A call for interventions targeting childhood nutrition, exercise & sleep to lower rate of non-communicable diseases

Harvard Pop Center faculty member Michelle A. Williams is an author on a peer-reviewed editorial published on Cureus that calls for an increased focus on prevention science to combat the increase in non-communicable diseases. Specifically, the researchers suggest targeting three key areas of lifestyle behaviors during childhood – physical activity, nutrition and sleep –  through multi-level, public health programs.

Obese Kids Likely to Become Obese Teens, Study Shows

Mark Schuster, MD, PhD, a Harvard Pop Center affiliated faculty member, is lead author on a study in Pediatrics that shows that over 80% of kids obese at age 11 are obese at age 16.  The study, online now and in the upcoming December print issue, is featured in U.S. News and World Report and Canada’s Global News.

More TV viewing (and among racial/ethnic minority children, the presence of a bedroom TV) was associated with shorter sleep from infancy to mid-childhood.

According to a recent study co-authored by Harvard Pop Center-affiliated faculty members Matthew W. Gillman, MD, SM, and Elsie M. Taveras, MD, MPH, more TV viewing (and among racial/ethnic minority children, the presence of a bedroom TV) was associated with shorter sleep from infancy to mid-childhood.