GeneralHealthTopics.com - Kids and Teenage Health

Vital Vitamins for Children

irfan — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:27:35 +0000

Children need certain vitamins and minerals in their diets in order to stay healthy. Different vitamins perform different functions in the body. Most vitamins can consumed through a child’s diet, which is why it’s important for kids to eat a variety of healthy foods each day. If your child is deficient in any vitamins, her doctor may recommend vitamin supplements. Vitamin A

Childhood Obesity in U.S.A.: Facts and Fears

irfan — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:11:40 +0000

Obesity is one of the biggest health challenges facing the United States. The U.S. center for disease control says two-thirds of American adults and 15 percent of children are overweight or obese – a condition putting them as risk of developing heart disease, diabetes and cancer. In some states, the childhood obesity rate is above 30 percent.

Osteoporosis in Children

irfan — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 09:42:10 +0000

What is osteoporosis?

Understanding Child Maltreatment

irfan — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 11:07:24 +0000

Child maltreatment includes all types of abuse and neglect that occur among children under the age of 18. There are four common types of abuse. Physical abuse occurs when a child’s body is injured as a result of hitting, kicking, shaking, burning or other show of force. Sexual abuse involves engaging a child in sexual acts. It includes fondling, rape, and exposing a child to other sexual activities.

Rich Experiences, Physical Activity Create Healthy Brains

irfan — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:24:30 +0000

Abstract: Research indicates some early life stresses can have a profound impact, resulting in changes in brain function and behavior, and even differences in the ways some genes express their particular genetic code signature. At various times during early development, different neural systems appear to have an increased sensitivity to stress and can influence long-term social behavior in a number of ways. photo of William Greenough A stable, nurturing environment is an important element in normalizing the development of a child experiencing stress.

Iron Deficiency’s Long - Term Effects

irfan — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:55:12 +0000

Abstract: Betsy Lozoff is among the world’s leading experts on iron deficiency and its effects on infant brain development and behavior. Iron deficiency is the most common single nutrient disorder in the world, affecting more than half of the world’s infants and young children. Research by Lozoff and others has shown that there are long-lasting developmental disadvantages among children who experienced severe, chronic iron deficiency as infants—disadvantages that are not corrected by giving iron later.

How Early Events Affect Growing Brains An interview with Neuroscientist Pat Levitt

irfan — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:42:51 +0000

Abstract: Recent advances in neuroscience show clearly how experience can change brain neurochemicals, and how this in turn affects the way the brain functions. As a result, early negative events actually get built into the growing brain’s neurochemistry, altering the brain’s architecture. Research is continuing to investigate how children with genetic vulnerabilities, such as autism, schizophrenia, and anxiety and attention disorders, are affected by early experiences, and the relationship between brain chemistry the expression of these genes.

Early Influences on Brain Architecture - An Interview with Neuroscientist Eric Knudsen

irfan — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:11:53 +0000

Abstract: Early experience has a powerful and lasting influence on how the brain develops. The physical and chemical conditions that encourage the building of a strong, adaptive brain architecture are present early in life. As brains age, a number of changes lock in the ways information is processed, making it more difficult for the brain to change to other ways of dealing with information. photo of Eric Knudsen Maintaining plasticity -- keeping the brain open to change -- takes energy, and this energy is finite.

Young Children Develop In an Environment of Relationships

irfan — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:23:32 +0000

NATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL ON THE DEVELOPING CHILD is a multidisciplinary collaboration of leading scientists in early childhood and early brain development. Its mission is to bring sound and accurate science to bear on public decision-making affecting the lives of young children. THE ISSUE Healthy development depends on the quality and reliability of a young child’s relationships with the important people in his or her life, both within and outside the family. Even the development of a child’s brain architecture depends on the establishment of these relationships.

The Role of Schools in Preventing Childhood Obesity

irfan — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 08:58:35 +0000

Headlines across the nation proclaim news that educators have seen with their own eyes during the past two decades: children in the United States are getting heavier and heavier. Accompanying stories in this issue of the Standard describe the negative consequences of this trend on the physical health and self-esteem of our nation’s young people, as well as the financial burden that the obesity epidemic is placing on our medical care system.