The Checkup Archive: Parenting
Ranch dressing revisited
Ranch is often offered to children along with cut-up vegetables or baby carrots. Like the spoonful of sugar that makes the medicine go down, the ranch dip makes vegetables more palatable to kids who might otherwise shun them. But full-fat ranch is high in fat and calories, and reduced-fat versions are packed with sodium. Is it really such a great idea to induce kids to eat vegetables by loading those carrot sticks with such nutrition-unfriendly glop?
By
Jennifer LaRue Huget
| March 8, 2011; 7:00 AM ET |
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Comments (15)
Categories:
Childhood obesity, Dietary Guidelines, Family Health, Kids' health, Nutrition and Fitness, Parenting, School Nutrition, Sodium
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Is that right? Menu calorie labels can curb obesity?
Offering calorie information on fast-food menus is the law of the land now, with the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, which requires fast-food and other chain restaurants to display calorie counts for the foods they sell. The idea, of course, is that people are overeating because they're not aware of how many calories are in a Big Mac, and once they are properly informed they'll choose the salad instead. But does it really work that way?
By
Jennifer LaRue Huget
| February 18, 2011; 7:00 AM ET |
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Comments (15)
Categories:
Food labeling, Is That Right?, Nutrition and Fitness, Parenting
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New data on crib injuries
What hasn't been tallied until this study is the number of non-fatal, but often quite serious, injuries to babies who have been placed in cribs, playpens or bassinets. An average of 26 such injuries per day occurred during the time studied, most (66 percent) involving falls, usually from cribs (83 percent) and most commonly affecting the head or neck (40 percent).
By
Jennifer LaRue Huget
| February 16, 2011; 6:43 PM ET |
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Comments (6)
Categories:
Family Health, Infant health, Kids' health, Motherhood, Parenting, Prevention, Sleep
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On energy drinks, a voice of caution -- and reason
The thing I most appreciate about this JAMA editorial is its clear-headed presentation of information without an accompanying demand for government regulation. Its stance seems to be that the public (and the health professionals who advise the public) needs to be aware of the potential risks of energy drinks -- not that people shouldn't be allowed to enjoy energy drinks if they so choose. And there is, thankfully, no mention of an energy-drink tax.
By
Jennifer LaRue Huget
| February 10, 2011; 7:00 AM ET |
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Comments (6)
Categories:
Alcohol and Drugs, FDA, Family Health, Kids' health, Parenting, Pregnancy, Teens
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Study: Womb surgery for spina bifida beneficial
Performing surgery on babies with the most severe form of spina bifida when they are still in the womb doubles the chance that they will be able to walk, according to a federally-funded study released Wednesday.
By
Rob Stein
| February 9, 2011; 5:00 PM ET |
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Comments (0)
Categories:
Parenting, Pregnancy, Reproductive Health, Women's Health
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Why flu vaccine may cause narcolepsy
Scientists think they have found a clue to why there may be an increased risk for the sleeping disorder narcolepsy among some people who got the H1N1 flu vaccine: The cases appear to have occurred among those carrying a gene that increases the risk for the rare disorder, which causes...
By
Rob Stein
| February 8, 2011; 9:46 AM ET |
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Comments (3)
Categories:
Influenza, Parenting, Sleep, Vaccinations
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