Free Republic

The health of U.S. children has deteriorated over the past 17 years, with kids today more likely to have obesity, chronic diseases and mental health problems like depression, a new study says. Much of what researchers found was already known, but the study paints a comprehensive picture by examining various aspects of children’s physical and mental health at the same time. “The surprising part of the study wasn’t any with any single statistic; it was that there’s 170 indicators, eight data sources, all showing the same thing: a generalized decline in kids’ health,” said Dr. Christopher Forrest, one of the...

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is vastly over-diagnosed with many cases simply immature children who are the youngest in their class. […] Around three to seven percent of British children are believed to have ADHD, about 400,000, with many being prescribed drugs to try and improve their concentration at school. […] Now a study of nearly 400,000 children between four and 17 years old in Taiwan has shown that the percentage of youngsters diagnosed with ADHD significantly changes depending on month of birth. Where just 2.8 percent of boys born in September have the condition, the figure jumps to 4.5...

Causes for childhood depression, anxiety and attention deficit range from nutritional imbalances and chemical exposure to home and school problems. Instead of addressing causes, many doctors and psychologists treat the symptoms with powerful medications. Today, almost nine million children, or almost one out of every five American children, take psychoactive drugs for their behavior disorders, many of which are questionable diagnoses. SIDE EFFECTS OF PROZAC Prozac, Luvox, Paxil, and Zoloft belong to a class of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRI's. These drugs can induce akathisia - mental and physical agitation that sparks self-destructive, violent behavior. They...

Almost one of every six foster children on mood-altering drugs in Florida is being medicated without the court order or parental consent required by law, according to a study released Thursday by the state Department of Children and Families. DCF Secretary George Sheldon acknowledged there was "no rational basis" for 433 foster children in Florida being given psychotropic drugs without the required documentation. He vowed that by next week, the agency would ensure that the children have parental consent to take the drugs or that their cases are scheduled to go before a judge. The study is more fallout from...

Pregnant women who take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants such as Celexa, Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft could boost the risk of withdrawal symptoms for their newborns, a new study suggests. However, the Israeli researchers add that these symptoms are usually gone within 48 hours and appear to pose no long-term threat to the infant's health. Another expert noted that stopping antidepressant therapy during pregnancy poses its own risk to the health of a mother and her child. "At present, probably the effect of not treating the women's clinical depression is a much bigger issue for mothers and their infants,"...