A study has shown that regular weekly gamblers were more likely to be male and had developed habits and patterns of play by age 20. Factors such as the gambling habits of parents and social media use were also found to influence a young person's gambling activity.

Educating parents and grandparents - as well as improving physical activity and the food provided at school - could hold the key to solving China's obesity pandemic, according to one of the largest trials of childhood obesity prevention in the world.

Over 30 million Chinese children, aged between seven and 18, are overweight or obese - placing them at greater risk of an early death and this number is set to rise to 50 million by 2030, caused in part by the role grandparents play in childcare.

New research examining the effect of being raised by a single mother reveals lower income and resources has the greatest impact on a child's development, not poor parenting skills. The study, published today [20 November] in the journal Child Development , found children who lived with a single mother before age 11 had lower verbal ability than children whose parents stayed together.