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102 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE TEEN PASSENGERS AT RISK IN CAR CRASHES Teens who are passengers in automobiles that crash are more likely to die than younger children in the same setting, according to a study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Research conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia showed that before age 12, the number of deaths per year of age was fairly constant, and then suddenly between 12 and 14, it rose dramatically and continued to rise all the way through the teens. Among these deaths, 54.4 percent of the teens were riding with a driver under 20, and almost two-thirds were not wearing seat belts. Drinking was a fac- tor in 21.2 percent of the fatal car crashes. The researchers suggest that parents need to start talking with their kids about driving rules like seat belts before they get their learner’s permit, at a time when they start being driven by their peers. POOR WORKING MEMORY TIED TO LOW SCHOOL SCORES Poor working memory, rather than low intelligence, could be the reason some children are underachievers at school. Working memory is the ability to retain and manipulate infor- mation, such as doing math without the aid of pen and paper or calculator, or following teachers’ instructions. Using a new tool that they developed, a team at Durham University surveyed more than 3,000 children and found that 10 percent of them suffered from poor working memory. They found that teachers, who often believe children with this prob- lem are inattentive or have low intelligence, rarely identify poor working memory. Early identification will enable teachers to adapt their methods to help the children’s learning before they fall too far behind their peers, and can prevent long-term academic problems. FLU VACCINE COVERAGE SHOULD BE EXPANDED U.S. health advisers recently recommended that all children between the ages of 6 months and 18 years receive annual flu shots. Currently, the recommendation is for children from 6 months to 5 years, and the expanded age range would cover an additional 30 million children. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends that the new guidelines take effect no later than the 2009-10 flu season. The change will help in reducing the number of childhood hospitalizations and deaths from influenza each season. During the 2006-07 flu season, 68 children died. Children tend to come down with the flu at higher rates than adults but usually don’t get as sick. Health offi- cials hope that extending vaccine coverage will also benefit adults, mak- ing them less likely to be infected by children. In 2006, the CDC expanded the recommendation to include children up to 5 years old. OBESE CHILDREN FACE SURGERY COMPLICATIONS Obese children are much more likely than normal-weight chil- dren to have breathing-related problems during surgery, according to a study published in the journal Anesthesiology. Researchers at the University of Michigan Health System looked at 1,380 normal- weight, 351 overweight, and 294 obese children, who had elective, non-cardiac surgery. They found that obese children had a higher rate of difficult mask ventilation, airway obstruction, decreases in oxygen in the blood, and other airway problems. Obese children also had higher rates of asthma, hypertension, sleep apnea and type 2 diabetes, all of which contribute to problems during surgery. However, despite the increased risk of adverse events among the obese children in this study, none suffered significant illness. About 15 percent to 17 percent of children and adolescents in the United States are obese, according to background information in the study. CUTTING BACK ON TV AND COMPUTER HELPS CUT WEIGHT Cutting kids’ TV and computer time by half reduced the amount of food they ate and helped them lose weight, according to a study published in The Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Researchers at the University at Buffalo studied overweight chil- dren who watched TV or played computer games for at least 14 hours a week, and installed a moni- toring device on each television and computer. The device allowed for the reduction of the children’s weekly screen time by 10 percent a week. Researchers found that the children who had no restrictions on their time reduced their TV and computer use by 5.2 hours a week, whereas the kids with restricted use cut their TV and computer time by 17.5 hours a week. The children with restricted time lost more weight than the other children. The researchers found that the important factor may have been that the device puts the choice of when to watch televi- sion in the child’s control. To • Junior ’ s • Health