Great Medicaments

The New York Times has published an article about children’s food worries – and the dangers of pushing kids into being obsessively worried about eating healthily. If you check food labels, insist on organic produce and ban candy and soda… could you be doing your child more harm than good?

Many of the experts interviewed by the New York Times were adamant that too much parental concern and too many rules about what foods are Read the rest of this entry »

A new study (published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine) suggests that many American kids are taking vitamin pills which they don’t need.

The children who would most benefit from dietary supplements – unhealthy kids with poor eating habits – typically aren’t taking them. Yet active, healthy kids (especially those from high-income families) are. The study looked at data from 10,828 kids, covering 1999-2004.

Read the rest of this entry »

It may seem obvious to you and me that overweight teens and children can benefit from healthy lifestyle change, but because there are a variety of treatments out there that focus on drug treatment for obesity, researchers wanted to study the specific benefits of behavioral change.

A new review, published in the Cochrane Library, examined the various intervention strategies for helping children and teens achieve Read the rest of this entry »

It may seem obvious to you and me that overweight teens and children can benefit from healthy lifestyle change, but because there are a variety of treatments out there that focus on drug treatment for obesity, researchers wanted to study the specific benefits of behavioral change.

A new review, published in the Cochrane Library, examined the various intervention strategies for helping children and teens achieve Read the rest of this entry »

The New York Times has published a multi-media feature about fitness gear for kids. This includes mini, colorful versions of “grown up” equipment like treadmills, exercise bikes and cross-trainers. As nationwide concern grows over childhood obesity and inactivity, fitness products masquerading as toys are being designed to slim and tone the younger segment of the population. – New York Times

These pieces of kid-sized equipment Read the rest of this entry »

Burger KingThe Burger King, Ronald McDonald and the Taco Bell dog. Their commercials make us laugh, tell a friend, search for them on YouTube, but most importantly, buy what they’re selling.

But a new study shows fast food advertising has played a big role in the tripling of childhood obesity, between 1970 and 1999, and a ban on fast food commercials might reverse the trend.

The research, published in the Read the rest of this entry »

The relationship between children and food should be simple – and fun. Yet often, it can be a source of stress. We worry about whether our little darlings are getting the right kind of grub. We worry about having time to cook, what to cook, and whether they will actually eat it when we do … (The Guardian)

Help is at hand. The Guardian (a UK national newspaper) has published a complete guide on “cooking for kids”, which you Read the rest of this entry »