By Shereen Jegtvig NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Social media that emphasizes sharing and commenting on photos and other images may feed the anxieties of young women with eating disorders, according to U.S. researchers. In experiments with a group of female college students, those who logged into their Facebook accounts were more likely to worry about their weight and body shape afterward, compared to women who read online articles about a neutral topic. For those working on treatment and prevention of eating disorders, the effects of spending time on Facebook may be a factor to take into account, the study team suggests. “We’ve done research on peer influences in other contexts – this is the first time we’ve looked at social media use,” Pamela Keel told Reuters Health.

A new evolutionary theory in BioEssays claims that consuming a diet very low in nutrients can extend lifespan in laboratory animals, a finding which could hold clues to promoting healthier ageing in humans.Scientists have known for decades that severely restricted food intake reduces the incidence of diseases of old age, such as cancer, and increases lifespan.

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Spending too much time in front of a television, computer or other devices with screens may signal problems in a child’s family and personal wellbeing, according to a new study. Based on data for more than 3600 children in eight European countries, researchers found that family functioning and emotional wellbeing were especially linked to changes in the amount of time kids spent in front of screens. “We really need to do a little bit more digging in this area before we can answer some of the basic questions,” Trina Hinkley told Reuters Health. Specifically, screen time has been linked to differences among children in weight and sleep quality (see Reuters Health stories of March 17, 2014 here: http://reut.rs/1ifw3F2 and March 12, 2014 here: http://reut.rs/1ifw5wz.) Late last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) also urged parents to keep tabs on their children’s media use and limit screen time to no more than one to two hours of high quality programming (see Reuters Health story of October 28, 2014 here: http://reut.rs/1f0lfYE.) For the new study, researchers from the Identification and Prevention of Dietary- and Lifestyle-Induced Health Effects in Children and Infants Consortium analyzed data on kids who were between two and six years of age when they entered the study between September 2007 and June 2008.

Researchers found specific practices thought to promote childhood obesity – from putting infants to bed with bottles to feeding them while watching television – were more common in certain racial and ethnic groups compared to others. “Rather than focus on the ethnic and racial differences, these results show us that we can all do better and begin our efforts to prevent obesity earlier in life,” lead author Dr. Eliana Perrin told Reuters Health. More than one quarter of U.S. children aged two to five years old are overweight or obese, according to Perrin and her coauthors, whose results are published in Pediatrics. The researchers asked parents about a variety of behaviors that have been linked to childhood obesity in previous research.

A new study, published in the journal in PLOS ONE, shows which plant food supplements are most popular across Europe, with consumers using them to complement their diets or to maintain health.

Because of his arthritis, Abdul Moussadda couldn’t be physically active and gained weight. Fed up with being immobile and in constant pain, he approached Dr. Steve Naide, an orthopedic surgeon and had two hip replacements. Today, he is back to biking and yoga.

By Shereen Jegtvig NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – The types of fat people get in their diet may not be as closely related to their risk of heart disease as previously believed, a new review of past studies suggests. But researchers found people’s risk of heart disease varied little based on how much of those fats they ate. Polyunsaturated fats generally come from plant-based foods such as nuts, seeds and vegetable oils. Omega-3 fatty acids, a type of polyunsaturated fats, are found in fish.

“At this point we can say there is an association but we cannot say exactly why,” Stacey Tiberio, the study’s lead author from the Oregon Social Learning Center in Eugene, told Reuters Health. The researchers write in JAMA Pediatrics that understanding the role of parental media monitoring is crucial in the development of obesity programs and interventions. Parents and children answered questionnaires, were interviewed and received physicals when the kids were five, seven and nine years old. The researchers found that when mothers reported spending less time monitoring their kids’ media consumption, kids tended be heavier at seven years old.

The drug gentamicin can provide effective treatment for people with bacterial infections that are resistant to other antibiotics, but this medication can cause a serious side effect, too: hearing loss. Now, University of Florida researchers have discovered that a dietary supplement shows promise for protecting against drug-induced hearing loss when taken during gentamicin treatment.