A new research report published online in The FASEB Journal suggests that pregnant mothers who eat high sugar and high fat diets have babies who are likely to become junk food junkies themselves. According to the report, which used rats, this happens because the high fat and high sugar diet leads to changes in the [...]

There is increasing evidence from human and animal studies that offspring of parents who were physically or psychologically stressed are at higher risk of developing obesity, and that these offspring may in turn “transmit” that increased risk to the next generation. Now research conducted at the University of Minnesota and Georgetown University suggests that a [...]

Berkeley.edu – In a new study suggesting exposure to pesticides during pregnancy may be associated with the health and development of children, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Public Health have found that prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides – widely used on food crops – is related to lower intelligence scores at [...]

Columbia.edu – Mothers’ exposure during pregnancy to pollutants created by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and other organic material may lead to behavioral problems in their children, according to a new study. Researchers found that within a sample of 215 children monitored from birth, those children with high levels of a pollution exposure marker [...]

AASMNET.org – The ability of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to remain vigilant and attentive deteriorated significantly after losing less than one hour of nightly sleep for a week, according to a new study in the March 1, 2011 issue of the journal SLEEP.  The study suggests that even moderate reductions in sleep [...]

CHOP.edu – A pilot study in healthy children and adolescents shows that it is feasible to screen children for undiagnosed heart conditions that increase the risk of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). Adding a 10-minute electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) to a history and physical examination identified unsuspected cases of potentially serious heart conditions. Although more research [...]