Shedding pounds before getting pregnant can reduce a number of health risks - but it may also add a few points to your child's reading and math scores. A recent study has found a link between a mother's weight before pregnancy and their children's cognitive skills: obese women's children score lower on math and reading tests when they were 5 to 7 years old. Get to a healthy weight before becoming pregnant. Lead author Rika Tanda , a nursing doctoral candidate at Ohio State University, and colleagues wanted to investigate potential connections between a mother's pre-pregnancy ob...

Obesity and its related health problems cost big money. Prevention efforts to keep the rates of obesity stable could save Americans 550 billion dollars over the next 20 years. 

Of course you adore your adorably chubby little toddler, but you do know how much of that chubbiness is normal or whether your child might actually be overweight? Many moms don't. A recent study found that the vast majority of mothers whose toddlers were overweight had a different perception of their little ones and could not correctly identify an image representing their baby's body size. Ask your doctor if your toddler is a healthy weight. Erin Hager, PhD, of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, led the study of 281 pairs of moms and their toddlers, with an average a...

When it comes to feeding babies, it's not just what you feed your child but how you feed your child. Even breastmilk in a bottle affects weight gain differently than milk directly from the breast. A recent study has found that infants fed only by bottle gained more weight each month than if they were only breastfed, regardless of whether the bottle had breastmilk or another food. Breastfeeding is better than bottle - when possible. Lead author Ruowei Li, PhD, a researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesi...

The electronic babysitter may do more than keep your child occupied. Too much TV watching may also be contributing to your child's unhealthy eating habits. A recent study found a link between the amount of TV a child watches and a higher likelihood of having poor eating habits, like skipping breakfast, eating sweets or fast foods, or drinking more sweetened drinks. Give your child healthy options for TV snacking. Leah Lipsky , PhD, and Ronald Iannotti , PhD, of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in Bethesda, Md . studied patterns ...

Changing characteristics of people in the last century in the western world have had some unlikely effects. Rising levels of gastric cancer, for example, caused one researcher to examine whether obesity could be the cause. A group from North Ireland's Queen's University Belfast published an overall analysis of obesity and digestive tract cancers, looking at cancers both in the stomach and throat. Ask your doctor about how to get started on long term, effective weight loss. Researchers concluded that absolutely obesity indicated higher chances of both forms of cancer, but surpris...

Planning a family? Thinking you might finally start eating healthier because a little one is watching your dietary habits? Parenthood may not change those habits as much as you'd like. A long-term study looking at the impact of having children on the eating habits of their parents found that starting a family does not necessarily lead mom and dad to eat healthier diets. Deciding to eat better is a win-win decision. Helena Laroche , MD, of the University of Iowa and the Iowa City VA Medical Center, and colleagues wanted to know whether the popular idea that parents may decide to ...

If money is always low and stress or depression is always high, moms may be overfeeding their babies - and thereby increasing their kids' risks of obesity. A recent unpublished study being presented at a conference found that the unhealthy practice of adding cereal to babies' bottles tends to occur more often among low-income mothers who are single and/or showing symptoms of depression or high stress. Don't add cereal to your baby's bottle. Lead author Candice Taylor Lucas, MD, a an associate professor of pediatrics at New York University School of Medicine and Bellevue Hospital...

Think outside the bun for some finger lickin ' good food. Head for the border and have it your way. And if you recognized all those taglines , you might be more likely to be obese. Although past research has shown a link between TV watching and obesity, less evidence exists regarding possible links between obesity and fast food advertising. But an unpublished study recently presented at a conference offers just that. Limit your child's access to fast food. Auden McClure, MD, an assistant professor of the Department of Pediatrics at Children's Hospital at Dartmouth, led the ...

Researchers are learning more about how obesity develops from complex factors beyond just eating too much. One factor may be a fear of not having enough food for one's children. A recent study reveals that food insecurity, or the anxiety about whether a person will have enough food to be sure their family is well fed, might play a part in why some children go on to become severely overweight. Follow your doctor's recommendations on feeding your baby. Rachel Gross, MD, an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Children's...