Strollerderby : diabetes

Breastfeeding Benefits For Moms Greater Than Previously Believed

Kate Tuttle — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:01:00 GMT

Not that you needed another reason to choose breastfeeding -- or pat yourself on the back if you did/do, or feel horribly guilty and pissed off if you didn't/don't -- but this week came news reports of even more dramatic health benefits for moms who breastfeed. The new study, published in the May issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology, found that women who had breastfed were less likely to develop high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease than their non-nursing counterparts, and that the effect increases with increasing duration of breastfeeding.

The study looked at the data of 139,681 post-menopausal women whose health records have been followed as part of the Women's Health Initiative. Those who breastfed for more than a year over the course of their lives, the study found, were almost ten times less likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke than those who hadn't nursed at all, and they were 20 percent less likely to have diabetes, 12 percent less likely to have hypertension, 19 percent less likely to have high cholesterol. Even one month of breastfeeding was associated with lowered rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Studies like this are often criticized for offering correlation but not causation -- they are not constructed as a double-blind study with controls, and so it's hard to tease out just which health benefits come from breastfeeding and which tend to go along with being the type of mother for whom breastfeeding is a priority (breastfeeding rates are much higher for richer, better-educated women overall). As one doctor told the New York Times, those who breastfeed “may be healthier women who take better care of themselves." True -- but the fact that this survey breaks down rates among women who nursed a little and those who nursed a lot may tend to argue for an actual medical difference, a mechanism by which breastfeeding protects women who do it (and offers more and more protection the more one does it). It's a nice study to show to anyone whose mother-in-law keeps asking, "haven't you weaned that child yet?"

More by this author:

They Say: Bilingual Babies Learn Better

Why Are We So Shocked When Women Kill?

(Public) Breastfeeding Now Legal in Massachusetts

Playdate: High Fructose Corn Syrup Freak Outs Be Gone

JeanneSager — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:33:00 GMT

Does high fructose corn syrup send you into a tizzy? Not eating it, I mean, but avoiding it?

Linked to diabetes in kids and other health risks, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) comes from corn (duh) that's been milled, made into a syrup then adjusted with the addition of enzymes. It's usually part glucose/part fructose. And all those freaky ads featuring the woman who convinces her partner that studies show HFCS is just like sugar come from the folks who do that refining. Which basically means you can't trust them.

Want a quick primer on how to avoid HFCS? A guest post by the writer of Life Less Sweet appeared on Food With Kid Appeal, highlighting the highest HFCS offenders. The scary ones? Breadcrumbs (we use a fair amount of those in my house), Children's Tylenol and sweet pickles. Throw in sushi (sorry, I'm going to ick that one - I'm a vegetarian), tonic water and Worcestershire sauce, and you're starting to hit a lot of families.

To find out what else you should avoid and pick out some safe eats (maple syrup, yum!), check out the piece.

Did it make you think twice about dinner tonight?

Image: Food With Kid Appeal

Kindergartner Saves Diabetic Dad from Coma

JeanneSager — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:03:00 GMT

Danny Stephen has had a tough go of it. Diagnosed twenty-six years ago with diabetes, he's struggled in recent months to buy the medical supplies needed to take care of himself after being laid off from his job in construction.

What's more, Danny Stephen is a single dad - his wife Michelle died following a stroke in the fall.

For all those lemons thrown curveball-style his way, Danny Stephen is still filling up on lemonade (sugar free, natch). He's got a son, five-year-old Jude, who last weekend rescued Danny from a diabetic coma by forcefeeding him sweets.

With his dad flitting in and out of consciousness all day, Jude kept himself out of trouble at the Stephens' Florida home. But when dinner time came and Dad wasn't up, Jude went to his side, but Danny literally couldn't move. He could only mumble nonsense - even his attempt to get the boy to understand he needed juice to pump up his sugar levels were for naught. The boy thought he was saying "Jude." But Jude eventually got the juice, along with honey and cupcakes, which he practically shoved down his father's throat - enough to bring Danny Stephen out of the coma. Paramedics said without the tot's intervention, Danny would have died.

