of the Moffitt Cancer Centre and Research Institute in Tampa, and his colleagues examined 62 breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy plus radiation, 67 patients treated with radiation only, and 184 women with no history of cancer.

Study participants completed neuropsychological assessments six months after completing treatment and again 36 months later.

The study confirmed that chemotherapy could cause cognitive problems in breast cancer survivors that persist for three years after they finish treatment.

In addition, the investigators found that breast cancer survivors who had been treated with radiation (and not chemotherapy) often experienced problems similar to those in breast cancer survivors treated with both chemotherapy and radiation.

They did not find that hormonal therapy (such as tamoxifen) caused cognitive difficulties.

"These findings suggest that the problems some breast cancer survivors have with their mental abilities are not due just to the administration of chemotherapy," said Dr. Jacobsen.

"Our findings also provide a more complete picture of the impact of cancer treatment on mental abilities than studies that did not follow patients as long or look at mental abilities in breast cancer survivors who had not been treated with chemotherapy," he added.

Jan 14
How to take action when kids have food allergies
The recent death of a child with an apparent allergic reaction to a peanut underscores the importance of having a complete food allergy emergency plan in place to meet unforeseen challenges.

Such a plan would provide a safety net for those children and adolescents in school who are at risk of having an allergic reaction to a food.

Related: Girl dies after friend gives her peanut on playground

It has been recently reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that food allergies are becoming more prevalent in our country with a 20 percent increase over the past 10 years. It is estimated that six to eight percent of children under the age of 18 have a bonafide food allergy. That is why getting the diagnosis correct and confirmed is essential. Having a trifold program of avoidance, patient education and of course, emergency preparedness is firmly in place.

Here is some important advice for parents and caregivers of food allergic children:

Have a plan. After confirmation of the diagnosis, a food allergy action plan should be prepared by the allergist for exact written instructions of how to proceed if a child is having an allergic reaction. Portable injectable epinephrine autoinjectors need to be prescribed and carried by those individuals with a confirmed food allergy.

Know the drill. A food allergic child can be his or her own best advocate from kindergarten through college. Parents should educate their child early so they are fully aware of what the child is allergic to, and they should also educate teachers, cafeteria staff and friends. In addition, it's important for children to know the symptoms of a severe allergic reaction, such as shortness of breath and hives, and have key people to turn to (including school nurses, teachers, coaches and friends) in an emergency.

Be a label detective. Learn how to interpret and "decode" food labels for hidden ingredients that may wreak havoc if a child has a food allergy. Cross contamination of cooking surfaces, utensils and cookware can pose a danger, especially if it's not communicated to cafeteria and restaurant staff. Preparing a "food allergen ingredient card" for the chef and kitchen staff in order to ensure a safe dining experience can help.

Make time to meet. Parents and caregivers should schedule a premeeting with school officials to educate them on their child's needs as well talk to their local allergist. Also, it is helpful to stay up to-date on the latest in food allergy management by joining organizations like the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network and the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology , as well as parenting support groups that offer great resources and information.

Jan 14
India celebrates polio victory, but braces for US funding cuts
India, once the epicentre of polio, marked its first full year without a new case of the crippling disease on Friday, but the US taxpayer, who has been generously supporting India's polio fight, may be pulling the plug on funding.

India's success leaves just three countries where polio is still endemic. When India was polio ravaged, it was one of the four countries along with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria to be known by the acronym PAIN.
India's success in fighting polio, which has cost almost $2 billion and several nationwide immunisation programs, has been credited to decades of work by the Indian government, Rotary International, along with the US government-funded Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. According to the Washington Post, the US has spent more than $2 billion around the world since the WHO launched the global eradication campaign in 1988.

"Federal funding for global health programs now faces sharp cuts from Tea Party lawmakers and others worried about the deficit," warned The Hill.

"House Republicans last year voted to cut funding for global health by more than $1 billion from 2010 levels. A House and Senate conference committee last month ended up agreeing to slash President Obama's request for $9.1 billion by 9.2 percent, or $840 million."

Lawmakers have had to resort to sharp cuts in global health programs as America is running a $15 trillion debt and its own entitlement programs are on the brink of insolvency.

Officials with the CDC say US funding and experience were key to beating back polio in India.

"Since 1999, CDC has provided more than $113 million to India for technical, programmatic and laboratory support and purchase of oral polio vaccine," Kevin De Cock, the CDC's director for global health, told The Hill.

In India, De Cock said, the CDC "worked side-by-side with the government of India in designing and maintaining WHO's highly effective national polio surveillance system" while "CDC disease detectives and laboratory experts [were] on the ground working with global and local partners to investigate outbreaks and rapidly stop their spread."

Back at CDC headquarters in Atlanta, De Cock said, health experts "collect and analyze the latest information on eradication progress and share with those on the ground so strategies are adjusted based on the science."

The US government has shown huge commitment to eradicating polio in India, but if state funding dries up India will have to rely more heavily on Bill Gates who has made eliminating polio a centerpiece of his efforts to use his Microsoft fortune to change the world.

"We must build on this historic moment and ensure that India's polio program continues to move full-steam ahead," Gates said in a statement released by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Gates said India had demonstrated that polio can be halted "when countries combine the right elements political will, quality immunisation campaigns, and an entire nation's determination."

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