Tag: children

  • Child Obesity Researchers Report Early Signs of Heart Disease in Children

    According to news sources, scientists attending the American Heart Association conference in New Orleans released the results of several studies including one showing that the artery walls of children who are obese or have high cholesterol are as thick as those of adults who are 30 years older. Led by Geetha Raghuveer, a cardiologist and associate…

  • Study Shows Increasing Rates of Medication Use in Children

    Researchers in Kansas and Missouri report that chronic medication use in children increased over a three-year period across all therapies studied, with the prevalence rate for type 2 antidiabetic agents doubling. Emily Cox, et al., “Trends in the Prevalence of Chronic Medication Use in Children: 2002-2005,” Pediatrics, November 2008. The study involved a sampling of commercially…

  • Australian Industry Group Announces Responsible Children’s Marketing Initiative

    The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) recently released a Responsible Children’s Marketing Initiative in response to “community concerns about food and beverage advertising during children’s television programs.” AFGC developed the initiative after the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) published its draft Children’s Television Standards 2008, which did not recommend further government regulation of…

  • PCRM Seeks to Ban Processed Meats from School Cafeteria Menus

    The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine’s (PCRM) Cancer Project has filed a petition with the USDA asking the agency to prohibit processed meats from school cafeteria menus. The initiative follows an advertising campaign warning about the purported cancer risks of processed meat consumption. Further details about the campaign appear in issue 277 of this Update.…

  • Two Class Actions Claim Fast Food Is Responsible for Obesity and Health Problems

    New York attorney Samuel Hirsch has filed lawsuits against fast food companies on behalf of two classes of plaintiffs who are allegedly obese and have developed diabetes, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol intake, and other adverse health effects from consuming defendants’ products. Barber v. McDonald’s Corp., No. 23145/2002 (N.Y., Super. Ct., filed July 24,…