ADHD prescriptions up in kids, antibiotics down
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(CBS News) Fewer children are being prescribed antibiotics nowadays compared to a decade ago, according to a new study from the Food and Drug Administration. But over the past 10 years, more kids and teens were given prescriptions for ADHD drugs.
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The study - published online June 18 in Pediatrics - tracked trends in drug prescriptions among infants, children and adolescents between the ages of 0 and 17 from 2002 to 2010. In 2010, 263.6 million prescriptions were prescribed for young patients - about a 7 percent drop compared to 2002. Meanwhile over that decade, rates for adult prescriptions increased 22 percent.
Continue »FDA approves meningitis combo vaccine for infants
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(CBS News) A new combination vaccine that protects infants from two deadly infections that can cause meningitis, meningococcal disease and Hib disease, was approved Thursday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The vaccine, called Menhibrix, has been approved for children ages 6 weeks through 18 months old. It's given as a four-dose series at 2, 4, 6 and 12 through 15 months of age, and the first dose may be given as early as 6 weeks of age. It is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline.
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Obese kids more likely to be worse at math
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(CBS News) Children's math abilities may have as much to do with their bellies as it does with their brains.
A new study finds obese children are more likely to be worse at math than their skinnier classmates.
Anxiety causes women's brains to work harder than men's
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The study, published in the June 14 issue of Child Development, involved 6,250 children from an ongoing government study that tracks kindergarteners through the time they're in fifth grade, and reflects a nationally representative sample of kids. At five points throughout that duration, researchers gathered information from parents and teachers about children's social skills, emotional well-being and academic abilities, along with measuring their heights and weights.
Continue »Study claims kids of gay parents fare worse
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The study, from Mark Regnerus, an associate professor of sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, surveyed more than 15,000 Americans between the ages of 18 and 39, asking them questions about their upbringings. Its findings are published in the July issue of Social Science Research.
Kids of older dads may inherit longer life
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(CBS News) Having a father and grandfather that waited until they were older before having a kid might boost the child's lifespan, a new study finds
The study looked at "telomere length" in blood samples collected from nearly 2,000 children in the Philippines and determined the ages of the children's fathers and paternal grandfathers. Telomeres are cap-like DNA structures on the tips of chromosomes that protect a person's genes from cell damage.
Even 7-year-olds harm themselves, study finds
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(CBS News) Children as young as 7 are engaging in self-harming behaviors such as cutting, burning or hitting themselves, a new study finds.
For the study, researchers interviewed 665 children and adolescents between the ages of 7 and 16 who lived in Denver and New Jersey, asking whether they engaged in what's called nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) at some point in their lives. Nonsuicidal self-injury is defined as cutting, carving, piercing or poking at the skin, burning or hitting oneself to inflict pain.
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The researchers found that of these kids, 53 children in third, sixth and ninth grades had engaged in the self-harming behavior. Of the 197 third-graders in the study, 15 - or 8 percent - said they intentionally hurt themselves in the past year, with most of the children saying they had harmed themselves more than once. About 4 percent of sixth graders and 13 percent of ninth graders engaged in self-harm.
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More teens smoke pot than cigarettes, says CDC
File photo of marijuana buds at Med Grow Cannabis College in Southfield, Mich.
/ Carlos Osorio(AP) ATLANTA - A government survey shows more teens are now smoking pot than cigarettes.
More on the CDC's National Youth Risk Behavior Survey
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday that 23 percent of high school students said they recently smoked marijuana, while 18 percent said they had puffed cigarettes. The survey asked teens about a variety of risky behaviors.
Continue »CDC: Herpes risk in controversial circumcisions
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In New York City between November 2000 and December 2011, a total of 11 newborn males were infected by the herpes simplex virus in the weeks following an out-of-hospital Jewish ritual circumcision, known as a bris. Ten of the babies were hospitalized and one died.
