In many poor countries, mothers with HIV face a stark choice: to nurse their infants, and risk passing on HIV through their breast milk—or to formula feed, and deprive their infants of much of the natural immunity needed to protect against fatal diseases of early infancy. Now, two studies supported by the National Institutes of Health offer insights into preventing early death and HIV infection among breastfeeding infants of mothers with HIV in these countries. FULL STORY »

A new study published in the Winter 2007 issue of the Journal of Cardiometabolic Syndrome finds that early signs of heart disease appear in obese children or in children at risk for obesity.

"Based on this study, these subtle markers can help us predict who could be at risk for heart disease and heart attacks," said Angela Sharkey, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine and a pediatric cardiologist at St. Louis Children's Hospital.

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Children treated for hypothyroidism aren’t likely to drop pounds with treatment for the condition says a new study in the Journal of Pediatrics. The study is the first to examine the link between hypothyroidism treatment and weight loss in pediatric patients.

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Elementary schools can have a significant impact on low-income students’ consumption of fruits and vegetables by providing a lunch salad bar, according to a recent UCLA study. The findings, published in the December issue of the international journal Public Health Nutrition, show that the frequency of students’ fruit and vegetable consumption increased significantly—from 2.97 to 4.09 times daily—after a salad bar was introduced. In addition, students’ mean daily intake of energy, cholesterol, saturated fat and total fat declined considerably.

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