Losing excess weight in childhood cuts diabetes risk

This news story from HealthDay describes a study where Danish researcher examined the associations between weight in childhood and the risk of type 2 diabetes later in life. Specifically, they looked at information for over 60,000 men living in Denmark who had their height and weight measured at 7 and 13 years of age and again as young adults.

They found that boys who were overweight at age 7 but lost the weight before age 13 had the same risk of type 2 diabetes as kids who were never overweight. But kids who stayed overweight or gained weight before age 13 had a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Want cheap and healthy meals? Cook at home

This news story from HealthDay describes a study that found eating out frequently was associated with lower diet quality, more calories and higher costs. This isn't a surprise by any means, so if you want to eat healthier at home, there are things you can do to make it easier.

What to do:

• Keep your meals simple. Half of your meal should be fruits or veggies, one fourth should be lean protein and one quarter should be grains.
• Try a service such as Blue Apron or Fresh Direct Meal Kits. They're affordable and you don't need to do the shopping.
• Experiment with once a month cooking. If you can set aside one weekend a month (and have the freezer space), you can prep a bunch of meals and store them in the freezer. Pop the meals in the oven to save time during the week.

Doctors often skip discussing dangers of driving after concussion.

This story from Reuters Health describes a new study that focused on sports medicine physicians, their knowledge of the dangers of driving after a concussion and whether or not they discussed the issue with young athletes with concussions.

The study team found that over 80 percent of doctors felt that concussions increased the risk of a car crash but just under half took the time to discuss these concerns with young athletes. The study authors say more research is needed but restricting driving after a concussion may be a good idea.

Hoverboard injuries sending thousands of kids to ERs

This news story from Reuters Health describes a study on hoverboard accidents and found that most hoverboard injuries occur at home and they're serious ??" about 40 percent of kids who went to the ER had fractured bones.

The study team suggests that proper parental supervision and a few pieces of protective equipment such as helmets and wrist pads could reduce the number of new injuries.

The researchers also looked at skateboard injuries and found that more than 120,000 injuries occurred during 2015 and 2016.

Reading programs may teach parents and kids more than literacy

This news story from Reuters Health describes the study. Researchers reviewed previously published papers and found that kids who participated in reading programs had better social and emotional skills and also had fewer behavioral problems.

Things you can do at school:

• Offer family reading programs that make free books available.
• Offer tips to parents so they can learn how to read interactively with their kids at home.
• Create reading programs where high school students can read with elementary children.

Hotlunch.com has had a busy year onboarding schools onto our enhanced platform. We grew 20% thanks to you, our thousands of loyal customers and parents across this country and globe.

To continue this growth we'd like to send you a $50 gift card as a thank you for introducing us to others looking to streamline school programs using Hotlunch.com. Send us a referral to schools or food providers and we'll send you a $50 gift card when they sign up with us. Click here to enter your referral to us.

We've had such a fun year working and growing with you, and we look forward to expanding our partnership together.

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