If you're sobbing at this story - from the passing of mom to dad losing his job to the little hero - you're not alone. The other part of me is just stark raving mad. Danny Stephen couldn't afford medical supplies, so a little boy almost lost his second parent in as many years.

What kind of country do we live in where a single dad can't get test strips to keep track of his blood sugar levels? Criticize socialized medicine all you want (and it does have its faults), but the basic medical supplies are taken care of - even for single parents who have lost their jobs in the midst of an economic crisis. Or we could keep going along as we are - leaving men like Danny Stephen to be rescued by their quick-witted kindergartners.

On a lighter note, the first comment on the site of the Tampa Bay newspaper that broke the story comes from a medical company owner - he's putting up all the test strips Danny Stephen could use. Bravo.

Image: TopNews

Faith-Healer Parents Charged after Daughter's Death

Shannon LC Cate — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 22:00:00 GMT

The parents of Kara Neumann, an eleven-year old who died of untreated juvenile diabetes are being charged with reckless endangerment after refusing to seek medical care for their daughter due to their religious beliefs. The court has ordered regular medical checkups for their two surviving children.

The case might help to set precedent for an unsettled area of law: where does an adult's religious freedom end and society's responsibility to children begin? Can parents who believe strongly that medicine is morally wrong be allowed to let a child die of a treatable condition while they pray for recovery?

Can the law dictate that children must get certain kinds of medical treatment?

It seems obvious enough that an insulin-dependent diabetic child should be treated. But what about vaccination resisters? Should they be forced to allow their children be immunized? Where do you draw a line between society's responsibility and parental authority?

Defenses of the parents will probably draw on freedom of religion. Prosecutors will charge child abuse. What do you say? Should these parents go to jail, their children sent to foster homes? Or do they have a right to allow a child to die if they believe it is for the salvation of something beyond--and more important than--her physical body?

Is Miley Cyrus' First Photo Shoot Creepy?

Brett Singer — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:15:00 GMT

Miley Ray Cyrus Hannah Montana Stewart Lipschutz's first photo shoot has surfaced. The shots were taken back in 2002, and some of them are way creepy. At least that's my opinion. You may feel differently. Let's take a look, shall we?

Some of the images are fairly tame, even for kiddie modeling shots.

Then comes the belly shirt. And the quasi-pouty face.

Actually, I can't decide if this last one is a pout or a "Why am I doing this?" expression.

I'm not a big fan of putting your kids into the entertainment industry. There are obviously cases where the kid wants to do it, and sometimes the kid wants to do it and actually has some talent. But how does a parent participate in a photo shoot where their daughter is wearing a midriff-bearing t-shirt? I feel a bit creepy just writing about this.

Here's a shot with, I think, Miley's mommy.

Not sure if this was candid or staged. I’m thinking staged. She appears to be primping Miley Ray Whatever for the next shot. Either way it's… well, I can't come up with a better word than creepy. And I'm not sure I need to.

One thing for sure – the next time Miley Ray Cyrus Hannah Montana Stewart Lipschutz and her crew complain that Annie Leibovitz or some other celebrity photog somehow tricked them into a racy photo spread, we need not take that seriously for even a second.

As little girl role models go, Miley is certainly better than Tila Tequila or Britney Spears. But would you want your daughter dressing like this? And would you take pictures of it? This isn't JonBenet Ramsey creepy, but it's close. What exactly are you going for when you dress a ten-year-old girl (the age she was in the shoot) like this?

I know I’m getting all moral majority butthead on you. But what do you think of these pics? (Links to the full gallery, which is enormous, are below if you really want to see them all.) Creepy? Not creepy? Would you let your daughter do a photo spread like this at age 10?

Source: MileyWorld via OceanUp via Buzzfeed

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Name Guru Picks Eight Worst Celeb Kid Names of 2008 (Part 1)

Name Guru Picks Eight Worst Celeb Kid Names of 2008 (Part 2)

Nine-Year-Old Lothario Gets Movie Deal

Disney Pulls Hannah Montana Diabetes Episode

Brett Singer — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 22:15:00 GMT

Hannah Montana has managed to piss off a bunch of parents. But it wasn't with her music.

