A new study, published in the journal Clinical Psychological Science, suggests that the time adolescents are spending on their phones and online is not that bad.

Children of incarcerated parents are six times more likely than other children to develop a substance use disorder as adults and nearly twice as likely to have diagnosable anxiety, according to new research from the Center for Child and Family Policy at the Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy.

The two teenagers died within two months at the centre, which was later found to be unsafe.

Readers have been sharing their experiences – good and bad – with the BBC.

You can’t think of body positivity without Tess Holliday coming to mind. The 34-year-old model has earned serious respect from fans and followers by creating size-inclusive content that encourages self-love. Now, her latest Instagram post has gone viral thanks to its provocative yet body-positive photo.

RELATED: Tess Holliday Slams Victoria's Secret for Lack of Diversity

On Wednesday, Holliday shared an image of herself nearly naked in the mirror, her hand over her nipples and her body art on full display. “Imagine finally realizing that you are allowed to love yourself, as is,” she wrote in her caption. “It’s such a powerful feeling, I highly recommend it.”

Within 24 hours, her post racked up more than 50K likes and dozens of comments from fans. Holliday also tagged the photo's location: Joanna Vargas Skin Care, a spa in the Sunset Tower Hotel in Los Angeles.

She ended the caption with the hashtag #redlightspecial, which seems to be a nod to the infrared light bed spa treatment she appears to be enjoying in the photo. Not only does Holliday preach self-love, she practices self-care, too.

RELATED: Tess Holliday Revealed the Most Real Thing About ‘Me Time’ as a Parent

This isn’t the first time Holliday has gone nearly nude in social media. Last year, the mom of two posted a naked photo of herself in her bathtub with her son. 

“This photo isn’t ‘flattering’, but I don’t care,” she wrote. “I’m proud of my body, & what it’s capable of & how funny & ridiculous my life/motherhood is.”

“I know this photo will piss people off, it will be shared worldwide while being mocked and judged, saying how I’m ‘negatively affecting’ impressionable young minds, and I’m prepared for that,” she said at the time. “My body has always felt like a war zone, but I’ve made peace with that. It’s your minds that need to change."

To get more stories like this delivered to your inbox, sign up for the Real Wellness WomenIRL newsletter

Hey, remember on Tuesday when professional wrestler Ronda Rousey shared an extremely graphic photo of her middle finger, which had nearly broken in two? Well, she's back—and this time, she's got some behind-the-scenes video footage of what happened in the hospital after her finger break. 

In her new video, shared Thursday on YouTube (and promoted on her Instagram page), Rousey, 32, went into even more detail on what exactly happened during the filming of an episode of 9-1-1 that led to her gnarly broken middle finger. Talking directly to the camera, showing off her bruised and stitched-up finger, Rousey said that the incident actually happened during her first shot of the day. "All I had to do was pretty much open up this boat door and step out and add lines," she said.

RELATED: College Gymnast Breaks Both Legs Attempting a Blind Landing—Here's What Her Recovery Might Look Like

Apparently, Rousey had to push the boat door up—but it ended up slamming back down, directly on her finger. "I thought I just, like, jammed my nail," she said, explaining why she didn't immediately stop and look at the damage. Rousey actually finished the scene before seeing what had happened. "My bone was visible and everything," she said. "I remember looking down and being like, 'Oh, wow, that's my finger.'"

That's when she was rushed to the hospital via ambulance, Rousey said. "My tendon was barely hanging on, my bone was of course broken, and my tendon on top was roughed up a little bit," she explained, detailing her injuries. Rousey also apparently crushed a nerve on the side of her finger, and she fractured the top of her ring finger. 

RELATED: How Do Broken Bones Heal?

But here's something even more jaw-dropping: Rousey said she was awake when she underwent surgery to help repair her finger. "I really don't like pain medication, it makes me super sick and nauseous," she said. "I was actually awake during the surgery and was taking very minimal pain medication, mostly Tylenol." 

