The Star Online: Lifestyle: Health
The Star Online: Lifestyle: Health |
| Posted: 18 Jun 2011 09:00 PM PDT Is your child developing well? TRACKING your child's learning progress can be a lengthy process. However, to raise smarter, healthier and happier children, it is crucial that parents keep track of their child's physical and mental progress, and watch out for early signs of possible problems. Signs of visual, motor, and language development can be detected from the first few years of life. In fact, by the time a child reaches two to three years of age, he should be able to identify different colours, sizes, and shapes; can run, jump with both feet, and even hold crayons/pencils and scribble on paper; can make short sentences, with a vocabulary of up to 50 words. As children enter school and progress through the years, their intellectual and language comprehension becomes more refined. At the ages of four to six years, your child should be able to talk more fluently and confidently, able to draw quite well, with a certain amount of detail, develop reading skills, and even write independently. If these milestones are not achieved by a certain age, then your child may need some extra help. The intellectual development of a child is the process of a child's learning as he grows older. Some parents may question why their friend's child is smarter than theirs when they both go to the same preschool, or why another child at age one has started talking before their own has. It is important to remember that each child develops at a different rate, but if you suspect a delay, there are a few tests that psychologists use to check your child's intellectual development (IQ). Is intelligence 'pre-set'? In the past, the brain, and hence intelligence, was thought to be determined mostly by genetics. However, recent studies have shown that a child's brain development can be influenced by his environment, such as nutritional, medical, emotional, and intellectual factors during his childhood. A child's brain is impressionable and can easily be influenced by different experiences, which can cause his brain to develop in different ways. As your child grows, his ability to understand language, solve problems, and get along with other people is influenced by what he has experienced as an infant and young child. Good experiences will help his brain develop well, while neglect or abuse may cause normal children to develop various problems, such as delayed IQ or serious emotional difficulties. How parents can help boost a child's mental development Parents are the primary caregivers for their children, and it is mainly through them that children are able to learn and develop. Stimulation and interaction are the most important aspects of brain development. Here are some ways in which you could help encourage your child to further learn and develop: ·When he starts to "talk" Your child looks to you for response as he loves to hear the different sounds your voice produces. Respond to his sounds and smile enthusiastically, talk to him and name familiar objects that you touch or that he plays with. Reading to him also helps him learn the importance of speech before he can even understand or repeat the words. ·When he starts to take an interest in what he sees Your child becomes curious about the things that surround him. You can encourage his curiosity and help stimulate his thinking and learning by giving them simple toys to play with, such as blocks that are in different shapes and colours. Engage him with pictures of various animals, fruits, vegetables or vehicles. You can also describe the different things you come across daily. ·When he starts to move around You can help to develop your child's sense of touch by providing objects or toys that have different textures, sizes and shapes. You can also hang a mobile/moving toy over his cot to help develop his motor skills by encouraging movement of his arms and legs as he tries to touch the objects. As he reaches 13 to 17 months, you can start holding his hand and walk him along as he explores his surroundings. Give him free reign to do so on his own as well, but make sure that the environment is safe and childproof. Good nutrition supports mental development In addition to stimulation and interaction, a good foundation for brain growth and development includes a healthy diet rich in essential nutrients. Some nutrients have been said to be crucial for proper brain development, and these include phospholipids, omega-3 and omega-6, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and arachidonic acid (AA). These nutrients are most abundant in soy, eggs, oily fish such as tuna and sardines, as well as walnuts. Taurine, choline, and iron are important micronutrients for the network connections between brain cells. Food sources that contain these nutrients include legumes, green leafy vegetables, whole grains, broccoli, egg yolks and red meat. Other nutrients that are equally important are antioxidants (ie lutein, selenium, vitamins A, C and E and zinc), which function to protect the brain cells. You can get these from fruits and vegetables, tea, prunes, and even cheese. Do remember, however, that children need to eat a wide variety of foods to get all the nutrients required for overall growth and development. Milk products