Prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents

Increasing numbers of obese children and adolescents all over the world demand an investment in the primary and secondary prevention of obesity and overweight in this age group. The goal of preventive measures in children is to avoid the negative short- and long-term health problems associated with obesity. Primary prevention aims at establishing a healthy, active lifestyle and keeping children and adolescents within a range of body weight which is considered to be healthy. Constant availability and affordability of palatable and energy-dense food in the affluent society of the western world demands preventive strategies. Universal or public health prevention seems to be the most suitable form because several other cofactors of morbidity and mortality of affluent societies can also be prevented. However, in most European countries there is a lack of awareness of the necessity of prevention programmes, not only among the general population but also among the medical society. More awareness and consciousness to the problem of obesity must be generated in order to lead to effective therapeutic programmes. For those children and adolescents who are already obese, secondary prevention is mandatory. Therapeutic intervention programmes for the obese aim at long-term weight maintenance and normalisation of body weight and body fat. They have to modify eating and exercise behaviour of the obese child and establish new, healthier behaviour and lifestyle. Treatments programmes must include behavioural components in order to permanently change nutrition and physical exercise of the obese children and adolescents. However, long-term results of treatment programmes in European countries are scarce and the reported results, even of multidisciplinary regimens, are not impressive. Conclusion In most European countries there is an urgent need not only for a growing awareness of the problem of obesity in children and adolescents but also for development of new comprehensive approaches in treating this group.     

Aetiology of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents

The epidemic diffusion of obesity in industrialised countries has promoted research on the aetiopathogenesis of this disorder. The purpose of this review is to focus mainly on the contribution that European research has made to this field. Available evidence suggests that obesity results from multiple interactions between genes and environment. Parents obesity is the most important risk factor for childhood obesity. Twin, adoption, and family studies indicated that inheritance is able to account for 25% to 40% of inter-individual difference in adiposity. Single gene defects leading to obesity have been discovered in animals and, in some cases, confirmed in humans as congenital leptin deficiency or congenital leptin receptor deficiency. However, in most cases, genes involved in weight gain do not directly cause obesity but they increase the susceptibility to fat gain in subjects exposed to a specific environment. Both genetic and environmental factors promote a positive energy balance which cause obesity. The relative inefficiency of self-adapting energy intake to energy requirements is responsible for fat gain in predisposed individuals. The role of the environment in the development of obesity is suggested by the rapid increase of the prevalence of obesity accompanying the rapid changes in the lifestyle of the population in the second half of this century. Early experiences with food, feeding practices and family food choices affect children's nutritional habits. In particular, the parents are responsible for food availability and accessibility in the home and they affect food preferences of their children. Diet composition, in particular fat intake, influences the development of obesity. The high energy density and palatability of fatty foods as well as their less satiating properties promotes food consumption. TV viewing, an inactivity and food intake promoter, was identified as a relevant risk factor for obesity in children. Sedentarity, i.e. a low physical activity level, is accompanied by a low fat oxidation rate in muscle and a low fat oxidation rate is a risk factor of fat gain or fat re-gain after weight loss. Conclusion Further research is needed to identify new risk factors of childhood obesity, both in the genetic and environmental areas, which may help to develop more effective strategies for the prevention and treatment of obesity.     

超重肥胖儿童青少年代谢综合征流行现状调查

目的 了解上海市浦东新区川沙地区超重肥胖儿童青少年中代谢综合征(MS)的流行现状和临床特点.方法 对432例7～15岁超重肥胖儿童青少年进行体格测量和血液生化检测.应用Cook定义诊断MS,具有下列5项中至少3项者诊断为MS:腹型肥胖、高血压、高血糖、高甘油三脂(TG)血症和低高密度脂蛋白胆固醇(HDL-C)血症.结果 腹型肥胖、高血压、高血糖、高TG血症和低HDL-C血症的总检出率分别为85.9%、44.4%、13.4%、48.6%和9.0%.具有0、1、2和3项及3项以上MS组分者分别占4.4%、28.3%、36.3%和31.0%.约95%的个体至少有1项MS组分异常,约60%～70%的个体至少有2项异常.共检出MS134例,检出率为31.0%.结论 川沙地区超重肥胖儿童青少年多存在明显的代谢紊乱,MS的流行已相当严重,接近发达国家水平.     

