A new study has found that extremely overweight or obese children are slower than healthy-weight children to recognize when they have made an error during an ongoing activity, and are slower to correct the error.
News
NICHD issues News Releases and Media Advisories to the news media. Spotlight and Research Feature articles explain NICHD research findings and public health issues to the general public. An Item of Interest is a short announcement of relevant information, such as a notable staff change.
Research Round-up: Advances in Adolescent Health
Adolescence is a critical period of development that can have lasting effects on physical and emotional health.
Obese women need higher or continuous dose for oral contraceptive success
Birth control pills are less effective for obese women. Studies have shown that obesity brings with it hormonal changes that can reduce the pill’s effectiveness.
NICHD Co-Sponsors White House Disability Summit
More than 50 million Americans, about 1 in 5 people, are living with a disability. People with disabilities tend to be less physically active than people without disabilities and have higher rates of corresponding health problems such as obesity, heart disease, hypertension and stroke.
NICHD Launches Media-Smart Youth® Teen Leaders Program
The NICHD has recently launched the Media Smart Youth® Teen Leaders Program, a new community service opportunity for teens and young adults interested in teaching youth about media’s influence on health.
Integrated approach helps obese women limit weight gain during pregnancy
It’s normal for most women to gain weight during pregnancy, but gaining too much weight can pose serious health risks for mother and baby. Now researchers funded in part by the National Institutes of Health have found that an integrated program offering support and nutrition counseling succeeds where the traditional approaches failed and helps keep women from adding too much weight during pregnancy.
Exploring Factors That Influence Child Development
Countless factors, from family and environment to genes and biology, influence a child’s growth and development. Scientists in the NICHD’s Section on Child and Family Research study how these factors affect the physical, mental, and social development of growing children, along with their health and well-being.
Young adults more likely to attend college
American young adults are more racially and ethnically diverse, more likely to graduate from high school, and attend college, and less likely to smoke than previous generations, according to a report by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. However, the young adults have more student debt than generations past, earn less than their counterparts in the year 2000, and more than 1 in 5 are obese, the report says.
Together, NICHD & International Sorority Fight Childhood Asthma
Since 2011, the NICHD has been working with the Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) Sorority, Inc. to lead the Asthma Prevention and Management Initiative, a series of nationwide asthma education, training, and outreach activities. The program leverages NIH’s scientific expertise and AKA’s extensive network of chapters to teach families across the country about proper management of childhood asthma.
How Can You Improve a Woman’s Health? Study the Health of Populations.
Epidemiology, the study of patterns and causes of health and disease in populations, is foundational to public health. Scientists in the NICHD's Epidemiology Branch apply epidemiologic approaches to answer questions about infertility, menstrual problems, birth defects, and other health issues.
Podcast: Childhood obesity often starts before the age of 5
NIH-funded study finds primary risk of obesity among children who enter kindergarten overweight.
NICHD and Spelman College: Working Together for Women’s Wellness
The NICHD has joined with Spelman College in support of the Wellness Revolution Summit 2014: Power UP! at the college on Thursday, February 6.
NIH and The Weight of the Nation for Kids
Approximately 17% of Americans ages 2 to 19 are overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Childhood obesity and overweight increase the likelihood of many health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, as well as some serious health conditions that may not appear until later in life, such as stroke and certain cancers.
NICHD and Spelman College Partner on Wellness Initiative
NICHD and Spelman College have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on projects to promote the health of Spelman students, faculty, and staff. These health projects will include nutrition, fitness education, and physical activity promotion.
NICHD Research Weighs in on Weight Gain during Pregnancy
A variety of factors can make it difficult for women to maintain a healthy weight during pregnancy. But recent NICHD supported research affirms the importance of not gaining too much weight during pregnancy to reduce the risk for complications.
Annual “America’s Children” report on child well-being topic of NICHD’s July podcast
This month’s NICHD Research Perspectives features the report America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-being. Each year, 22 federal agencies collaborate to produce the report, a convenient reference for policymakers, the public, and anyone with in an interest in the nation’s children. It compiles key data about child and adolescent well-being in a variety of areas.
Checking In on America’s Children
Children age 17 and under account for almost one quarter of the U.S. population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Because they make up such a large and important group in this country, and because their current health and well-being has implications for the nation’s future, a national priority is to monitor, protect, and improve children’s health and well-being.
Federal report shows drop in proportion of children in US population
The number of children living in the United States declined slightly, as did the percentage of the U.S. population who are children, according to the federal government’s annual statistical report on the well-being of the nation’s children and youth.
Media-Smart Youth Program Launches Revamped Website
In May, the NICHD released the upgraded version of Media-Smart Youth: Eat, Think, and Be Active!®, an interactive after-school curriculum designed to teach young people ages 11 to 13 about the complex media world around them, and about how media influences their nutrition and physical activity decisions. Now, the Institute follows suit with the launch of the new Media-Smart Youth Upgraded: Eat, Think, and Be Active! website.
Only half of U.S. youth meet physical activity standards, NIH study shows
Only about half of U.S. adolescents are physically active five or more days of the week, and fewer than 1 in 3 eat fruits and vegetables daily, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health.