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…
Children's health
14 Nov 2012
Research shows binge drinking inhibits brain development
Teenagers who binge drink risk inhibiting part of their brain’s development and many are laying the groundwork for alcoholism down the track a Queensland University of Technology (QUT) researcher has found. Professor Selena Bartlett, from QUT’s Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), studied the effect excessive binge drinking during…
Children's health
08 Nov 2012
Bed wetting in teenagers
In children, bed wetting is a relatively common problem, with as many as 20% of 5 year olds and up to 10% of 10 year olds experiencing it regularly. Despite the fact that bed wetting is something that most affected children tend to outgrow, this is certainly not the case for…