Prevalence of overweight and obesity among school children and adolescents in Chennai

Objectives

To determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in Chennai, India, using national and international age- and sex- specific body mass index (BMI) cut-off points.

Methods

The Obesity Reduction and Awareness and Screening of Non communicable diseases through Group Education in Children and Adolescents (ORANGE) project is a cross-sectional study carried out on 18,955 children (age 6–11 years) and adolescents (age 12–17 years) across 51 schools (31 private and 20 government) of Chennai. Overweight and obesity was classified by the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF 2000) and Khadilkar’s criteria (2012), and Hypertension by the IDF criteria (in children ≥10 years and adolescents).

Results

The prevalence of overweight/obesity was significantly higher in private compared to government schools both by the IOTF criteria [private schools: 21.4%, government schools: 3.6%, (OR: 7.4, 95% CI:6.3–8.6; P<0.001) and by Khadilkar criteria (private school: 26.4%, government schools: 4.6% OR: 6.9, 95% CI:6.2–7.8; P<0.001). Overweight/obesity was higher among girls (IOTF: 18%, Khadilkar: 21.3%) compared to boys (IOTF: 16.2%, Khadilkar: 20.7%) and higher among adolescents (IOTF: 18.1%, Khadilkar: 21.2%) compared to children (IOTF: 15.5%, Khadilkar: 20.7%). Prevalence of hypertension was 20.4% among obese/overweight and 5.2% among non-obese (OR 4.7, 95%CI: 4.2–5.3, P<0.001).

Conclusion

The prevalence of overweight and obesity is high among private schools in Chennai, and hypertension is also common.     

Physical activity in relation to overweight and obesity in children and adolescents

Fitness and physical activity levels of children and adolescents are commonly addressed but data on scientific investigations are both equivocal and methodologically diverse. The intensity and type of physical activity that benefit health and development during childhood are not known. Measurement of activity in children is problematic since there is no valid method of assessing activity levels that is feasible for use in large field studies. Most studies using self-report methods, heart rate studies using low heart rate threshold and doubly labelled water studies indicate relatively high levels of activity in children. The three national surveys on large representative samples reported that 60% to 70% of all children were involved in sufficient physical activity according to various definitions. Heart rate studies demonstrate that children generally perform short bouts of moderate to vigorous activities and seldom participate in long-sustained vigorous activities. They also proved that children perform large volumes of activity in the lower heart rate zones. It is generally accepted that boys are more active than girls and physical activity declines by age (peak around 13 to 14 years of age). The difference between the physical activity of European and North American children or between children living in different European countries is difficult to judge due to the diversity of methodology and definitions. Conclusion There is a need to identify more clearly the quantity and type of activity which improves the health and promotes the normal development of children and to improve the methods assessing physical activity.     

Prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in Thessaloniki-Greece and Kayseri-Turkey

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece and in the Kayseri area of Turkey and compare the results. For this purpose, data concerning the weight and height of 2458 Greek school children aged 6-17 years (1226 6-10 years, 1232 11-17 years) and 3703 Turks (1032 6-10 years, 2671 11-17 years) were collected. BMI was calculated. The prevalence of overweight Greek schoolchildren was 22.2% while that of Turks was 10.6%. The obesity prevalence was 4.1% and 1.6%, respectively (total overweight and obese children 26.3% and 12.2%, respectively). In the analyses, the estimations of the prevalence of overweight and obesity are based on the international BMI percentile curves and cut-off points in subjects aged 2-18 years recently established. A significant gender difference was found, males being more overweight and obese compared to females. Finally, the prevalences for both Greeks and Turks were higher in children when compared to adolescents. In conclusion, Greece (as represented by the Thessaloniki area) has one of the highest prevalences of overweight schoolchildren recorded in Europe while Turkey (as represented by Kayseri area) one of the lowest recorded among developed and developing countries. Differences in lifestyle and socioeconomic status in the two regions are most probably responsible for these results.     

