Obesity

Although fish oil supplements did not improve asthma exacerbations in children who are obese or overweight, the question remains whether fish oil could help other types of children with asthma.

Parents who maintain open lines of communication with their teenagers and are involved in their activities have children who eat better, exercise more, and use less screen time, according to a new report.

Two pediatricians discuss the 10 commandments of obesity prevention for children and where the focus for treating obesity in childhood should be.

A new study reveals that while more teenagers are becoming overweight or obese, fewer are trying to lose weight, although it’s not entirely true which of these trends is more causative.

A new study that asked parents to guess the sugar content in the foods they feed their children showed that families are grossly underestimating how much sweeter foods are than they think.

Most parents of young children who are overweight or obese think their child’s weight is “just right,” according to a study conducted in Sweden. However, as their child grows older, more parents recognize when their child is too heavy-especially if he or she has reached the level of obesity.

Children who are overweight or obese are potentially at risk for developing diabetes, but there’s more to identifying prediabetes than just obesity.

Pediatricians must do more to protect the next generation of children from the consequences of obesity before it’s too late.

Sports have long been linked to cases of sudden cardiac arrest in the young, but a recent report shows that obesity may play a larger role than activity.

Children who struggle with obesity not only have to deal with a host of physical problems, but social problems also take a huge toll, according to a new study.

Obesity is rising in children and teens, according to a new report, but other health problems tied to obesity are increasing, too.

For Contemporary Pediatrics, Dr Bobby Lazzara discusses a recent study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine that looked at whether asthma in childhood contributed to the development of childhood obesity.

For Contemporary Pediatrics, Dr Bobby Lazzara discusses a recent study published in Pediatrics that looked at the connections between maternal and paternal obesity and childhood development issues.

The last year or so has given the nation mixed pictures on childhood obesity, with plenty of challenges ahead.

Preschool-aged children who go to bed early are half as likely as those whose bedtime is late to be obese as adolescents, according to a new study.

As the prevalence of childhood obesity has grown, said David Brumbaugh, MD, FAAP, so has the importance of identifying early signs of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

I found myself in the trenches of the war on obesity in 2000 when I began working as a general pediatrician at a local community clinic in Southern California. I immediately became aware of the day-to-day barriers that my patients were facing and I began to take on the responsibility of making sure that the children I was seeing would not only survive, but also thrive.

Feeding an infant solid foods early won’t make them any more likely to become obese, but there are still many reasons to consider later introduction to solid foods, according to a new report from the CDC.

Children from poor households are at greater risk for obesity, according to a UK study, but early interventions could be key to better outcomes.

Parent-led diet and lifestyle changes may not be as effective as when getting a child excited about new foods that they help prepare, according to two women leading the charge for better nutrition education.

A 3- to 5-minute intervention delivered during routine pediatric visits and targeting 4 behaviors related to obesity-milk consumption, juice and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, television/screen time, and physical activity-decreased the rate at which body mass index (BMI) percentile increased in young children in a recent trial.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has unveiled new recommendations for pediatricians treating children and adolescents who have become obese.

Despite our best efforts, pediatricians have little success in encouraging our patients to eat a healthy diet and get the recommended amount of daily physical exercise.

A study in more than 64,500 children aged from birth to 59 months found that repeated exposure to broad-spectrum antibiotics up to age 23 months is associated with obesity during early childhood.

Babies who receive repeated doses of certain antibiotics between birth and 23 months of age have a higher risk of developing obesity in early childhood than babies who don’t, a 12-year study reveals.

After years of knowing that obesity and asthma had some connection, but not whether obesity brought about asthma or vice versa, new evidence may finally hold the answer.

Children, especially girls, who weigh more at 5 years of age tend to have lower levels of a hormone that affects the onset of puberty and enter puberty earlier than less heavy children, a new study reports.

A new study supports the hypothesis that a genetic disposition to being overweight rests in part on an association with a low level of responsiveness to internal satiety cues, which can lead to overeating and weight gain.

Adding to the long list of bodily damage done by obesity, researchers now find that a significant number of children and adolescents-close to 1 in 5-who are severely obese have evidence of kidney abnormalities.

A new investigation assessing whether openings or expansions of American Indian-owned casinos are associated with the risk of overweight suggests that economic resources have a direct effect on overweight/obesity risk.