Medical X-Press – Staff Writer
Young people who watch one extra junk-food advert a week (over the average of six) consume an additional 350 calories in foods high in salt, sugar, and fat (HFSS) every week (18,000 each year), according to the largest study of its kind in the UK involving over 3,300 teens aged 11 to 19 years. (more)
Harvard Health – Claire McCarthy, MD
Here’s something really simple you can do to improve your child’s chance of future health and success: make sure he spends plenty of time playing outside. There are many ways in which this generation’s childhood is different from that of the last generation, but one of the most abrupt contrasts is the degree to which it is being spent indoors. (more)
The Reflector – Staff Writer
Exercise is an important component of a healthy lifestyle. That’s not just true for adults, but for children and teenagers as well. Parents concerned about their kids living sedentary lives may have more to worry about than they know. According to a 2017 study published in the journal Preventive Medicine that analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination survey from 2003-2004 and 2005-2006, 19-year-olds spent as much time being inactive and sedentary as 60-year-olds. (more)
Michigan Health – Kevin Joy
Young people’s bodies are more susceptible to the toxic organisms that can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and fever, says Alison Tribble, M.D., a pediatrician at University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. (more)
The Guardian – Linda Geddes
It was an 80-year-old volunteer who prompted Elaine Wylie, the then headteacher of St Ninians primary school in Stirling, to reappraise the fitness of the children in her school. “Your children are not fit,” the volunteer told her. Wylie was stung by the comment, even though she suspected it was true. The PE teacher confirmed it. “Most children these days are exhausted by the warm-up,” she said. (more)