Boardash: Less candy, salty snacks sold in schools

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Less candy, salty snacks sold in schools

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Tuesday October 6, 2009

Button-size batteries pose a kid danger
Less candy, salty snacks sold in schools
Halloween: Prime time for predators
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Button-size batteries pose a kid danger

SAN DIEGO (UPI) -- Doctors as well as caregivers need to know button-size batteries pose a child danger, U.S. researchers warn.

The study, presented in San Diego at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery Foundation, finds doctors as well as caregivers are not aware of the dangers of these very small batteries used in a wide range of products including hearing aids and greeting cards.

The researchers reported on 10 years of case studies at a pediatric hospital. They also conducted a literature review that shows small children may ingest the miniature batteries, either through swallowing or inserting the batteries into their noses.

Many children who ingest button batteries recover with few long-term health issues, but some develop long-term complications such as tracheostomy-tube or gastrostomy-tube dependence, or vocal paralysis that damages quality of life, the study says.

The researchers advise early identification and treatment of button battery ingestion is crucial so pediatricians, primary care, urgent care and emergency room care providers and otolaryngologists need to become aware of the danger.

The study authors also recommend increasing public awareness so the ingestion becomes less likely and industry changes such as improved packaging and button battery markings.

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Less candy, salty snacks sold in schools

ATLANTA (UPI) -- It's harder to find candy and salty snacks in U.S. high school, than in 2006, a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

The report using data collected in 34 states from 2006 to 2008 published in the Center's for Disease Control's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, said the median percentage of secondary schools in the 34 states that did not sell candy or salty snacks not low in fat increased from 46 percent in 2006 to 64 percent in 2008.

The report, "Availability of Less Nutritious Snack Foods and Beverages in Secondary Schools -- Selected States, 2002-2008," said the greatest improvements were seen in states that have adopted strong school nutrition standards and policies for foods and beverages sold outside school meal programs. Mississippi and Tennessee made the greatest progress in improving the nutrition environment in their schools, health officials said.

"The school environment is a key setting for influencing children's food choices and eating habits," Howell Wechsler, director of CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health said in a statement.

"By ensuring that only healthy food options are available, schools can model healthy eating behaviors, help improve students' diets, and help young people establish lifelong healthy eating habits."

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Halloween: Prime time for predators

HOUSTON (UPI) -- Halloween harbors heightened "stranger dangers" for children, the head of a U.S. security company warns.

Trip Wakefield, chief executive officer of Thin Air Wireless in Houston, says Halloween is an increasingly relevant worry for parents since Halloween seems to be prime time for sexual predators.

Wakefield suggests parents scan for registered sex offenders before taking the kids out to trick-or-treat.

The Offender Locator -- a downloadable app available for iPhones -- is currently the 23rd most popular iPhone application in the "top paid app" category, and fourth in "utilities," Wakefield says.

Two versions -- one is free -- are available under utilities for download in the iTunes Store.

A GPS device -- used most often to track high-risk individuals like teenage drivers, Alzheimer's wanderers and autistic children -- can be clipped to a trick-or-treater's belt, Wakefield says.

"With Halloween just a month away, the time to begin talking about safety with your child is now," Wakefield says in a statement.

Wakefield also suggests:

-- To keep to well-known neighborhoods.

-- To visit only houses that are lit.

-- And that an adult be with children under age 10 at all times.

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