Food Insecurity Rates Rise Steeply with Recession

Children's HealthWatch finds that the prevalence of food insecurity in a five-city sample of low-income families with young children increased from 18.5 percent to 22.6 percent between 2007 and 2008. This is the largest year-to-year change seen in the dataset since 2001. The increase is an indication of the economic hardships facing low-income families with young children. This data suggests that we are likely to see significant increases in food insecurity when the U.S. Department of Agriculture issues its own statistics for 2008 in late fall

Federal Programs that Protect Young Children's Health

An investment in children's health is an investment in our country's economic health. Infants and toddlers, whose bodies and brains are in their most rapid period of growth, are uniquely vulnerable to even shortterm deprivation. Ensuring that they have the basic physiologic building blocks for healthy bodies and minds is not only the right thing to do -- it is the smart thing to do. Research has shown that children who suffer from poor nutrition, unstable housing and inadequate home heating have a greater likelihood of poor health, a higher risk of developmental delays and, in some cases, an increased risk of hospitalization

Even Very Low Levels of Food Insecurity Found to Harm Children's Health

This publication is the first in a series of Children's HealthWatch Policy Action Briefs, which will provide a summary of our research, as well as that of others, on issues affecting children's health and well-being. This brief finds that more children are at risk for health and developmental problems due to lack of food than were previously thought. These children and their families are classified as

The Bulk RS KK-gluon at the LHC

We study the possibility of discovering and measuring the properties of the lightest Kaluza-Klein excitation of the gluon in a Randall-Sundrum scenario where the Standard Model matter and gauge fields propagate in the bulk. The KK-gluon decays primarily into top quarks. We discuss how to use the $t \bar{t}$ final states to discover and probe the properties of the KK-gluon. Identification of highly energetic tops is crucial for this analysis. We show that conventional identification methods relying on well separated decay products will not work for heavy resonances but suggest alternative methods for top identification for energetic tops. We find, conservatively, that resonances with masses less than 5 TeV can be discovered if the algorithm to identify high $p_T$ tops can reject the QCD background by a factor of 10. We also find that for similar or lighter masses the spin can be determined and for lighter masses the chirality of the coupling to $t\bar t$ can be measured. Since the energetic top pair final state is a generic signature for a large class of new physics as the top quark presumably couples most strongly to the electroweak symmetry breaking sector, the methods we have outlined to study the properties of the KK-gluon should also be important in other scenarios.Comment: 21 pages, 13 figure

Correlations in a two-dimensional Bose gas with long range interactions

We study the correlations of two-dimensional dipolar excitons in coupled quantum wells with a dipole -- dipole repulsive interaction. We show that at low concentrations, the Bose degeneracy of the excitons is accompanied by strong multi-particle correlations and the system behaves as a Bose liquid. At high concentration the particles interaction suppresses quantum coherence and the system behaves similar to a classical liquid down to a temperature lower than typical for a Bose gas. We evaluate the interaction energy per particle and the resulting blue shift of the exciton luminescence that is a direct tool to measure the correlations. This theory can apply to other systems of bosons with extended interaction.Comment: 11 pages including 2 figure

Affordable Health Care Keeps Children and Families Healthy

The health of young children is negatively affected when parents have to forego health care for themselves or other adult members of the household or when parents have to forego payment of household expenses in order to pay for health care

WIC Improves Child Health and School Readiness

New research by Children's HealthWatch demonstrates that young children who participate in the Special Supplemental Nutrition program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) are more likely to be in excellent or good health and have a reduced risk of developmental delay. Investing in WIC supports the nutritional and health needs of young children during a critical window of brain and body growth.Progam improvements that decrease access barriers, provide the full amount of fruits and vegetables recommended by the Institute of Medicine, and accommodate working parents' schedules will help young children reach their full potential

Energy Insecurity is a Major Threat to Child Health

With the recession and this winter's harsh weather, many families are facing a choice between eating and heating. Research by Children's HealthWatch shows that young children whose families struggle to pay their utility bills ('energy insecure' families) are more likely to suffer a host of problems including food insecurity, poor health, hospitalizations and developmental delays.The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which provides low-income households with assistance in paying their utility bills, is effective at shielding young children from the harmful effects of energy insecurity.According to research by Children's HealthWatch, young children whose families received LIHEAP were less likely to be at risk for growth problems and had healthier weights for their age.By appropriating the maximum authorized funding for LIHEAP and ensuring that climate change legislation buffers vulnerable families and children from the harmful effects of higher energy prices, Congress will be taking important steps to protect children's health

Too Many Hurdles: Barriers to Receiving SNAP Put Childrens Health at Risk

Summary of Findings

Child Care Feeding Programs Support Young Children's Healthy Development

New research by Children's HealthWatch shows that toddlers from low-income families who receive meals from their child care provider - those likely to be receiving CACFP - are in better health, have decreased risk for hospitalization, and are at healthier heights and weights for their age than those whose have to bring meals from home. As the nation's only nutrition program for young children in child care, CACFP is a critical component of a comprehensive approach to child nutrition.Changes to CACFP that expand access, reduce barriers and ensure that child care providers have the resources they need to provide healthy meals are beneficial for young children's health, growth and development