A number of media outlets, including CNN and The Wall Street Journal, have reported on a new study that found children gain more weight during the summer than during the school year.  The study, Changes in Children's Body Mass Index During the School Year and During Summer Vacation, will be published in the American Journal of Public Health in April.

 

The study looked at 5,380 kindergarten and first grade students at 310 different schools and measured their Body Mass Index (BMI) every month for a year.  The researchers found that the children's BMIs increased twice as much during the summer as they did during the school year.

BMI is a calculation based on a person's weight and height that measures body fat.  In adults a person with a BMI less than 18.5 is considered underweight and greater than 25 is considered overweight.  For children and teens BMI is age and sex specific and is referred to as BMI for age.

There are a number of theories as to why a child's BMI may increase more in the summer than during school.  When children are in school they have more organized physical activity which may keep them active and schools may restrict how much a child snacks or what they snack on.  During the summer it is important to encourage kids to keep active; limit time spent watching TV, videos and computer games.  Pay attention to what and when kids are eating and keep only health snacks in the house.

This study only looked at Kindergarten and first graders, so it is impossible to know if these trends continue in higher grades.  Unfortunately, many schools around the country have been making changes that may be harmful to the health of children.  The trend around the country is to decrease organized gym classes and cut back on recesses, many schools allow unhealthy food choices in the cafeteria and many even have vending machine selling sodas and junk foods.

There is a lot that parents can do to encourage health behavior at school. Stay involved with your children's schools, encourage organized physical activities for children of all ages, insist your schools cafeterias provide healthy choices and discourage your school from allowing vending machines in the schools.

 

Performance Pediatrics is proud to support Parents Against Junk Food, a non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating the sale of junk food in America's schools. To learn more, click on their logo.

On February 13, 2007 The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notified health care providers and consumers about 28 reports of intussusception following administration of the rotavirus vaccine RotaTeq.

RotaTeq is a vaccine given orally to infants at 2, 4 and 6 months.  The vaccine protects children from Rotavirus infection (an infection of the intestinal tract that causes severe vomiting and diarrhea).  Children infected with Rotavirus often end up in emergency rooms or even being admitted to the hospital for IV fluids, and in many parts of the world rotavirus infection leads to the deaths of hundreds of children every year.

Intussusception is a form of bowel obstruction where a segment of the small intestines gets pulled into the large intestine causing the obstruction.  Children with intussusception have severe abdominal pain, vomiting and often bloody bowel movements.  Intussusception occurs spontaneously in about 2 of every 1000 children, most commonly between the ages of 3-24 months.

28 cases of intussusception have been reported after vaccination with RotaTeq.  Approximately 3.5 million doses of RotaTeq have been given.  The rate of intussusception in children given the vaccine is not any higher than the rate in children not given the vaccine.  Since the rate of intussusception does not appear any higher it is unlikely that it is related to the vaccine itself.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' (ACIP), The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and Performance Pediatrics believe the vaccine is safe and effective and continue to recommend its use in all children at 2, 4 and 6 months of age.