How many steps do preschool children (aged 3–4 years) take per day? Physical activity in early childhood is important for good health and development, and step counts represent a simple, objective, and widely accessible proxy measure of physical activity.

In this episode, Dr Jesús del Pozo Cruz and Dr Chalchisa Abdeta join Esther Lau to discuss the SUNRISE study, which aimed to establish global reference values for daily steps in preschool children. They also talk about the WHO's 24h movement behaviour guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep for children under 5 years of age, and discuss some behind-the-scene insights on running a large global collaboration like the SUNRISE study.

Click here to read the full article:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(26)00188-4/fulltext

Dysmenorrhoea, also known as period pain, is a leading cause of pain-related school absenteeism among adolescent girls, yet it remains poorly understood and is frequently dismissed. Many adolescents do not receive a pain assessment until their symptoms become severe and disabling, and emerging evidence suggests that untreated dysmenorrhoea may increase the risk of chronic pain later in life. But what if we could identify those at risk before the pain begins? In this episode, Dr Melissa Lenert and Dr Andrew Schrepf from the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Center at the University of Michigan join Josefine Gibson and Gabriela Moisés to discuss the burden of dysmenorrhoea and their latest research on risk factors for severe dysmenorrhoea and on factors influencing the burden of dysmenorrhoea . New findings—now published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health—suggest that risk factors for future dysmenorrhoea can be identified in female adolescents before their first menstrual period. Further research could one day help identify young people at greater risk of severe dysmenorrhoea, opening up possibilities to act before period pain becomes persistent or debilitating.

Click here to read the full article:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(25)00213-5/fulltext

2026 marks a remarkable decade since the regulatory approval of the very first disease-modifying therapy (nusinersin) for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in 2016. In this episode with Josefine Gibson, Professor Michelle Farrar and Dr Sharika Raga from Sydney Children's Hospital share their perspectives on how diagnostic and therapeutic advances for SMA have transformed the lives of children and families affected by SMA. We discuss the new long-term efficacy and safety results from the 3-year extension of the international FIREFISH trial of risdiplam for symptomatic infants with type 1 SMA, and we explore what children in the real world who are in treatment for SMA are revealing about adaptive functioning in their daily lives. Coupled with newborn screening, disease modifying therapies are yielding significantly better longer-term outcomes for children affected by SMA, so we consider their changing and individualised health-care needs and top priorities for clinical research in the next decade.

Click here to read the full articles:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(26)00127-6/fulltext

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(26)00126-4/fulltext

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanwpc/article/PIIS2666-6065(26)00070-2/fulltext