New Delhi (The Hawk): As Hanmant Shivankar stood stoically near the victory podium, his mind raced to the day, several years back, when he had learnt that his daughter had sneaked away to compete in a running event.“A wave of panic gripped me,” he told as he watched his daughter soak in the adulation at a Khelo India Youth Games victory ceremony, disclosing in an emotional voice that she had been diagnosed with childhood asthma and the family had done everything to keep her away from smoke and dust to avoid inflaming her lungs and her airways. “Her school physical education teacher had called to seek my consent for taking Sudeshna to the athletics meet. I had flatly refused,” he revealed. But the teacher and Sudeshna had still conspired to go for the event.“I somehow got to know about their trip and raced to the event, hoping to stop her. But, by the time I reached the venue, Sudeshna had already won the race,” Hanmant laughed.More importantly, she had caught the eye of athletics coach Balwant Babar, who was also the Taluka Sports Officer then, too.All these years later, Maharashtra’s Sudeshna not only emerged as the fastest woman at the KIYG but also as the standout performer in track and field, having completed an eye-catching hat-trick in sprints, winning the 100m, 200m and 4x100m gold.<img src="https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/userfiles/image/image0028VT3.jpg">Recalling that incident, Sudeshna said, “Thankfully, my parents were at our native place in Kharshi, about 20km from Satara. Since that day, of course, they have extended every support that I needed,” she gushed.Asked how her PT teacher had even chosen her for sprinting, Sudeshna revealed that she used to play kho-kho with the girls in school without the knowledge of her parents. It was her speed that caught the eye of the teacher.“During those days, if I suffered an asthma attack, I would just take rest and start playing against after a while. It never bothered me,” she declared triumphantly.As her condition improved with regular training and advancing age, Sudeshna started to make a mark on the track, making it to the reserves list of the 4x100 relay team for the School Nationals in Bhopal two years later.A year later, she qualified for the Pune Khelo India Youth Games in the U-17 category and went on to win the 100m gold.But the competition in Pune also taught her the difference between running on a mud and a synthetic track, as until then, she had only trained on a mud track back home in Satara. The nearest synthetic was in Kolhapur, which was about 120kms away.Though Sudeshna and her coach tried to go to Kolhapur for training at least once a month it wasn’t always feasible. So coach Babar changed strategies.“My coach started building my technique needed for a synthetic track. You need to lean forward and have a good knee lift. In the last few years, he has worked a lot on these and it is bringing in the results now,” she conceded.Sudeshna was hoping tocrack the qualifying time for the U20 World Championships to be played in Cali, Colombia from August 1 at the National Federation Cup Juniors Meet in Nadiad, Gujarat. But the heat didn’t allow her to perform at her best and she finished fourth in both the 100m and 200m races, failing to attain the qualification mark.“But by the time I came here, I had acclimatised to the heat. Also, the blue track here is slightly faster than the red one and I was confident of a good showing here,” she said.Sudeshna not only dominated the sprint events in Panchkula, her timings – 11.79 secs in 100m and 24.29 sec in 200m – were better than the qualification standard set by the Athletics Federation of India for the World U20 Championships.She has now petitioned the AFI to consider her performance here for the World U20 selection and was hopeful that she would be on the flight to Cali next month.And if that happens, Hanmant Shivankar would be glad he hadn’t stopped his child from running due to a measly asthma.

As Hanmant Shivankar stood stoically near the victory podium, his mind raced to the day, several years back, when he had learnt that his daughter had sneaked away to compete in a running event.

Even childhood asthma couldn’t stop Maharashtra sprint star Sudeshna

Nainital: After India's star batter Virat Kohli failed to showcase his brilliant performance in the fifth Test against England, his childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma backed him and said that the former skipper will be back with a bang.Virat's flop show continued in the fifth Test against England at Edgbaston, where he could manage to score only 31 runs. Seeing his dismal performance, many fans expressed their anger on the internet and demanded the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) a break for Virat."See, I understand that he (Virat Kohli) has failed to give a brilliant performance for a long time now but that happens to every good player. The ball on which he lost his wicket in the second innings of the fifth Test against England, was really great and could have dismissed any batter. There is no need to give a break to Virat as he is perfectly fine," Rajkumar Sharma told ANI."Whatever he has done for Team India till now, no other player has been able to do that. I have full faith in him and he will be back with a bang," he added.After facing a seven-wicket defeat against England in the fifth Test, Team India will square off against the Three Lions in a white-ball series. Following this, the Men in Blue will be going up against West Indies for a three-match ODI series and five-match T20I series.Coming to the fifth Test, a 269-run partnership between Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow helped England create history, with the side completing their highest successful run chase ever in the longest format of the game with a seven-wicket win over India at Edgbaston in Birmingham. They were able to successfully chase down the target of 378 runs set by India. This win comes after England was bundled out for 284 in their first innings, trailing by 132 runs after India posted 416 in their first innings. India was bundled out for 245 in the third innings of the match setting a target of 378 for England to win.With this, England has levelled the series 2-2, denying India their first series win on English soil since 2007. They have also completed the most successful run chase at Edgbaston. India has also been handed over their first Test loss while defending a total of 350 or more. India and England will face each other for the three-match T20I series with the first game on Thursday at Southampton.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;—ANI

