SATURDAY, Dec. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Winter sports provide kids with great exercise and fun, but proper safety measures are needed to prevent injuries, say pediatric trauma experts.

"We see a startling number of injuries among children, from sledding accidents to snowmobile crashes and beyond," Amy Teddy, manager of the pediatric injury prevention program at the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, said in a prepared statement. "That's why it's so important for parents to make sure their children have taken the proper safety precautions before heading out into the snow."

Teddy and Cindy Wegryn, pediatric trauma coordinator at Mott, offer the following winter sports safety tips:

• Children should wear a helmet when they're snowboarding, sledding, snowmobiling and skiing.
• Dress to keep warm and safe. Wear layers of clothing and top it off with coats that are wind- and water-resistant. When snowmobiling, make sure that scarves and any loose fabrics are tucked in.
• Parents should always supervise young children and keep them in sight. Older children should always have at least one companion.
• Don't play on ice, which poses a serious fall risk. When skating, use ice only in areas designated for skating, and check for cracks and debris on the ice.
• When skiing, snowboarding or sledding, always make sure the path is clear of people and other obstacles.
• Only take part in winter sports in areas well-lit by sunlight or artificial light.
• No matter what the winter activity, always think about safety. For example, never pull your child in a sled behind a snowmobile or other motorized vehicle.

More information

The American Academy of Pediatrics offers more winter safety tips  .

FRIDAY, Dec. 28 (HealthDay News) -- As more and more American children are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, another serious problem is threatening their health.

Children and teens diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are five times more likely to develop kidney disease later in life than those who develop diabetes as adults, a recent study found.

The findings underscore the importance of preventing -- or at least delaying -- the onset of type 2 diabetes, doctors say.

"Since the development of diabetic kidney disease is strongly dependent on the duration of diabetes, developing diabetes in youth leads to a high risk of kidney disease in early- to mid-adulthood," said study author Dr. Robert G. Nelson, a staff clinician with the U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

"For example," he said, "a 15-year-old person with 10 years of type 2 diabetes has the same risk of kidney disease as a 55-year-old with 10 years of type 2 diabetes."

Diabetes is becoming increasingly prevalent among children and teens, largely due to the obesity epidemic. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that among new cases of childhood diabetes, up to 43 percent are type 2 disease.

While type 2 diabetes can affect children of any race or ethnic group, it's more common among non-white individuals, the CDC reports. The Pima Indians of Arizona currently have the highest recorded rates of diabetes in the world, at 50.9 per 1,000 individuals, according to the CDC.

Diabetes is the most common cause of kidney failure. Initially, small amounts of albumin, a blood protein, begin to leak into the urine. As the amount of albumin in the urine increases, the filtering function of the kidneys begins to decline. It may take 15 to 25 years for kidney failure to occur. Native Americans, blacks and Hispanics have higher rates of kidney failure from diabetes, the NIDDK said.

Nelson and his colleagues examined the relationship between a person's age at the onset of diabetes and the likelihood that they would have "end-stage renal disease," or kidney failure. The study, published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association, was based on data collected over four decades from more than 1,800 members of the Pima and closely related Papago Indian tribes. The researchers compared people who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes before the age of 20 with those who developed the disease between ages 25 and 55.

Breaking down the numbers by age range, people who developed type 2 diabetes before age 20 were eight times more likely to experience kidney failure between 25 and 34 than those diagnosed after 20. And the younger diabetics were four times more likely to have kidney failure between the ages of 45 and 54 than those diagnosed at an older age.

Dr. Pascale H. Lane is a diabetic neuropathy specialist and associate chairwoman for research at the University of Nebraska Medical Center's Department of Pediatrics. She believes that patients and parents of children with diabetes need to be aware of the potential complications of type 2 diabetes and ways to minimize the risk.

"Nephropathy [kidney failure] may be prevented by strict control of blood sugar levels and by not smoking," Lane said. "Diagnosing and treating high blood pressure early and aggressively may also prevent or slow the development of this kidney disease."

Efforts also need to focus on preventing type 2 diabetes in children through lifestyle changes that emphasize weight loss and increased exercise, Nelson added.

"The explosion of obesity in children and adolescents is a cause for great concern and must be reversed," he said. "Calorie-dense fast foods must be replaced by healthy alternatives provided in reasonable portions, and hours of TV watching must be replaced by activities that require exercise."

More information

Visit the National Kidney Foundation for more on diabetes and kidney disease  .

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Access to the outdoors and portable toys can boost just how much exercise youngsters get at a day-care center, researchers say.

"Childhood obesity is an epidemic that threatens the future health of our nation. We know that about 57 percent of all 3- to 5-year-olds in the United States attend child-care centers, so it's important to understand what factors will encourage them to be more active, and, hopefully, less likely to become obese," study co-author Dianne Ward said in a statement. Ward is director of the intervention and policy division in the nutrition department at University of North Caroline at Chapel Hill School of Public Health.

In their study, Ward's team evaluated the physical activity levels of children at 20 child-care centers in North Carolina.

They found that children did more moderate and vigorous physical activity if the child-care center: had more portable play equipment, such as balls, jump ropes, hula hoops and riding toys; offered more opportunities for indoor and outdoor active play; and provided physical activity training and education for staff and students.

Climbing structures, swings, balance beams and other stationary playground equipment were associated with less intense physical activity. However, these items are beneficial to other aspects of child development, such as motor and social skills, the researchers noted.

Interestingly, children at day-care centers with more computer and television equipment had good physical activity scores, the study found.

"It's unlikely that TV and computers promoted active behavior, but it could be that centers that have the resources to buy media equipment may also spend more on equipment and activities that promote physical activity and provide supplemental training and education for staff," Ward said.

The study was published in the current issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

More information

The Nemours Foundation has more about children and exercise  .

THURSDAY, Dec. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Exposure to secondhand smoke in early infancy can boost a child's risk of developing allergies, Swedish researchers say.

A team at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, analyzed questionnaires filled out by the parents of more than 4,000 families.

The parents filled out the questionnaires when their children were ages two months, 12 months, 2 years and 4 years. In addition, the researchers collected blood samples from more than 2,500 children at the age of 4 to check for the presence of immunoglobulin E (IgE), which is released by the immune system in response to allergens. High levels of IgE indicate sensitization to allergens.

About 8 percent of the mother smoked throughout their pregnancy, and about 12 percent smoked during part of their pregnancy, but the researchers found no evidence that smoking during pregnancy affected a child's risk of becoming sensitized to certain allergens.

About 20 percent of parents smoked after their baby was born, and about 4 percent of the children were exposed to secondhand smoke from both parents.

Overall, 25 percent of the children had high IgE levels by the time they were 4 years old, with 15 percent allergic to inhaled allergens, 16 percent allergic to food allergens, and 7 percent allergic to both types of allergens.

Compared to children of nonsmokers, children exposed to secondhand smoke during early infancy were almost twice as likely to be allergic to inhaled allergens, such as pet dander, and about 50 percent more likely to have food allergies.

The study was published in the journal Thorax.

More information

The American Academy of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery has more about secondhand smoke and children  .