Children's health
29 Nov 2012
Nearly double the number of boys hospitalised due to injury
Between 1999-00 and 2006-07 nearly twice the number of boys were hospitalised as a result of an injury than girls, according to a report released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). The report Trends in hospitalised childhood injury in Australia: 1999-2007 shows that almost half a million…
Children's health
28 Nov 2012
Preterm Birth Can Be Prevented with a Few Proven Treatments, Lancet Article Says
Lowering preterm birth rates by an average of 5 percent across 39 high-resource countries, including the United States, by 2015 would prevent prematurity for 58,000 babies a year, a group of international experts said. In an article published in The Lancet to coincide with the second annual World Prematurity Day,…
Children's health
23 Nov 2012
School nutrition lagging
Despite the rapid growth in childhood obesity, many schools do not have policies in place to promote healthy food choices and nutrition within the school environment, according to new research. A study examining school canteen policies, diet-related programs and health nutrition practices of the school community found almost half of…
Children's health
22 Nov 2012
Teenagers' brains affected by preterm birth
New research at the University of Adelaide has demonstrated that teenagers born prematurely may suffer brain development problems that directly affect their memory and learning abilities. The research, conducted by Dr Julia Pitcher and Dr Michael Ridding from the University of Adelaide’s Robinson Institute, shows reduced ‘plasticity’ in the brains…
Children's health
16 Nov 2012
Cancer Council urges Health Ministers to clean up sugar coated advertising codes
Cancer Council is urging all health ministers not to be fooled by sugar coated claims that food industry efforts have been successful in reducing junk food advertising to children. While food industry groups were last week heralding the success of their codes and announcing so-called improvements, Cancer Council is calling…
Children's health
16 Nov 2012
Young people urged to play it safe during Schoolies Week
AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that school leavers could enjoy their much-deserved fun and relaxation during Schoolies Week 2012 without resorting to binge drinking, which can often lead to other unhealthy or unsafe behaviour. The Schoolies Week season commences from 17 November in NSW and Queensland, with other…
Children's health
16 Nov 2012
Aussie kids log-on more than European peers
Australian children use the internet more excessively than their European counterparts, a new study by Edith Cowan University (ECU) researchers has found. The report, Excessive internet use among Australian children, builds upon the findings of the EU Kids Online study into excessive internet use and compares the online habits of…
Children's health
16 Nov 2012
7 minutes a day of 'vigorous' physical activity may be enough for kids
Children need a minimum of seven minutes a day of vigorous physical activity, demonstrates recently published findings by University of Alberta medical researchers and their colleagues across Canada. “If you watch late-night television, or look in the backs of magazines, you’ll see magical ads saying you need just 10 minutes…
Children's health
15 Nov 2012
Helping children with autism
Research Fellow Dr Giacomo Vivanti and his team of researchers at the Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre (OTARC) at La Trobe University have successfully profiled children with autism in order to predict how well they will respond to a particular form of developmental therapy. Research Fellow Dr Giacomo Vivanti and…
