Warmer weather means wearing less and ditching the long pants for shorts – are you ready to bare your legs? Here’s a yoga sequence specifically designed to tone the inner thighs so you’ll feel confident slipping on those short skirts and bikini bottoms. View Slideshow ›

Lisa Shives, M.D., is the founder of Northshore Sleep Medicine in Evanston, Illinois. She blogs regularly on The Chart . Read more from her at Dr. Lisa Shives’ Sleep Better Blog . The classic pediatric sleep apnea patient is a skinny 6-year-old with chronic congestion and dark circles under his eyes. We still see many kids in the sleep center who match this profile, but over the past 10 years, a new clinical picture has emerged. Coinciding with the dramatic rise in childhood obesity, there is a clear change in our younger patients. We now see many overweight children in the sleep clinic who have obstructive sleep apnea that resembles the adult version. The thin child with OSA does not usually act sleepy in the daytime. On the contrary, they often act hyperactive or inattentive. In fact, their symptoms can mimic attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Large tonsils and adenoids are the primary cause of OSA in thin children because these and surrounding tissues can relax during sleep and block the airflow to the lungs. In fact, 80 to 90% of such cases of pediatric OSA are cured by surgically removing the tonsils and adenoids. Overweight or obese children are not such an easy fix. They usually present with loud snoring and significant daytime sleepiness. In obese children, the tonsils often become enlarged due to fatty tissues in the upper airway. Fat deposits in the neck and chest also add to the collapsibility of the upper airway during sleep. Unfortunately, a tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy is curative in only about 50% of overweight kids who have OSA. The others are encouraged to try continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) which is the most common treatment for severe OSA. When adults have mild-to-moderate OSA, we offer them an alternative treatment called an oral appliance (also called a mandibular advancing device). However, we cannot use this treatment in children and teens whose mouth and jaw are still changing. The important thing for pediatricians and parents to keep in mind is that the connection between weight and sleep is a two-way street. It’s not just that excess weight increases the likelihood that kids have obstructive sleep apnea, but that having sleep apnea increases the risks of gaining weight. Sleep deprivation due to poor sleep or too little sleep can cause hormonal havoc that leads to weight gain. For example, when research subjects were allowed to sleep for only four hours per night, the hormones that control appetite got all out of whack. Leptin, which acts on the brain to make people feel full, was abnormally decreased and ghrelin, which makes people hungry, was unusually high. These hormonal changes caused the research participants to be very hungry and eat more during the day. Children and teens with sleep apnea might seem to be sleeping a lot, but their sleep is constantly disturbed by brief turbulence in their brain waves – what sleep experts call micro-arousals. In effect, these kids are as sleep deprived as people who only get four to five hours of sleep. Not only do obese kids with OSA have a similar clinical presentation as adults, they unfortunately can have the same adverse outcomes if the sleep apnea is not treated. We are seeing pre-teens who have what we use to think of as adult diseases such as high blood pressure, pulmonary hypertension, heart disease and congestive heart failure. If your child is overweight, please consult a doctor to find out if he or she has the symptoms of sleep apnea, such as snoring, rough breathing, daytime sleepiness, poor academic performance, behavior issues and depression. OSA is easy to diagnose with an overnight sleep test and as I outlined above, there is more than one treatment option. Treating sleep apnea, if present, needs to be part of the weight loss program for everyone, including kids and teens. Filed under: Children’s Health , Obesity , Sleep Tagged: Lisa Shives M.D. – sleep expert

It’s almost Valentine’s Day, so chances are that everywhere you look you see red or pink. If you love the bright, energizing colors, time to incorporate the happy hues in your workout gear as well. After all, it’s also American Heart Month – what better way to a healthy heart than with a few new pieces of exercise clothing to keep you motivated to work out? Here are five pink and red products that’ll get your heart racing! View Slideshow ›

Get the dish: Waldorf salad Libratone AirPlay wireless speakers now available in US Nine household items with multiple uses Get a sneak peek of Winter Kate’s Spring 2012 collection Five new eyeliner looks to love Celebrity memoirs that make great gifts Nine nerdy onesies for baby Check out NYC’s new Joe Fresh boutique Talking imperfect perfection with former Domino editor Deborah Needleman See Jimmy Fallon do his best Justin Bieber Watch Kristen, Robert, and Taylor’s Hollywood handprint ceremony! Seven ways to tone your muscles without trying See all the sexy glamour from past Victoria’s Secret Fashion Shows Must-have beauty products for moms

Get the bod: Jennifer Aniston’s arms! Here it is – the complete Versace for H&M collection! Handmade Halloween: trick-or-treat bags get a makeover Lighten your cell phone bill by texting for free Paint it black: get a closer look at some dark rooms Prince Harry kisses a brunette while partying in San Diego! PopSugar LA: thrilling Halloween events you shouldn’t miss Marvelous ways to use mushrooms DIY Halloween: super-easy Princess Leia hair Hot pairing: John Krasinski and Matt Damon to team up! Good for wallet, bad for health: cheap foods to avoid How to dress as your favorite ’90s girl for Halloween Bow-wow! Get Halloween inspiration for your four-legged friends Video: Bill Rancic calls Giuliana a “trooper” after breast cancer surgery

Some people think skipping breakfast is a great weight-loss tactic. The logic being that they’re cutting calories out of their daily intake; unfortunately, it doesn’t work out that way. Most people will make up for the calories later on in the day. Eating a meal in the morning can actually help you reach your weight-loss goal, and here are three reasons why. Breakfast jump-starts your metabolism: If you skip the first meal of the day, your metabolism actually slows down to conserve energy. Studies show that those who eat breakfast regularly lose weight , keep it off, and are less likely to be overweight. Breakfast eaters also more likely to exercise regularly. So be sure you eat breakfast, and enjoy it within an hour after waking up. Keep reading to hear the other two reasons eating breakfast helps you lose weight.

