http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Given the implications for the overall health, development, and academic success of children, schools should play a primary role in ensuring that all students have opportunities to engage in at least 60 minutes per day of vigorous or moderate-intensity physical activity, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. Recent estimates suggest that only about half of school-age children meet this evidence-based guideline for promoting better health and development. The report recommends that most daily physical activity occur during regular school hours in physical education classes, recess or breaks, and classroom exercises, with additional opportunities available through active commutes to and from school, before- and after-school programs, and participation in intramural or varsity sports. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-schools-opportunities-minutes-daily-physical.html Health Thu, 23 May 2013 11:52:06 EST news288528720 Half of Australia's young male offenders have a clinically significant, previously unidentified language deficit. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-young-toolkit-literacy.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 06 Mar 2013 08:20:01 EST news281779731 Although the long-term consequences of childhood obesity are well documented, some school districts have reduced physical education classes to devote more time to the 3 Rs in education—reading, writing, and arithmetic. However, there is new evidence that leaving out an important fourth R—aerobics—could actually be counterproductive for increasing test scores. A new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics studied the associations between aerobic fitness, body mass index (BMI), and passing scores on standardized math and reading tests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-arithmetic-aerobics-academic.html Pediatrics Thu, 28 Feb 2013 00:00:03 EST news281211180 African American adolescents tend to have more success in school if their parents instill in them a sense of racial pride, reducing their vulnerability to the effects of racial discrimination from teachers and peers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-instilling-racial-pride-black-teens.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 17 Dec 2012 16:40:43 EST news274984837 Legal responses to juvenile offending should be grounded in scientific knowledge about adolescent development and tailored to an individual offender's needs and social environment, says a new report from the National Research Council. Accountability practices should not be carried over from criminal courts to juvenile courts; in particular, confinement should be used only in rare circumstances such as when a youth poses a high risk of harming others. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-juvenile-justice-reforms-incorporate-science.html Health Tue, 13 Nov 2012 12:53:45 EST news272033617 ZZZs don't always come easy for children still learning their ABCs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-developmental-implications-toddlers-patterns.html Pediatrics Thu, 04 Oct 2012 08:12:05 EST news268557117 Regardless of how much a high school student generally studies each day, if that student sacrifices sleep in order to study more than usual, he or she is more likely to have academic problems the following day. Because students tend to increasingly sacrifice sleep time for studying in the latter years of high school, this negative dynamic becomes more and more prevalent over time. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-sacrificing-academic-problems.html Health Tue, 21 Aug 2012 00:00:02 EST news264699734 Children may perform better in school and feel more confident about themselves if they are told that failure is a normal part of learning, rather than being pressured to succeed at all costs, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-academic-pressure-children.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 12 Mar 2012 10:48:53 EST news250768124 Pediatric researchers from Boston Medical Center (BMC), in partnership with Children's HealthWatch investigators in Boston, Minneapolis, Little Rock, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, have found that higher benefit amounts in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) protected the health and well-being of very young, low-income children during a period of great financial hardship for many families in America. These findings were released as a policy brief on Oct. 12. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-bmc-pediatricians-snap-benefits-healthier.html Health Wed, 12 Oct 2011 11:35:52 EST news237638145 Binge drinking among college students has long been viewed as dangerous and destructive. Government and non-profit health organizations spend millions of dollars annually on public service announcements (PSAs) aimed at dissuading college students from hazardous drinking habits. These organizations primarily use "loss-framed", or negative messages to show the dangers of binge drinking. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-college-students-positive-anti-binge-messages.html Health Wed, 01 Jun 2011 13:11:51 EST news226152701 Air pollution from industrial sources near Michigan public schools jeopardizes children's health and academic success, according to a new study from University of Michigan researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-air-pollution-michigan-schools-linked.html Health Wed, 04 May 2011 14:49:39 EST news223739349