After India's star batter Virat Kohli failed to showcase his brilliant performance in the fifth Test against England, his childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma backed him and said that the former skipper will be back with a bang.

'Virat Will Be Back With A Bang', Says Childhood Coach Rajkumar Sharma

New Delhi (The Hawk): The well-being of a child with a delicate mental mind must be prioritised in light of the unavoidable long-term ramifications of childhood sexual abuse, according to the Delhi High Court.
The court made the remarks as it denied the appeal of a physics instructor who was accused of sexually harassing and molesting a Class 9 girl at a private school in 2006.
Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad's division bench made the following declaration: "Therefore, sexual harassment has the ability to leave a youngster with mental trauma and may shape how they think for years to come. The child's natural social development may be hampered, and it may also result in a number of psychosocial issues that may call for professional help."
The instructor had appealed a decision by a single judge that upheld the Delhi School Tribunal's orders from December 13, 2011, and the Disciplinary Authority's decision to punish him with mandatory retirement.
The teacher argued that the Disciplinary Committee member who also imposed the penalty was not a member of the school's teaching staff.
The judge, however, dismissed the claim and stated that the lady was an employee of the school and was simply sent on deputation. The judge further stated that the instructor was not prejudiced by the woman's membership on the Disciplinary Committee because she was an employee of the school.
The court upheld the decisions of the single judge, disciplinary authority, and tribunal and stated that the appellant had provided "nothing cogent on record to substantiate that the finding of the Inquiry Officer, as upheld by the Tribunal and the learned Single Judge of this Court, is perverse which would warrant interference from this court."
(Inputs from Agencies)

The well-being of a child with a delicate mental mind must be prioritised in light of the unavoidable long-term ramifications of childhood sexual abuse, according to the Delhi High Court.

Sexual harassment in childhood can cause psychological problems: Delhi High Court

Vijay Garg 
The formative years, starting from conception up to eight years of age, is a period of extraordinary growth and development in a child’s life. A sizeable body of research suggests that nearly 90% of brain growth occurs before kindergarten. Children at this age are incredibly impressionable and, therefore, the social, emotional, and cognitive skills that they pick up during this time are likely to lay the foundation of their adulthood.
Nations around the world have acknowledged the need for and the importance of Early Childhood Education (ECE). Finland, notably, has earned accolades for its ‘educare’ model, which is an integrated approach to education and care1. Here, the Finnish government supports the child’s learning and development without necessarily pressuring kids to learn too much, too soon.
In essence, the purpose of early years of education goes beyond earning good grades, prestigious degrees, and hefty salary packages. Its aim is to provide children with strategies to help them develop a lifelong love for learning.
India’s standing on education front
With over 158.7 million children under the age of six years, the country has a unique opportunity to accelerate its overall growth by improving the quality and access to early childhood programmes. Last year, the Union Education Ministry introduced the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) for the foundational education of children in the three to eight years age group. Taking cues from ancient Indian traditions, NCF proposes a Panchakosha Vikas (five-fold development) model, where the curriculum is centered around physical development, development of life energy, mental development, intellectual development, and spiritual development. The National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) has also proposed several structures for pre-school education, including standalone Anganwadi centres and Balvatikas as well as the co-location of Anganwadi centres and Balvatikas with primary schools for functional linkage.
Undeniably, there have been policy efforts to reform the existing education model. However, there are still several issues which need to be addressed. To begin with, the pervasive and deeply ingrained culture of rote learning and exam-centric approach, where learning takes a backseat in the mad race for marks. The evaluation system requires a relook.
Innovative ways to rehaul the existing system
He are currently grading students on their ability to regurgitate the subject matter which may not necessarily be an accurate reflection of their abilities or knowledge. There are several key strategies that educators, policymakers and other stakeholders can leverage to improve the quality of education.
Equal respect for all subjects: We need to ensure that children understand the importance of every subject and cultivate curiosity around it. This will help build skills that are required for healthy self-expression and growth in life. A more meaningful evaluation system: Shift focus from mugging to improving learning outcomes. This could be done by creating more engagement through classroom discussions and activities involving logic, problem-solving skills, analytical abilities, creativity and rational decision-making.
Learning through play: Play is healthy, and educators can encourage learning by providing children with resources that stimulate divergent thinking. Consider a good blend of indoor and outdoor activities which can be played safely by every child.
Improving budgetary allocation: India spent only 0.1% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on early childhood education in 2020-21, according to a report released by the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) and non-profit Save the Children foundation. We need to increase the fund allocation and ensure its proper implementation so that children receive age-appropriate care and education. Better teacher training: Teaching young children is a highly skilled work that requires a sensitive understanding of child development. We need courses that are both accessible and affordable. And let us not forget competent compensation.
Early childhood is a window of opportunity for us to help children lead more enriching lives. It plays a key role in improving our economy and is one of the most critical investments a country can make for its overall development. It is about time we accord it the importance it deserves and work towards introducing more innovation into the early growth and development of children. The benefits will be for all to see.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;—The Hawk Features

