Dec 12, 2018
Medical X-Press – Staff Writer
A new study from the University of Bristol supports body mass index (BMI) as a useful tool for assessing obesity and health. A simple measure based on weight and height, BMI is widely used to assess if a person is of a healthy weight. But its reliability as a health measure is often criticized, as it does not distinguish fat from muscle and does not tell us where body fat is stored. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-12-bmi-good-health.html
Dec 12, 2018
WEB MD – Hansa Bhargava, MD
As a pediatrician, my job is to help guide parents on keeping their kids healthy. This includes everything from recommending vaccinations to guard against disease, to putting a baby on their back to sleep to prevent SIDS, to recommending seat belts to prevent accidental death from a car accident. https://blogs.webmd.com/doctors/2018/12/childrens-health-and-screen-time.html
Dec 12, 2018
CBS News – Anderson Cooper
If you have kids and wonder if all that time they spend on their smartphones endlessly scrolling, snapping and texting is affecting their brains, you might want to put down your own phone and pay attention. The federal government, through the National Institutes of Health, has launched the most ambitious study of adolescent brain development ever attempted. In part, scientists are trying to understand what no one currently does: how all that screen time impacts the physical structure of your kids’ brains, as well as their emotional development and mental health. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/groundbreaking-study-examines-effects-of-screen-time-on-kids-60-minutes/
Dec 10, 2018
Food Business News – Jeff Gelski
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s final rule on school meal programs increases flexibility in implementing nutrition standards for milk, whole grains and sodium, the U.S.D.A. said Dec. 6 when releasing the rule, which may be found here. https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/12995-usda-releases-more-flexible-school-meals-rule
Dec 10, 2018
Medical X-Press – Staff Writer
Researchers have found “different patterns” in brain scans among children who record heavy smart device and video game use, according to initial data from a major ongoing US study. The first wave of information from the $300 million National Institute of Health (NIH) study is showing that those nine and 10-year-old kids spending more than seven hours a day using such devices show signs of premature thinning of the cortex, the brain’s outermost layer that processes sensory information. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-12-heavy-screen-impact-childrens-brains.html
