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 ...

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 A recent unpublished study being presented at a conference found that the unhealthy practice of adding cereal to babies' bottles tends to occur more often among low-income mothers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...

Think outside the bun for some finger lickin ' good food. Head for the border and have it your way. And if you recognized all those taglines , you might be more likely to be obese. Although past research has shown a link between TV watching and obesity, less evidence exists regarding possible links between obesity and fast food advertising. But an unpublished study recently presented at a conference offers just that. Limit your child's access to fast food. Auden McClure, MD, an assistant professor of the Department of Pediatrics at Children's Hospital at Dartmouth, led the ...

Researchers are learning more about how obesity develops from complex factors beyond just eating too much. One factor may be a fear of not having enough food for one's children. A recent study reveals that food insecurity, or the anxiety about whether a person will have enough food to be sure their family is well fed, might play a part in why some children go on to become severely overweight. Follow your doctor's recommendations on feeding your baby. Rachel Gross, MD, an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Children's...

It is not easy being obese. Children who are overweight have it especially difficult because little kids can be pretty mean. In fact, little bullies can actually make the weight problem worse. A new study shows that overweight and obese children may be liked less in school. The overweight children could respond to the negative social atmosphere by becoming less active and eating more. Limit TV and videogames: keep your child active! The study was led by Amanda Harrist , PhD, of Oklahoma State University. “If overweight children are disliked at school, they may be less like...

Childhood obesity is now a global epidemic, and with it comes increased disease risks both in children and adults. Having an abundant body as a child is now linked even to cancer.

Too little sleep or too much poor quality sleep can hurt more than your energy levels - it can also hit your waistline. If you're not getting enough sleep, you may be trading Z's for pounds.

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.

The U.S. government aims to reduce the childhood obesity rate from the current 16.9 percent to 14.6 percent by 2020. But what would that require? The answer might surprise you.

It's not just how much sleep you get that plays a part in your health - it's also when you sleep. An out-of-whack biological clock can mean poor health and higher risk of disease.