The formative years, starting from conception up to eight years of age, is a period of extraordinary growth and development in a child’s life. A sizeable body of research suggests that nearly 90% of brain growth occurs before kindergarten. Children at this age are incredibly 

Early Childhood Education Is A Golden Period  For Opportunities

Washington: Relying on quick solutions like diet and exercise programmes will not stop the tide of kid obesity, according to a new study that maps the complex processes that contribute to childhood obesity for the first time.
Coordinated by the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre, the study finds children whose parents did not complete high school and who live with social disadvantage, were more likely to be affected by overweight or obesity in mid-adolescence. High school completion is a strong indicator of socio-economic status.
These factors were 'on ramps' which flow down to influence the body mass index (BMI) of parents, in turn providing immediate lifestyle impacts (diet, sedentary time) on a child's risk of developing obesity.
Paediatrician Professor Louise Baur of the University of Sydney said the research explains why most current public health policies to prevent childhood obesity have had limited success.
"We tend to ignore the root causes of childhood obesity which include social disadvantage, and of course, this is not something parents or children choose for themselves," said Professor Baur, co-author from the University's Charles Perkins Centre.
"While healthy eating and activity interventions are important, the solutions lie not just in the domain of health departments. We need to see many government departments working together to consider how to make structural changes to reduce social inequality if we want to change Australia's current trajectory."
Other interesting findings from the research include how different drivers of obesity play out at different life stages, particularly the influence of free time activity after the age of eight.
There are also different influences on how free time is spent and influenced for boys versus girls. For boys, more electronic gaming leads to less active free time. For girls, better sleep quality leads to longer sleep time and more active free time.
Obesity in children
Childhood obesity occurs when a child is significantly overweight for their age and height. It can lead to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, psychological effects and even premature death.
In Australia, 1 in 4 school-aged children and adolescents are affected by overweight or obesity, with 1 in 12 affected by obesity. It is more common in those living in regional and remote areas, those from lower socioeconomic areas, those from one-parent families and those with a disability.
How was the study conducted?
The study, published in BMC Medicine today, drew on data from 'Growing up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children,' a nationally representative sample of over 10,000 Australian Children.
The team of leading scientists and clinicians--bringing together the fields of data science, biology, paediatrics and public health--spent close to two years using state-of-the-art statistical modelling (Bayesian network modelling) and informed analysis to untangle a complex web of on-ramps and causal factors, many of which interplay. Senior author Professor Sally Cripps of the University of Technology Sydney said the knowledge gained from this study is vital for policy makers moving forward and could not have been achieved without this diverse skill-set. "This is a truly multidisciplinary piece of research. Data alone is never enough to uncover the complex set of interacting factors which lead to childhood obesity. But by combining the skills of mathematicians and computer scientists with obesity and nutritional experts we have been able to predict and model what has never been clearly articulated before - showing the complex interplay between multiple upstream, downstream and causal factors, and how these play out over time for children and families," said Cripps, Director of Technology at the Human Technology Institute.
Lead author and statistician Wanchuang Zhu, also of the University of Technology Sydney and an affiliate of the Charles Perkins Centre said: "To our knowledge this is first time anyone has used the advanced statistical network modelling to analyse the complex factors that lead to childhood obesity. It provides us with a much more complete picture."
Key findings
- Childhood obesity is largely a by-product of socio-economic status
- Parental high school levels (both paternal and maternal) serve as on-ramps to childhood obesity
- When children are aged 2 to 4 years the causal pathway is: socio-economic status/parental high school level -&amp;gt; parental BMI -&amp;gt; child BMI
- When children are aged 8 to 10 years an additional pathway emerged focused on how children spend their leisure time: parental high school level /socio economic status -&amp;gt; electronic games -&amp;gt;free time activity-&amp;gt; child BMC
- The upstream influences on free time activity were different in boys compared with girls.
- The strong and independent link between parent's BMIs and childhood BMI suggests a biological link--high weight runs in families, and this is in part because of shared genes.
The work is a collaboration between scientists and clinicians from the University of Sydney, University of Technology Sydney and CSIRO - brought together by the Charles Perkins Centre, a research initiative committed to collaborative and multidisciplinary research to tackle obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and related conditions. "This study is exactly why the Charles Perkins Centre was founded, to bring together people with special skill sets from different academic and clinical backgrounds to find new ways of thinking about and solving the most complex challenges of our time," said Professor Stephen Simpson, Academic Director of the Charles Perkins Centre and Executive Director of Obesity Australia. The authors express sincere gratitude to the families who contributed their data and acknowledge the generous support of Paul Ramsay Foundation.&nbsp;&nbsp;
—ANI