Luckily, Rousey said she's healing quickly. "I have 50% of my range of motion back," she said. "I think I have, not a super power, but a 'pseudopower' for healing." The one downside? Rousey is pretty sure her cast mates on 9-1-1 think she's strange—but as a professional wrestler, she's been taught to hide her pain. "I’m used to being in front of a live audience and not showing pain unless I’m supposed to," she added. 

Overall, Rousey said she's "just happy that I got to keep my finger." She also posed a challenge to anyone watching 9-1-1 this season: "to find which scenes I’m hiding the fact that my finger is hanging off," she said. "For those of you who say I can’t act, try to pick it out, and I’d like to see how well you can act like your fingers not falling off."

To get our top stories delivered to your inbox, sign up for the Healthy Living newsletter.

A new treatment protocol for locally advanced pancreatic cancer can enable surgical removal of previously inoperable tumours and improve survival rates, according to a new study.

“Locally advanced” pancreatic cancer is confined to the pancreas, but the tumour still involves major abdominal blood vessels and usually cannot be removed by surgery.

It’s one of the worst forms of an already deadly cancer, the Massachusetts General Hospital researchers explained.

However, the results of their clinical trial could offer such patients new hope.

The trial included 49 patients with previously untreated locally advanced pancreatic cancer who received a combination of intensive chemotherapy and radiation therapy, as well as the blood pressure drug losartan.

Use of the combo therapy allowed 34 of the 49 participants to go on to have their tumours surgically removed, the team reported in JAMA Oncology.

And in 30 (61%) of the patients, surgery (“resection”) removed all evidence of cancer around the tumour.

The treatment protocol also significantly improved survival rates, the research team said.

Tumours spreading

As study co-lead author Dr Janet Murphy explained, “around 40% of pancreatic cancer patients have either locally advanced or borderline resectable disease, with historically poor rates of successful surgery.” She works in the hospital’s haematology/oncology division.

“To be able to successfully remove the primary tumour in 61% of patients sets a new benchmark and offers much hope,” Murphy said in a hospital news release. “A key part of the success of our approach was our surgeons’ willingness to attempt an operation even in patients who had the appearance of cancer at or near their blood vessels.”

She said that prior research had suggested that tumor spread (as evidenced on CT scans), and the ability of surgeons to remove the tumour after chemotherapy and radiation “are no longer clearly correlated.”

That could give surgeons the green light to proceed.

“While we did not see total blood vessel clearance in 61% of patients, 61% achieved a complete removal of their cancer [anyway],” Murphy said.

Results mark a dramatic improvement

“Locally advanced pancreatic cancer has been generally considered an incurable disease, so these results mark a dramatic improvement with respect both to rates of conversion to surgical resectability and to long-term disease outcomes,” study co-lead author Dr Jennifer Wo said in the news release. She’s from the hospital’s department of radiation oncology.

“Based on these results we have launched a new, multi-institutional clinical trial that will also include the immunotherapy drug nivolumab, since losartan treatment has also been shown to activate several immune system pathways,” Wo said.

One specialist not involved in the trial agreed that the approach could be a new option for these patients.

“Of utmost importance, the results showed that they were able to successfully remove the primary tumour in 61% of patients, which definitely sets a new benchmark,” said Dr. Wasif Saif. He’s deputy physician-in-chief and medical director of the Northwell Health Cancer Institute in Lake Success, NY.

^{Image credit: iStock}

HealthDay

Sometimes it’s obvious when older parents need outside help – like when they’re having difficulty managing numerous chronic illnesses or losing mobility and unable to maneuver well even at home. But mental problems may not be as easy to spot.

For instance, is Dad’s forgetfulness – his misplacing house keys or missing appointments – normal ageing or a sign of something more serious, such as dementia?

Look for clues

It can be hard to judge the severity of problems if you live far away and speak infrequently. But even if you live close by, you might not realise the cumulative effects of gradual changes.

Maybe it’s time to visit your parents and look for clues. Be aware of these specific warning signs and what they could signal:

• Food that’s rotting in the refrigerator or an empty fridge are signs of not eating properly.
• Dirty clothes and linens can signal they’re neglecting their personal hygiene.
• Piles of unopened mail including “past due” bills could indicate that they’re no longer able to handle finances.
• Conversation difficulties, from repeating the same story or asking the same question over and over, can be signs of memory loss.

