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New estimates of the causes of child mortality worldwide

Seventy-three percent of the 10.6 million child deaths worldwide each year are the result of six causes: pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, neonatal sepsis, preterm delivery and asphyxia at birth.

28 Mar 2005

Neonatal infections in hospital born babies are up to 20 times higher in developing countries

Neonatal deaths account for over one-third of the global burden of child mortality. Infections are the major cause of neonatal deaths in developing countries. (See The Lancet Neonatal Survival Series, March 2005) Data suggest that unhygienic practices in labour and delivery, and in after-birth care, put babies in the developing world at great risk of infections and death soon after birth.

28 Mar 2005

Most accurate estimates of the causes of child deaths to date

The most accurate estimates of the causes of child deaths to date, published in this week’s issue of The Lancet, reveal that worldwide more than 70% of the 10·6 million child deaths that occur annually are attributable to six causes: pneumonia (19%), diarrhoea (18%), malaria (8%), neonatal sepsis or pneumonia (10%), preterm delivery (10%), and asphyxia at birth (8%).

28 Mar 2005

Babies weaned with rusks go on to love foods such as crisps and chips

Psychologists at the University of Birmingham have discovered that babies who are weaned onto foods such as rusks go on to have a preference for beige foods such as crisps and chips.

23 Mar 2005

Pushy Mums & Dads bad for kids!!

Clinical researchers from the Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, in a small study in Archives of Disease in Childhood, are suggesting that well intentioned, but pushy parents, intent on exercising their rights as healthcare consumers, can be bad for their children's health.

21 Mar 2005

Oral hygiene during preschool years can mean a lifetime of good oral health

Providing proper care and oral hygiene during preschool years can mean a lifetime of good oral health, according to a recent article in the January/February issue of General Dentistry, clinical, peer-reviewed journal of the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD), an organization of general dentists dedicated to continuing education.

21 Mar 2005

Invasive pneumonia and antibiotic resistance decreased after childhood streptococcus pneumoniae vaccine introduced

The problem of increasing antibiotic resistance in cases of Streptococcus pneumoniae, a major cause of pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis, was dramatically reversed following the licensing and use of a new conjugate vaccine for young children in February 2000, according to research conducted at Emory University, the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Georgia Division of Public Health.

21 Mar 2005

Anti-smoking cinema advertising campaign aimed at young people launched in South Australia

An anti-smoking cinema advertising campaign aimed at young people was launched in South Australia yesterday as part of National Youth Tobacco Free Day.

16 Mar 2005

Parents should be banned from smoking while driving with children

Parents should be banned from smoking while driving with children in their vehicle, the Australian Medical Association (WA) said yesterday.

16 Mar 2005

Baby talk helps learning

Adults may feel silly when they talk to babies, but those babies will learn to speak sooner if adults talk to them like infants instead of like other adults, according to a study by Carnegie Mellon University Psychology Professor Erik Thiessen published in the March issue of the journal Infancy.

15 Mar 2005

Weight status of children ages 8 to 15 predicts obesity and high blood pressure in adulthood

New research shows that children between 8 and 15 years old who are in the upper half of the normal weight range are more likely than their leaner peers to become obese or overweight as young adults.

14 Mar 2005

U.S. children undervaccinated

Approximately one-third of U.S. children were undervaccinated for more than six months and one-fourth experienced delays in receiving many of the recommended vaccinations during their first 24 months of life, according to a study in the current issue of JAMA.

9 Mar 2005

Todays kids good at media multi-tasking

The increasing amount of time using "new media" like computers, the Internet and video games spent by children and teenagers is not affecting the time they spend with "old" media like TV, print and music, according to a new study released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

9 Mar 2005

Body image a worry - even when you're only 5!

Researchers at Adelaide's Flinders University have found that girls as young as six are already worrying about their weight and thinking about diets.

9 Mar 2005

Pediatric obesity is now recognized as a major medical and health problem all over the world

A consensus statement on childhood obesity was published today in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, one of the four journals of The Endocrine Society.

8 Mar 2005

American teenagers are in a calcium crisis

American teenagers are in a calcium crisis, the milk and milk products they need to help form healthy bone is often missing from their diet; about 15 percent of adult height is added at this time and half of all bone is formed March, National Nutrition Month®, the time when health professionals encourage all of us to look at what we eat and make informed food choices, is even more important for kids and teens who are still growing.

7 Mar 2005