 Relying on quick solutions like diet and exercise programmes will not stop the tide of kid obesity, according to a new study that maps the complex processes that contribute to childhood obesity for the first time.

Diet, Exercise Programs Alone Will Not Tackle Childhood Obesity: Study

Mumbai: Actor Ananya Panday started her Monday on a nostalgic yet cute note. Taking a stroll down memory lane, she dropped a video from her childhood days. In the clip, Ananya is seen dressed up as a pilot. Her cute little talk with her father and actor Chunky Panday is the highlight of the video. Sharing the clip on Instagram, "How badly do you need a holiday?" The post has garnered loads of likes from netizens. Actor Ayushmann Khurrana commented, "Too cute" "Pudding," fashion stylist Tanya Ghavri commented. Meanwhile, on the work front, Ananya will be next seen in director Vikramaditya Motwane's untitled cybercrime-thriller film. Ecstatic about the project, Ananya said, "When Vikramaditya Motwane approached me with this story, I just knew I had to be part of it. As a filmmaker, he has been on my wish list for as long as I can remember and I feel fortunate to be working with him this early in my career." She also has 'Kho Gaye Hum Kahan' opposite actors Siddhant Chaturvedi and Adarsh Gourav and a comedy film 'Dream Girl 2' opposite Ayushmann Khurrana. In 'Dream Girl 2' she will be seen opposite Ayushmann Khurrana for the first time. She will also be making her web series debut with Amazon Prime Video's 'Call me bae'. —ANI

Actor Ananya Panday started her Monday on a nostalgic yet cute note

Ananya Panday Sends Monday Dose Of Cuteness As She Shares Her Childhood Video

London: No activity for hours during childhood could be setting the stage for heart attacks and strokes later in life, a new study said on Wednesday.  According to the study presented at the European Society of Cardiology, sedentary time accumulated from childhood to young adulthood was associated with heart damage -- even in those with normal weight and blood pressure. "All those hours of screen time in young people add up to a heavier heart, which we know from studies in adults raises the likelihood of heart attack and stroke," said study author Andrew Agbaje of the University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland. "Children and teenagers need to move more to protect their long-term health," he added. To investigate, researchers let children wear a smartwatch with an activity tracker for seven days at 11 years of age. This was repeated at 15 years of age and again at 24 years of age. The weight of the heart’s left ventricle was assessed by echocardiography, a type of ultrasound scan, at 17 and 24 years of age and reported in grams relative to height (g/m2.7). The researchers analysed the association between sedentary time between 11 and 24 years of age and heart measurements between 17 and 24 years of age after adjusting for factors that could influence the relationship, including age, sex, blood pressure, body fat, smoking, physical activity and socioeconomic status. The study included 766 children, of which 55 per cent were girls and 45 per cent were boys. At 11 years of age, children were sedentary for an average of 362 minutes a day, rising to 474 minutes a day in adolescence (15 years of age), and 531 minutes a day in young adulthood (24 years of age), meaning sedentary time raised by an average of 169 minutes (2.8 hours) a day between childhood and young adulthood, the study showed. "Our study indicates that the accumulation of inactive time is related to heart damage regardless of body weight and blood pressure. Parents should encourage children and teenagers to move more by taking them out for a walk and limiting time spent on social media and video games," Agbaje said. —IANS

No activity for hours during childhood could be setting the stage for heart attacks and strokes later in life

No Activity For Hours During Childhood May Cause Heart Damage In Later Life: Study

