The Importance of Exercise

Childhood obesity is an ever-growing concern in our country. Many articles have been written substantiating the need for regular exercise for children over six years of age. In his article, Dr. Edward R. Laskowski of the world-renowned Mayo Clinic, offers some great suggestions.

With the introduction of off the shelf video games, there has been an alarming increase in cases of childhood obesity. It is the norm for a child to come home from school and plop themselves in front of the TV for hours on end, with the only exercise happening is the thumb muscles on a controller.

Dr. Thomas N. Robinson, who works in the MPH Division of General Pediatrics at the Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention in California, and is a member of the Pediatric Clinics of North America, points out the connection to television and obesity in his publicized study,...

Join Kate, a real ADHD mom, as she addresses the principals . . .

Dear All Principals of All the Schools My Children Have Ever Attended,

Even Harvard now agrees

Parents, educators, health care professionals, and others are perplexed by the incredible increase in cases of ADHD and autism. A study performed by Harvard University suggests that toxic chemicals may be to blame. Furthermore, the researchers say the implementation of a global prevention strategy to control the use of toxic substances is urgently needed.

"The greatest concern is the large numbers of children who are affected by toxic damage to brain development in the absence of a formal diagnosis. They suffer reduced attention span, delayed development, and poor school performance. Industrial chemicals are now emerging as likely causes," said Philippe Grandjean, adjunct professor of environmental health at Harvard School of Public Health.

Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai performed research in 2006 that...

Have you ever wondered why your ADHD child acts like the energizer rabbit? Well, so do the researchers. "We don't know whether they do it to help or because they are anxious, or whether it is helping," Interesting but inconclusive article read on to learn more

MONDAY, Feb. 29, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Students who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often get into trouble for fidgeting in the classroom, but that fidgeting may help them learn, new research suggests.

The prevailing view has been and continues to be that hyperactivity is a core deficit in ADHD, said study author Michael Kofler, an assistant professor of psychology at Florida State University in Tallahassee. When we think of it as a deficit, we are saying it's a bad thing and it's interfering [with schoolwork]. Our work has been challenging that thought.

Kofler's team gave 25 boys and girls with ADHD...

Does Diet Affect ADHD and Autism?

Some medical doctors disputed the notion that diet, food additives, and refined sugar had any effect on autism for years. In 2008, the American Academy of Pediatrics admitted they might have been wrong. In Alison Schonwalds article, ADHD and Food Additives Revisited, she looks at a randomized study conducted in the UK that addresses the effects of food additives on children's behavior. In the fine print of that study, the editor states, the overall findings of the study are clear and require that even we skeptics, who have long doubted parental claims of the effects of various foods on the behavior of their children, admit we might have been wrong.

Now many experts are stating that diet may contribute to certain unwanted behaviors in children with autism or ADHD. However, they are cautious to admit that diet can play such an important role. Many...