Apparently the Disney Channel pulled what was going to be the first episode of the new season because some parents who saw it early complained. "The episode, titled 'No Sugar, Sugar,' finds Hannah’s friend Oliver learning he has diabetes and was intended to teach audiences that the disease is one that can be managed." Some parents, "had concerns about how the disease was portrayed," although the New York Times article I saw doesn't mention any specifics. The title does sound a little bit jokey. (Maybe they were trying to revive Miley's dad's series "Doc".) But come on -- what did they do? Put a Snickers on a fishing pole and dangle it in front of a diabetic character?

One thing that "Seinfeld" was supposed to have taught us is that the "very special episode" is usually a bad idea. I'm not saying that it's not a nice thing for a show watched by zillions of tweens to actually try to teach a lesson now and then. But usually it comes across as forced. (David Spade, before he was famous, used to do a funny stand-up routine about "a very special episode of 'Family Ties'" where Alex is caught masturbating. "Aw Mal, can't you knock?") I've never seen Hannah Montana, but my guess is that people don't usually watch the show looking for issues-oriented television.

For that, everybody knows you should watch the new "90210". I mean, really.

Interesting twist: Apparently Nick Jonas is diabetic, and Miley Ray Hannah Montana Stewart Cyrus Lipschitz used to wear some sort of "diabetic dog tag" in support of the Jonas Brother that she either was or wasn't dating. (I can't remember and don't care enough to look it up.)

I do think it’s a little weird when a network yanks a show – in this case before it even officially aired – based on the complaints of a few people. How bad could it have been? I remember an episode of "The Brady Bunch" where Mike says to Carol, "If I ever caught one of my sons playing with dolls, I'd send him to a psychiatrist." (Cue laugh track.) My mother heard the line and asked me if I thought that was an OK thing to say, especially since I played with action figures, which are very doll-like. So maybe a better move is to watch the show with your kids and talk to them about anything you find objectionable.

Or just shut the TV off. But let's not get too crazy.

Source: NYTimes, EntertainmentWise

Image: EntertainmentWise

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Smokers No Longer Allowed Foster Children

About Ann Nixon Cooper

They Say: Our Kids Are Developing a (Legal) Drug Habit

JeanneSager — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:35:00 GMT

Either kids are getting sicker or doctors are pill happy. A study published in a recent issue of the Journal of Pediatrics says prescriptions for kids with chronic health problems jumped by more than one hundred percent over a three-year period.

Kids aged five through nineteen who suffer from type two diabetes (so-called adult onset diabetes) took one hundred three percent more medications in 2005 than they did in 2002. Prescriptions for kids in the same agre group went up by forty-six and a half percent for kids with asthma, forty percent for ADD and ADHD and fifteen percent for cholesterol treatments. Although the latter number isn't nearly as high as that of the diabetes jump, both stand out for their mere presence in the younger population. Until childhood obesity became buzzwords in pediatric circles, type two diabetes and cholesterol issues were highly regarded as "adult" issues.

The study's author says behavior modifications can have a major impact on most of the chronic diseases studied, but whether doctors are counseling their patients on making the changes - and whether kids are listening - will make the difference in kids' health. Do you feel like your pediatrician's become a drug pusher? Or are kids just getting diagnosed better?

Source: Los Angeles Times

Image: More4Kids

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They Say: Parents Don't Know Kids are Too Fat or Too Thin

New Test Gives Women a "Fertility Roadmap"

Update: Praying Parents Charged With Homicide

Cole Gamble — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:00:00 GMT

The Wisconsin couple whose 11-year-old daughter died of treatable diabetes after said parents eschewed medical attention for prayer were charged Monday with second-degree reckless homicide. The father has stated he thought his daughter's illness was a “test of faith”, and I have no doubt he and his wife prayed until they could pray no more, but I wonder that now they have failed this “test” where their faith stands. Well, I guess you could always ask Job. The mother and father both face 25 years years in prison if convicted.

The main question that will come out of this trial, and the one you'll definitely hear from the attorneys for the defenses is this: is trying this couple a form of religious persecution? After all this couple did seek help in the best way they knew how, spiritually. Does it really count as criminal neglect if modern medicine doesn't factor into their belief system?

