Utah Valley Pediatrics strives to keep parents up to date on the latest health topics and advisories. Our newsletter covers medicine changes and news, pediatric news, seasonal and age specific topics and what’s new at Utah Valley Pediatrics.
Archives
Spring 2009
Vol. 3 Issue 1
Medicine Changes and News
Does Your Child Really Need Vitamins?
Federal Court Finds That Vaccines Did Not Cause Autism
Pediatric News
Couch Potatoes Have Trouble Eating Healthy Later
Seasonal and Age Specific
Playing it Safe: How to Avoid Injuries
What's New at UVP
The Payson Office Has Moved to a New Building
Contacts
Kevin Moffitt
Administrator
801-373-8930
Allison Arnold
Manager
801-373-8930
Quick Links
Medicine Changes and News
Does Your Child Really Need Vitamins?
You want your child to be as healthy as possible. You make sure your child gets enough rest, has a proper diet, and, of course, takes that vitamin every morning with breakfast. But does your child really need a vitamin?
According to a new study probably not. If your children are already eating a healthy diet with a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, dairy, whole-grain, nuts, seeds, eggs, and meats, they are getting all the vitamins and minerals they need. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) typically does not recommend multi-vitamins for children over one year of age.
Federal Court Finds That Vaccines Did Not Cause Autism
Vaccinations are useful preventative measures against deadly childhood illnesses. However, some groups have claimed that vaccinations cause autism. Parents may feel caught between doctors' recommendations to vaccinate and these claims.
In February of this year, a special federal court sided with the doctors. The court heard three suits for compensation filed by parents who claimed that vaccines had caused their children's autism.
Special masters assigned to the case clearly sympathized with the parents, but stated that their decision was based on the evidence, not feelings. A special master assigned to the cases said that the evidence of a link between vaccines and autism was "weak, contradictory, and unpersuasive."
Pediatric News
Your Child’s Vision
You make sure your child sees the doctor and the dentist on a regular basis, but what about the eye doctor? Eye health is also a vital part of your child's well being. Here's some information that will help you keep your child's eyes healthy.
Children should have their eyes tested periodically before the age of five.
Your child's pediatrician will usually perform this test as part of a regular check-up. If anything appears out of the ordinary, the pediatrician will then make a referral to an eye doctor. Ask your pediatrician about the eye tests he gives your child so that you can stay informed.
After age five, the public school system usually takes over as the primary source of eye tests. Some pediatricians will continue to test eye health during scheduled check-ups. Know where your child is being tested, how often, and how to find out the results.
Couch Potatoes Have Trouble Eating Healthy Later
A new study has found teenagers who watch more TV also tend to eat more junk food—and these poor diet choices follow them into adulthood.
Researchers tracked 2,000 high school students over a period of at least five years. The researchers found that those who watched more than five hours of TV every day were likely to have poor diets as young adults. These young adults tended to eat fewer fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. They filled the gap in their diet with more fried foods, fast food, and sugary drinks.
Researchers also noticed that the patterns became more pronounced as the children grew older. Children transitioning to young adulthood had worse diets than did children transitioning from middle school to high school age.
Toddler Gestures
Educators have known for a while that children who enter kindergarten with a bigger vocabulary tend to do better throughout their entire school career. Parents who want to increase their child's vocabulary have been encouraged to read and talk to their child frequently. However, recently researchers have discovered one more thing that parents might be able to do to help increase vocabulary. It seems that gestures play an important role in language learning.
Long before toddlers learn to talk, they become experts at conveying their meaning through gestures like pointing, waving, and clapping. Researchers have found that these gestures are an important precursor to talking. Toddlers who were more skilled at communicating with gestures at 14 months old had a larger vocabulary as they entered kindergarten.
Seasonal and Age Specific
Playing it Safe: How to Avoid Injuries
Spring is just about here, and with spring comes a lot of playing around in the great outdoors. Whether your child plays team sports or just enjoys the spring weather on a bike, skateboard or skates, you can help your child avoid injury from physical activity by following a few safety tips.
Food Safety at Home
When you eat at a restaurant, you want to know that the restaurant kitchen has an "A" rating from the health inspector. But what about your kitchen? If the health inspector came for a visit, what would you get?
Food safety is just as important at home. Luckily, it's not too difficult. Just follow a few simple rules, and your clean kitchen will prevent food-borne illness from affecting your family.
Diabetes
Statistics about diabetes can be somewhat alarming: 23 million Americans currently have the disease, and another 57 million Americans are at risk according to the American Diabetes Association. The good news is that most types of diabetes are treatable or even preventable with some simple lifestyle changes.
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is the general name for a partial or complete breakdown in the delivery system that sends sugar--your body’s energy source—from the bloodstream to cells. In this system, the hormone insulin, produced in the pancreas, allows sugar to enter cells. The system breaks down when insulin levels are too low or when cells refuse to let insulin do its job.
What's New at UVP
The Payson Office Has Moved to a New Building
To better serve our patients, the Utah Valley Pediatrics Payson Office moved to a new building on January 26th. The new building offers separate well and sick waiting rooms and is a brand new facility. We have also extended our regular office hours until 7:00 p.m. Monday to Friday.
Utah Valley Pediatrics Payson Office
Mountain View Medical Plaza
15 South 1000 East #200
Payson, UT 84651
Telephone 465-2800
Fax 465-4770
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