Obese teenagers who reduced their body mass index (BMI) by 8 percent or more had improvements in insulin sensitivity, an important metabolic factor related to the later development of type 2 diabetes. The teens followed a family-based, lifestyle-modification weight loss program that offers the potential to become a broader model. BMI is a measure of body weight adjusted for height...

Prevention is often the best medicine, not only for physical health, but also public health, according to researchers at Penn State and Iowa State University. According to the researchers, young adults reduce their overall prescription drug misuse up to 65 percent if they are part of a community-based prevention effort while still in middle school...

The composition of breast milk varies from mother to mother, and genetic factors may affect the levels of protective components in breast milk that could influence a newborn's outcomes...

Chronic exposure to rocket attacks launched from the Gaza Strip into Israel is causing an increase in severe adolescent violence, according to a new study by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers...

After receiving an organ transplant, patients must follow a regimented medication routine to maintain the health of their graft (transplanted organ). Failure to do so, known as non-adherence (NA), can result in life-threatening illness...

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found a promising strategy for defeating neuroblastoma - a malignant form of cancer in children - that focuses on the so-called MYCN protein. A specific chemical molecule helps to break down MYCN, which either kills the cancer cell or makes it mature into a harmless neuron...

Lindsay Ellsworth is prescribing a new, mood-boosting therapy for teenagers in drug and alcohol treatment: shelter dogs. On Friday afternoons, about four dogs from the Spokane Humane Society take a field trip to Excelsior Youth Center as a group of teenage boys eagerly await their arrival...

Baby, keep on rolling. A campaign to put babies to bed on their backs to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome has not impaired infants' rolling abilities, according to University of Alberta research...

Research from Thomas Jefferson University is laying the foundation for a genetic test to accurately identify hip dysplasia in newborns so that early intervention can be initiated to promote normal development. This research from Jefferson Orthopedics physician-scientists is currently available in the Journal of Bone and Mineralizing Research (JBMR) online...

Measuring blood flow in the brain may be an easy, noninvasive way to predict stroke or hemorrhage in children receiving cardiac or respiratory support through a machine called ECMO, according to a new study by researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital...

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found a promising strategy for defeating neuroblastoma - a malignant form of cancer in children - that focuses on the so-called MYCN protein. A specific chemical molecule helps to break down MYCN, which either kills the cancer cell or makes it mature into a harmless neuron...

The British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) has just revealed that a shockingly high percentage of primary school children are not eating enough fruit and vegetables and that a large proportion of them believe that cheese comes from plants and that fish fingers are made from chicken...

More time in front of the TV set and higher exposure to TV adverts may lead to increased consumption of sweetened beverages among children. This is the conclusion of a new study from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. The parents of more than 1,700 two- to four-year-olds in Sweden responded to questions about their children's TV and screen habits and consumption of sweetened drinks...

Rapid expansion of programs to prevent HIV transmission to babies and vaccinate children show how results can be achieved in relatively little time Some of the world's poorest countries have managed to cut maternal and young child mortality rates by half or more, according to a new report from Countdown to 2015...

The burden of mortality and morbidity in the perinatal period - pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum - remains a major concern in Europe. Over 5 million women deliver babies in European countries every year...

The volume of adults prescriptions in the USA has risen, and so too have rates of poisonings in children who accidentally took adult prescription drugs, says a study published in the journal Pediatrics (June 3rd issue)...

When their schools are near fast-food restaurants, black and Hispanic adolescents are more likely to be overweight and receive less benefit from exercise than Asian or white students, according to a study published in the current issue of Journal of Public Policy & Marketing. The study underscores the importance of understanding how adolescents respond to fast-food availability near school...

While there has been a steep decline in kids' consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages in California, African-American and Latino children may be replacing soda with 100 percent fruit juice while their white peers are not, according to a new study from UC San Francisco. The study was the first to compare trends of sugar-sweetened beverages and 100 percent juice consumption in California...

A multi-national team of researchers has identified genetic markers that predict educational attainment by pooling data from more than 125,000 individuals in the United States, Australia, and 13 western European countries...

Sexual assault has almost as much to do with age as it does with gender, according to Penn State criminologists. Young people - both male and female - are the most likely targets of rape and other sexual assaults, said Richard Felson, professor of criminology and sociology. The most frequent victims of those assaults are 15 years old, regardless of gender, or the age of the offender, he said...