Toronto: Major childhood allergies -- eczema, asthma, food allergy and hay fever -- may likely begin in the community of bacteria living in our gut, according to a new study. Many factors can shape the infant gut microbiota, including diet, how we are born, where we live, and our exposure to antibiotics. For example, antibiotics may wipe out sensitive bacteria, while breastfeeding tends to replenish and provide necessary food for bacteria in the infant gut. "We're seeing more and more children and families seeking help at the emergency department due to allergies," said Dr Stuart Turvey, Professor in the department of paediatrics at the University of British Columbia. "Hundreds of millions of children worldwide suffer from allergies, and it's important to understand why this is happening and how it can be prevented," added Turvey, an investigator at BC Children's Hospital Research Institute. The research, published in the journal Nature Communications, examined how these types of influences affected the balance of gut microbiota and the development of these allergies that affect more than a third of people worldwide. For the study, researchers examined clinical assessments from 1,115 children who were tracked from birth to age five. Roughly half of the children (523) had no evidence of allergies at any time, while more than half (592) were diagnosed with one or more allergic disorders by an expert physician. The researchers evaluated the children's microbiomes from stool samples collected at clinical visits at three months and one year of age. The stool samples revealed a bacterial signature that was associated with the children developing any of the four allergies by five years of age. The bacterial signature is a hallmark of dysbiosis, or an imbalanced gut microbiota, that likely resulted in a compromised intestinal lining and an elevated inflammatory response within the gut. "Typically, our bodies tolerate the millions of bacteria living in our guts because they do so many good things for our health. Some of the ways we tolerate them are by keeping a strong barrier between them and our immune cells and by limiting inflammatory signals that would call those immune cells into action," said Courtney Hoskinson, a doctoral candidate at UBC. "We found a common breakdown in these mechanisms in babies prior to the development of allergies," she added. The findings could lead to methods of predicting whether a child will develop allergies, and ways to prevent them from developing at all. "Developing therapies that change these interactions during infancy may therefore prevent the development of all sorts of allergic diseases in childhood, which often last a lifetime," Turvey said. —IANS

Major childhood allergies -- eczema, asthma, food allergy and hay fever -- may likely begin in the community 

Childhood Allergies Skin, Lungs Begin In Our Gut: Study

New York: Adding zinc to farmland soil can help prevent childhood stunting, according to a study on children in India, where more than a third under five suffer from stunting. Stunting is a condition due to chronic undernutrition that is associated with poor brain development and long-lasting harmful consequences, such as reduced school performance and increased disease risks. For the study, researchers from the Stanford University in the US analysed health data from nearly 300,000 children and one million women across India with over 27 million soil tests drawn from a nationwide soil health programme. The findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports, showed that the presence of zinc in soil helps prevent stunted childhood growth, and iron in soil helps keep haemoglobin -- a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen -- at healthy levels. The results suggest that fortifying soil with minerals could be a beneficial health intervention. The link between soil zinc and childhood stunting is particularly robust -- a one standard deviation increase in satisfactory soil zinc tests is associated with approximately 11 fewer children stunted per 1,000, according to the research. The study is the first large-scale study to examine the association between children’s nutritional status or health outcomes and soil mineral availability in India It shows that adding minerals to farmland soil could help prevent conditions associated with long-lasting harmful consequences. “Our results add to a growing body of literature suggesting that interventions like micronutrient-enriched fertilisers may have a positive effect on health,” said lead author Claire Morton, an undergraduate in mathematics and computational science at Stanford. “This doesn’t prove that those interventions would be cost-effective for India, but it’s an exciting indication that they are worth testing,” Morton added. As a result, the researchers suggest that the potential benefits of using zinc-enriched fertilisers as health interventions deserves more consideration in India specifically and perhaps more generally. “We’re not saying that geography is destiny, but soils really do seem to play a role in shaping child health,” said David Lobell, professor of Earth system science in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. “Even if this is only a small role, understanding it could help to identify better approaches to solving child stunting in India, which is one of the single biggest and long standing challenges in global food security." —IANS

Adding zinc to farmland soil can help prevent childhood stunting, according to a study on children in India