are a good source of all nutrients. Mothers should find a formulation that has been scientifically researched and tested in children. Is your child different? All children grow at different rates, but in some cases, a child may develop at a slower rate compared with the average child. There can be several reasons for this, which may include being born prematurely, poor nutrition, accidental exposure to drugs prior to birth, or even if he grows up in an environment he does not feel secure in. The first few years of your child's life are very important for all types of development, including brain growth. Encourage your child through activities that can stimulate his learning and growth, as his brain is greatly influenced by his interactions with others and his surroundings. Also, provide your child with a balanced, moderate and varied diet according to the Food Pyramid, to help him obtain proper nutrition for healthy growth, both mentally and physically. > Professor Dr Norimah A. Karim is a nutritionist, while Woo Pei Jun is a developmental psychologist. This article is courtesy of the Positive Parenting Programme by the Malaysian Paediatric Association (MPA) and supported by an educational grant from Abbott Nutrition International. For more information, please visit www.mypositiveparenting.org. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Posted: 18 Jun 2011 08:57 PM PDT Introducing a new lens that aims to slow down the rapid progression of myopia in the young. IT is not unusual to see young children wearing spectacles nowadays. This is not just a coincidence, as it was reported at the 2008 International Myopia Conference in Cairns, Australia, that over 50% of 11- to 13-year-olds living in urban populations across East Asia have myopia, or shortsightedness. In highly urbanised countries like Singapore and Taiwan, the number of 18-year-olds who are myopic can reach up to 80 to 85%. And it is not just the fact that more young ones are needing spectacles nowadays; their "power", or refractive error, is also increasing more rapidly after onset than before. This means that they have to change their spectacle lenses more frequently, in order to be able to see properly. According to Brien Holden Vision Institute Myopia Programme Director, Associate Professor Dr Padmaja Sankaridurg, research showed that between 1990 and 2000, there was a 10% increase in the number of young myopia cases. "There seemed to be a big jump in the number of children getting myopia, and this raised a red flag for us." She adds: "Not only did the prevalence increase, but also the rate at which the myopia was progressing." More and more children, she says, were requiring lenses of -6 Diopter (D) or more, which is classified as high myopia. This level of myopia is significant because at -6D, the expansion of the eyeball causes it to weaken, and the possibility of a retinal break, which can lead to blindness, becomes higher. Urban factor With myopia, a person is unable to see distant objects clearly. The reason for this is anatomical – the eyeballs are larger than they need to be. Because of this, the eye is unable to focus images that are far directly onto the retina. The retina is found at the back of the eye; its main function is to receive the images we see, which are then sent to the brain for processing via the optic nerves that connect the eye to the brain. For people who are short-sighted, images that are far fall in front of the retina, instead of on it, resulting in blurry vision. (See graphic) Near images are still clear as the lens of the eye can still compensate in terms of focusing those images directly onto the retina. Both genetic and environmental factors are believed to play a role in the development of myopia. Children whose parents are both shortsighted, have a one-in-three chance of becoming shortsighted themselves; while those with only one myopic parent have a one-in-five chance of developing myopia. Meanwhile, environmental factors are postulated to play a big role in the large increase in myopia cases among urban populations. Says Assoc Prof Sankaridurg: "Take any country in the world, there seems to be something about the urban environment that contributes to myopia. "Researchers (in this area) talk about near work and closed environments; is myopia increasing because the eye is adapting to near work?" Examples of near work include using the computer, reading and writing. As such, it is not surprising that researchers have speculated that East Asian pride in academic achievements might have contributed to this phenomena. However, as Assoc Prof Sankaridurg says: "How can we tell parents to ask their child not to study?" She shares that a study she conducted in China, involving school children, showed that the progression of myopia during the summer was half that of the progression during winter. With the conducive weather and school holidays occurring during summer, the children were involved in more outdoor activities, as compared to winter, when they would be in school and indoors a lot. "The risk of having myopia seems to be reduced when you have outdoor activities," she says. Supporting the theory is the difference in myopia cases between rural and urban populations. "In countries like China and India, the myopia prevalence rate in rural areas is