The most fattening time of the year for kids

The national study of more than 18,000 school children found that from the autumn start of kindergarten to the spring semester of second grade, the prevalence of obesity increased from 8.9 to 11.5 percent. During that same period, the proportion of overweight kids climbed from 23.3 to 28.7 percent.PHOTO: COURTESY

Children are more likely to become overweight or obese during summer vacation than during the school year, a U.S. study suggests.

The national study of more than 18,000 school children found that from the autumn start of kindergarten to the spring semester of second grade, the prevalence of obesity increased from 8.9 to 11.5 percent. During that same period, the proportion of overweight kids climbed from 23.3 to 28.7 percent.

Cardinal settles with U.S. over painkiller shipments to pharmacies

A drug distributor owned by Cardinal Health Inc has agreed to pay $10 million to resolve claims it failed to alert the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to suspiciously large orders of addictive painkillers by New York-area pharmacies.

The settlement with Kinray LLC, a New York City-based pharmaceutical distributor, disclosed in papers filed late Thursday in federal court in Manhattan, comes amid efforts by U.S. authorities to combat the nation's opioid drug epidemic.

China uncovers 500,000 food safety violations in nine months

China, rocked in recent years by a series of food safety scandals, uncovered as many as half a million illegal food safety violations in the first three quarters of the year, an official said.

Chinese officials have unearthed a series of recent food health scandals, including rice contaminated with heavy metals, the use of recycled "gutter oil" in restaurants as well as the sale of baby formula containing lethal amounts of the industrial chemical melamine in 2008.

FDA approves Biogen drug for lead genetic cause of infant death

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday said it has approved Biogen Inc's drug to treat spinal muscular atrophy, the leading genetic cause of death in infants. It is the first FDA-approved medicine for spinal muscular atrophy, a devastating disease that affects about one in 10,000 live births.

LGBT individuals more likely to be incarcerated

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) individuals are disproportionately incarcerated, mistreated and sexually victimized in U.S. jails and prisons, researchers say.

Just the proportion of women in prisons and jails identifying as lesbian and bisexual is eight times greater than the 3.4 percent of U.S. women overall who identify as lesbian or bisexual, they found.

China's Suzhou city to halt live poultry trade on bird flu concerns

A Chinese city said on Sunday it will suspend trade of live poultry in the interests of public health after neighbouring provinces reported cases of human bird flu infections.

Suzhou, the second-biggest city in the eastern province of Jiangsu, will halt trading of live poultry as of midnight, the official People's Daily reported on its website.

Listerine may hold promise in fight against gonorrhea

Antiseptic mouthwashes may someday be a tool in the fight against the sexually transmitted infection known as gonorrhea, but more research is needed, according to a new study from Australia.

Researchers found that the brand of mouthwash known Listerine inhibited the growth of the bacteria known as N. gonorrhea in the lab and in the mouths of gay and bisexual men who tested positive for the infection.