Songbirds that pack on as much as 50 percent of their body weight before migrating and that sleep very little, exhibit altered immune system and tissue-repair function during the journey, which may hold implications for human health, according to Penn State researchers.
Children with obesity face physical, social and emotional hurdles while growing up. But parents can help, including by making good choices the most convenient choices for their children.
Researchers have found that toddlers who had poor self-regulation skills — the ability to control their behaviors and emotions — went on to have lower BMIs as preschoolers if their mothers engaged with them during playtime and then helped direct them during clean up.
In the United States, the percentage of children and adolescents with obesity has more than tripled since 1970. Today, approximately one in five school-aged children (ages 6 to 19) is obese.
The reason why some people find it so hard to resist finishing an entire bag of chips or bowl of candy may lie with how their brain responds to food rewards, according to researchers who found that when certain regions of the brain reacted more strongly to being rewarded with food than being rewarded with money, those people were more likely to overeat.
People with obesity are more likely to develop a rapid and irregular heart rate, called atrial fibrillation, which can lead to stroke, heart failure and other complications, according to Penn State researchers. They found that people with obesity had a 40 percent higher chance of developing atrial fibrillation than people without obesity.
The more mothers use food to soothe their babies, the more weight certain babies gained, according to researchers. The effect was only seen in babies with a surgent temperament — characterized by being more outgoing, active and drawn to new things and people, putting these children at a risk for obesity later on.
Children that use technology -- cell phones, video games, computers, or TV -- right before bed may be at risk for sleep problems, according to researchers. In a study, kids that used these devices before bed were associated with less sleep and higher BMIs.
Researchers in the College of Health and Human Development contributed to the 2017 Women’s Health Research Day Conference by sharing research and moderating panel discussions.
New numbers from the National Center for Health Statistics show that rates of obesity have increased by at least 30 percent in both adults and children the past 15 years. Some doctors aren't surprised.
Penn State’s Center for Childhood Obesity Research has received additional Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) funding and will expand its nutrition program to reach more children and their families in underserved populations.
The next session of Fit, Trim and Slim, Penn State Heart and Vascular Institute's 12-week weight management program, will begin on Feb. 1.
For the first time in two decades, the life expectancy of Americans declined slightly, and the overall death rate rose, according to a report from the National Center for Health Statistics.
Major League Baseball players have become overwhelmingly overweight and obese during the last quarter century, say health researchers.
An excess of bacteria in the gut can change the way the liver processes fat and could lead to the development of metabolic syndrome, according to health researchers.
