Energy expenditure is significantly lowered by 5 days of massage therapy in metabolically and thermally stable preterm infants. This decrease in energy expenditure may be in part responsible for the enhanced growth caused by massage therapy.

Eating disorders have traditionally been associated with disturbed family function. Most empirical data regarding this issue, however, were gathered from eating disorders patients. Attitudes, function, and inter-personal relationships were examined within 16 families with a member suffering from bulimia nervosa (BN) and compared to 16 matched healthy families. Perception of family function was significantly more derogatory in bulimic subjects than in their parents, while in control subjects and parents, perception was largely congruent. Subjects suffering from BN perceived their families as less cohesive, adaptable, and supportive than did healthy subjects. No such difference in perception of family function was observed between parents of respective groups. This preliminary study shows that parent-daughter discrepancy in perception of family function may prove more characteristic of eating disorder families than any particular deficit. Future research should aim to replicate these findings, incorporate them into treatment paradigms, and employ them to monitor treatment outcome.

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Duration of breastfeeding does not affect lipid profiles in young adults. These findings do not support negative messages on the long-term effect of prolonged lactation generated by the Hertfordshire study.