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Florida Set to Become Second State to Ban Fluoride in Public Water
Lawmakers in Florida gave final passage to a bill banning fluoride in public water systems on Tuesday, with the state House voting 88 yay and 27 nay. SB 700, also known as the Florida Farm Bill, doesn’t mention the word “fluoride,” but would effectively ban the chemical compound by preventing “the use of certain additives in a water system.” The bill now awaits Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature.
If Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, signs the bill, Florida will become the second state to ban fluoride from water supplies. Utah’s Gov. Spencer Cox, also a Republican, signed a bill in late March that prohibits any person or government entity from adding the cavity-fighting mineral from the state’s water systems, making it the first state to do so. It will go into effect on May 7.
During a Florida House session Tuesday, lawmakers in support of the bill argued that fluoride does not improve water quality and removing it from water systems could save local governments money. Opponents of the bill argued that everyday Floridians rely on fluoride for dental health.
French Health Watchdog Warns of Pesticide Dangers to Young Children
The National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (Anses) raised the alarm on Thursday after reviewing research into links between pesticides and serious illnesses. It asked independent experts to assess the risks, using data from a 2013 report by the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, or Inserm, updated in 2021. The review looked at how pesticides — including those used in farming, homes and veterinary care — are connected to disease.
The experts cross-referenced known links between pesticide exposure and illness with information on which pesticides are legal and how toxic they are. Anses identified several “health signals” with “the most important concerning organophosphates, and especially pyrethroids”, said Matthieu Schuler, deputy director general in charge of the agency’s science division.
“These substances are used as insecticides, but some crop protection products and veterinary medicines also contain them.” Among these, “cypermethrin is used to protect crops, and as a veterinary medicine for sheep or against ticks,” Schuler added.
MASLD in Children Linked to Increased Mortality and Chronic Complications
Researchers from University of California San Diego have found that children diagnosed with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) are at significantly increased risk of premature death and serious long-term health complications.
The findings, published April 22 in Hepatology, the scientific journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, come from the Longitudinal InVestigation Evaluating Results of Steatosis, or LIVERS, study, which followed 1,096 children over an average of 8.5 years. Nearly half of all deaths in the cohort were liver-related, and the overall mortality rate was 40 times higher than that of similar peers in the general U.S. population.
MASLD, formerly known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, is the most common chronic liver disease in children, affecting nearly 10% of all youth and up to 25% of those with obesity. The reclassification to MASLD reflects growing recognition that fatty liver disease in children is closely linked to metabolic dysfunction, including obesity, hypertension and type 2 diabetes. Yet despite its prevalence, little has been known about the long-term risks it poses to children.
Obesity in Kids and Teens Can Be Treated With GLP-1 Medications and Surgery, New Guidelines Suggest
Obesity guidelines for treating children and teenagers are changing for the first time in nearly 20 years, with the Canadian Medical Association Journal releasing new advice including using modern weight loss drugs and surgery when appropriate. In Canada, roughly a quarter of 4- to 11-year-old kids and a third of 12- to 17-year-old teens have a body mass index that qualifies them as overweight or obese. Reports estimate childhood obesity rates are three times higher than they were 30 years ago.
The guide included 10 recommendations spanning behavioural, psychological, surgical and pharmaceutical interventions; it also had nine good practice statements, which move away from the historic “eat less, move more” approach. Health-care practitioners are urged to get child and family participation to set goals without using judgmental or stigmatizing language, which many professionals view as steps in the right direction.
But some experts are wary of the move toward early intervention and relying on surgery and GLP-1 medication like Ozempic or Wegovy. “I truly believe that jumping to solutions like weight loss medications or surgeries isn’t the answer to improving children’s health and well-being,” Toronto-based registered dietitian and intuitive eating coach Jenn Baswick told Yahoo Canada.
Study Shows Significant Increase in Mental Health Diagnoses Among Publicly Insured Children
In the first comprehensive investigation into the trends of mental health diagnoses among children with public health insurance, a new study reports the percentage of mental health and neurodevelopmental disorder diagnoses increased substantially in the decade before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Researchers from Emory University and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta used Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program claims data to analyze trends in mental health and neurodevelopmental disorder diagnoses among nearly 30 million publicly insured children ages 3–17 across 22 U.S. states from 2010–2019.
The study, which was published in JAMA on April 24, found the percentage of children diagnosed with such disorders in each year rose from 10.7% to 16.5% during this period. After accounting for population changes over time, this translated into an increase of 6.7 percentage points.
How Rough Play Shapes Stronger, Smarter Kids
First-time moms can be a little leery of dad wrestling with a little one, but research shows rough housing, or better put, active play actually helps with physical development, social skills and emotional regulation. Kyle Boerke, PsyD, a clinical child psychologist and the director of Outpatient Behavioral Health services at OSF HealthCare, says it might be surprising but aggressive physical play between parents and their children results in less aggressive kids.
“During physical play, fathers especially who exert some levels of dominance actually have more well-adjusted kiddos; more socially adjusted and more confident kiddos whereas with more passive fathers, we actually get children who engage in more physical aggression. So, it’s kind of opposite of what some people who are hesitant might think.”
Active play also helps children learn to regulate their emotions Dr. Boerke says.
“I might be starting to get frustrated but I’m learning how to deal with that frustration. I’m learning how to be assertive and say, ‘I would like to stop or please stop.’ And if it’s high-quality interaction the parent is going to stop and now I’m learning that if I advocate for myself, then things are going to turn out the right way.”
What does active play look like? It can be playing tag, wrestling, flying a kid like an airplane on your raised legs and feet, even spinning a child around. During a walk, it could be mom and dad swinging them with each holding a hand.
Teen Overweight and Related Comorbidities Soar in England
The proportion of adolescents with overweight and obesity in England increased by 50% over 15 years, accompanied by significant increases in many related comorbidities, according to research in two studies to be presented at the European Congress on Obesity in May.
“While we anticipated some increase in adolescent overweight and obesity over time, the scale of the rise is striking,” said coauthor Dr. Dinesh Giri, consultant pediatric endocrinologist at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children and honorary senior lecturer at the University of Bristol.
“A 50% relative increase over 15 years highlights a rapidly growing public health issue,” he told Medscape News U.K. “Particularly concerning is the significant risk of developing serious health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, liver disease, and obstructive sleep apnoea during the teenage years,” Giri continued. “These risks increase steeply with higher BMI, underscoring the urgency for early intervention.”
