Skyrocketing childhood obesity rates have an unwanted side effect -- more kids are being put on prescription medications to combat related chronic diseases.

A recent study revealed there have been surges in prescriptions for children with diabetes and asthma as well as smaller increases in high blood pressure and high cholesterol medications. To varying degrees, obesity can play a role in all of those conditions. While some of the medication increase can be attributed to modified guidelines, the rise is concerning.

If your child is overweight, there are many positive, supportive ways you can help. AOL Health has other suggestions for battling childhood obesity.

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A small glass of 100% fruit juice is a good part of a healthful breakfast, right? If you're on certain prescription medications, your fruit juice may be doing more harm than good.

Grapefruit juice, for example, can interfere with blood pressure medication and actually increase its efficacy, subsequently creating a risk of overdose. Conversely, recent research suggests that grapefruit juice may prevent certain anti-allergy medications from absorbing into the bloodstream properly. A component of grapefruit juice called naringin appears to be the culprit.

Researchers state that this finding may be the "tip of the iceberg" as other juices, including orange and apple, also contain naringin-like substances that may have similar effects.

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When doctors hand out free prescription drug samples to patients it doesn't necessarily end up being a cost savings. In fact, a recent study surveyed nearly 6,000 patients; a total of 2,343 drug samples were given to participants during the course of the study. 80% of those who received free samples were wealthy and/or insured; uninsured and/or poorer patients were less likely to receive samples.

Ironically, those who received free drug samples went on to have significantly higher out-of-pocket prescription costs. On average patients spent $166 on prescriptions during the six months prior to the survey, $244 during the six months in which they received samples, and $212 for the following six months. Patients who didn't receive free samples spent $178 on average.

Researchers surmise that the higher costs might be because patients who receive the free samples are sicker and therefore have increased prescription needs. Or, patients who receive the free samples want to continue on the same (likely more expensive) medication rather than switching to a generic alternative.

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The world is filling up with people, and that means competition in all kinds of different areas of our lives. But maybe one of the most noticeable, and the most stressful, is the competition that we face in our careers while we're at work. If you're not always on the top of your game and blowing everybody away with your amazing abilities then there's somebody right behind you who ready, willing, and waiting to do just that.

So how do you deal with the pressure? Unfortunately a growing number of working people are looking to boost brain power, productivity, and alertness in all the wrong ways. Sports (most recently baseball) have always struggled with keeping drugs and other unnatural means of performance enhancement out of the picture, but now it seems the trend is moving into the working class. People are doping up in the hopes of doing better at their jobs.

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If you recently received some medications in pill form (among others) from your doctor, did they work to help solve the medical malaise you were facing? If so, did you know those could have been placebo pills. In essence, sugar pills or "nothing" pills?

A survey was released last week stated that many doctors give patients placebos. In fact, three Chicago-area medical centers saw a 50% positive response rate from physicians who said they use placebos with some patients. Is this legal? Ethical? Brilliant?

It's the age-old "mental treatment" that's been around in medical schools for a very long time. The simple act of administering treatment can cause patient effects before any biological assistance from drugs or otherwise has even had time to work.

Is this the correct thing to do when a patient 'needs' some drug they saw on television in unjustified fashion or when a doctor simply wants to calm down an overactive patient in his office? That remains to be seen, as there is no law against administering placebos. What do you believe?

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In a shocker of huge proportions, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not approve of certain drugs that are prescribed to the tune of 65 million prescriptions each years to patients. Huh?

How are doctors prescribing drugs that should not even be for sale to the public in the first place? The FDA even admits that some of the drugs in question could be dangerous. How they get into the hands of patients is by way of a "black hole" in the drug approval system. Well, according to Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass.

In what appears to be a complete failure of the drug pharmaceutical classification system, a drug is given a 10-digit number when it is submitted to the FDA for approval. Problem is, pharmacists use that same number -- regardless of approval or not -- to dole out prescriptions.

Umm, some more detail is needed in the system I think. In a situation of nobody questioning any processes, many doctors and pharmacists seem unaware of this wrinkle in the approval process, according to the story. What a mess.

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A new survey has found that many Americans are confused and somewhat distrustful of the U.S. government's role in keeping those expensive prescriptions medicines safe for use.

In an age of drug recalls, death from side effects and unwavering drug marketing with questionable tactics, I am surprised a survey hasn't revealed this earlier. Do you understand the explicit details about all the drugs you're taking? My guess: you most likely do not. My question: why not?

I would say that more than 40 percent of Americans are on some kind of prescription drug (it's probably quite a bit higher than that), but those who are just don't innately trust oversight of these products -- but feel they have little choice when an ailment or sickness comes up.

