Heena Sharma Blog

A family that eats together, stays together, and now, according to a recent study, consistently eating breakfast as a family can also promote positive body image for children and adolescents. The study suggests that parents hoping to raise teenagers with positive body image might just find helpful tools in the kitchen every morning. "We know that developing healthy behaviours in adolescence such as eating breakfast every day and eating family meals can have long-term effects into adulthood. Children and adolescents are under a lot of pressure from social media and pop culture when it comes to physical appearance. Having a healthy relationship with food from eating breakfast and spending meal time with family might have a significant impact on well-being," said Virginia Ramseyer, one of the lead researchers. Researchers analyzed data from more than 12,000 students in more than 300 schools in all 50 states and Washington D.C. They looked at data related to eating ...

According to a recent study, having a fixed bedtime and getting sufficient amount of sleep from early childhood may lead to a healthy body weight in adolescence. The results of the study were published in the journal 'Sleep'. The researchers at Penn State identified groups of children by bedtime and sleep routines and tested longitudinal associations for each group with adolescent body mass index (BMI). The findings suggest that childhood bedtime and sleep routine groups predict adolescent sleep patterns and BMI. In a national study of urban households, one-third of children consistently adhered to age-appropriate bedtimes for ages five through nine. Those who had no bedtime routine at age of nine had shorter self-reported sleep duration and higher BMI at age of 15 when compared to those children with age-appropriate bedtimes (after adjusting for age 3 BMI). "Parenting practices in childhood affect physical health and BMI in the teenage years. Developing a...

The adolescents who learn about dietary supplements in college are more likely to use them in an appropriate manner, finds a new study. The study was conducted by Binghamton University and was  published in the Journal of Dietary Supplements. Researchers conducted an anonymous online survey of college students, comparing those enrolled in the Health and Wellness Studies minor at the University with those not enrolled in the program. The survey included questions on perception of dietary supplements, use and knowledge because the purpose of the survey was to investigate whether an education on dietary supplements is effective amongst college students or not. The adolescent population is always the target for dietary supplements ads, as they're more likely to be influenced into taking certain dietary decisions based on them. The researchers concluded that the college students with proper education on dietary supplements exhibit a responsible pattern of us...