You can look at my original article for my stance on belief versus reality and where the two can work together.

What do you think: if a parent does what they believe is right, is that grounds for homicide? Extreme faith certainly isn't illegal, and it seems like we are dealing with a similar case of the state's idea of child welfare versus the tenets of faith in the case of the Texas polygamy sect.

Perhaps you think actively choosing ignorance might be a criminal offense. My question is, why do some religious people find common sense so antithetical to faith?

Girls Dies Because Parents Pray Instead of Getting Treatment

Cole Gamble — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:04:00 GMT

An 11-year-old Wisconsin girl succumbed to a very treatable form of Diabetes when her parents turned to the healing power of prayer rather than medical attention.

For the full report check it here.

I want to be the first to say, this post is not about taking cheap shots. No “Silly Religious Fanatics Gone and Messed Up” here. Perception for better or worse, is our reality and in this parenting couple's reality there was more power in faith than there was in science. What I will say is that we as a people have a problem agreeing upon an objective reality. Faith is a powerful thing and, in it's way, it can change the physical properties of the world. I have no doubt that a severely ill person could do worse for their health than buoy their spirits with the everlasting hope of belief.

However, it all breaks down when we disregard the regular laws of cause and effect that affect us all. Al Gore believes there is an assault on reason. I think there is an assault on reality. If I stand in the path of an oncoming train, no matter how much I pray, prayer will not move that train from my path. God may work in mysterious ways, but he's not a wacky trickster (not usually anyway). And you know what, I wouldn't want to live in a world where there is an almighty power that bails us out whenever we feel like being irresponsible.

If there is a God, I'd like to think he put us here to learn a thing or two, or else I can't figure out what point we have sticking around. As you may have guessed, I myself am not a church-goer but I do have an open mind and I think reality and faith can coexist. Ignoring reality in the name our convictions is tossing aside the greatest teaching tool we have, the world around us. If you believe in God, I hope you agree that He didn't throw this place together half-assed. I don't believe He'd be too insulted if on top of that prayer we doubled checked ~~that evidence for going to war~~ our kid's illness just to make sure someone doesn't get hurt.

This case does remind us that whatever be our faith, we are all citizens of this earth and the same rules apply to all of us.

Pregcellent: If Halle Berry Isn't In Deep Trouble Pregnant, She Didn't Have Type 1 Diabetes

Kelly Mills — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 13:31:00 GMT

Relieved to see a Halle Berry pregnancy article that doesn't reference her boobies? The actress managed to irk diabetes groups mightily with her claim that she got herself off insulin and basically cured her diabetes. Berry reported she had Type 1 diabetes (formerly known as juvenile-onset diabetes) which is, uh, incurable. She was quoted as saying, "I've managed to wean myself off insulin, so now I'd like to put myself in the Type 2 category." Yeah, well, you may have been in the Type 2 category to begin with. Some docs say she was likely misinformed, mistaken, or misdiagnosed. Because for a Type 1 diabetic to stop taking insulin...um, very, very unwise.

Since Berry is pregnant, we have some further evidence she wasn't Type 1. Folks with that need insulin more during pregnancy because the hormones block insulin action. If Berry had Type 1, she'd probably not be doing so well right now. One doc speculated that beause Berry was thin when she was diagnosed, her doctor might have told her she had Type 1 (Type 2 generally affects obese and out-of-shape people.) But no matter what, Berry did not cure herself. We assume the vast majority of diabetics are informed enough not to follow the actions of a celebrity, so it goes without saying Type 1 people should keep up the injections. Especially if pregnant.

Portion Size Matters For Fat Kids

Madeline Holler — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 20:20:00 GMT

Doing my part to fuel the childhood obesity hysteria while also making parents feel like every strategy to prevent raising little fatties is wrong, wrong, wrong, I bring you this:

It’s all about portion size, not calories.

It is? I mean, sure, of course, portions count! But I’ve been spouting that other study for years now about how, if kids are left on their own to decide what to eat and how much -- and not shamed or forced to clean their plates -- they’ll make food choices over the span of a week that amount to the right range of calories, vitamins, proteins, etc.

