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Stuck at home, bored. Fiddling with their phone or playing video games. Munching on snack foods to while away the time. School-age children gaining excess pounds could be one lasting health problem caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with pediatricians and public health experts warning about a potentially dramatic increase in childhood obesity. “I think it is possible, and potentially even likely, that we may see childhood obesity rise following stay-at-home orders, virtual school and increases in home-schooling,” said Michelle Cardel, associate director of the Center for Integrative Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases at the University of Florida College of Medicine. “Children are trading in their structured time at school for screen time and 24/7 access to their kitchen.” Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. children was considered obese back in 2016, the last time the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention assessed childhood obesity. There was good news in that CDC study, however — it appeared that the prevalence of childhood obesity had plateaued, thanks to a number of public health measures aimed at preventing weight gain in kids, said Dr. Amy Lee, a weight control expert. “They are now predicting that because of COVID and everything that’s happening, there may an undoing of that plateau,” Lee said. “We may see this heading the wrong direction.” It makes sense that kids kept home during lockdowns would… read on >

When the new coronavirus pandemic first began, respiratory distress immediately became the hallmark of severe COVID-19 illness. News reports focused on the inability to breathe, low oxygen saturation levels and the alarming need for ventilators. But six months later, experts are becoming increasingly concerned about a very different COVID-19 phenomenon, one that spares the lungs only to take direct aim at the patient’s heart, digestive tract and nervous system. Called “Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Adults” — or MIS-A — the condition was first spotted last spring in children and teens. “The symptoms are very similar among adults and children,” explained Dr. Alisa Femia, director of both in-patient dermatology and autoimmune connective tissue disease at NYU Langone Dermatologic Surgery & Cosmetic Associates, in New York City. “Fever is characteristic,” Femia noted, sometimes accompanied by a rash, skin discoloration and chapping, chest pain and gastrointestinal issues. “Some patients develop muscle pain, and a general feeling of unwellness. And some experience a shock-like state, which means that blood pressure is dropping, the heart rate is up, and the patient appears very, very ill and in immediate need of hospitalization,” she added. Femia was part of a team that first reported on the pediatric version of the condition — known as MIS-C — back in July. To date, there have been more than 1,000 cases of MIS-C in the… read on >

If you’re a senior who can’t smell onions, smoke, chocolate or natural gas, it’s time to see your doctor. Seniors who lose their sense of smell — which doctors call olfactory dysfunction — have higher odds of dying from all causes within five years, new research shows. Scientists had previously found a link between olfactory dysfunction and impaired thinking and memory. “We suspected there would be an association with olfactory dysfunction and mortality as well, considering that this is an early marker for a lot of neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s and dementia,” said study author Dr. Janet Choi, a resident in otolaryngology at the University of Southern California. Her team reviewed nationwide survey and death data from about 3,500 people age 40 and over. The surveys included self-reported loss of smell as well an objective smell test. Over the five-year study, researchers found no increased risk of death based on self-reported loss of smell. But the risk of death rose 18% for every 1-point decrease in scores on a “pocket smell test.” On the test, participants were asked to identify eight scents: onion, soap, leather, smoke, grape, strawberry, chocolate and natural gas. They needed to identify at least six to be considered having a normal sense of smell. The mortality link was significant for adults 65 and older, but not among those between 40 and… read on >

Is your kid suddenly clamoring for a fast food meal or a sugary cereal you’ve never even heard of? He or she may have seen the product featured on a favorite “kid influencer” video. In a new study, researchers viewed the top 50 kid influencer videos on YouTube and found that 9 out of 10 featured unhealthy foods. Nearly 1 in 3 promoted a fast-food chain. But, what in the world is a kid influencer? If you have children, odds are you know at least one — or your kids do. Kid influencers are young online celebrities with large social media fan bases. They can earn big profits from ads and endorsements in their videos. The five most-watched influencers in this study have generated more than 48 billion views and 38.6 million subscribers through more than 10,000 YouTube videos posted through July 2019. Their average age? Just 7 years old. The most watched of these influencers is 9-year-old Ryan Kaji, whose video channel, “Ryan’s World,” has nearly 27 million subscribers. Published reports pegged his 2019 income at $26 million. His family started making videos of his reactions to unboxing new toys when he was just 3. “I think parents probably underestimate the effect of these videos for a few reasons: One is that kid influencers seem like everyday kids. They’re familiar and fun, but they… read on >

Halloween is risky enough this year with the coronavirus pandemic, so don’t risk your vision as well by wearing costume contact lenses, the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) says. Costume contact lens packaging that claims “one-size-fits-all” or “no need to see an eye doctor” is false, the academy said. Poorly fitted contact lenses can scrape the cornea (the outer layer of the eye), making the eye more vulnerable to bacteria and viruses that can cause infections. People who buy contacts without a prescription have a 16-fold increased risk of developing an eye infection, research shows. “As we follow new precautions to keep our families safe in this abnormal year, it’s important not to forget about the normal hazards that can occur during Halloween,” Dr. Dianna Seldomridge, a clinical spokesperson for the AAO, said in an academy news release. “Whatever you plan, please follow these tips to protect your eyes this Halloween.” Get an Rx. Buy only U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved contact lenses. Color contacts or other decorative lenses are sometimes sold at corner shops or online, but such sales are illegal. Contact lenses must be bought with a doctor’s prescription. Practice good hygiene. Wash your hands before putting your contacts in or touching the skin around your eye. Cleaning and disinfecting your contact lenses as instructed minimizes the risk of an eye infection. See… read on >

