Health & safety. (Youth Monitor).

Teenage smoking and breast cancer

A report published in The Lancet described a link between teenage girls' smoking and their risk of developing breast cancer. Researchers at the British Columbia Cancer Agency in Vancouver found that in women who developed cancer before menopause, the risk of breast cancer was much higher for those who had taken up smoking within five years of starting their periods and who had had at least one baby.

The findings suggested that adolescence, when breasts are developing, is a period of maximum vulnerability to environmental carcinogens (Canberra Times, 5/10/02, p.16; Herald Sun, 9/10/02, p.34).

Anorexia research

A major discovery by researchers at the Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, is likely to change treatments for the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. The researchers found an association between anorexia and a particular form of a gene, giving a new insight into how the predisposition to develop the illness may be inherited. It offers clues about which kinds of antidepressant drugs may be most beneficial for patients. It will also provide comfort to parents, as the disorder has sometimes been blamed on neglectful or abusive families.

Ruth Urwin, from Westmead's Department of Psychological Medicine, found a previously unidentified piece of DNA in a gene that regulates the brain chemical norepinephrine, which is known to be linked with anxiety and compulsive behaviour. She said that it was unlikely to be the only gene at work in the development of anorexia, and it was probable that life events also shaped an individual's likelihood of developing the condition.

Previous genetic work focused on regulation of the brain chemical serotonin, but Ms Urwin's results suggest that a different drug, Efexor, might be more useful for anorexics. The research was reported in the journal Molecular Psychiatry (Age, 6/8/02, p.3; Sydney Morning Herald, 6/8/02, p.1).

Landmark survey in NSW

An inaugural New South Wales Child Health Survey involved interviews with 9,500 parents and carers of children aged 12 years and under. It revealed that more than 15% of NSW children experience asthma and that significant numbers in the 4-12 age-range experience behavioural or emotional problems such as attention deficit disorder, anxiety or depression. `These problems were more frequently reported among males than females and their prevalence increased with age--from 17.9% in children aged four years to 40.2% in children aged 12,' the report said (Sydney Morning Herald, 25/10/02, p.2).

Mental illness

A report in The Medical Journal of Australia said that 15% of Australian children suffer from depression, with some children as young as five being diagnosed with the illness.

Professor Ian Hickie, chief executive of the national depression initiative `beyondblue', said that the increased incidence of depression in children stemmed from lack of wider social connections, not from parent-child relations as was commonly believed.

The new research found that incidence of childhood depression peaked between the ages of 13 and 17, though it often stemmed from early years. Children aged between five and seven were daunted and ill equipped to deal with the challenges of classrooms and schoolyards, the report said (Advertiser, 7/10/02, p.5; Daily Telegraph, 7/10/02, p.7).

* Mission Australia conducted a survey of over 2,500 young Australians and found that depression and suicide were issues ranked by more than half the respondents as being of most concern. Speaking at the start of National Mental Health Week, Evelyne Tadros, a representative for Mission Australia, said that as many as one in four young people will have suffered at least one episode of major depression by the time they are 18. She called for governments and health authorities to take urgent action (Advocate (Burnie), 7/10/02, p.14).

Teenage skin cancer in Queensland

In a study of teenage skin cancer, the Queensland Cancer Fund compared 200 young people with the disease to 200 without. The study found that a young person's skin type had a large effect on whether they contracted cancer. People with many moles, a tendency to burn rather than tan, facial freckles, red hair and blue eyes were at greater risk than others. About 35 teenagers are diagnosed with melanomas in Queensland each year (Courier-Mail, 8/10/02, p.8).

Injury guides

The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, has produced a series of booklets for parents of children with brain injury. The five booklets guide parents through diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation. In most cases the injuries are caused by car accidents, but sporting injuries, infections and near-drownings also contribute to the statistics (Daily Telegraph, 25/9/02, p.20).

Vehicles and children

Analysis done by the University of New South Wales has found that almost 40% of pedestrians aged under six who die in vehicle accidents in NSW are killed in driveways, yards and car parks. The research also found that 20% of young passengers killed between 1995 and 2000 were not wearing a restraint (Newcastle Herald, 17/9/02, p.6).

Computers and backs

A Finnish study published in The British Medical Journal confirms that teenagers are commonly suffering from neck and back pain. Up to a third of a sample of 11-15-year-olds surveyed in the 1990s reported weekly backaches, with reports rising in frequency as the decade wore on. Girls and older teenagers were the worst affected by musculo-skeletal pain but similar patterns were seen across the genders and age groups.