around 40%, while in the urban population, it is close to 55-75%," she says. A global solution Parents can encourage their children to spend more leisure time outdoors, instead of just playing computer games or watching television, as well as taking regular breaks to rest their eyes when they use the computer, do homework or study, to help prevent or slow down myopia, In addition, Assoc Prof Sankaridurg and her colleagues, under the auspices of Vision CRC, have also come up with a new type of lens to help decrease the progression of myopia. Vision CRC is one of the Australian Government's Cooperative Research Centres, specialising in eyecare. The Brien Holden Vision Institute is one of the participants in its various programmes, including its Anti-Myopia Programme. "We started looking at what it actually means when the eye is progressing, as not all eyes progress at the same rate," says Assoc Prof Sankaridurg. What they found was that while wearing spectacles helped in correcting central vision, peripheral images were actually being focused behind the retina due to the spherical shape of the eyeball. (See graphic) As such, the researchers hypothesised that the progression of myopia was due to the eye "chasing the image" by growing larger in order to "catch" the image that is being projected behind the eye. This is particularly pronounced in children and young teens, as they are already in the stage of rapid growth and development; thus, accounting for their rapid progression of myopia. "What we are trying to do now is design lenses that provide global correction, so that all images fall on the back of the eyeball," Assoc Prof Sankaridurg shares. The team has already carried out a random clinical trial at a centre in Guangzhou, China, involving 210 children aged six to 12 years over a year. The results showed that the new lenses that provide global correction slowed down the progression of myopia in the children who wore them by about 30%, as compared to those who wore regular single-vision lenses. These new lenses are being produced by Vision CRC's industry partner, Carl Zeiss Vision, under the trade name Myovision. While Carl Zeiss Vision Malaysia sales manager Paul Ho acknowledges that Myovision lenses are more expensive than regular single-vision lenses, he adds that in the long run, parents will save money as their child would not need to change their spectacles as often as compared to if they use regular lenses. According to Ho, regular single-vision lenses on the market now cost about RM150 to RM180, while Myovision lenses cost about RM360. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Posted: 18 Jun 2011 08:56 PM PDT Malaysian couples say erection hardness is key to achieving ideal sexual experience and intimacy. MALAYSIAN men have their partners' satisfaction in mind when it comes to the ideal sexual experience, as the more satisfied the women, the more loved and appreciated they feel. Malaysian men who graded themselves on the highest scale are three times more confident and satisfied with themselves as good sexual partners compared to their less virile counterparts. These were some of the key findings highlighted at a press conference announcing the results of the Ideal Sex Survey commissioned by Pfizer. The Ideal Sex survey was conducted last December, with 3,282 male and female respondents in 10 Asia Pacific countries, including Malaysia. The survey was part of Pfizer's continuous efforts to understand the constitutions of ideal sex in the minds of men and women, as well as profile the men's outlook on health, physique, personality, lifestyle preferences, life priorities, sexual relationships, sexual performance and attitudes towards sex according to their Erection Hardness Score (EHS). The EHS is a self-assessment tool developed by Pfizer to determine the quality of erections. The erection hardness score consists of four grades, whereby grade 4 is the most ideal; when the penis is completely hard and fully rigid. Grade 1 is an example of when the penis is larger but not hard; grade 2 is when the penis is hard, but not hard enough for penetration; and grade 3 is penis is hard enough for penetration, but not completely hard. When a man's erection hardness is between grade 1-3, this man has some degree of erectile dysfunction. It is important to note that the survey results in Malaysia generally follow a similar pattern and are consistent with the regional Asia results. For the Malaysian respondents, nine in 10 men and three in four women (while in Asia as a whole, eight in 10 men and women) ranked erection hardness and the ability to maintain an erection as the most critical aspect in achieving the ideal sexual experience. Men with optimal erection hardness are significantly more satisfied with their level of sexual desire, overall sex lives and their sexual performance than men with sub-optimal erection hardness. Both men and women agreed that a Grade 4 and the ability to maintain it, gave both partners better orgasm intensity during their sexual intercourse compared to grade 3 erections. Consequently, both partners agreed that quality of the sexual experience outranks quantity at any given time. Studying sex As part of a continuing strategy of communications to both physicians and patients, in July 2010, Pfizer Inc commissioned