Guess not. Time to corral the snackers.

Researchers at a recent obesity conference presented findings that said kids who ate a low-calorie lunch don’t necessarily snack more later, as long as their lunch was the same volume as the higher calorie ones. In fact, the kids in the study who ate lower-calorie lunches wound up eating 400 fewer calories an average each day.

The report recommends that parents who are worried about their kid's weight not cut back on the amount of food their kid is served or allowed to eat, but to come up with lower-calorie versions of their favorite foods. This includes skim milk, low-fat dairy products and … drumroll … pureed vegetables!

Now Who's To Blame? Schools Get Better Food, Fitness

Madeline Holler — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 20:06:00 GMT

Schools bear a huge burden to, at the very least, not make things worse for kids and try to make them better. In terms of fitness and nutrition, they are making significant progress.

A study by the Centers for Disease Control shows that over the past six years, more schools are offering salads and vegetables and fewer permit bake sales (?!). Also, more states and districts insist elementary schools have recess and that P.E. teachers at least have a college degree.

The biggest deal, though? It's that 30 percent of the school districts banned junk food from school vending machines, which is a staggering increase in the number who refused to allow them, up from 4 percent in 2000. Also, a decline in French fries on menus across the country. More are selling water in vending machines, most still sold soda and chips as well.

It’s progress like this that makes other people’s choices to hawk crappy food seem especially baffling. When schools spend scarce money and sacrifice resources (contracts with Pepsi and Coke, for example), I would think it feels like banging your head against a wall when celebrities come out and endorse utter edible crap.

Anyway, what I would like to know is whether the school changes alone are having even a small effect on staving off or even reducing obesity in the student population. Either way, not having to compete with French fries is a relief as a lunch-packing parent.

Prickly Chef Calls BS on Rachael Ray Donut Endorsements

Madeline Holler — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 18:36:00 GMT

Celebrity chef Rachael Ray can just plug her ears with a stack of katrillion dollar bills if she wants to tune out the latest criticisms of Anthony Bourdain. The abrasive chef, who has made a mini-career of belittling her, makes sense to me. So I’ll do what I can to amplify this round of nitpicking at the 30-Minute Meals empress.

Bourdain’s all over her for signing up to endorse Dunkin’ Donuts. He says Ray is influential, especially with children, and that shilling donuts is akin to endorsing crack for kids.

“Juvenile diabetes has exploded. Half of Americans don't have necks. And she's up there saying, 'Eat some [bleeping] Dunkin' Donuts. You look great in that swimsuit - eat another doughnut!' That's evil," he says in an interview with Outside magazine this month.

I don't know about "evil," but the endorsement does strike me as incredibly ignorant. She has every right to make tons of money by any legal means possible. But you’d think some kind of inner decency would tap her on the shoulder and say, “doughnuts? Really?”

Sure, fat kids aren’t her responsibility. We all know it’s up to parents to ensure their children learn about good nutrition and make healthful food choices. And no, one doughnut isn't going to make the little ones bust out of their Gap slims. But endorsements for shit food like this by a person Mommy actually likes confuses the message at home, which is precisely the point. What I feel always gets lost in these discussions about advertising to children is that the decision to have Ray smile and sell high-calorie, nutritionally empty, low-priced pastries was a calculated one. Tests were done. Smart people were hired. Every bit of her endorsement has been orchestrated to sell donuts! (And no, I don't think corporations are evil. I think legislators who are in corporations' pockets and refuse to pass laws banning direct advertising to children, however, are.)

There’s a reason Dunkin' Donuts went with Ray and not obese, inaccessible, full of himself Mario Batali (who also readily pimps himself out for endorsements). Meaning, Rachel’s sweet face, cute figure, aw shucks tone and work on behalf of good nutrition for kids will be just what it takes to get children or even adults to put aside what they know about good food choices -- just this once ... oh, and now ... one more time, that's it! -- and load up with Bavarian creams and a tote box full of Little Munchkins. How bad could it be? Yumm-o!

Don’t Give Up? It’s Healthier If You Do!

