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Enjoying another spring day in New York yesterday was loved-up pair Sienna Miller and fiancé Tom Sturridge. The two were snapped without their newborn tot, baby Marlowe, as they soaked up the warm weather ahead of Tom's TimesTalks conference in the city for his new Broadway production of Orphans, in which he stars opposite Alec Baldwin.
SEE THE TV BAFTA 2013 NOMINATIONS IN FULL
By Brenda Goodman
HealthDay ReporterWEDNESDAY, June 12 (HealthDay News) -- There's fresh evidence that the chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, may play a part in childhood obesity.
BPA is a chemical that is widely used in food packaging. Government studies have shown that 92 percent of Americans have detectable levels of BPA in their bodies.
There's intense scientific interest in BPA because it is chemically similar to the hormone estrogen, and there's some concern that it may mimic estrogen's effects in the body, causing harm to the brain and reproductive organs, particularly in children.
Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration formally banned BPA from baby bottles and sippy cups, though manufacturers had already stopped using it. The agency declined to ban it from other food containers, pending further research.
In a new study published online June 12 in the journal PLoS One, researchers measured BPA levels in the urine of more than 1,300 children in China and compared those levels to their body weights.
The study authors also asked the kids about other things that may influence body weight, such as how often they ate junk food, fruits and vegetables, how much exercise they got, whether their parents were overweight and how long they played video games, on average, each day.
After taking all those factors into account, the investigators found that girls aged 9 to 12 who had higher-than-average levels of BPA in their urine were about twice as likely to be obese as those with lower-than-average levels. The researchers didn't see the same association for boys or for older girls.
One explanation for the results may be that girls who are entering puberty are uniquely vulnerable to the effects of hormone-disrupting chemicals, said study author Dr. De-Kun Li, an epidemiologist at Kaiser Foundation Research Institute and the Stanford School of Medicine, in California.
"Human studies are starting to confirm animal studies that show BPA can disrupt energy storage and energy metabolism," said Li.
One of the most recent questions raised about BPA is whether or not it may be an obesogen, or a chemical that contributes to the development of obesity.
In laboratory studies, BPA produces many of the molecular hallmarks of obesity. It makes fat cells bigger, it blocks the function of a protein called adiponectin, which protects against heart disease, and it disrupts the balance of testosterone and estrogen -- hormones that are important for maintaining a healthy body mass.
One expert found the study results troubling.
"Clearly, unhealthy diet and physical activity are still the leading causes of the childhood obesity epidemic worldwide, but this study adds further concern to the notion that environmental chemicals may be independent contributors," said Dr. Leonardo Trasande, an associate professor of pediatrics, environmental medicine and health policy at NYU Langone Medical Center, in New York City.
By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay ReporterTUESDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- Overweight or obese women who are pregnant are more likely to give birth prematurely, and the risk of preterm delivery increases with their amount of excess weight, according to a study of more than 1.5 million deliveries in Sweden.
Researchers speculate that the health problems associated with overweight and obesity -- high blood pressure, insulin resistance, high cholesterol, increased chance of infection -- have a direct impact on a woman's ability to carry their child to term, according to the study, which was published in the June 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Birth of an infant prior to 37 weeks of gestation is the leading cause of infant mortality, neonatal illness and long-term disability in children, said researchers led by Dr. Sven Cnattingius of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.
A U.S. expert not involved with the study said he wasn't surprised by the findings.
"This just reinforces the fact that the complications of obesity and additional weight gain are deleterious to both mother and fetus," said Dr. Raul Artal, a professor and chairman of the department of obstetrics, gynecology and women's health at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine.
Artal said this study, along with previous research, makes the case that overweight and obese women who are pregnant can protect the health of their unborn child by maintaining their current weight or even shedding some pounds.
"The concept that we propagated for years that pregnancy is not a good time for weight loss and physical activity is wrong," he said.
For the study, researchers analyzed the records of 1.59 million births between 1992 and 2010, reviewing the body-mass index (BMI) of the women at their first prenatal doctor's visit as well as information recorded following birth about health risks, maternal diseases and pregnancy complications.
BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight.
The statistics came from the Swedish Medical Birth Register, which maintains detailed data on all births in that nation and serves as a valuable resource for researchers, a U.S. expert said.
"There's a lot of good obstetric data that comes out of Sweden because of that register," said Dr. Russ Fothergill, vice chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Scott and White Healthcare in Temple, Texas.
The researchers found that the risk of extremely premature (22 to 27 weeks), very premature (28 to 31 weeks) and moderately premature (32 to 36 weeks) deliveries increased with a woman's BMI.
The authors said that even though the study is Swedish, the results can be generalized to other populations with similar or higher rates of maternal obesity or preterm delivery.
I would describe my style as casual, comfortable with a contemporary twist. I'm wearing Swedish Hasbeens shoes, a COS dress, a coat that I bought in a boutique in Hong Kong, and my mum's leather jacket. I don't have a style icon but I get outfit ideas from street style and Scandinavian style. I am also inspired by the lifestyle blog Convoy.tumblr.com. My favourite designers are Prada, Jill Sander, COS and Stella McCartney.
Photographed by Suzanne Middlemass.
Entertainer Nick Lachey, 39, says being a new dad surprised, delighted, and challenged him -- and gave him something new to sing about.
You have two nephews. Did that experience prepare you for having your own son, Camden?"To some extent, yeah, in that any experience you have is good. I mean, at least I had changed some diapers and all that. But it’s a whole other ballgame when it’s your own child -- and certainly when you’re changing multiple diapers a day. With that and with everything, you learn on the fly and you learn fast."
Was it at all difficult to watch your little brother have kids before you, when it was something you’d always desired yourself?
"You know, it wasn’t really. I just knew that there’s a time and a place for everything and that eventually I would get to the place where my life was ready for a child."
What has been the most challenging part of this first year of parenthood for you and your wife, Vanessa?
"Oh, definitely the first few days home with Camden. You’re still so new as a parent, and he’s so new, and there’s just all this uncertainty. You just don’t want to screw up. I remember that even just that first ride home from the hospital was incredibly nerve-wracking."
Has sleep deprivation been a major issue?
"I think we’ve both gotten really lucky and made some good choices in terms of how he sleeps. He’s a great baby -- very easygoing and has been sleeping through the night for months. But I think that’s also because we both read a bunch of books to prepare for the sleep issues, and we made sure we didn’t travel too much within his first 6 months, to get him on a pretty strict schedule. Keeping to that schedule is the best thing we’ve done. When he’s rested, he’s happy -- and so are we."
What have you done to keep Camden and yourself healthy during his first year?
"Like most typical new parents, we were pretty vigilant about germs when he was really young -- so anyone who was going to be in close contact with him had to scrub up. But otherwise I think we’ve been pretty mellow, overall. As for me, I made a concerted effort to stay in shape. To start, I tried not to gain any pregnancy sympathy weight. That’s partly just because of the business I’m in, but also partly so I feel good."
Have you had any moments where you thought, whoa, “Daddy FAIL!”?
"Well, I will say that the first time Vanessa went out of town and I had to do his bath solo, it sure wasn’t pretty, and it was not nearly as smooth as when his mom does it. Oh, I got him clean, in the end...but I felt like I was subjecting him to a sub-par bath experience."