Cushioning the Blow: A focus on diseases for which there aren’t already good treatments is helping pharma companies get drugs approved by the FDA and restock pipelines, the WSJ reports . New drugs to treat melanoma, lupus and hepatitis C are among the 20 approved so far this year, compared to 21 for all of 2010. Analysts say new, innovative drugs have the potential to cushion the blow from the major patent expirations set to dent the branded drug industry’s sales. Screening for Social Skills: Medical schools are trying to weed out applicants who may have plenty of academic knowledge but lack communication and social skills, the New York Times reports . The so-called multiple mini interview, akin to speed dating, tests how candidates communicate about tricky issues; it is now being used by at least eight U.S. med schools. Health Job Crunch: Health-care industry employment growth is lagging amid a sluggish economy, pressure on state budgets and questions about how the health-care overhaul law will play out, the WSJ reports . The industry added just 13,500 jobs in June while hospitals lost 4,000 jobs, the paper says. U.S. Casualty: An American who became infected with the dangerous strain of E. coli that caused an outbreak in Germany has died, the Associated Press reports . The man, described as being over 65, fell ill after visiting Germany. Image: iStockphoto

A friend asked me to go for a run the other day, and I agreed with the disclaimer that I was pretty poky in the speed department. I was surprised that I wasn’t as slow as I thought. I’ve been working on my pace, and I guess what I’ve been doing has been effective. Try these tips on your runs to give your running pace a little kick in the pants. Don’t fear the hills. Running uphill is much harder than running on a flat surface since you’re working against gravity. Moving on an incline strengthens the same muscles you use for sprinting, so it’s the perfect way to make you a faster runner. It also increases your body’s endurance, which you’ll need when picking up the pace. Find a neighborhood or woodsy trail that has natural hills, or use the treadmill and pump up the incline. Do sprinting intervals. If you want to become a faster runner, you have to practice running fast. Sprinting intervals are great because they last only a short amount of time, so they’re easy to start incorporating into your runs. The easiest way to do intervals is by time. Keep an eye on your watch and run at a basic pace for three minutes, then sprint for 30 seconds. Or if you have access to a track , sprint the straights and run the curves. There are lots of ways to incorporate interval training into your plan, and if you make intervals part of your regular workouts, you’ll quickly notice a difference in your strength and endurance. Before adding sprints into your running workouts, make sure you have a solid cardio base. Remember, your fast pace doesn’t need to be an all-out sprint, but a faster pace than your usual. Start doing tempo runs. If you’re not familiar with this running term, it means running slightly faster than your normal, comfortable pace for a steady period of time. These types of runs will push your physical threshold and teach your body how to metabolize oxygen more efficiently. If you’re new to tempo runs, start out with eight to 10 minutes, and build up to 20 or 40 minutes. You’re not sprinting the entire time, just moving slightly faster than your basic pace. Here are tips for tackling your first tempo run . Keep reading for more speed-building tips.

When temperatures heat up most of us flock to the movies (or stay indoors where it’s air conditioned) for some refreshing down time. Traditional theater and TV snacks like popcorn, candy, ice cream, and chips can wreck your mindful eating habits, so we offered up some simple, nutritious, and satisfying snack ideas recently and asked readers to share their favorites. The suggestions are all scrumptious. If you’re headed to see a blockbuster this weekend, pack these reader-tested treats. Pick something that takes effort : Gabriela Une Vie Saine says, “I love snacking on cherries or pistachios while watching TV. They’re more difficult to eat than most finger foods, so I eat them more mindfully!” Get creative with flavors : Reader tea-bag snacks on roasted cauliflower heads dusted with Stevia and cinnamon! She reports the snack is addicting and “strangely reminiscent of kettle corn!” Take a sip! : FitSugar Senior Editor Susi May likes to have a big cup of Rooibos tea while watching TV. She says, “It’s hot, so I drink it slowly and it’s naturally sweet . . . I know tea is not food, but it sure is a good replacement for dessert.” If it’s hot out, put your tea on ice for an antioxidant-filled treat. Trade white for green : Andrennabird recommends kale chips. Even her Doritos-loving friend asked for the recipe. Ready to make your own? Try this kale chip recipe . Need more snack ideas? Check out our Snack Attack: Healthy Snack group.

Who wouldn’t want to re-create the magic of their favorite coffee shop at home? It’s even better when you can cut the fat and keep the flavor, like FitSugar reader kml636 , who recently posted her recipe for a healthier homemade frappuccino in our Healthy Recipe group . Check out the recipe after the break!