Health News

Children's Weight and Vitamin D Connection
Want to know one way you can potentially reduce your child's likelihood of becoming overweight before he or she is even born? Make sure you have enough vitamin D in your system.
Children Arriving by C May Grow Bigger
Both the rate of obesity and the rate of elective C-sections have been increasing in the U.S. Though no evidence exists to say one causes another, they may be linked.
A Bigger Mama Means a Bigger Baby
Worried about having to push an exceptionally large baby come delivery day? One thing you can do to make this less likely is to be a normal weight before you're pregnant.
Nutrition Fights Off Gestational Obesity
When you’re pregnant, doctors advise you to keep your weight in check to ensure that mama and baby stay healthy. But often, they don’t tell moms exactly how to manage their weight.
Moms Pass on More Than Genes
Researchers already knew that overweight moms generally gave birth to children who became overweight too. But the health impact of obesity during pregnancy doesn't stop there.
Lose Weight to Boost Pregnancy Ratio
Obesity is known to reduce a woman's fertility as well as increase the risk of complications with a birth, but does that mean losing weight will increase her fertility?
Mom's Weight & Kids' Test Scores
Shedding pounds before getting pregnant can reduce a number of health risks - but it may also add a few points to your child's reading and math scores. A recent study has found a link between a mother's weight before pregnancy and their children's cognitive skills: obese women's children score lower on math and reading tests when they were 5 to 7 years old. Get to a healthy weight before becoming pregnant. Lead author Rika Tanda , a nursing doctoral candidate at Ohio State University, and colleagues wanted to investigate potential connections between a mother's pre-pregnancy ob...
Will You Eat Better When Baby Arrives?
Planning a family? Thinking you might finally start eating healthier because a little one is watching your dietary habits? Parenthood may not change those habits as much as you'd like. A long-term study looking at the impact of having children on the eating habits of their parents found that starting a family does not necessarily lead mom and dad to eat healthier diets. Deciding to eat better is a win-win decision. Helena Laroche , MD, of the University of Iowa and the Iowa City VA Medical Center, and colleagues wanted to know whether the popular idea that parents may decide to ...
Leave Out the Cereal, Mom
If money is always low and stress or depression is always high, moms may be overfeeding their babies - and thereby increasing their kids' risks of obesity. A recent unpublished study being presented at a conference found that the unhealthy practice of adding cereal to babies' bottles tends to occur more often among low-income mothers who are single and/or showing symptoms of depression or high stress. Don't add cereal to your baby's bottle. Lead author Candice Taylor Lucas, MD, a an associate professor of pediatrics at New York University School of Medicine and Bellevue Hospital...
Air Pollution Link to Childhood Obesity
It may not just be chicken nuggets and french fries adding too much weight to children's waistlines. The very air pregnant women breathe might play a small role too.