Watch CBS News

Healthwatch: The Impacts of Pre-Participation Cardiac Screenings, A Visit To Grandma's

BOSTON (CBS) -- When a young athlete suffers cardiac arrest during a game, it is incredibly uncommon, but a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine also shows that more than 80% of cases could not have been predicted by pre-participation screening.

They say the screening programs are not effective and may prevent healthy athletes from participating.

This topic is somewhat controversial because understandably, parents want to know if their kid is at risk.

But this study suggests that you would have to screen almost 150,000 athletes to identify one who would have a cardiac arrest during competitive sports. In the meantime, you might identify hundreds of kids with structural heart changes who are then told to stay out of sports when they would probably be just fine.

___________________________

Going to Grandma and Grandpa's house too often could be bad for a child's health, specifically in terms of their cancer risk.

Researchers say that grandparents can have a negative impact on a child's diet, weight, their physical activity and may expose them to second-hand smoke.

Grandparents can be quite indulgent with their grandkids, often giving them sweets and overfeeding them. Kids tend to be less physically active when they're with their grandparents.

And if grandparents smoke, not only are kids exposed to the smoke but they're more likely to model that behavior.

Of course, this review doesn't take into account the wonderful impact that grandparents can have on a child's life like spending quality time with them and providing emotional support.

What's really important is for parents to have good communication with grandparents so that everyone is on board with how to raise a healthy child.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.