Nearly 30% of children with ADHD continue to struggle with the condition as adults, and some may develop other mental health issues, commit suicide, or end up in jail, a new study shows.
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Generation X-Large: Fatter Children Force Stores to Revamp Sizing
Clothing chains have been forced to rip up their sizing system for children to reflect the fact youngsters are now taller, wider and heavier.
A new template for those aged four to 16 has been devised for retailers to reflect major changes to body shapes over the last 35 years.
Girls of 11 are an average of four inches wider around the waist, while boys are generally bigger through the waist and chest.
he figures add to evidence that decades of fast food, a couch-potato culture and a decline in school sport have remodelled the nation’s youth.
Six of the country’s biggest children’s fashion chains – Marks & Spencer, Next, George at Asda, Tesco, Monsoon and the Shop Direct group – will use the new guidelines.
Full body 3D scans were carried out on 2,885 youngsters across the country to produce the updated size regime.
The last time a comprehensive survey of children’s shapes was carried out was by the British Standards Institution in 1978.
Since then, girls of 11 have plumped up to the extent that the waist is an average of just over 10cm – around four inches – wider at 70.2cm (27.6in).
At a time when many youngsters are going through puberty at an earlier age, the average chest measurement for the 11-year-old girl is up by 7.09cm (2.8in) to 78.4cm(30.8in).
The average boy’s chest is now 9.69cm (3.8in) bigger at 78.35cm (30.8in), while the waist is up by 8.53cm (3.4in).
The figures were compiled by Shape GB, a collaboration between retailers, several academic bodies, clothing size experts Alvanon and scanner experts.
Alvanon president, Ed Gribbin, said official sizing standards were ‘quite outdated’, leading to ‘significant inconsistency in sizing and fit across clothing brands and retailers’.
‘This creates confusion and frustration for shoppers, not to mention a high percentages of returns which adds cost to retailers that may get passed on to consumers.’
He added: ‘Most studies, including the World Health Organisation, cite two main reasons for the fact that children in developed countries are getting larger.
‘The first is sedentary lifestyles, as children are more in tune with their computers than they are an active lifestyle.
The second is the higher sugar content in many diets. Processed and fast foods are all contributing factors.’
The scanning was run by Select Research. Its managing director, Richard Barnes, said the information could be used to find ways to tackle childhood obesity.
The six retailers which participated in the project sell 48 per cent of children’s clothes in the UK.
Other stores are expected to take up the new guidelines.
Sean Poulter - MailOnline
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Video Games May Boost Focus in Kids With Dyslexia
Here's one possible treatment for dyslexia that kids won't complain about: video games.
Italian researchers report that they found that children with the reading disability scored better on tests after they played an action video game for hours, possibly because their minds temporarily became more focused.
It's not clear if video games directly improved the dyslexia in the kids. If it did, no one knows how long the effect might last or whether the strategy is a better approach than traditional treatments. In other words, dyslexic children shouldn't necessarily play a couple of video games and call their reading specialist in the morning.
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Gene that Causes 1,000 Babies to be Born Deaf in UK Each Year Discovered
A gene that causes 1,000 babies to be born deaf in Britain each year has been discovered by scientists.
It is hoped the breakthrough will lead to new treatments for profound deafness.
Research published online in Nature Genetics shows babies born deaf have mutated versions of a protein called CIB2.
The gene binds to calcium within a cell and is behind a condition known as Usher syndrome type 1 that causes deafness and 'non-syndromic' hearing loss, the study shows. Read More
Ritalin does not turn children with ADHD into 'robots' but frees them to make the right moral decisions, researchers claim today.
Many are concerned that Ritalin and similar drugs, which aid concentration in those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, are chemical straightjackets that prevent children from taking full responsibility for themselves.
But Dr Ilina Singh of King's College London said she and colleagues found no evidence this was the case, after interviewing scores of children on the drug.
Instead she found children commonly thought it benefited them, by helping clear their heads to make the right decision. It did not "make the decision for them", she insisted.
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Asthmatics Suffering 'Because Doctors Can't Understand Inhalers'
Asthmatics are frequently unable to use their inhalers properly because their GPs don't understand the devices themselves, doctors warn today.
They say asthma sufferers including children are ending up in accident and emergency with serious breathing difficulties because they have not been given sound advice on how to use inhalers.
Asthma, which affects up to eight million people in Britain, is commonly considered to be a mild condition. But it can be fatal. In 2009, it claimed 1,131 lives one every eight hours. Doctors think nine out of 10 deaths are preventable. Read More
Over-the-counter eyedrops and nose sprays contain powerful drugs that are poisonous in surprisingly small amounts if swallowed, the FDA warns.
Unwary parents often leave these products within easy reach of curious children. From 1997 through 2009, eyedrops injured more than 4,500 children under the age of 5 and nasal sprays injured more than 1,100, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
Injury reports show that children can easily open the products, which do not come in child-resistant packages.
The drugs are surprisingly powerful. Swallowing less than a fifth of a teaspoon can seriously harm a child, the FDA says.
The eyedrops in question soothe redness by causing blood vessels in the eye to constrict. Visine is a popular brand; there are many generic versions. Nose drops work in a similar way, tightening blood vessels in the nose. Afrin, Dristan, and Mucinex are popular brands, and there are many generic versions.
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New Vaccine Against Most Deadly Strain of Meningitis could Soon be Offered to All Babies
The first vaccine to offer broad protection against meningitis B is to be licensed for use in the UK, drastically reducing the number of children killed by the disease.
There are 1,870 cases of meningitis B in the UK on average each year, resulting in up to 200 deaths half of which occur in the under-fives.
As many as 400 children a year are also left with serious lifelong complications such as limb amputations, blindness, deafness and brain damage. Read More
Officials Warn Sleep Positioners Pose Suffocation Risk
A product marketed to help keep babies safe while they sleep may have the opposite effect.
At least 13 infants have died since 1997 while lying in sleep positioners or sleep wedges, a new CDC report shows. The products often claim to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Researchers found all but one of the deaths involved infants aged 3 months or less. Most of the infants were placed on their sides to sleep in the sleep positioner, and many were later found lying on their stomachs.
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