Exercise won’t douse hot flashes
Exercise is not a cure for hot flashes, but it does help postmenopausal women cope with stress, anxiety and depression, a Pennsylvania study has found.
The researchers had hoped to prove that exercise could be a less risky alternative to hormone-replacement therapy for women suffering from hot flashes, said study author Deborah B. Nelson, a professor of public health and obstetrics and gynecology at Temple University in Philadelphia. But “we didn’t find a relationship between physical activity and hot flashes.”
The study did, however, find that more exercise led to lowered levels of perceived stress. “The levels of anxiety, stress and depression were significantly lower among physically active, postmenopausal women.”
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Hounding tots about food wears thin
Controlling what your toddlers consume, either by trying to get them to eat less or to eat more, can lead to a lower weight by the age of 2, new British research suggests.
Although a lower weight may be desirable in adults, it’s not always in the best interest of a young child, according to the report in the January issue of Pediatrics.
“Nutrition is extremely important in infancy and childhood. In the first two years, the child is growing in height and weight, and the brain is growing, so it’s extremely important that proper nutrition is provided,” explained Dr. Brenda Kohn, a pediatric endocrinologist and an associate professor at the New York University School of Medicine and Medical Center in New York City.
The researchers found that two feeding practices — restricting food and pressuring to eat — resulted in lower-than-average weight scores.
“The findings of this study suggest that, as early as 1 year of age, controlling feeding practices can be causal in predicting child weight,” the study’s authors wrote.
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Breast-fed kids deal with stress better
Breast-feeding is considered a great way for a mother to form a close bond with her infant. Now there’s evidence to suggest that it may also help kids be more resilient to stress.
Researchers in Sweden and the United Kingdom examined data on almost 9,000 children born in Britain in 1970. Relevant information was collected at birth and again at ages 5 and 10 from parents, teachers, health-care workers and midwives.
Teachers were asked to rate the kids’ anxiety levels on a 0-to-50 scale at age 10. And parents were asked about major life events, including divorce or separation, that occurred when their children were between 5 and 10.
Not surprisingly, children whose parents had divorced or separated were more likely to have high anxiety. But what the researchers found striking was the difference in stress levels between breast-fed and bottle-fed kids. Breast-fed children were significantly less anxious.
Lead author Scott Montgomery, an associate professor at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, said the study tried to replicate animal studies that showed close physical contact between a mother and her offspring may have a positive impact on the development of the offspring’s stress response, he said.