Controversial circumcision ritual led to infant's death from herpes, says death certificate
Parents of six of the children confirmed that they babies participated in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish practice known as "metzitzah b'peh," during which the mohel - or person who performs the circumcision - places his mouth directly on the newly circumcised penis and sucks blood away from the wound. In the other cases, there was other evidence that suggested there was direct mouth-to-genital contact.
Continue »CDC: Majority of older teens text while driving
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(CBS/AP) - More than half of high school seniors admit they text or email while driving - the first federal statistics on how common the dangerous habit is in teens.
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An anonymous national survey called the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey that was conducted last year found that 58 percent of high school seniors said they had texted or emailed while driving during the previous month. About 43 percent of high school juniors acknowledged they did the same thing.
Continue »Scientists use mom's blood to map fetus' genome
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(CBS News) Scientists have successfully mapped the genome of a baby in the womb by giving mom a simple blood test and dad a non-invasive saliva swab. They hope their test could one day serve as an alternative for riskier, more invasive methods currently used to determine whether an unborn child is genetically predisposed to disease.
But the success of the new method also raises many ethical questions because the less-invasive test that has potential for widespread use one day.
Evenflo high chairs recalled over fall risk
Evenflo Convertible High Chairs
/ CPSC.gov(CBS News) Evenflo Inc. is recalling convertible high chairs after receiving reports of kids falling from them, the government group U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Tuesday.
The activity tray on the high chair can unexpectedly detach and allow an unrestrained child to fall from the chair, the group said. The Miamisburg, Ohio-based company will voluntarily recall about 35,000 units of the chairs in the United States. The chairs were sold at Toys "R" Us and Wal-Mart stores nationwide and online at Walmart.com and Wayfair.com between December 2011 and June 2012 for about $40.
Continue »Exercise may not prevent obesity in black girls
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Recent research, published in the June 2012 issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, revealed that black girls who were active at 12 years old were almost just as likely to be obese at the time they reached 14 as African American girls who didn't exercise that much.
In 2010, black women were 70 percent more likely to be obese than white women, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health. The number increases for teens: Black girls were 80 percent more likely to be obese than white girls from 2007 to 2010. As a whole, four out of five black women are overweight or obese, and African Americans were 70 percent less likely to exercise than white people in 2010.
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USDA: Most schools opt out of pink slime beef
(CBS/AP) Meat containing "pink slime," the colorfully nicknamed beef byproduct that caused a national uproar, will not be served at most school districts participating in the National School Lunch Program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.
The USDA says the vast majority of states participating in the government-subsidized lunch program have opted to order ground beef that doesn't contain the product, called lean finely textured beef. Only Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota chose to continue ordering beef that may contain the filler.
The product has been used for decades and federal regulators say it's safe to eat. Regardless, it became the center of national attention after the nickname "pink slime" was quoted in a New York Times article on the safety of meat processing methods.
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Most moms fail to reach breastfeeding goals
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Research published in the July issue of Pediatrics shows that out of the 85 percent of new mothers who said they wanted to try exclusively breastfeeding their children for three months or longer, only 32.4 percent of them actually met their goal.
Breastfeed exclusively for first six months? Surveyed moms say no way
Breastfeeding moms in uniform photos spur debate
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends breastfeeding as the only form of food or drink until babies reach six months old, and adds that breastfeeding can be a supplemental food source for children up to two years old and older. However, they recognize that around the world, less than 40 percent of infants are exclusively breastfed until they are six months old.
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Disney to cut junk food ads from its platforms
First lady Michelle Obama speaks at the Newseum in Washington on June 5, 2012 to announce that Disney will become the first major media company to introduce new standards for food advertising on programming targeting kids and families.
/ AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
The Walt Disney Company announced on Tuesday that it will be enacting several new regulations in order to promote healthy eating habits. The company detailed the plan during a Washington news conference with Michelle Obama, who has focused on fighting childhood obesity during her tenure as First Lady.
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