Research News

Lead Poison in Urban Youth

For years parents were warned about the dangers of lead paint in old houses. And those warnings still hold, but researchers are now finding that wind blown lead-laden dust can be a primary cause of lead poisoning in children living in cities.

According to the research published in the February issue of Environmental Health Perspectives by Mark Laidlaw, Howard Mielke and associates urban soil contains a potentially large reservoir of accumulated lead, which could raise children's blood levels during the warm weather months.

Lead in paint and gasoline were the two major sources of lead prior to being phased out. But lead is not readily broken down and so lingers for years in the soil. "The half-life of Pb in surface soils has been estimated to be approximately 700 years..." noted the authors.

They focused on Indianapolis, Indiana; Syracuse, New York; and New Orleans, Louisiana. Their research found that the level of lead in the youngsters' blood varied according to several variables. During warmer weather when the temperature is high and the soil is dry children are more likely in breathe in these particles and have a higher blood levels of lead.

The authors note that without corrective action the lead dust will persist and could cause significant long-term public health implications. Lead is a neurotoxin that can cause permanent health effects, cognitive problems, ADHD, and behavioral problems.

Another Reason Not to Smoke If You Are Pregnant

A study conducted in Spain by Rosa Ana de la Chica and colleagues found increased chromosomal abnormalities in fetal cells.

The researchers looked at cells of fetal origin obtained during amniocentesis in a group of smokers (10 or more cigarettes for 10 or more years) or controls who did not smoke. These cells, which came from their unborn children, were more likely to contain genetic abnormalities. The concern is that these changes could increase the children's later risk of cancer. "... an increase of chromosomal instability is associated with an increase in the risk of cancer, especially childhood malignancies," writes
the authors in the study published in the March issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.

Although the research is considered preliminary and further study is necessary, it does suggest one more reason to put out that cigarette while you're pregnant.

The More on the Plate, the More Kids Eat

Although we don't know if these were picky eaters or not, Gordana Mrdjenovic and David Levitsky of Cornell University found "the most powerful determinant of the amount of food consumed at meals was amount served." The researchers, who published the study in the June issue of Appetite, ascertained the amount of food served to 16 preschoolers and the amount they ate over the course of about a week.

Recent studies have found that children show a significant negative correlation between the amount eaten or energy consumed at a particular meal and the amount or energy consumed at the prior meal. In other words, if children ate a lot at one meal they tended to eat less at the next meal. And if they only picked at the food at one meal they tended to eat more at the subsequent meal. But, the researchers found that amount of food served is a far more powerful influence. In short, the amount eaten, or energy consumed "is determined by the amount and the energy density of the food served by the caregiver. The total daily energy intake of children is also significantly influenced by the number of meals and snacks served by the caregiver."

They conclude that "the major responsibility for determining energy intake of young children lies with the caregiver."

These findings, along with their previous research indicating that sweetened drinks put kids at risk for obesity suggest the solution seems to be to put less food on their plates and less sweetened drinks in their glasses.