Kids exercise to feel good, not lose weight
Children and young teens may be more likely to exercise if they’re motivated by fun and fitness rather than weight concerns, a new study suggests.
In a study of 200 students (average age, 12-1/2 years) at one Pennsylvania middle school, researchers found that “personal fulfillment” was the only motivation to be active. That meant that kids tended to exercise for the sake of their health and athletic skills, and to simply feel good—and not in order to shed pounds or to emulate their friends or parents.
Some women prone to carry strep in pregnancy
Black women, health care workers, and overweight women are at increased risk for carrying group B streptococcus (GBS) during pregnancy, new research suggests.
GBS is a microbe that can live in or “colonize” the birth canal and then be passed onto the infant during birth, resulting in a potentially life-threatening infection.
Cancer drug may help short boys be taller
The drug tamoxifen, usually used to treat or prevent breast cancer, may help short boys attain a normal adult height, researchers report.
Final body height is determined when the skeleton reaches maturity, and tamoxifen decreases the rate of skeletal maturation, according to study findings reported in the medical journal Pediatrics.
U.S. grapples with bird flu preparations
The White House on Wednesday planned an exercise to see just how poorly prepared the country is to cope with an avian flu pandemic, even as lawmakers in Congress debated how much to spend for U.S. preparations.
The H5N1 avian influenza virus is spreading steadily among poultry, pushing westward out of Asia into Europe.
Sweden to probe years of abuse in children’s homes
Thousands of Swedes who say they were subjected to physical abuse and cruel treatment in state children’s homes and foster care for decades from the 1950s won the promise of an official inquiry on Thursday.
A cabinet minister said the probe would investigate the cases, which peaked in the 1940s and ‘50s when Sweden’s zeal for social engineering included making children of single women or poor people wards of the state.
Drink less and watch your diet, Russians told
Russians must ease back on the bottle, cut down on smoking, watch their diet and lead healthier lives if they are to reverse population decline and maintain economic growth, the World Bank said on Thursday.
In a report, the Bank said the population crisis in Russia - which is losing around 750,000 people a year - was affecting every aspect of national life and could negate improvements in living standards.
Tourists unfazed by bird flu in Asia
The spread of bird flu in Asia does not appear to be putting off tourists but local officials are nervous, fearing a repeat of the SARS outbreak two years ago, which made parts of the region no-go areas.
The H5N1 strain of avian flu has killed 69 people in Asia since late 2003 and several countries in the region regularly report more suspected cases in people and outbreaks in poultry.