Lack Of Soil Micronutrients Linked To Childhood Stunting In India: Study

Jalaun: A suicide ‘prank’ by a 13-year-old boy in Uttar Pradesh’s Jalaun turned real when he slipped and the noose tightened around his neck, causing death. His visually challenged mother and three younger siblings made futile attempts to rescue the victim.
The incident took place in Jalaun on Sunday and his mother Sangita, 50, said: “Had God not taken my sight away, I would have saved my child. He died in front of me and I could not do anything.”
The tragedy unfolded while Jas, a Class 5 student, was playing with siblings Yash, 9, Mehak, 7, and Astha, 5, at their home in Kanshi Ram Colony. Sangita had dozed off in another room while her husband Khem Chandra, 54, was out at work in the local grain market.
While playing with his siblings, Jas attempted the mock suicide and the stool he was standing on slid away.
Yash, Mehak, and Astha thought for a while that Jas was still in the act until they saw blood oozing out of his mouth and nose, and his body hung motionless from the rope that had been tied to a window bar, police said.
The children raised the alarm and began screaming, jolting Sangita out of her nap. She rushed to save him but her blindness proved an insurmountable obstacle. She searched desperately for a knife or a sickle to cut the noose but could not find one.
By the time Sangita alerted her neighbours, Jas had died.
He was rushed to a nearby hospital where the doctors declared him dead upon arrival.
According to Mohammad Arif, in charge of the local Orai police outpost who spoke to the family’s neighbours and others, Jas helped out at home as the eldest child. “When his father was away at work, Jas used to do most of the household chores after coming back from school as his mother could not see,” the officer said.
The family was initially reluctant to allow a post-mortem but agreed after persuasion. “The child’s body has been handed over to the parents after autopsy,” Arif said.
—IANS

A suicide ‘prank’ by a 13-year-old boy in Uttar Pradesh’s Jalaun turned real when he slipped and the noose tightened around his neck

UP: 13-year-old chokes to death as suicide prank goes wrong

Washington: New research has connected newborn formula and the early introduction of fizzy drinks to higher levels of body fat later in childhood. The research was presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting in Hamburg, Germany. Children who were not given soda before 18 months also had a lower fat mass at the age of nine. The finding supports the theory that the way a child is fed in infancy may be linked to their susceptibility to obesity later in life. “Numerous prior studies have examined the link between infant feeding and child overweight or obesity risk based on body mass index (BMI),” said lead researcher Catherine Cohen, of University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, USA. “However, BMI is a crude measure of adiposity in childhood. In this study, we aimed to expand on this prior research by examining associations of infant feeding practices with a more precise measure of childhood adiposity (percent fat mass). Dr Cohen and colleagues analysed data on over 700 mother-child pairs who were taking part in Healthy Start1, a longitudinal cohort study into how a mother’s lifestyle and environment during pregnancy can affect her child’s growth and development. The mothers had an average age of 29 years at recruitment, 51% of the infants were boys. At interviews when their offspring were six and 18 months old, the mothers were asked about feeding practices, including the duration and exclusivity of breastfeeding versus formula feeding and the age when their children were introduced to complementary foods, a term covering solids/any liquid other than breast milk or formula. The researchers then grouped the infants according to the duration of breastfeeding (6 months or more vs. less than 6 months); age at which their baby was introduced to complementary foods (at or before 4 months or 5 months and over); age at which they were introduced to soda (18 months or more vs. less than 18 months). More than half of the infants (65 per cent) were breastfed for at least six months, 73 per cent were introduced to complementary foods at 5 months or older, and 86 per cent were introduced to soda after 18 months. Percentage fat mass (proportion of total weight that can be attributed to body fat) was assessed twice. During the first assessment (median age of five years), it was 19.7 per cent, on average. During the second assessment (median age of nine years), it was 18.1 per cent, on average. Infant feeding patterns were not associated with differences in body fat at the age of five.  However, shorter breastfeeding duration and early soda introduction were associated with faster increases in body fat across the two visits in childhood and, thus, a higher percentage of body fat at the age of nine. Infants who were breastfed for less than 6 months had 3.5% more body fat, on average, at age nine, than those who were breastfed for 6 months or more. Dr Cohen said: “While this study cannot elucidate the potential mechanisms at play, previous research suggests that the link between breastfeeding and obesity risk may be related to differences in the nutrient composition of human milk versus infant formula. Differences in appetite regulation and the impact of the human milk on the infant’s microbiome are also being investigated as potential biological effects.” —ANI

New research has connected newborn formula and the early introduction of fizzy drinks to higher levels of body fat later in childhood

