Children's health
31 Mar 2013
Are Sydney pollutants driving childhood asthma?
The first study of the effects of Sydney’s air pollution on the development of asthma has been carried out at UNSW. Asthma affects one in six children, making it the most common chronic disease in young people. It most commonly develops in the first decade of life. “Developing a proper…
Bone
30 Mar 2013
Young runners, are you wearing the right running shoe?
Many of today’s running shoes feature a heavy cushioned heel. New research presented at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons(AAOS) found that these shoes may alter an adolescent runner’s biomechanics (the forces exerted by muscles and gravity on the skeletal structure) and diminish performance. Researchers…
Children's health
30 Mar 2013
Sleep helps adolescent brain towards to mature thinking
A new study conducted by monitoring the brain waves of sleeping adolescents has found that remarkable changes occur in the brain as it prunes away neuronal connections and makes the major transition from childhood to adulthood. “We’ve provided the first long-term, longitudinal description of developmental changes that take place in…
Children's health
30 Mar 2013
Do you follow your doctor’s orders for your child? Two out of three don’t!
Paediatricians regularly dispense advice to parents of young children during well-child visits, but a new University of Michigan poll shows that many aren’t following doctors’ orders. Only one-third of parents (31 percent) said they follow advice from their child’s health care provider all of the time, according to the most…
Children's health
26 Mar 2013
Chicken pox vaccine saving children’s lives
The widespread introduction of a chicken pox vaccine in Australia in 2006 has prevented thousands of children from being hospitalised with severe chicken pox and saved lives, according to new research. In a national study of chicken pox admissions at four participating Australian children’s hospitals, researchers found the number of…
Children's health
25 Mar 2013
Can prolonged breastfeeding increase risk of child obesity?
In research that included nearly 14,000 healthy infants in Belarus, an intervention that succeeded in improving the duration and exclusivity of breastfeeding during infancy did not result in a lower risk of overweight or obesity among the children at age 11.5 years, according to a study appearing in the March…
Children's health
25 Mar 2013
Salt levels on shaky ground
In an era where manufacturers are meant to be reducing salt levels in processed food, a CHOICE review of kids’ food has found unacceptably high-levels of salt in a raft of products, including breakfast cereals and lunch box snacks. In some instances, a food product marketed at children was found…
Children's health
22 Mar 2013
Early computer use improves preschoolers’ letter knowledge
Learning your A, B, C’s could be as easy as using a computer regularly while you’re young, a new study has found. Researchers from the ARC Centre for Cognition and its Disorders at Macquarie University and Murdoch Childrens Research Institute studied over 1500 four year olds and found regular computer…
Children's health
14 Mar 2013
Research Explores Factors That Impact Adolescent Mental Health
Research indicates that half of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14, well before adulthood. Three new studies investigate the cognitive, genetic and environmental factors that may contribute to mental health disorders in adolescence. The studies are published in Psychological Science and Clinical Psychological Science, journals of…