Next steps include accompanying your parent to a doctor’s appointment so that you can bring up these issues. You can also ask about cognitive (or mental) assessment tests, suggest experts at the Family Caregiver Alliance. One test, called SAGE, is self-administered and can be done online.

Based on test results, a long-range strategy might include helping Mom or Dad with paying bills, food shopping and tending to their personal care. These tasks can be done by you or a trusted caregiver.

^{Image credit: iStock}

Women who keep moving during pregnancy may have infants with more advanced motor skills, a small study suggests.

Researchers discovered the difference among one-month-olds: Those whose moms got regular aerobic exercise during pregnancy tended to have stronger movement skills, versus babies whose mothers did not.

The movement tests included things like head turning, said researcher Linda May, an associate professor at East Carolina University, in Greenville, North Carolina.

What’s the significance of those first motor skills? According to May, past research has suggested that infants who are quicker in developing motor skills are more likely to be “movers” as kids. So, it’s possible that exercise during pregnancy might make for more active children.

May and her colleagues reported their findings in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

Long gone are the days when pregnant women were advised to stay off their feet. Experts now recommend that, unless there are medical reasons not to, women should get regular moderate-intensity exercise throughout pregnancy.

That, May said, means activity that’s vigorous enough to get the heart rate up and blood flowing – but not so intense that you’re breathless and can’t have a conversation.

A brisk walk, swimming, a ride on a stationary bike, or a low-impact aerobics class would all fit the bill.

Movement abilities

Studies have found many benefits of exercise during pregnancy, such as healthier weight gain for mothers-to-be and lower risks of preterm delivery and macrosomia – where a newborn is abnormally large and may need to be delivered by C-section.

For the new study, May’s team looked at whether the benefits extended to infants’ movement abilities.

The researchers started by randomly assigning 71 healthy pregnant women to either have supervised aerobic exercise sessions or to be in a “control” group. Women in the exercise group worked out three days a week for about an hour; they could choose to use a treadmill, stationary bike or elliptical, or do aerobics.

Women in the control group were limited to light-intensity exercise, and could attend supervised sessions on stretching and breathing exercises.

When their babies were one month old, a physical therapist assessed their motor skills. It turned out that infants of exercising moms did a bit better – though all babies scored within the range of typical development.

As for why moms’ exercise habits might matter, the researchers pointed to some possibilities: Exercise might feed foetal brain development by boosting the flow of blood and oxygen to the womb. And it might aid overall growth and development through the release of proteins called growth factors.

Boys had higher scores

In this study, though, much of the benefit of exercise appeared to be among female infants: Baby boys had somewhat higher scores than baby girls, on average – and there were few differences between boys whose moms exercised and those whose mothers did not.

The study cannot answer the question of why. But, May said, it hints that prenatal exercise might benefit girls more when it comes to motor skills.

A researcher not involved in the work offered some caveats.

First, it’s unclear what these differences at one month of age will mean later in life, said James Pivarnik, director of the Center for Physical Activity and Health at Michigan State University.

Keep it up

It’s also uncertain whether exercise is the sole reason for the group differences. There are other factors, like nutrition, that weren’t accounted for, Pivarnik said. Women in the exercise group gained more weight, he noted – an average of 13 pounds more. That’s a bit of a surprise that’s unexplained, Pivarnik said.

In addition, he said, there were no details on birth weight – an important factor in infant development.

Still, Pivarnik said it’s important to have studies like this that delve into the effects of prenatal exercise on babies’ development. And its results support what’s already recommended, he noted.

“I think the message for pregnant women is, if you’re exercising, keep it up,” Pivarnik said. “And if you’re not exercising, you should start.”

Guidelines suggest women strive for 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week, May said. That can be spread out across three to seven days.

^{Image credit: iStock}

The drug combination has huge potential and would cost just “pennies a day”, say the researchers.