Harris Interactive to conduct a survey about the ideal sexual experience among men and women in the Asia-Pacific regions. The study was designed for public release and seeks to understand the constitutions of ideal sex in the minds of men and women and to explore the hypothesis to profile men who have sub-optimal hardness in terms of health, physique, personality, lifestyle preferences, life priorities, sexual relationships, sexual performance and attitudes toward sex. The survey of 122 males and 121 females was conducted nationwide in Malaysia. In Malaysia, men and women were randomly sampled using an online consumer panel where they were invited by email to a secure website hosted by Harris Interactive to be screen and if qualified, to complete the online self-administered questionnaire. All interviews were conducted in Malay. In order to qualify for participation in the study, all males and females must be in the age of 31 to 74 years, have had sexual intercourse at least once in the past 12 months and self-identify themselves (men) or their partners (women) as having either suboptimal erection hardness (EHS Grade 3) or optimal erection hardness (EHS Grade 4). Males and females were sampled on a geographically-representative basis and the fieldwork was conducted from December 9, 2010 through January 11, 2011. The name of the sponsor of the study was not disclosed in any of the survey materials. What it means "What the survey confirms is that the quality of an erection not only satisfies the men physically, psychologically, and emotionally, but it is equally as important for their partners. When a man has an optimal erection, he has better sexual performance and is able to satisfy his partner better," explains Prof Dr George Lee, Associate Professor at Monash University and one of the investigators for the Ideal Sex Survey in Malaysia. "With fulfilling sexual intimacy, men with EHS Grade 4 have better self-image and confidence and they feel more successful than others." Apart from unearthing the ideal sex experience, the Ideal Sex Survey also showed the link between the quality of the men's erection and their state of health. About 25% of the Malaysian men who rated their erection as EHS Grade 3 described their overall health as poor or fair, compared to the 17% of men with EHS Grade 4 who rated their health similarly low. A similar pattern were shown for the regional Asia, where 38% of EHS Grade 3 men rated their overall health as poor or fair, and 24% of EHS Grade 4 men rated their health as similarly low. This is an important finding as sub-optimal erection has been linked to ischemic heart disease. "What most men are unaware of is that erectile dysfunction is a recognised early symptom for cardiovascular disease, as it often occurs concurrently with diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and heart disease. As a result of increased cholesterol level and diabetes, the blood vessels are blocked by the accumulation of fatty material along the walls of the arteries. "These vessels will eventually harden and become narrow, leading to insufficient blood flow to the organ. The blood vessels supplying the male sexual organ are much smaller compared to the rest of the body. Therefore, when these vessels start experiencing difficulties, the rest of the body is also affected primarily the heart," said Prof Lee. He further added: "It's clear that sub-optimal erection can literally lead to broken hearts – sexual satisfaction for men with EHS Grade 3 and their partners are lower compared to those who have Grade 4 erections. And the risk of ischemic heart disease is higher for the Grade 3 erection men compared to the Grade 4 group. Taking note of the quality of erection and seeking early intervention through consultation with medical professionals may not only improve your sexual experience and improve your self-image, but can improve your overall health." Taking charge Prof Lee further elaborated that the Pfizer's Ideal Sex Survey showed that both Malaysian men and women have high expectations when it comes to having the best sexual experience. "Contrary to the popular belief, Malaysians have very high expectation and desire to achieve the perfect sexual experience and satisfaction with their partners, although they don't openly talk about it. "We hope that this survey has managed to overcome the barrier on the topic of erectile dysfunction, not just for the patients and their partners, but also to the healthcare providers from whom the patients seek advice and treatment. "With the correct approach and management, we believe that these patients will be able to enjoy a better quality of life with their partners," he added. A multi-disciplinary approach is recommended for men with suboptimal erection hardness. In general, men do not have scheduled periodic health examinations compared to women who undergo annual check-ups such as Pap smear. Pfizer has taken a step further through the Make A Stand campaign launched in March 2011 throughout Klang Valley and Penang to promote and educate men on their sexual health. The campaign strongly encourages men of all ages to start exercising regularly, which would lower their risks of developing health complications associated with a sedentary lifestyle. 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