HBNS.org - Parents who have regular meals with their adolescent children - especially girls - might help lessen the chances they will start drinking or smoking later in their teen years, according to new research.
Past studies have shown that family meals provide many benefits, including offering a venue for parents to communicate with their adolescents [...]

JAMA - New research documents the severe decline in vigorous exercise and physical activity among young teenagers, with less than a third meeting recommended physical activity guidelines by the time they are 15 years old, according to a study in the July 16, 2008 issue of JAMA .
Physical inactivity is associated with an increase in [...]

In a diet-focused culture, desserts often get a bad rap. But some can actually be healthy.
Desserts made with fruit, nature’s natural sweetener, are ideal, healthy after-dinner treats. Reducing the sugar and fats in a recipe can make favorite desserts more healthful and still taste good.
The July 2008 issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter offers healthy [...]

UCLA.edu - In addition to helping protect us from heart disease and cancer, a balanced diet and regular exercise can also protect the brain and ward off mental disorders, perhaps even benefiting your children and grandchildren.
"Food is like a pharmaceutical compound that affects the brain," said Fernando Gómez-Pinilla, a UCLA professor of neurosurgery and physiological [...]

Parents may have already begun the annual back-to-school shopping expedition with their children, where school shoes are likely be purchased. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), parents buying back-to-school gear should make sure their children have properly fitting shoes that offer both protection and comfort.
“The primary purpose of shoes is to protect [...]

While the following report describes the link between vitamin D deficiency in mothers during pregnancy and later dental problems in their young children, the more shocking finding from our point of view is that adequate vitamin D levels were found in only 11 percent of the mothers tested! Not only is this degree of vitamin [...]