Madeline Holler — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 16:49:00 GMT

I'm a big quitter, let me just state that upfront. But regrets, oh, I've had a few. There's no bigger way to feel like a loser in America than simply walking away.

So when my daughter was four and wanted to quit her gymnastics class -- she feared heights and simply couldn't figure out cartwheels -- I told her she had to at least finish the class. Stick it out. Face her fears. Suck it up. (Don't be like me.)

But recent psychological studies seem to indicate that while persistence gets more accolades, quitting might actually be better for our health. Oooohhh, I think I'm going to like this research.

How do researchers determine something like the effects of persistence on health? First, they developed a test to distinguish between people who never gave up working toward a goal and those who gave up when the going not only got tough, but seemed impossible. With this persister/quitter diagnostic in hand, the psychologists then followed a group of teens.

After a year of following the teens, they showed that those who hadn’t persisted in attaining difficult goals had a lower level of a certain protein that causes inflammation, which, over time, is detrimental to internal organs. Those who stayed the course, however, had higher levels of this protein, putting themselves at a higher risk for heart disease and diabetes.

The authors of the study suggested that walking away from an insurmountable goal might be better for your health in the long run.

But what about the persistent feelings of failure when one up and walks away? The psychologists suggested people set new goals and start trying again. Though there were no apparent health benefits to this so-called "re-engagement," they said the psychological effects of failure were less when a person could just let it go.

Let it go? Consider it done. Hey, I feel better already!

This is also something I'll keep in mind with my daughter as she comes up against other situations that she might be tempted to walk away from. How bad is it? How impossible? Is there a similar and more attainable goal that you won't have to kill yourself in trying to meet?

Epilogue: my daughter finished the gymnastics classes. A few months later, she wanted to sign up again.

As Suspected, Everything Makes Kids Fat

Madeline Holler — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 19:22:00 GMT

Somehow, I think we’ve all known this for a very long time: everything – yes, EVERYTHING – is making kids fat.

A short list:
Food
Diet food
And drink
Lack of exercise
TV
TV commercials
Their mothers
Their moms
Their mamas
Mommy
Mom’s minivan
Cupcakes
Some virus
And really, much, much more.

In this latest report on childhood obesity, researchers argue that it’s not any one factor that is causing an alarming percentage of Americans to be not just fat but obese. Rather, there are many factors working together that are turning even regular sized babies into the ubiquitous groups of pudgy teens you see outside schools and crammed into Starbucks. In some middle and high schools, nearly 44 percent of the student population is overweight or obese.

In the report, school food choices took a hit, of course, as did high calorie sodas and drinks readily available for purchase in the school hallway. The decreasing amount of time spent in P.E. over the high school years was also a reason.

Income and racial/ethnic makeup unfortunately plays a role too. Lower income schools were found to have fewer after school sports available. These schools also had higher rates of obesity. School populations with a larger non-white population had fewer low-fat snack choices. Hispanic students were exposed to brand-name fast foods at twice the rate of white and African-American students and also have high rates of obesity in teens.

Outside the school, kids don't fare much better in terms of available healthy food choices. Poor neighborhoods in many U.S. cities suffer from a lack of supermarkets. Instead, locals have to shop at convenience stores or eat in fast-food shops. One economist found a connection between lack of supermarkets and obesity.

But just like fad diets that never seem to help you lose weight for good, focusing on a single factor that has been shown to contribute to childhood obesity won't solve this escalating problem either. There's no magic bullet. But I think anybody who has thought for a minute about fat kids -- theirs or someone else's -- pretty much knows that.

So taking out soda from schools won't make kids magically skinny. Neither will banning advertisements aimed a children. But continuing to allow them? That's not going to help solve the problem either.

One Soda a Day Could Get You a Cardiologist

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 12:04:00 GMT

Put down that Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper, people. A new study shows that even one soda a day -- including both diet and regular varieties -- could boost your risk for heart disease by about 50%. Although just a pop a day may have previously been seen as a moderate habit, it could up your chances for developing metabolic syndrome which could lead to heart disease and diabetes.

