Childrens Health: Endocrine disrupting chemicals in baby teethers ♦ Air pollution linked to risk of childhood autism ♦ Snacking on protein can improve appetite control

Fine particulate air pollution linked to risk of childhood autism Exposure to fine particulate air pollution during pregnancy through the first two years of the child's life may be associated with an increased risk of a child developing autism spectrum disorder, a condition that affects one in 68 children.

Workplace intervention improves sleep of employees' children A workplace intervention designed to reduce employees' work-family conflict and increased schedule flexibility also has a positive influence on the sleep patterns of the employees' children.

Snacking on protein can improve appetite control, diet quality in teens Although eating high-protein, afternoon snacks can aid appetite control in adults, little information exists to guide parents on what types of snacks might benefit their adolescent children. Now, researchers have found that afternoon snacking, particularly on high-protein-soy foods, reduces afternoon appetite, delays subsequent eating and reduces unhealthy evening snacking in teenagers.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals in baby teethers In laboratory tests, two out of ten teethers, plastic toys used to sooth babies' teething ache, release endocrine disrupting chemicals. One product contains parabens, which are normally used as preservatives in cosmetics, while the second contains six so-far unidentified endocrine disruptors

Weight Loss Research: switch voracious eating 'on' and 'off' ♦ New strategies to control diabetes ♦ Late-night snacking: Is it your brain's fault?

Why do obese men get bariatric surgery far less than women? Demographic, socioeconomic and cultural factors contribute to a major gender disparity among US men and women undergoing weight loss surgeries. Men undergo the surgeries in far lower numbers than women, researchers report.

New tool can switch behavior -- such as voracious eating -- 'on' and 'off' Researchers have perfected a noninvasive "chemogenetic" technique that allows them to switch off a specific behavior in mice -- such as voracious eating -- and then switch it back on. The method works by targeting two different cell surface receptors.

Thoughts drive dieting plans but feelings drive dieting behavior, Dieting is a process that involves a plan to change eating behavior and behaving according to that plan. But the factors that guide diet planning differ from those that guide actual diet behavior.

Molecular link between high glucose, metabolic disease may offer new strategies to control diabetes Scientists say they've discovered a cause-and-effect link between chronic high blood sugar and disruption of mitochondria, the powerhouses that create the metabolic energy that runs living cells. The discovery sheds light on a long-hidden connection and could eventually lead to new ways of preventing and treating diabetes.

Late-night snacking: Is it your brain's fault? New light has been shed on why you, your friends, neighbors and most everyone you know tend to snack at night: some areas of the brain don't get the same 'food high' in the evening. The study also reports that participants were subjectively more preoccupied with food at night even though their hunger and "fullness" levels were similar to other times of the day.