By Kathleen Raven NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Complicated elbow fractures could be added to a growing list of heightened health risks for obese children, according to a recent analysis. Obese kids were nine times more likely to suffer an elbow fracture with multiple fracture lines in the same arm, or with the bone exposed through the skin, compared to normal-weight children, researchers found. Obese kids were also more likely to have fallen on their outstretched hand. “As a public health message, this study validates the efforts of medical organizations to raise awareness about childhood obesity,” Dr. Michelle Caird told Reuters Health.

CHICAGO (AP) — Government research links indoor tanning by teenagers with other risks including binge drinking, unhealthy dieting and sexual activity.

Figures show that obesity rates for preschoolers have fallen dramatically over the last 10 years. According to Medical News Today, CDC statistics show a 43 percent drop in obesity among youngsters 2 to 5 years old. Overall U.S. obesity rates remained at the same level, and they actually went up significantly in women at least 60. The CDC says that unlike the specific role BMI measurements play in determining an adult’s weight status, a child’s weight category is the result of considering age- and sex-specific BMI percentiles.

A few diet tweaks can help you quickly reduce your sugar intake, knock down your disease risk, and protect your ticker. Bonus: you’ll probably drop some pounds in the process. Put these five simple sugar-reduction steps into action today.        

(Reuters) – Vivus Inc’s silence on its strategy to boost sales of obesity drug Qsymia has increased doubts about whether the pill will reach its full commercial potential. Qsymia was the first diet pill to launch in the United States in more than a decade. But both doctors and patients have shown reluctance to embrace it and other diet pills, including Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc’s Belviq, because of the long history of safety concerns surrounding diet treatments. Analysts said on Tuesday that Vivus, with its limited sales force, needed a partner to ensure the drug’s success.

Even small increases in blood sugar caused by a diet high in carbohydrates can be detrimental to brain health. Recent reports in medical literature link carbohydrate calorie-rich diets to a greater risk for brain shrinkage, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, impaired cognition, and other disorders.