“This is the first time cortisol reactivity has been identified as a mediator between depressed mood and obesity in girls,” said Elizabeth J. Susman, the Jean Phillips Shibley professor of biobehavioral health at Penn State. “We really haven’t seen this connection in kids before, but it tells us that there are biological risk factors that are similar for obesity and depression.”

Cortisol, a hormone, regulates various metabolic functions in the body and is released as a reaction to stress. Researchers have long known that depression and cortisol are related to obesity, but they had not figured out the exact biological mechanism.

Although it is not clear why high cortisol reactions translate into obesity only for girls, scientists believe it may be due to physiological and behavioral differences — estrogen release and stress eating in girls — in the way the two genders cope with anxiety.

“The implications are to start treating depression early because we know that depression, cortisol and obesity are related in adults,” said Susman.

If depression were to be treated earlier, she noted, it could help reduce the level of cortisol, and thereby help reduce obesity.

“We know stress is a critical factor in many mental and physical health problems,” said Susman. “We are putting together the biology of stress, emotions and a clinical disorder to better understand a major public health problem.”

Susman and her colleagues Lorah D. Dorn, professor of pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and Samantha Dockray, postdoctoral fellow, University College London, used a child behavior checklist to assess 111 boys and girls ages 8 to 13 for symptoms of depression. Next they measured the children’s obesity and the level of cortisol in their saliva before and after various stress tests.

“We had the children tell a story, make up a story, and do a mental arithmetic test,” said Susman. “The children were also told that judges would evaluate the test results with those of other children.”

Statistical analyses of the data suggest that depression is associated with spikes in cortisol levels for boys and girls after the stress tests, but higher cortisol reactions to stress are associated with obesity only in girls. The team reported its findings in a recent issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health.

“In these children, it was mainly the peak in cortisol that was related to obesity,” Susman explained. “It was how they reacted to an immediate stress.”

The National Institutes of Health supported this work.

Source:
Amitabh Avasthi
Penn State

“We have shown that you can use portion size strategically to encourage children and adults to eat more of the foods that are high in nutrients but low in calories,” said Barbara J. Rolls, Helen A. Guthrie Chair of Nutritional Sciences.

Rolls and her Penn State colleagues study how varying the portions of fruit and vegetable side dishes can be used to raise vegetable consumption in children and adults.

Researchers served lunch to 51 children at a daycare center on four occasions and measured their vegetable intake. Children were provided with no carrots or 30 grams (about 1 ounce), 60 grams (about 2 ounces), or 90 grams (about 3 ounces) of carrots as the first course of their lunch.

The children had 10 minutes to eat the carrots, after which researchers served them pasta, broccoli, unsweetened applesauce, and low-fat milk.

They found that when preschool children received no first course of carrots, they consumed about 23 grams (nearly 1 ounce) of broccoli from the main course.

When the children received 30 grams (about 1 ounce) of carrots at the start of the meal, their broccoli intake rose by nearly 50 percent compared to having no carrots as a first course. But when the first course was increased to 60 grams (about 2 ounces) of carrots, average broccoli consumption nearly tripled to about 63 grams — or a third of the recommended vegetable intake for preschool children.

The extra carrots eaten at the start of lunch did not reduce the amount of broccoli eaten in the main course, but added to the total amount of vegetables consumed. The team’s findings appear in the current issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

“We gave the children carrots first without other competing foods,” explained Rolls. “When they are hungry at the start of the meal, it presents us with an opportunity to get them to eat more vegetables.”

According to Maureen Spill, graduate student in nutrition and study co-author, the findings challenge the conventional belief that children won’t eat vegetables. It also provides parents a simple strategy to get their children eating a more healthy and nutritious diet, she added.

“The great thing about this study is the very clear and easy message for parents and care-givers that while you are preparing dinner, put some vegetables out for your children to snack on while they’re hungry,” said Spill. “Parents also need to set an example by eating vegetables while children are young and impressionable.”

Other researchers in the two studies include Leann L. Birch, Distinguished Professor of human development; Liane S. Roe, research nutritionist, and Jennifer S. Meengs, lab manager, all at Penn State

The National Institutes of Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation supported this work.

Source:
Amitabh Avasthi
Penn State

“Many fathers of sexually abused children want revenge and express the desire to torture their child’s aggressor,” says Allard, a PhD student at the Université de Montréal Department of Psychology. “Supporting the mother is essential to the recovery of the child. And the focus is often put on the mother because the father is the aggressor. But what happens in cases where the father is not the aggressor?”

Preliminary data provides some insight on the extent of the trauma experienced by fathers. “Their situation is particularly difficult,” says Allard. “The most violent reactions arise when the aggressor is the stepfather of the child, the mother’s new boyfriend or her new husband.”

Cases in which vengeance is not the dominant emotion are ones where the aggressor is a family member with whom the father has an emotional bond. This was the situation in more than 50 percent of cases.

For many fathers, the dominant emotion is grief. “Some fathers draw comparisons with the death of a loved one, as many grieve the death of their child’s innocence,” says Allard. “Fathers told us they became reluctant to tickle their child or give them a bath fearing that physical contact would remind the child of the aggression.”

In some cases, a child can reject their father because their aggressor was a man, too. These fathers struggle with deep feelings of helplessness and dismissal. On the other hand, an aggression can become an opportunity for advancing a father-child relationship, especially when the father realizes how sustaining such a relationship is in the best interest of their child.

Allard’s study is currently underway and supervised by Mireille Cyr, a professor at the Université de Montréal Department of Psychology as well as Milène Fernet of the Université du Québec à Montréal. Her research requires the continued contribution of fathers whose child has experienced sexual abuse.

Source:
Sylvain-Jacques Desjardins
University of Montreal

Parents of children with asthma should monitor their child’s health closely for signs of influenza. Symptoms of influenza include:

- Sudden onset of high fever
- Headache, muscle aches and joint pain
- Cough (usually dry)
- Chills
- Sore throat
- Nasal congestion and runny nose

If your child experiences these symptoms-or exhibits signs of worsening asthma-contact your health care provider immediately. If a child with asthma does become sick with the flu, they should continue taking their normal medications, unless recommended otherwise by their healthcare provider.

Remember these tips to protect your health and prevent spread of the flu:

- Get vaccinated for both the seasonal flu and H1N1 flu.
- Remember to cover your nose and mouth with your arm when you cough or sneeze.
- Frequently wash your hands with soap and water.
- Alcohol-based hand cleaners are effective when washing is not possible.
- Avoid large crowds if possible. Ask family and friends to be mindful of your higher risk and not expose you to their sickness if they are ill.
- The CDC recommends staying home if you have flu like symptoms for seven days or until you are clear of symptoms for 24 hours.
- Always watch for public health advisories, as these recommendations may change.

For those with asthma, please remember to refer to and maintain your Asthma Action Plan as necessary. The American Lung Association has a template you can download to create your Asthma Action Plan here.

For Related information about Influenza and H1N1 please visit:

http://www.lungusa.org

http://www.facesofinfluenza.org

http://www.flu.gov

Source
American Lung Association