Carrying backpacks doesn’t cause back pain in children and teenagers

The Conversation: Children and adolescents who carry backpacks aren’t at higher risk of developing back pain, according to a study published today in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM). Researchers found no evidence to suggest a link between carrying a heavy backpack and back pain in these age groups. This calls into question popular opinion, as well as guidelines published by numerous organisations recommending limits on backpack weights for children. Globally, there’s been little agreement on what a limit should be. Guidelines vary, with the limit being anywhere between 5% and 20% of body weight.

Bullied teens more likely to have depression later on

Scimex: Bullying in teenage years is strongly associated with depression later on in life, reports UK researchers. They say almost 15 per cent of teens who reported being bullied more than once a week at age 13 were found to be depressed at the age of 18. An accompanying editorial says the results of the study indicate that more work needs to be done to protect vulnerable young people.

Why do heavier children do worse at school? It’s not their fault

TheConversation: Negative stereotypes towards heavier individuals starts to affect long-term life opportunities from a young age. A number of studies in recent years have suggested that bigger children fare less well in school than their slimmer peers. The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children followed nearly 6,000 children in the south-west of England and found that higher body weight at age 11 predicted lower scores on standardised tests at age 11, 13, and 16. This was particularly the case in girls, and a decline that was not explained by lower IQs.

School lunchbox inspections ‘perverse’

Queensland: A University of Queensland health expert has labelled the practice of inspecting children’s lunchboxes at school as both “perverse” and unlikely to improve children’s health. Pr Michael Gard said hysteria about childhood obesity was fuelling a range of school-based practices that infringed the rights of parents to choose how they raise and care for children. “Panic around obesity appears to trump all other concerns in the current climate,” Dr Gard said. “Despite quite well-known data that Australian rates of childhood obesity have changed very little over the last 15 to 20 years, this is an issue that still tends to be discussed in breathlessly apocalyptic terms.

Bullying worse than abuse for mental health

Scimex: Children who have been bullied by peers are more likely to have worse long-term mental health outcomes than children maltreated by adults, according to a long-running study of more than 5,000 children from the UK and US. Bullied children are around five times more likely to experience anxiety and are nearly twice as likely to report more depression and self-harm at age 18 than children who are maltreated.

Association between Traffic-Related Air Pollution in Schools and Cognitive Development in Primary School Children

Plos: Human brain development is a complex and lengthy process. During pregnancy, the basic structures of the brain are formed, and the neural circuits that will eventually control movement, speech, memory, and other cognitive (thinking) functions, as well as the function of many organs, begin to be established. By the time of birth, the brain is about a quarter of its adult size, and the neural circuits that control vital bodily functions such as breathing are well developed.

Support for sleeping in? Half of parents favor later school start times for teens

Michigan University. US: Should teenagers be able to hit the snooze button one more time before school? Ask their parents and half say they would support later school start times, according to today’s University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health. More schools across the country are exploring delayed school start times as research shows benefits for adolescents’ physical and mental health, including reduced risks of obesity and depression. The poll was conducted in November/December 2014, following last year’s recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) that middle and high schools start at 8:30 a.m. or later.

Youth Risk Behavior United States, 2013

Many high school students in the USA engage in behaviors at risk for disease and mortality, according for the results of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System 2013 report.

• 41.4% of high school students nationwide who drove a car or other vehicle had texted or e-mailed while driving, 
• 34.9% had drunk alcohol, and 23.4% had used marijuana. 
• 14.8% had been electronically bullied, 
• 19.6% had been bullied on school property, and 
• 8.0% had attempted suicide. 
• Many high school students are engaged in sexual risk behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancies and Sexually Transmitted Infections, including HIV infection.

Some risk behaviors have decreased (physical fighting, cigarette use, and sexual activity) while some have increased (having not gone to school because of safety concern, obesity and overweight) and some have not changed (suicide attempts treated by a doctor or nurse, having ever used marijuana, and having drunk alcohol or used drugs before last sexual intercourse).
The good news is that current cigarette smoking among high school students is at its lowest level in more than 20 years.
Source: CDC