Mom’s Weight Before Pregnancy May Affect Weight of Child
The risk for childhood obesity may begin even before a child is born, say researchers who found that women who are overweight or obese before becoming pregnant are more likely to have overweight or obese toddlers and preschoolers.
Hispanic preschoolers born to overweight/obese mothers were twice as likely to be overweight or obese compared to their peers who were born to Hispanic moms with healthy prepregnancy weights, the study authors found.
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In Young Girls, Obesity Linked to Early Puberty, Analysis Reveals
Obesity is associated with early puberty in young girls, according to a researcher who analyzed more than 100 reports on the issue.
Some experts have concluded that early puberty increases the risk for metabolic syndrome and diabetes, but these diseases are linked to obesity, not early puberty, according to review author and pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Emily Walvoord, of the Indiana University School of Medicine.
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Teens With ADHD Often Have Trouble Completing High School
Teens with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely to drop out of high school or delay completing high school than other kids, a new study has found.
Researchers analyzed U.S. data and found that nearly one-third of students with the most common type of ADHD either drop out or delay high school graduation. That rate is twice that of students with no psychiatric disorder.
There are three types of ADHD: hyperactive; inattentive; and combined, which incorporates hyperactive and inattentive symptoms. When they were grouped together, students with either inattentive or combined ADHD had a drop-out rate of 28.6 percent. But when looked at alone, students with combined ADHD had a rate of 32.3 percent.
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Vaccine Boosts Survival for Men With Advanced Prostate Cancer: Study
A newly approved therapeutic prostate cancer vaccine extended the lives of men with metastatic tumors resistant to standard hormonal treatment, a new study shows.
The vaccine, called Provenge (sipuleucel-T), improved survival by about four months compared with no treatment and involved less toxicity than chemotherapy. However, with a round of treatment potentially costing $93,000, the therapy could be out of the financial reach of many patients.
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