With childhood obesity rates high, many studies have investigated lifestyle factors that can make a difference — which ones increase the risk and which ones reduce it. Beyond diet, a lack of sleep has been linked to weight gain both in adults and children, so it’s important that kids get enough shuteye, even with their…  read on >

Parents often fret when their teen drivers get behind the wheel, but parents of teens with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may now have added worries. A new study found that teens with ADHD are significantly more likely to get into a car crash than their peers. During the first month a teen with ADHD is driving,…  read on >

Just a few extra pounds during adolescence may translate into higher odds for heart disease in adulthood, a new study of young men suggests. It included about 1.7 million Swedish men who began military service at ages 18 or 19 between 1969 and 2005. They were followed for up to 46 years. During the follow-up,…  read on >

(HealthDay News) — Many American kids don’t don helmets when biking, skateboarding and riding scooters, a troubling new poll finds. Among more than 1,300 parents surveyed, 18% said their kids never wear helmets while biking, 58% said their kids don’t wear helmets while skateboarding, and 61% said their children don’t wear helmets when riding scooters,…  read on >

There’s a lot you can learn from your elders, starting with the results of a multi-year study of exercise and brain health in seniors. Researchers from Columbia University and the University of Miami compared results of two sets of brain scans and tests measuring memory and thinking skills in 876 seniors. The tests were done…  read on >

Breastfeeding’s benefits seem to stretch well beyond motherhood: New research suggests it may reduce a woman’s risk of heart disease when she’s older. And the longer a woman breastfeeds, the lower the risk. In the study, researchers assessed heart and blood vessel health in postmenopausal women, along with their breastfeeding history. After adjusting for other…  read on >

Day-to-day struggles prevent many American women with HIV from taking medicines to suppress the AIDS-causing virus, a new study shows. “Survival is a priority over putting a pill in your mouth for a number of our participants, and that is the public health challenge we must address,” said study first author Dr. Seble Kassaye, an…  read on >

Suicide rates are on the rise among American children, but the increase is greatest among girls, a new study finds. “Overall, we found a disproportionate increase in female youth suicide rates compared to males, resulting in a narrowing of the gap between male and female suicide rates,” said study author Donna Ruch. She is a…  read on >