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European heights have been increasing while Americans have not

"We surmise that the health systems and high degree of social security in Europe provide better conditions for growth than the American health system, despite the fact that the system costs twice as much," said study co-author John Komlos from the University of Munich in a statement. "There are also indications that American diets are deficient in several areas."

From the Colonial times until roughly the 1970s, Americans were the tallest people in the world. But then, growth stagnated while Europeans spent the second half of the 20th century growing like weeds. Now, the average Dutchman is six centimeters taller than the average American -- "almost an exact reversal of the relationship in the middle of the 19th century," Komlos says.

» spiegel.de [ Contribute: submit link / submit article / submit company ]

Toddler nearly dies from smallpox vaccine given to soldier dad

A 2-year-old boy spent seven weeks in the hospital and nearly died from a viral infection he got from the smallpox vaccination his father received before shipping out to Iraq, according to a government report and the doctors who treated him.

The boy, who lives in Indiana and has recovered, became ill in early March, two weeks after his father’s deployment was delayed and he was allowed to make a trip home. Over the next few weeks, the boy suffered kidney failure and lost most of his skin to the disease, eczema vaccinatum.

» nytimes.com [ Contribute: submit link / submit article / submit company ]

When to have a child, if ever: The impact in later life

How does having children or not having them affect a woman's happiness in later life? A new study examining nearly 6,000 women provides an unexpected answer —it's not so much whether you have children as when you have them.

But even more important than when you become a mother is whether you have anyone else to love in your life. "Whether a woman has had children or not isn’t likely to affect her psychological well-being in later life," said University of Michigan sociologist Amy Pienta. "What is more important is whether or not she has a husband, a significant other or close social relationships in her life as she ages."

[ mp3 ] listen or download » umich.edu [ Contribute: submit link / submit article / submit company ]

Plus:
Time, money, and who does the laundry
The ISR Panel Study of Income Dynamics studies how U.S. men, women and children spend their time
[ mp3 ] listen or download [ PDF ] view document

Mommy Chairs look like they were drawn by children

Mommy's Chairs are designer chairs that appear to have been drawn by a five-year-old with a poor grasp of perspective. Made of bent steel rods in uncertain, shaky lines, they come in four sizes, with a breathtaking pricetag of £250.

» wheredidyoubuythat.com [ Contribute: submit link / submit article / submit company ]

Most 2 year olds watch 1.5 hours of TV despite warnings

Approximately 40 percent of three-month old children and about 90 percent of children age 24 months and under regularly watch television, DVDs or videos, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

"The public health implications of early television and video viewing are potentially large. There are both theoretical and empirical reasons to believe that the effects of media exposure on children’s development are more likely to be adverse before the age of about 30 months than afterward," the authors note. Recent studies suggest that what children younger than two years watch and whether they watch it alone or with a parent may be important for their vocabulary development.

Frederick J. Zimmerman, Ph.D., of the University of Washington, Seattle, and colleagues, conducted a telephone survey of 1,009 parents of children age 2 to 24 months. The study analyzed four television and DVD content categories: children’s educational, children’s non-educational, baby DVDs/videos and grown-up television (such as talk shows or sports programming). Average daily viewing, reasons parents gave for their child’s viewing, who was present during viewing and socio-demographic factors were reported.

» American Medical Association

Breast-feeding and preventing obesity

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Department of Health and Human Services promote breastfeeding as a strategy for reducing childhood overweight. We evaluated the relation between infant feeding and the development of overweight and obesity throughout life course.

Results: The duration of breastfeeding, including exclusive breastfeeding, was not related to being overweight or obese during adult life. Women who were exclusively breastfed for more than 6 months had a risk of 0.94 of becoming obese as adults compared with women who were not breastfed. Exclusive breastfeeding for more than 6 months was associated with leaner body shape at age 5 for the highest vs the lowest category of body shape) compared to women who were not breastfed or breastfed for less than 1 week, but this association did not persist during adolescence or adulthood.

Conclusions: We did not find that having been breastfed was associated with women's likelihood of becoming overweight or obese throughout life course. Although breastfeeding promotes the health of mother and child, it is unlikely to play an important role in controlling the obesity epidemic.

» Journal of Obesity / [ PDF ] view report

UK: Home test that reveals an unborn baby's sex at six weeks

Goverment fears the £189 kit will create a massive leap in abortions if would-be parents are not having the gender they want.

Michaela Aston, spokeswoman for the charity LIFE, said: “This test is very dangerous. It could lead to babies being aborted simply for being the ‘wrong’ sex.” And Julia Millington, of the Prolife Alliance, said: “There is a real risk that some people would choose to abort babies of a certain gender.”

» thesun.co.uk

Porn shown to children on Comcast/Disney Channel

(AP) Children here got more than they bargained for when they tuned in to "Handy Manny" on the Disney Channel this week - hard-core pornography. Cable giant Comcast is investigating how the porn was broadcast during the popular cartoon, which is about a bilingual handyman, Manny Garcia, and his talking tools.

Comcast spokesman Fred DeAndrea said last night that the programming error had occurred at around 9.30am on Tuesday.

Can Motherhood and Womanhood Co-Exist?

For many women, an important rite of passage for womanhood is becoming a mother. However all too often, after the baby is born, the focus quickly shifts and the routines that were once rituals are buried in the bottom of the family laundry basket. A whopping 84 percent admit they've let their appearance slide since becoming a mom and that taking care of their appearance has become more of a wish than a reality. The majority (66 percent) say guilt is one of the barriers to self care.

The Report reveals about one third of moms believe that being a mother and being a woman actually conflict. Furthermore, one in four moms (23 percent) can't remember the last time they did something that made them feel like a woman -- while 42 percent report it was more than a month ago. More evidence that moms' needs are low on the list:

• Although 67 percent of moms would rather get their pre-baby body back than their pre-baby sex life, exercise opportunities are tough to come by. After shopping for themselves, exercise is the second most desired activity to pursue during coveted "me" time
• 66 percent admit they sometimes don't have enough time to take a shower or bath
• Some 80 percent have gone weeks or months without a haircut (even though they felt they needed one)

» Suave Press Release

The X chromosome: The supermom that's inside of us all

As May dawns and the mothers among us excitedly anticipate the clever e-cards that we soon will be linking to and the overpriced brunches that we will somehow end up paying for, the following job description may ring a familiar note:

Must be exceptionally stable yet ridiculously responsive to the needs of those around you; must be willing to trail after your loved ones, cleaning up their messes and compensating for their deficiencies and selfishness; must work twice as hard as everybody else; must accept blame for a long list of the world's illnesses; must have a knack for shaping young minds while in no way neglecting the less glamorous tissues below; must have a high tolerance for babble and repetition; and must agree, when asked, to shut up, fade into the background and pretend you don't exist.

As it happens, the above précis refers not only to the noble profession of motherhood to which we all owe our lives and guilt complexes. It is also a decent character sketch of the chromosome that allows a human or any other mammal to become a mother in the first place: the X chromosome.

» International Herald Tribune