Researchers Find How Breastfeeding Is Linked To Lower Levels Of Body Fat

New Delhi: India is seeing a significant rise in cases of non communicable diseases like obesity, diabetes, hypertension among children. Health experts on Monday blamed the surge on ever-increasing consumption of junk food that is loaded with excess and unhealthy sugar, salt and fat. Speaking to IANS, Dr Sathya Sriram, CEO - Preventive Health, Apollo, shared that among Indian children there has been a notable increase in obesity, pre-diabetes, fatty liver disease, and hypertension -- “with obesity cases tripling and hypertension quadrupling in the past five years”. These diseases, which were till a decade ago, largely associated with adulthood, are now increasing “in an age group we have never considered in the past. At Apollo, we have observed that the rate of incidence of NCDs (diabetes, obesity, hypertension, etc.) has nearly doubled in children between 5-17 years of age over the past decade”. Dr Sriram noted that 5-17 years is an age group where there should ‘technically and historically’ not be a growing impact of lifestyle diseases. However Apollo’s data, based on an analysis of nearly 10,000 screenings across walk-ins and campus outreach, showed 17 per cent prediabetes cases -- projecting a potentially early onset of diabetes as they step into adulthood. The incidence of diabetes was also found to have doubled in these ages over the past 5 years -- from 1.37 per cent in 2018 to 3.68 per cent in 2023 across a nearly similar sample size, as indicated by HbA1C levels. Similarly, the data also showed hypertension cases in children as young as 7-year-olds, which is roughly 6 per cent of those screened, Dr Sriram said. A sedentary lifestyle and genetic predisposition are important risk factors. But, Dr Arun Gupta, a paediatrician and Convener of Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi) -- a national think-tank on nutrition, blames the surge on rising childhood obesity, majorly caused by the increased consumption of junk or ultra processed foods (UPF). “Obesity is a precursor for the non-communicable diseases like diabetes, hypertension and cancer,” he told IANS. He cited the National Family Health Surveys (NFHS) 3,4 and 5, which shows obesity is quickly rising in children and adult men and women. This can also be seen in the context of the growth of the ultra processed food industry in India, said Dr Gupta. A recent World Health Organization (WHO) report showed that in India, the UPF industry grew at a compound annual growth rate of 13.37 per cent in terms of retail sales value between 2011 and 2021. It is expected that UPF would expand more quickly than staple foods. The doctor added that even the families are not bothered about what the children are eating. “For example, biscuits are a very common junk food. While it seems unharmful, it contains salt, sugar and fats more than the WHO recommendations for daily intake. Lack of awareness on the risk it poses can explain why its consumption is rising among kids,” he told IANS. Dr Sriram also highlighted the rise of mental health concerns such as anxiety and depression in children, which is further intensified by social and environmental factors. “Lifestyle shifts towards greater screen time are not only leading to orthopaedic issues but also contributing to learning problems in children,” he told IANS. “Beyond non-communicable diseases and early mental health issues, a variety of conditions including vitamin and nutritional deficiencies, functional changes, and vision and hearing problems are important factors that can share a child’s future health. "These conditions, if unmanaged, can lead to serious complications and affect life quality and longevity,” Dr Sriram said. Dr Gupta called for “strict and clear regulation” on UPFs. “It would be a good step if children are encouraged to eat real food in their school canteen,” he said, noting that it will then also be extended at family level. Dr Sriram advised parents to make health check-ups a routine part of children, instead of waiting for illness. “These check-ups are essential not just for disease prevention but also for ensuring your child's overall well-being and peak performance in all areas of life,” he said. —IANS

India is seeing a significant rise in cases of non communicable diseases like obesity, diabetes, hypertension among children

Why India’s Overall NCD Burden Is Rising Among Children

Washington DC: Ear infections are frequent in childhood, but a recent study suggests that parents should treat these illnesses seriously in order to protect their children's language development. Because fluid buildup behind the eardrum can impair hearing in any ear infection. New research from University of Florida scientists reveals that when ear infections become chronic, this repeated, temporary hearing loss can lead to deficits in auditory processing and language development in children years later. "Ear infections are so common that we tend to dismiss them as having no long-term effect. We should take all ear infections seriously," said Susan Nittrouer, lead researcher and a UF professor of speech, language, and hearing sciences in the College of Public Health and Health Professions. "Parents should be aware that their child may have some middle ear fluid without it being painful and work with their doctor to monitor their child closely." Nittrouer and Joanna Lowenstein, a researcher in the UF Health Clinical and Translational Science Institute, studied the auditory processing and language development of 117 children from ages 5 to 10 years both with and without a history of chronic ear infections in early childhood. On average, children with several ear infections before three years of age had smaller vocabularies and a harder time matching similar sounding words than children with few or no ear infections. They also had difficulty detecting changes in sounds, a sign of problems in their brain's auditory processing centers. One takeaway, Nittrouer says, is for parents, physicians, and speech pathologists to continue monitoring children long after the last preschool earache fades away. Some language deficits may only reveal themselves in later grades. "As children go through school, the language they're required to use becomes more complex," said Nittrouer. Nittrouer and Lowenstein used three tests to assess language development and auditory processing. In one test, children had to detect which of three cute cartoon characters sounded different than the other two. This involved manipulating the patterns of loudness, or amplitude, change across time. "The better you can recognize this change in amplitude across time, the better you're going to be able to recognize the structure of speech," said Nittrouer. The second task asked children to name pictures presented to them, a measure of their vocabulary size. Finally, children were asked to match words based on whether they began or ended with the same speech sound, a task essential not only to speech development but also to reading acquisition. Treating ear infections early can help prevent the fluid buildup that hurts language development, according to Nittrouer. If ear infections are common and fluid does build up, tubes placed temporarily in the eardrum can help drain the fluid and restore hearing, which should lead to less risk of delay in the development of the central auditory pathways and fewer problems acquiring language. The researchers published their findings in the International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology. They plan to continue this research by including children at risk for delays in auditory development for other reasons, including premature birth. —ANI

