Children consume a bigger proportion of their daily calories from added sugars than adults, and the concerns go beyond nutrition. New research suggests that fructose can activate the brain's reward regions and generate hunger and cravings for other high-calorie foods.
It's easy for the headlines on health stories to go way beyond what the study itself actually supports. That happened this week in coverage of new research on how physically active preschoolers are. It serves as a good reminder to acknowledge any given study's limitations.
SF Chronicle health reporter Erin Allday really didn't want to cover an appearance by the discredited scientist Andrew Wakefield, but her editors sent her anyway. Here she shares how she approached the assignment, dodged the topic's potential pitfalls, and ended up with a well-received A1 story.
As a multimedia journalist, I tell stories using video, photography, radio and writing. For a recent series of data-heavy stories on vaccines, I focusing mainly on writing. But as I came to realize, I should have paid more attention to the images. Here's why.
Laura Starecheski's recent NPR series on childhood adversity and trauma is an essential listen for those interested in how childhood events can shape long-term health. Starecheski recently spoke to Reporting on Health about how she reported the stories and what she learned along the way.
The rate of childhood obesity has tripled over the past 30 years. While there are no easy solutions, programs that focus on the whole family have shown positive results in changing both behaviors and health measures.
On Tuesday night, news reports focused on the Senate’s expected passing of a bill that changes how Medicare pays doctors. But for children's advocates, the big news was the two-year extension of the Children's Health Insurance program. Here's why it matters.
A reporting project got its start when a probation official made an off-hand comment about juvenile hall having turned into a “commitment facility” for mentally ill children. So began one reporter's deep dive into Sacramento's juvenile justice system.
Two Herald reporters are being honored with the Selden Ring Award this week for their "Innocents Lost" series that chronicled the abuse and neglect deaths of 477 Florida children. Here they share how they reported the project.
A documentary premiering on PBS on Monday tracks the lives of Chicago teens struggling to regain their footing and stay in school after their home lives have fallen apart. The film's three heart-wrenching human stories give deeper meaning to the abstractions of statistics.