The researchers at the University of Tampere speculated on a combination of reasons for the extra strain, from earlier maturation to physical inactivity and the effects of growing up in a computer and video age.

Dr James Smeathers, senior lecturer in human movement studies at the Queensland University of Technology, said heavy schoolbags could be a factor. School children are carrying `fairly hefty-sized backpacks--10 kg or more--which is far too much for the growing child.' But he also said that serious back problems remain rare among Australian teenagers (Courier-Mail, 5/10/02, p.28).

* Research by the British Chiropractic Association found that 29% of parents responding to a survey said their child had complained of back pain, and 38% were concerned about their children's posture. More than half the parents felt schoolbags were too heavy. Thirty-eight per cent claimed that their children spent more than five hours a week at computers (Daily Telegraph, 22/10/02, p.15).

* Vivienne Temple, from RMIT University's School of Medical Science, said Australian therapists were seeing an increase in students needing back treatment. In a Western Australian study, 60% of students reported discomfort when using laptop computers, she said (Herald Sun, 11/9/02, p. 10).

Childhood obesity

A three-day Childhood Obesity Summit held in Sydney drew together about 200 health, sport, education and nutrition experts. They produced 140 recommendations that included establishing:

* a centre of excellence for research into obesity;

* a Commonwealth government review of the regulations governing food advertising directed at children;

* tax-deductible fees for children's physical activities and sports programs;

* permanent physical education teachers in primary schools; and

* nutrition labelling on franchised fast food.

Dr Kerryn Phelps, president of the Australian Medical Association, warned the summit that overweight children were being diagnosed with problems that should not afflict them until middle age. Late-onset diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, glucose intolerance, problems with hip, knee and ankle joints, liver problems and gastro-oesophageal reflux were now regular complaints in overweight children, she said.

Dr Rosemary Stanton, a nutritionist, supported the view that tax measures could be one way of preventing children from overindulging in unhealthy food. Kay Mehta, who chairs the Coalition on Food Advertising to Children, called for a ban on junk-food advertising. She told the summit that children who watched 2.5 hours of television a day saw 26 advertisements an hour. More than a third were food commercials, and 72% of those were advertising junk food.

But representatives of the advertisers and manufacturers said such moves would discriminate against people on low incomes and would be ineffective. Ian Alwill, director of marketing at Nestle Australia and chairman of the Australian Association of National Advertisers, claimed that the biggest influence on what children ate was other family members, especially their parents. Parents need more help in choosing healthier food for their children, he said. The advertising industry wants money to be set aside for a new advertising campaign using the skills of advertisers to promote healthier eating (Canberra Times, 12/9/02, p.6, 13/9/02, p.6, and 20/9/02, p.21; West Australian, 12/9/02, p.18, 13/9/02, p.5, and 14/9/02, p.4; Age, 14/9/02, p.12, and 24/10/02, p.5; Sunday Telegraph, 15/9/02, p.97; Australian 19/9/02, p.11; Sunday Age, 27/10/02, p.10).

* School canteens in various states were urged to change their offerings. The obesity summit recommended that all school canteens should stop selling high-fat and high-sugar items and that junk-food vending machines be prohibited in schools.

In response, a Western Australian meeting of nutritionists and canteen and Cancer Council representatives gave support to a compulsory food accreditation system for canteens. At present, two accreditation schemes operate in WA school canteens--Star Choice, which identifies suppliers of low-fat and healthy food, and Star Cap, which gives schools a star rating based on their healthy menus. The meeting agreed with the NSW summit on the need for consistency of messages between theory taught in classrooms and practice in school canteens.

In the Australian Capital Territory, most schools ensure that their canteens offer healthy food, but junk food sells better. Schools with a ban on junk food find that students go to local shops to buy lunch, Ian Morgan, writing in The Canberra Times, suggested that wider restrictions need to accompany changes to canteen menus, including possibly banning advertising and sale of junk food to minors (Canberra Times, 13/9/02, p.6, and 20/9/02, p.21; West Australian, 13/9102, p.5, and 14/9/02, p.4; Age, 14/9/02, p. 12; Australian, 19/9/02, p. 11).

* Television advertising for fast food, soft drinks and sweets should be banned before 8.30 pm, according to a report in response to a three-day obesity conference in Melbourne. The report, from a citizens' panel, rejected the advertising industry's argument that there was no causal link between food advertising and a rise in childhood obesity. The report was posted on the Victorian obesity conference web site at www.dhs.vic.gov.au/phd/obesityforum/ (Age, 24/10/02, p.5; Sunday Age, 27/10/02, p.10).