Childhood obesity is such a crisis in America that officials have been updating recommendations for how early intervention should begin. Obesity now affects as many as 20% of the nation’s children. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force reviewed the literature on kids between 2 and 18 years of age and now recommends that kids over 6 be screened using a measure of body fat based on height and weight called Body Mass Index (BMI). The Task Force also recommends intensive behavioral therapy for those kids who are obese. Behavioral therapy was shown to reduce blood pressure, although it did not show any reduction in cholesterol. While the Task Force saw no benefit to performing obesity screenings on kids younger than 6, this isn’t to say it’s not a problem. Children between the ages of 2 and 5 as a group showed a sharp increase in obesity rates over just the last few years, according to a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The AAP’s 2018 report also found an upward trend for all definitions of overweight and obesity among 2- to 19-year-olds, most pronounced among adolescents. And some ethnic groups are at greater risk than others. White and Asian American children have significantly lower rates of obesity than black and Hispanic kids. The report added that, contrary to the notion that obesity in…  read on >

Roughly 40% to 50% of married couples ultimately split up, according to theAmerican Psychological Association. But Northwestern University professorEliFinkelsaysthe best marriages are actuallybetter than ever. How do you keep your marriage from going from blissful tobust?The psychologist, who hasextensively examined the history of marriage,offers three tips in his book, The All-or-Nothing Marriage. Tip One: Become a love hacker.All relationships require time and effort to keep the fire alive. But chances are that your kids, workplace demands or other responsibilitiesslow the sizzle every now and then.Boost your bliss with love hacks — quick and simple practices that show you care.Here are some easy ones to try: Show appreciation. Say thank you more often. When your spouse tells yougood news,celebrate his or her joy andrespond with a question ortwo. Touch more often: Hold hands during a TV show, for example. This boosts trust and security. Tip Two: Take the time to really talk to each other.Love hacksare great, butopen, deepcommunication is the key — and talk about something other than the kids and the weather. Here’s an idea: Go to the movies and see a romantic comedy.One study showed thatcouples who watched and discussedrelationship movies monthlycut their divorce rate in half within three years. Tip Three: Lower your expectations. Yes, it’s true.One of the best things you can sometimes do for your marriage is to ask less…  read on >

Millions of Americans have filled movie theaters over the holidays to watch the latest in the Star Wars saga, but a new study suggests that enjoyment of the film may be governed by prior expectations. To see how expectations affect viewing pleasure, researchers surveyed 441 people before and after they saw “Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi” in 2017. Based on the results, it’s best not to see “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” believing you’re going to love or hate it, said researcher James Alex Bonus, an assistant professor of communication at Ohio State University, in Columbus. People who had high expectations for the movie but were disappointed had the lowest enjoyment of anyone. Those who expected little from the movie but felt happy after seeing the film had lower overall enjoyment compared with people who had high expectations for the film and enjoyed watching it, researchers found. “It wasn’t really helping people to go in with those low expectations,” Bonus said in a university news release. “The negative bias going in dragged them down and even if they were pleasantly surprised by the movie, they still didn’t like it as much as other people did,” Bonus noted. It’s a lot less about what’s in the movie and a lot more about what you expected it to be, he explained. Three weeks…  read on >

Microbes that live in a child’s upper airway could be linked to severe asthma attacks, new research suggests. For parents, it’s an all-too familiar scene: A child’s seemingly harmless cough quickly escalates to wheezing, gasping and an urgent need for emergency treatment. Asthma is the leading chronic disease in kids and third-most common cause of hospitalization among those under 15, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Now, a new study found an association between asthma flare-ups in children and the makeup of the upper-airway microbiome, communities of microscopic organisms that include bacteria. “In the future, we wish to understand whether the upper-airway bacteria can play a causal role in the severity of asthma symptoms,” said study author Dr. Yanjiao Zhou, who conducted the research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. She is now an assistant professor of medicine at UConn Health in Farmington, Conn. Zhou and her colleagues collected data on 214 school-aged children who were part of a clinical trial. Participants had mild to moderate asthma that was being treated with daily inhaled corticosteroids. Nasal samples were collected twice — once when asthma was under control, and again when kids had the signs of an emerging flare-up, what the investigators called the “yellow zone.” The researchers said kids who had early warning signs of a flare-up were more…  read on >

There’s one type of green Christmas that’s likely to bring joy to gift-givers and recipients alike, a new Canadian study suggests. That’s one based on green consumerism — a push to buy gifts produced in ways that protect the natural environment. For this study, researchers at Concordia University in Montreal asked volunteers how a number of green and not-green products made them feel. The green products generally produced positive feelings, researchers reported. Those who listened to music on green-labeled headphones, for instance, said they enjoyed the music more than those who used conventional headphones. “The warm glow is a good overall feeling,” said study co-author Onur Bodur, a professor of marketing. “It is found in other literature relating to pro-social behavior. You get the feeling when you help others and have a sense of accomplishment that gives you satisfaction.” Participants also reported feeling a warm glow after using a green product, and those who felt isolated reported feeling less so, according to the study published recently in the Journal of Consumer Research. The study also found that actually using green products, such as cleaning solutions, helped dispel a belief that such products were inferior. The findings could have big implications for retailers. “Imagine that the chair you are sitting on is certified bamboo, or the tablecloth at a restaurant is made of recycled materials and…  read on >