Bad Health Habits that Spell Early Death Start Young
CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Jan. 12 - Bad health habits that can shorten lives start young, researchers here reported.
"As adolescents become young adults, they are more likely to eat fast food, get no exercise, be obese, and smoke cigarettes," according to Kathleen Harris, Ph.D., of the University of North Carolina. Those behaviors are related to three leading causes of death - tobacco use, poor diet and physical inactivity, and alcohol consumption - Dr. Harris and colleagues reported in the January issue of Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine.
"These trends are quite stunning," Dr. Harris added. "Whether the trends will continue as they age, we don't know. But it doesn't bode well for their future health."
Kids Who Eat Out Often Have Higher Heart Risks Children who eat outside the home more than four times a week -- in addition to school cafeteria lunches -- may be increasing cardiovascular disease risks, researchers believe. |
Teen Smoking Almost Doubles Breast Cancer Researchers found that girls who start smoking within five years of their first menstrual period have a 70 per cent greater risk of developing breast cancer than those who don't smoke. |
Improved Nutrition Could Prevent More Than Half of the World's Child Deaths Annually Undernutrition is the underlying cause of more than 53 percent of all child deaths that occur annually, including those from infectious diseases, pneumonia, diarrhea, measles, and malaria, according to a new analysis by researchers with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the World Health Organization. |
HIV Children Benefit From Zinc SupplementsAccording to a Reuters Health article citing research from South Africa published in The Lancet, zinc supplementation in children affected with HIV appears to be a safe intervention to reduce morbidity and mortality. According to the article, children who took supplements for six months had less diarrhea than those taking placebo with no adverse effects. |
Preventing childhood obesity by reducing consumption of carbonated drinks A targeted, school based education programme produced a modest reduction in the number of carbonated drinks consumed, which was associated with a reduction in the number of overweight and obese children. |
Avoiding CHD risk in youth lowers later riskFor women with favorable levels for all 5 major risk factors at younger ages, CHD and CVD are rare; long-term and all-cause mortality are much lower compared with others. |
High death risk among young people in hospital with diabetesYoung people admitted to hospital for diabetes have an increased risk of death in the following three years, not only from natural causes but also from suicide, finds a study in the British Medical Journal. |
Teens Who Watch TV Consume Fewer VegetablesAccording to the study, "Impact of Television Viewing Patterns on Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among Adolescents," television viewing is inversely associated with fruit and vegetable intake among adolescents. |
Antioxidants Tied to Lower Asthma Risk in Children Children with high levels of vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene and selenium develop asthma less frequently than those with low levels of the serum antioxidants. The findings are particularly important for children exposed to cigarette smoke, who develop the condition more frequently than other children. |
Childhood Exercise Helps Bones A high-impact exercise program begun in early puberty might result in significantly greater peak bone mass. According to the study, "A School-Based Exercise Intervention Elicits Substantial Bone Health Benefits: A 2-Year Randomized Controlled Trial in Girls," the bone mineral accrued during the study was the equivalent of 3 to 5 years of postmenopausal bone loss. |
Eating — The Secret To Feeling And Looking Your BestIt should not surprise you that there are huge physical, emotional, social and intellectual changes happening during your teen (adolescent) years. These changes all impact how you feel about what you eat and your nutritional needs. |
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