Children's Health News & Features

The age of breast development -- which represents the first clinical sign of female puberty -- has declined an average three months per decade between 1977 and 2013, according to analysis of data combined from 30 different studies.

The study also noted that parents may play a key role in development of the particular bacteria in their child's gut (collectively known as the microbiome).

The study looked at more than 1,300 healthy children and teens in and around Toronto and found that obesity affected 24 routine blood tests, including those for liver function, inflammation markers, lipids and iron.

Overweight and obese children tend to have a thinner prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain associated with decision-making and problem-solving.

A person with prediabetes has higher than normal blood sugar levels. The levels aren't yet high enough to be considered type 2 diabetes. But often, people who have prediabetes go on to develop type 2 diabetes.

The government of Samoa will close on Thursday and Friday as civil servants join the fight against a measles outbreak in the South Pacific Island nation that's killed 53 people,

Samoa declared a state of emergency nine days ago, closed all schools, banned children from public gatherings and ordered all people to get vaccinated.

Watching TVs, computers, smartphones, tablets or electronic games occupies about an hour a day of an infant's time and increases to more than 150 minutes by age 3.

A new study found that while the overall rate of injuries due to BB and paintball guns has dropped around half since 1990, the rate of eye injuries has risen by 30%.

Using advanced MRI techniques, researchers found that obese teenagers tended to have signs of decreased "integrity" in the brain's white matter. White matter contains the fibers that connect different areas of the brain.

Researchers analyzed data gathered between 2001 and 2016 from 1.6 million students, aged 11 to 17, in 146 countries. They found that 81% of them did not meet World Health Organization recommendations for an hour of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity every day.

Traumatic experiences in childhood can do lifelong harm to physical and mental health, education and work, the CDC says.

Researchers examined the eating habits of only children and found that they had less healthy eating and drinking habits than those with brothers and sisters.

Toddlers who spend loads of time looking at tablets, smartphones or TVs may be changing their brains, and not for the better.

Despite a growing need for mental health care for children and teens -- including a rise in youth suicide -- many areas of the United States lack any child psychiatrists, new research reports.

Sexually abused youths are turning more often to U.S. emergency departments for help, a new study finds.

While baby sucks on the pacifier, it collects saliva, tests the sugar (glucose) levels and wirelessly sends results to a receiver that a parent/caregiver can see.

That's because measles virus attacks the cells that serve as the immune system's memory, wiping out established resistance to disease, a pair of new studies report.

High schoolers should get between eight and 10 hours a night, while kids aged 6 to 12 should clock in between nine and 12 hours of shut-eye nightly, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Overall, trampoline-related fractures accounted for about 3.6% of all broken bones occurring among American kids in 2008, but that number rose to nearly 6.2% by 2017, the study found.

Researchers analyzed data from more than 32,400 U.S. students in grades 8 and 10. They found that more than 27% exceeded recommended sugar intake and 21% exceeded recommended caffeine intake from soda and energy drinks.

Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Ned Sharpless said the approval was an outgrowth of efforts to speed development of new therapies for complex diseases.

The new test detected antibodies for two types of enteroviruses in the spinal fluid of dozens of patients diagnosed with acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), a disease that causes potentially permanent and sometimes life-threatening paralysis in young children.

While sepsis overwhelmingly strikes the elderly -- up to 85% of all cases are in seniors -- every year in the United States, more than 75,000 children get sepsis, according to the Sepsis Alliance. Seven thousand die.

For several years, the CDC has been investigating the condition, called acute flaccid myelitis (AFM). It's a rare disease that attacks tissue in the spinal cord, causing muscles and reflexes to weaken.