School of Medicine

Active guidance is key when helping kids make diet and exercise changes, according to a new study.A little health information is not enough to help obese children get into better shape, according to a recent analysis. Moreover, children who do not receive an offer for intervention or who receive information only tend to experience weight gains. Children given guidance that is more direct get into better shape, according to the review. “Providers make the assumption that providing information leads to changes,” said Denise Wilfley, Ph.D., lead author and professor in the department of psychiatry at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “Providing information is a necessary component, but it’s not sufficient.”

Women who get most of their daily calcium from food have healthier bones than women whose calcium comes mainly from supplemental tablets.

Although crib bumper pads are theoretically designed to prevent injury to a baby, the risk of accidental death or injury to an infant outweighs their possible benefits.

A resistance gene that allows bacteria to beat an important class of antibiotics has started to appear in microorganisms taken from Midwestern patients.

Photo by Robert BostonA group of pre-health students from the Japanese university spent a week at the School of Medicine taking part in classes in the Programs in Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy.

Mary Klingensmith, M.D., associate professor of surgery, has been a driving force behind changing the way surgical residents are trained.

School of Medicine pain researchers have shown that it’s possible to separate the good effects of opiate drugs such as morphine (pain relief) from the unwanted side effects of those drugs (tolerance, abuse and addiction).

CottlerLinda Cottler, professor of epidemiology in psychiatry at the School of Medicine, has been named president-elect of the American Psychopathological Association (APPA). She will serve as its president in 2010, the organization’s centennial year.

The School of Medicine has received a five-year, $4.6 million grant to establish an interdisciplinary career development training program for physical and occupational therapists. The grant is from the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Listed below are this month’s featured news stories. • Peanut-butter staves off starvation (week of Sept. 5) • Self-managing diabetes (week of Sept. 12) • Genes and blood thinners (week of Sept. 19) • Dangers of crib bumper pads (week of Sept. 26)