Ear infections are frequent in childhood, but a recent study suggests that parents should treat these illnesses seriously

Chronic Childhood Ear Infections Can Delay Language Development: Research

California: Researchers at UC San Francisco may have found a novel method for diagnosing autism by observing the movements of children's eyes when they turn their heads. Children with a gene mutation linked to severe autism were found to be hypersensitive to this motion. The gene, SCN2A, makes an ion channel that is found throughout the brain, including the region that coordinates movement, called the cerebellum. Ion channels allow electrical charges in and out of cells and are fundamental to how they function. Several variants of this gene are also associated with severe epilepsy and intellectual disability. The researchers found that children with these variants have an unusual form of the reflex that stabilizes the gaze while the head is moving, called the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR). In children with autism, it seems to go overboard, and this can be measured with a simple eye-tracking device. The discovery could help to advance research on autism, which affects 1 out of every 36 children in the United States. And it could help to diagnose kids earlier and faster with a method that only requires them to don a helmet and sit in a chair. "We can measure it in kids with autism who are non-verbal or can't or don't want to follow instructions," said Kevin Bender, PhD, a professor in the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences and co-senior author of the study, which appears Feb. 26 in Neuron. "This could be a game-changer in both the clinic and the lab."  A telltale sign of autism in an eye reflex Of the hundreds of gene mutations associated with autism, variants of the SCN2A gene are among the most common. Since autism affects social communication, ion channel experts like Bender had focused on the frontal lobe of the brain, which governs language and social skills in people. But mice with an autism-associated variant of the SCN2A gene did not display marked behavioral differences associated with this brain region. Chenyu Wang, a UCSF graduate student in Bender's lab and first author of the study, decided to look at what the SCN2A variant was doing in the mouse cerebellum. Guy Bouvier, PhD, a cerebellum expert at UCSF and co-senior author of the paper, already had the equipment needed to test behaviors influenced by the cerebellum, like the VOR. The VOR is easy to provoke. Shake your head and your eyes will stay roughly centered. In mice with the SCN2A variant, however, the researchers discovered that this reflex was unusually sensitive. When these mice were rotated in one direction, their eyes compensated perfectly, rotating in the opposite direction. But this increased sensitivity came at a cost. Normally, neural circuits in the cerebellum can refine the reflex when needed, for example to enable the eyes to focus on a moving object while the head is also moving. In SCN2A mice, however, these circuits got stuck, making the reflex rigid. A mouse result translates nearly perfectly to kids with autism Wang and Bender had uncovered something rare: a behavior that arose from a variant to the SCN2A gene that was easy to measure in mice. But would it work in people? They decided to test it with an eye-tracking camera mounted on a helmet. It was a "shot in the dark," Wang said, given that the two scientists had never conducted a study in humans. Bender asked several families from the FamilieSCN2A Foundation, the major family advocacy group for children with SCN2A variants in the US, to participate. Five children with SCN2A autism and eleven of their neurotypical siblings volunteered. Wang and Bender took turns rotating the children to the left and right in an office chair to the beat of a metronome. The VOR was hypersensitive in the children with autism, but not in their neurotypical siblings. The scientists could tell which children had autism just by measuring how much their eyes moved in response to their head rotation. A CRISPR cure in mice The scientists also wanted to see if they could restore the normal eye reflex in the mice with a CRISPR-based technology that restored SCN2A gene expression in the cerebellum. When they treated 30-day-old SCN2A mice - equivalent to late adolescence in humans - their VOR became less rigid but was still unusually sensitive to body motion. But when they treated 3-day-old SCN2A mice - early childhood in humans - their eye reflexes were completely normal. "These first results, using this reflex as our proxy for autism, point to an early window for future therapies that get the developing brain back on track," Wang said. It's too early to say whether such an approach might someday be used to directly treat autism. But the eye reflex test, on its own, could clear the way to more expedient autism diagnosis for kids today, saving families from long diagnostic odysseys. "If this sort of assessment works in our hands, with kids with profound, nonverbal autism, there really is hope it could be more widely adopted," Bender said. —ANI

Researchers at UC San Francisco may have found a novel method for diagnosing autism by observing the movements of children's eyes

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