Fitness
Early Puberty in Girls
Dr. Greene's take on early puberty: Question: My 8 yr old daughter is showing signs of premature onset of pubery; she has adult-grade underarm odor, blemishes, headaches, and a few hairs under her arm…
Exercising for Two
Exercise is a green approach to health care. Yes, a green pregnancy means making the most of what you take into your body, through what you eat, drink, and breathe, and also absorb through your skin, …
Cholesterol, Drugs, and Kids
Controversial new guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics call for more children to get their cholesterol checked, starting as young as age 2, and for some kids to be started on statin drug…
As Powerful as Insulin
Dr. Greene on something that's as powerful as insulin during pregnancy... The hormonal shifts of pregnancy are a challenge for maintaining healthy blood glucose levels. Up to 1 in 8 women will develop…
Burning Fat
What kind of exercise is most effective for burning fat in children? A new study delivers an objective answer. It's no secret that childhood obesity has become a major problem, nor that physical activ…
Soccer and Weight Loss
A fun, practical, affordable way to help overweight kids? My friend and colleague, Dana Weintraub, MD, from the Division of General Pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine and the Lucile …
Baby Fat
Dr. Greene's take on baby fat... I often hear from parents who expect that their cute, chubby young childrenwill naturally thin out the baby fat as their height spurts up. Unfortunately, it doesn't t…
Conscious Preconception
The "trimester" before pregnancy is an important window of opportunity for a baby's health, whether this is a first pregnancy or a later one. And during pregnancy, the weeks between when conception ha…
An Important Message from Rob Reiner
Many people know me as an actor and director, but my most important role is that of a father to my three children. Raising healthy, happy children is my top priority. That is why my organization, Pare…
Depressed Dads
Dads matter. When people think about depression soon after a baby is born, they often forget about fathers. But many new dads do get depressed, and you can read their depression in their children's be…
An Obesity Epidemic
Dr. Greene's take on the obesity epidemic... You've probably already heard that we are raising the most overweight, out-of-shape generation of children in history. In October 2004, the Centers for Dis…
Chubby Average Predicts Disaster
When my wife and I were born, American teenage girls, aged 12 to 17, weighed an average of 118 pounds. Some weighed more and some weighed less. Today, the average has swollen to 130 pounds. And teenag…
Childhood Obesity and Cancer
Dr. Greene's take on childhood obesity and cancer... The heavier kids are during the toddler, preschool, and school years, the greatest the chance they have of developing cancer as young adults, accor…
Dad and Mom Prevent High Blood Pressure Together
High blood pressure, which used to be a disease of middle age, is becoming more common in children. Once a child has high blood pressure, unless there are significant lifestyle changes, the high blood…
Blood Pressure in Children
What's your three-year-old's blood pressure? August 2004 guidelines from The National High Blood Pressure Education Program Working Group on Children recommend that blood pressure screening begin at a…
Sedentary Preschoolers
I love watching young children at play. Kids are designed with energy to burn. Unfortunately, though, they're not burning it! Preschoolers are so naturally full of curiosity and energy that it's almos…
Dieting Causes Kids to Gain Weight?
The more often that children dieted, the more likely they were to become more overweight over the next three years, according to a study of 14,972 children in the October 2003 Pediatrics. Binge eating…
Baby Aerobics?
This is the youngest exercise program I have ever seen ? and it had powerful results. The babies involved were tiny premies, averaging about 2 1/2 pounds in weight, and still 3 months before their due…
Couch Potatoes & Screen Potatoes Unpeeled
There's good news and bad news. Dramatically good and dramatically bad. Duke University announced on May 28, 2003 the results of their 5-year randomized study on body fat. Two kinds of body fat accumu…
Childhood Obesity and Quality of Life
We hear in the news that the percentage of American children who are obese has doubled in the last twenty years, and that the rate of increase continues to rise. Today about 1 in 7 children are obese …