News:
Diabetes Before Pregnancy Doubles in Women, Teens

New Article:
WHO Growth Charts, Part 3

New Reference:
Obesity in children of developing countries- recent papers and some previous reviews.

Diabetes Before Pregnancy Doubles in Women, Teens

April 28, 2008 -- More women and teens are developing diabetes before they become pregnant.

Food Crisis Deepening Across Globe as Major Aid Group Forced to Scale Back Assistance

April 28, 2008 -- Amid surging food prices, child malnutrition, violent unrest and the prospect of prolonged food shortages, one of the world's largest humanitarian organizations has announced a potential 1.5 million drop in the number of people receiving its food assistance.

You are what your mother eats: first evidence that mother's diet influences infant sex

April 22, 2008 -- New research by the Universities of Exeter and Oxford provides the first evidence that a child’s sex is associated with the mother’s diet. Published today (23 April 2008), in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, the study shows a clear link between higher energy intake around the time of conception and the birth of sons. The findings may help explain the falling birth-rate of boys in industrialised countries, including the UK and US.

Vitamin D in brain function

Vitamin D supplementation for high risk groups may be warranted

April 21, 2008 -- In a definitive critical review, scientists at Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland ask whether there is convincing biological or behavioral evidence linking vitamin D deficiency to brain dysfunction. Joyce C. McCann, Ph.D., assistant staff scientist and Bruce N. Ames, Ph.D., senior scientist at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) conclude that there is ample biological evidence to suggest an important role for vitamin D in brain development and function, and that supplementation for groups chronically low in vitamin D is warranted. Their conclusions will be published on April 22, 2008 in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Journal.

New Research Identifies Factors that Influence Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants’ Likelihood of Survival, Disability

April 16, 2008 — For years, parents of extremely premature babies and the doctors who advise them have relied primarily on the baby’s estimated gestational age to determine whether the child receives intensive medical treatment to save its life or comfort care, if the child is not expected to survive.