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While it's mostly an issue for older adults, mixing medications and taking too many different types at one time is a concern for everyone. Even if you're in close contact with your doctor there is still a significant risk to your health if you're on more than a couple different meds -- drugs are getting so complicated these days human error is inevitable when it comes to remembering, and predicting, side-effects and drug interactions.

How many meds are you or your loved ones currently taking? Are you aware of and watchful of potential side-effects and are you absolutely sure you need them all? When it comes to your health you are your own best ally, so educate yourself and be involved.

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Higher co-pays for prescription medications are causing some seniors to have almost 15 percent less of them that those who have a flat or stable co-pay for their medications.

A new report concluded this past week reported this, and it presents an interesting dilemma for many older patients: should some prescriptions be skipped due to higher cost or face the possible health consequences of that action?

Prescription medication prices have always been one of the most marked-up items in the history of modern commerce, and there are no signs of the slowing down of rising prices. The only solution (at least, partially) is to take charge of your own health as much as possible by eating right and exercising. Those two facets alone are incredibly important, yes?

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There are lots of pill boxes and pill management systems out there, but this one now has the FDA's stamp of approval. Called EMMA (Electronic Medication Management System), it's a gadget about the size of a breadbox that's designed for older patients and those with complicated dosing schedules. It stores the medications, alerts when it's time to take them, and releases the correct pills into a tray when activated by the patient at the right time. Dosages and times can be accessed and adjusted online by the doctor, pharmacist, or other health care professional.

Neat!

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Science is almost equally as dangerous as it is helpful. Prescription medications, for example, all too often turn out to have deadly side-effects that are seemingly unrelated at all to what they were originally intended to do.

But until we develop other methods, a big part of the learning curve for scientists is watching what happens once a new drug has been approved for general human use. There's just no way they can reproduce that kind of research in a lab setting, and they learn new things about old drugs all the time.

Medications for heartburn, blood pressure, breast cancer, and osteoporosis all have risks that you may not be aware of -- like an increased chance for breaking a hip or developing diabetes. Read this article for the latest on these 4 common prescriptions, and consider talking with your doctor about any new findings on other meds you may be taking.

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Technology is seeping into every part of our lives, bit by bit. And now even pill boxes are getting fancy! No more simple snap-top boxes with a separate section for every day of the week, no...now they come with audible alerts and tracking systems too.

The MedSignals digital pill box not only holds your pills separately by day and dosage, but it audibly alerts you when you're due to take them. It also remembers what time you opened the lid (in case you're either early or late) and tracks the data on a server (which it connects to via the phone line), which then allows you to see at a glance if doses were missed, late, or otherwise.

Sounds great! The downside? At $169 it's not exactly cheap.

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With all the new medications being developed practically on a daily basis, and new health benefits being found for "old" supplements and herbs, it's no wonder that people are ending up with more and more substances floating around in their bodies all together at the same time. Doctors and scientists are noticing more and more life-threatening side-effects being created by people mixing medications. Not necessarily just prescriptions meds, either, but also seemingly harmless supplements and OTC drugs.

A good rule of thumb is to remind yourself that if you expect it to do something good for you then it has the potential to do something bad also, if not taken properly. Just because something is "all natural" or doesn't require a prescription doesn't mean you can take it willy-nilly in whatever doses and mixed with whatever else you're taking. Read labels and ask your doctor if you have any questions. It's great to be involved in your own health, just take care not to hurt yourself and get sicker in the process.

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I'm suspicious of doctors. I don't know why. Maybe I need to feel in control of my body (and therefore, my illnesses), or maybe it's some weird phobia I inherited from my suspicious parents, but regardless, I'm more likely to trust my gut than a physician's instructions.

Not that there's anything wrong with some healthy skepticism, but when that distrust leads you to disregard the doctor's instructions regarding your prescription, you're heading for trouble.

This from the latest in a long line of studies finding that patients across the board are suffering because they don't take their medications like they're supposed to. From heart attack survivors who won't take their cholesterol medication, to epilepsy patients who skip their anti-seizure drugs, to breast cancer patients who -- for whatever reason -- stop taking the pills that reduce their chances for recurrence, adherence is a "huge problem."

So next time I'm ill, I'll be following the doctor's orders, and taking my medication until I've consumed the very last pill on the very last day. Because, as noted by one doctor interviewed in the linked USA Today article, "Obviously, if you don't take the drug, you won't have the full benefit."

Otherwise, what's the point of going to the doctor in the first place?

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You can save a lot of money by switching to generic medications, right? If you have insurance, then yes. But if you're one of the many Americans who don't have adequate prescription coverage (or no health coverage at all) then generics may cost you more than you expect.

The Wall Street Journal took a closer look at this issue and found that generic medication costs "can vary wildly and may not be nearly as cheap as expected." I was surprised to read that pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS started dropping certain prescription prices by $40 or more once questioned about seemingly high prices.

Ugh, money and health care is really starting to give me a headache.

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