What isn't a surprise is that the food and beverage industry is disputing the findings. Regardless, this recent warning only adds to mounting evidence against sugary soft drink consumption. The senior author of the study says increased soda drinking is linked to health epidemics such as obesity, high blood pressure and (this will make you cringe) diabetes in children in teens.

The findings of this study are both fascinating and disturbing. While it may not call on you to quit the Mountain Dew or even the Diet Mountain Dew for good, it may be enough motivation to cut back. And the big gulp (not Big Gulp, come on) is what this could mean for all those kids pulling pop out of a Happy Meal box or the fridge.

Sleep Heals

Melissa Summers — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 17:04:00 GMT

I have a couple of parenting obsessions, the most enduring has been making sure my kids get enough sleep. If the kids don't get enough sleep they transform themselves from charming, polite little people into hyperactive, demonic lunatics. I often sit in my son's kindergarten class and wonder if a few specific kids are getting enough sleep and perhaps that's why he's currently attempting to launch himself off a table. Ahem.

It turns out lack of sleep, especially for kids with sleep apnea, may also be linked to obesity, diabetes and general health. A new study at Yale is looking at the link between sleep, obesity and diabetes. This article shares the story of twelve-year-old Emily Spaulding who suffered through 7 rounds of strep throat and wasn't getting restful sleep. As a survivor of two recent runs of strep throat, God bless your little heart Emily.

She was enrolled in the Yale study and monitored in their sleep lab. They found Emily had sleep apnea, a condition where a person stops breathing for a few seconds while sleeping, and also diagnosed as pre-diabetic. The article doesn't make it clear how they cured her sleep apnea but it is usually treated using a C-Pap machine or through removing enlarged adnoids and/or tonsils, read more here.

Emily is now healthy and thriving and the study at Yale continues.

Strollerderby : diabetes

Breastfeeding Benefits For Moms Greater Than Previously Believed

Playdate: High Fructose Corn Syrup Freak Outs Be Gone

Kid Foodies Annoy Food Writers Everywhere

UPDATE: Bye Bye BPA: WHICH Bottles Will Go Bisphenol Free

Who's Eating Kid Cereals? Us

Kitchenista: It's Chocolate Chip Cookie Week!

Kindergartner Saves Diabetic Dad from Coma

Georgia Family Has Everything They Own Up on eBay

Mom Resuscitates Baby Four Times On Phone With Emergency Control

American Newborn's Stuck in Iraqi Red Tape

The New State of Children's Health Care

Faith-Healer Parents Charged after Daughter's Death

Is Miley Cyrus' First Photo Shoot Creepy?

Disney Pulls Hannah Montana Diabetes Episode

Mark Wahlberg Thinks Britney & Paris Make Crappy Role Models

Yet Another Generation of Young Girl Popfatuations

Babble Giveaway: Win a LeapFrog Didj + Hannah Montana Game! (Ends 12/1)

Suri Cruise: Most Powerful Child On The Planet

Name Guru Picks Eight Worst Celeb Kid Names of 2008 (Part 1)

Name Guru Picks Eight Worst Celeb Kid Names of 2008 (Part 2)

Nine-Year-Old Lothario Gets Movie Deal

Disney Pulls Hannah Montana Diabetes Episode

Morning News: Public Schools? Hannah Montana? Michelle O's Big Decisions

Malia and Sasha, Meet Miley

Woman changes her name to Cutout Dissection.com

Matt Lauer Talks To Sarah Palin In The Kitchen

Smokers No Longer Allowed Foster Children

About Ann Nixon Cooper

They Say: Our Kids Are Developing a (Legal) Drug Habit

Update: Praying Parents Charged With Homicide

Girls Dies Because Parents Pray Instead of Getting Treatment

Pregcellent: If Halle Berry Isn't In Deep Trouble Pregnant, She Didn't Have Type 1 Diabetes

Portion Size Matters For Fat Kids

Now Who's To Blame? Schools Get Better Food, Fitness

Prickly Chef Calls BS on Rachael Ray Donut Endorsements

Don’t Give Up? It’s Healthier If You Do!

As Suspected, Everything Makes Kids Fat

One Soda a Day Could Get You a Cardiologist

Sleep Heals