As most of America prepares for the Nov. 1 return of standard time, 63% want one fixed, year-round time, a new survey finds. “Evidence of the negative impacts of seasonal time changes continue to accumulate, and there is real momentum behind the push to end seasonal time changes,” said Dr. Kannan Ramar, president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), which favors a fixed, nationwide time. A recent position statement from AASM said public health and safety would benefit if seasonal time changes were eliminated. It called for permanent use of standard time, which it said more closely aligns with the daily rhythms of the body’s internal clock. More than 20 organizations have endorsed the statement. They include the National Safety Council, the National Parent Teacher Association and the World Sleep Society. AASM noted that time changes increase the risk of stroke, hospital admissions and sleep loss, and also add to inflammation, one of the body’s responses to stress. Researchers recently reported an 18% increase in adverse medical events due to human error in the week after switching to daylight saving time in the spring. “Permanent, year-round standard time is the best choice to most closely match our circadian sleep-wake cycle,” said Dr. M. Adeel Rishi, a specialist in sleep medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Eau Claire, Wisc. “Daylight saving time results in… read on >

The United States on Thursday recorded its second highest daily total of new coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, with 75,000 new infections, while eight states broke single-day records of new cases. Also on Thursday, the antiviral medicine remdesivir became the first drug to gain U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to fight COVID-19. Such drugs are urgently needed: Adding to bleak national numbers, 13 additional states have added more cases in the past week than in any other seven-day stretch, The New York Times reported. The Midwest and Rocky Mountains are struggling to contain major outbreaks, while new hot spots are emerging in other parts of the country. Kentucky announced more than 1,470 cases on Thursday, the biggest one-day jump ever in that state. And Colorado reported more than 1,300 cases, setting another single-day record, the Times reported. In Chicago, a nightly curfew will start on Friday, after officials reported an average of 645 new cases a day this past week, the newspaper said. The current record for new daily cases was recorded in mid-July, when over 77,000 infections were recorded in one day. Coronavirus cases have also been climbing on college campuses, where more than 214,000 infections have been diagnosed this year, a Times survey showed. More than 35,000 of those cases have been reported since early October. While some colleges moved all… read on >

Kids growing up in poverty show the effects of being poor as early as age 5 — especially those who are Black, a new study suggests. The research adds to mounting evidence that children of Black parents who are also poor face greater health inequities than whites. “Our findings underscore the pronounced racialized disparities for young children,” said lead author Dr. Neal Halfon, director of the Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities at the University of California, Los Angeles. For the study, teachers administered a standardized test to measure physical, social, emotional and language development of kindergarteners in 98 school districts across the United States. More than 185,000 kids took the test from 2010 to 2017. Analyzing the data, the researchers found that 30% of the poorest children were vulnerable in one or more areas of health development, compared with 17% of children from wealthier areas. These differences in vulnerability varied among from different ethnic and racial groups. Black children were at the highest risk, followed by Hispanic children. Asian children were at the lowest risk. The difference between Black children and white children was most striking at the higher socioeconomic levels and tended to narrow for kids from lower-income areas. The disparities can have a profound effect on kids’ long-term development and lead to higher rates diabetes, heart disease, drug use, mental health… read on >

High levels of a protein that lubricates the knee joint may actually be a harbinger of impending joint disease, a surprising animal study suggests. The researchers looked at the role of the protein, known as lubricin, in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in dogs because it may also be involved in similar injuries in humans. “Lubricin is crucial for normal joint function and the lubrication of cartilage,” said researcher Heidi Reesink, an assistant professor in equine health at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University. “We know that if a person or animal doesn’t make that protein, they will develop devastating joint disease affecting all the major weight-bearing joints.” But Reesink found that in dogs that suffered a ligament tear in the knee, lubricin levels increased within the joint, which is the opposite of the conventional assumptions. “The dogma in this field has been that lubricin decreases in joint disease,” Reesink said in a university news release. The researchers found that in three dogs, lubricin increased in the time between the initial injury but before any signs of arthritis. “This indicates that the presence of increased lubricin might actually be a biomarker for predicting future osteoarthritis,” Reesink said. “We also saw increased lubricin in dogs months to years after they injured their ACLs, suggesting that lubricin might be an indicator of ongoing joint instability.… read on >

Active older adults — cancer survivors included — are in better physical and mental health than their sedentary peers, a new study finds. More regular moderate to vigorous physical activity and less sedentary time improve the mental and physical health of older cancer survivors and older people without a cancer diagnosis, say researchers from the American Cancer Society. “The findings reinforce the importance of moving more and sitting less for both physical and mental health, no matter your age or history of cancer,” study co-author Dr. Erika Rees-Punia said. “This is especially relevant now as so many of us, particularly cancer survivors, may be staying home to avoid COVID-19 exposure, and may be feeling a little isolated or down,” Rees-Punia added in a cancer society news release. For the study, the research team analyzed aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities, sitting time and mental and physical health of nearly 78,000 people who took part in the society’s Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort. The researchers found clinically meaningful differences in mental and physical health between the most and least active, and the least and most sedentary. They say the findings support the importance of regular exercise and less sitting time as a way to improve quality of life for older men and women. The American Cancer Society physical activity guidelines recommend that adults get 150 to 300… read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Lockdowns Can Widen Kids’ Waistlines – Here’s How to Curb That

Dangerous COVID-19 Syndrome First Seen in Kids Also Strikes Adults

Fading Sense of Smell Could Signal Higher Death Risk in Older Adults

Social Media ‘Kid Influencers’ Are Promoting Junk Foods

Skip Costume Contact Lenses This Halloween

Most Americans Want to End Seasonal Time Changes: Survey

U.S. Daily COVID Case Count Nears Record for Pandemic

Poverty Might Raise Black Kids’ Health Risks as Early as Age 5

An Unexpected Finding on What Might Drive Joint Disease

Exercise Boosts Physical, Mental Well-Being of Older Cancer Survivors