- ALLERGY, RESPIRATORY
- Overweight Moms More Likely to Have Asthmatic Kids
- Obesity May Raise Kids' Allergy Risk
- Keep Asthma, Allergies at Bay for the Holidays
- ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
- Bitter Melon Extract May Slow, Stop Breast Cancer
- Memory Loss Help from Brain Supplement Prevagen
- New Insights Show Ginseng Fights Inflammation
- ANIMAL CARE
- Separation Anxiety, Canine-Style
- Safe Toys for Dogs
- Animals Respond to Acupuncture's Healing Touch
- BONES & JOINTS
- Childhood Dairy Intake Boosts Bone Health Later On
- Varicose, Spider Veins May Be Inevitable for Some
- Healthy adults have potential autoimmune disease-causing cells
- CANCER
- Supplement Hampers Thyroid Cancer Treatment
- Well Water Might Raise Bladder Cancer Risk
- Immune Therapy May Aid Kids With Neuroblastoma
- CAREGIVING
- Omega-3 Fatty Acid May Help 'Preemie' Girls' Brains
- More Than 60,000 Patients Risked Hepatitis Infections
- Medication Errors Could Be Cut: Experts
- CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
- Laughter Can Boost Heart Health
- Review Confirms Links Between Diet, Heart Health
- Health Tip: Reduce Your Risk of Anemia
- COSMETIC
- Gum Chewing May Cut Craving for Snacks
- Health Tip: Using Hair Dyes
- Get Sugared!.... Its a sweet choice for hair removal
- DENTAL, ORAL
- An Oral Approach to Heart Disease
- Health Tip: Help Prevent Cavities
- Health Tip: At Risk for Gingivitis
- DIABETES
- Red-Grape Compound May Improve Diabetes
- Fructose-Sweetened Drinks Up Metabolic Syndrome Risk
- Findings Challenge Tight Glucose Control for Critically Ill Patients
- DIET, NUTRITION
- Atkins Diet Tougher on Heart After Weight Loss
- Red Meat No No No But Oily Fish Yes Yes Yes
- Health Tip: Your Body Needs Zinc
- DISABILITIES
- Could Your Cell Phone Help Shield You From Alzheimer's?
- Review Finds Marijuana May Help MS Patients
- ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
- Vest Monitors 'Individual' Air Pollution
- Home Renovations by Affluent Families Can Unleash Lead Threat
- Pilots May Face Greater Cancer Risk
- EYE CARE, VISION
- Just Like Skin, Eyes Can 'Burn' in Strong Sun
- Certain Diabetes Drugs May Pose Eye Risk
- Unconscious Learning: In the Eye of the Beholder?
- FITNESS
- Exercise Guards White Blood Cells Against Aging
- You Can Get Great Exercise In The Garden
- Antioxidants Blunt Exercise Benefit, Study Shows
- GASTROINTESTINAL PROBLEMS
- Peppermint Oil, Fiber Can Fight Irritable Bowel
- Bowel Prep Harder on Women Than Men
- Gum Chewing May Speed Colon Surgery Recovery
- GENERAL HEALTH
- Trans-Fat Ban In New York City Is Proving successful
- What you need to know about swine flu.
- Research Shows Genetic Activity of Antioxidants
- HEAD & NECK
- Zen May Thicken Brain, Thwart Pain
- Many Children Will Outgrow Headaches
- Ski Helmets Encouraged for All
- HEALTH & TECHNOLOGY
- 'Cell Phone Elbow' -- A New Ill for the Wired Age
- Imaging Sheds Light on How Acupuncture Works
- E-Mailing Your Way to Healthier Habits
- HEART & CARDIOVASCULAR
- Chinese Red Yeast Rice May Prevent Heart Attack
- Estrogen May Help Men's Hearts
- Dark Chocolate May Lower Stroke Risk
- INFECTIOUS DISEASE
- The HPV Vaccine: Preventative Medicine or Human Sacrifice?
- Older Adults May Have Some Immunity to Swine Flu
- Swine Flu Is Now a Pandemic Says W.H.O.
- KID'S HEALTH
- Childhood Dairy Intake Boosts Bone Health Later On
- Older People at Greater Risk of Swine Flu Death
- Don't Leave Your Kids In The Car !
- MEN'S HEALTH
- Low Iron Levels Cut Cancer Risk in Men With PAD
- Varicose Veins May Mask Larger Problem
- Soy Linked to Low Sperm Count
- MENTAL HEALTH
- Heal Your LifeŽ Tips for Living Well
- Brain Scans Show How Humans 'Hear' Emotion
- Breast-Fed Baby May Mean Better Behaved Child
- PREGNANCY
- Obesity May Affect Fertility in Young Womene
- Sleeping Could Help Women Lose The Baby Fat
- Pregnant Women Exposed To Certain Pollutants Could Lower Childs IQ
- SENIORS
- Rapid Weight Loss in Seniors Signals Higher Dementia Risk
- Exercise Benefits Even the Oldest Old
- Protein Deposits May Show Up Before Memory Problems Occur, Study Says
Decline of Underweight Children in U.S. Continue to Fall
By eHolistic.com Published: 07/15/2009
WEDNESDAY, July 15 (HealthDay News) -- The number of underweight children aged 2 to 19 in the United States decreased from 5.1 percent in 1971-1974 to 3.3 percent in 2003-2006, says a U.S. government study.
Being underweight can be caused by malnutrition or underlying health problems.
Researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics analyzed results from the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and compared them with results from the 1970s. They found that underweight decreased from 5.8 percent to 2.8 percent among children aged 2 to 5, from 5.3 percent to 2.7 percent among children aged 6 to 11, and from 4.7 percent to 3.8 percent among those aged 12 to 19.
Surveys before 1971 didn't include children aged 2 to 5, the authors of the report noted.
The NHANES participants underwent a household interview and a physical examination that included weight and height measurements taken by trained health technicians using standardized measuring procedures and equipment.
Children with body-mass index (BMI) values below the 5th percentile of the sex-specific BMI-for-age growth charts are classified as underweight.
SOURCES: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, news release, July 15, 2009
