Mothers’ monitoring of media tied to kids’ weight

May 7, 2014

By Andrew M. Seaman Children whose mothers pay close attention to how much time they spend watching TV and playing video games tend to weigh less, according to a new study. Researchers found that mothers who were more active in...

Motivating kids to be more physically active

May 5, 2014

Parents can help motivate kids to be more physically active, but the influence may not result in an improvement in their children's body mass index (BMI), finds a new evidence review in the American Journal of Health Promotion. "It was...

Overweight teens don’t share in life-expectancy gains

May 2, 2014

By Robert Preidt Gains in life expectancy don't extend to adults who were overweight or obese as teens, according to a new study. The average lifespan in the United States has increased by more than a decade since 1950, to...

New school meal standards significantly increase fruit, vegetable consumption

April 30, 2014

New federal standards launched in 2012 that require schools to offer healthier meals have led to increased fruit and vegetable consumption, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers. The study, the first to examine...

Obesity linked to lower grades among teen girls

April 28, 2014

By Linda Poon Childhood obesity has made it to the forefront of public health issues, both in the United Kingdom and in the United States. Now researchers at the Universities of Dundee, Strathclyde, Georgia, and Bristol say that not only...

Rutgers study finds link between teen girls, depression, and obesity

April 21, 2014

By Susan K. Livio Adolescent girls diagnosed with major depression are likely to gain an unhealthy amount of weight as they mature, according to a study co-written by a Rutgers-Camden professor and released March 20. Conversely, obese teenager girls are...

School gardens grow kids’ physical activity levels

April 18, 2014

By Ted Boscia To get school children moving, uproot them from classrooms into school gardens, concludes a two-year Cornell study of 12 elementary schools in five New York regions. By experiment’s end, kids at schools with gardens were moderately physically...

Study: Fried food can cause some more weight gain, depending on genes

April 14, 2014

By Kim Painter A diet full of fried foods isn't good for anyone, but it may result in more weight gain for people at a high genetic risk of obesity, a new study suggests. The study, published in the journal...

Low-income families don’t limit shopping to ‘food deserts’

April 11, 2014

By Cynthia Boyd Social-welfare experts have long assumed poor people, hampered by transportation difficulties, grocery-shop close to home at small corner groceries or convenience stores — “food deserts” that mostly offer high-sugar, highly processed, less-nutritious foods. Inner city neighborhoods, particularly,...

Toddlers who sleep less may eat more

April 9, 2014

Toddlers who get too little sleep tend to eat more and are at increased risk for obesity, a new study indicates. The study included children in over 1,300 British families who had their sleep measured when they were 16 months...