Sibling-less children are more prone to obesity, study says



A European study indicates that kids who grow up without any siblings are 50 percent more likely to develop overweight or obesity problems.

A European study encompassing 12,700 children between the ages of 2 and 9 in eight countries indicates that kids who grow up without any siblings are 50 percent more likely to develop overweight or obesity problems.

According to the World Health Organization, 65 percent of all people live in countries where weight problems result in more deaths than starvation. Obesity has been linked to the development of unhealthy cholesterol levels, for which individuals can buy Lipitor, and diabetes that can be treated if individuals buy Actos from Canadian and international online pharmacies.

"Our study shows that only children play outside less often, live in households with lower levels of education more often, and are more likely to have televisions in their bedrooms. But even when we take these factors into account, the correlation between singleton status and overweight is strong," said Monica Hunsberger, study contributor from Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, one of the academic institutions that participated in the research.

She went on to note that, as these factors did not prove to be as significant as researchers predicted going into the study, more information needs to be gathered in order to understand the correlation between being an only child and becoming obese.

Children afflicted with migraines have more behavioral problems

In other international news relating to children's health, Brazilian researchers have linked migraine headaches to an increased likelihood of developing insomnia, social dysfunction and attention disorders, as well as anxiety and depression. If they get a physician's recommendation, parents can buy Effexor from a Canadian internet pharmacy to treat the latter condition. 

"As previously reported by others, we found that migraine was associated with social problems. The 'social' domain identifies difficulties in social engagement as well as infantilized behavior for the age, and this may be associated with important impact on the personal and social life," said Marco Arruda, director of the Gila Institute in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

In conducting the study, researchers examined almost 2,000 children between the ages of 5 and 11. Of these, 23 percent had ongoing problems with migraines, while almost 30 percent had continued tension-type headaches. Children with migraines didn't normally display more than average externalized abnormal behaviors, such as excessive anger and rule breaking. But more than half of them displayed internalized abnormal behaviors, such as hyperactivity and depression.