Trends of underweight,overweight, and obesity in Brazilian children and adolescents

ObjectiveTo describe and analyze the trends of occurrence of underweight, overweight, and obesity in schoolchildren.MethodsThis was a longitudinal study of trends conducted in a voluntary sample of Brazilian children and adolescents. The sample was grouped by year of collection (period I: 2005 and 2006; period II: 2007 and 2008, and period III: 2009-2011), age category (children: 7 to 10 years, and adolescents: 11 to 14 years), and stratified by gender. The body mass index was used to classify the nutritional profile. Trend analysis was verified using multinomial logistic regression (p < 0.05).ResultsMean occurrences were 2.11% for underweight, 22.27% for overweight, and 6.8% for obesity. There was a decrease of underweight in male adolescents from period I to II, as well as an increase in female children from period II to III. Regarding overweight, there was an increase followed by a decrease in male children. Regarding obesity, there was an increase from period I to II in all age groups and for both genders.ConclusionThe prevalence of underweight was less than 5% in all categories of age and gender. However, the categories of overweight and obesity showed higher values, and together comprised almost 30% of the young Brazilian population; moreover, a trend toward increase in prevalence of obesity was observed up to the year 2008, followed by the maintenance of these high prevalence rates.     

Prevention of pediatric overweight and obesity

The dramatic increase in the prevalence of childhood overweight and its resultant comorbidities are associated with significant health and financial burdens, warranting strong and comprehensive prevention efforts. This statement proposes strategies for early identification of excessive weight gain by using body mass index, for dietary and physical activity interventions during health supervision encounters, and for advocacy and research.     

Prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents in a county in Sweden

Overweight among young people in Sweden is increasing. The aim of the present study was to investigate the frequency of overweight and obesity based on body mass index (BMI) values among children and adolescents. Overweight was defined as a BMI value > or = 91st percentile and obesity as a BMI value > 98th percentile on an international reference BMI curve. The study population included boys and girls from four age groups: 9, 12, 15 and 18 y. The data consisted of self-reported measures of height and weight that were obtained from questionnaires used in a cross-sectional study in December 1997. A validation study was performed using a part of the study population. A total of 7011 (81.7%) participants completed the questionnaire. The correlation between self-reported estimations and objective measures of height and weight was high in the oldest age groups (0.88-0.98), but lower in the 9-y-old age groups (0.37-0.72). These self-reported estimations in the 9-y-olds were excluded from further analysis. It was found that 12.3%, 11.6% and 11.4% of the boys in the 12-, 15- and 18-y-old age groups and 6.8%, 5.5% and 4.8% of the girls in the same age groups were overweight and 7.9%, 8.9% and 7.3% of the boys and 5.1%, 4.2% and 3.9% of the girls were obese. Conclusion: The prevalence of overweight and obesity was found to be high in the study population and is a serious public health problem. The prevalence of obesity was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in 15-y-old boys living in rural areas than in city and town dwellers of the same age.     

Prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus

BACKGROUND: Information about the prevalence of obesity in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1) is inconsistent and limited. The burden of the concurrent problems of obesity and DM1 can have notable medical, psychological, and social implications for both patients and their families. AIMS: To determine prevalences of overweight and obesity in children with DM1 compared to a control population. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, we compared the prevalence of overweight/obesity in 390 children with DM1 (males 54%) and 565 controls (CONT; males 60%) aged 6 to 16 years. Overweight and obesity were defined as body mass indices between the 85th and 95th percentiles, and greater than the 95th percentile for age, respectively. RESULTS: Overall, 29.5% DM1 and 18.1% CONT (p < 0.001) were either obese or overweight. The prevalence of obesity alone did not differ (DM1 5.4% vs CONT 8.2%), but a greater rate of overweight was seen in the DM1 group (DM 24.1% vs CONT 10.0%, p < 0.001). Rate's of overweight were higher in the DM1 than CONT across all age groups and in both genders (males: DM1 20.1% vs CONT 8.9%, p < 0.001; females: DM1 28.7% vs CONT 11.5%, p < 0.001). Only females showed an increase in overall overweight/obesity rate (DM1 34.8% vs CONT 16.4%, p < 0.001) and this was most evident in older girls. CONCLUSIONS: Children with DM1 are more overweight, but not more obese, than their nondiabetic counterparts. Additional research is warranted to evaluate the characteristics of DM1 and its management that may influence weight gain.     

Physical activity and overweight in children and adolescents using intensified insulin treatment

Aim:  To describe physical activity and inactivity and parameters associated with overweight in a population-based study of children and adolescents on intensive insulin treatment.
Methods:  Physical activity and inactivity were evaluated in 723 type 1 diabetic subjects, 240 children aged 6–10 yr and 483 adolescents aged 11–19 yr, using a questionnaire that can estimate total amount of time spent on inactivity and light, moderate and vigorous activity.
Results:  Overall, 54% of the participants do not fulfil the international recommendations of 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous activity per day. Girls are less active than boys in childhood (70 vs. 88 min/d, p = 0.01) and in adolescence (47 vs. 57 min/d, p = 0.02). Furthermore, this study shows that those who are more active are also those who seldom skip meals (p < 0.001). Forty-three percent of the participants watch TV for more than 2 h a day, and TV viewing was found to be related to overweight in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes [OR: 2.5 (1.40–4.54), p = 0.002]. No statistical differences in physical activity were noted between the different intensified insulin regimens. Patients wearing insulin pumps were not less active.
Conclusion:  To increase physical activity to recommended level and limit TV viewing should be an important issue in education of all children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes, independent of insulin regimen.     

Managing overweight in older children and adolescents

Because overweight and obesity are chronic health conditions, long-term management is necessary, with particular attention to comorbidities. Lifestyle modification including changes in diet and activity can be accomplished in the primary care setting. Many overweight and obese children and adolescents can achieve weight loss of 0.5 kg per week even over long periods. For some severely obese children, pharmacotherapy or surgery may be necessary.     

两种评价方法对3912例儿童青少年超重及肥胖检出率的比较

目的 评价身高标准体重法(weight-for-height,WFH)和中国儿童体质指数(body mass index,BMI)法对儿童青少年超重及肥胖检出率的吻合程度.方法 于2006年8-10月采用分层整群随机抽样方法抽取上海市徐汇区3所小学和2所中学7～15岁儿童、青少年3 912人,其中男性2 070人,女性1 842人,分别用上述两种方法检测超重及肥胖儿童的人数,计算检出率并进行比较.结果 采用WFH及BMI标准对肥胖及超重的检出率分别为27.7%和26.5%,差异无统计学意义(x2=1.3683,P>0.05).两种方法对儿童青少年超重及肥胖的检出一致性较好(Kappa=0.70,P=0.013);并且均显示男性超重及肥胖率高于女性(WFH男:女=31.82%:21.72%;BMI男:女=30.82%:21.99%),超重比例高于肥胖(WFH 超重:肥胖=14.9%:12.9%BMI超重:肥胖=14.4%:12.1%),青春前期高于青春发育期.结论 WFH和BMI检测儿童、青少年超重及肥胖具有较好的一致性,两者均可应用于对儿童及青少年营养状况的评价.     

Treating overweight children and adolescents in the clinic

The increasing prevalence of pediatric overweight has caused the medical community to begin searching for ways to deal with this new pediatric medical problem. The Centers for Disease Control developed the Body Mass Index (BMI) growth charts, which came into use in 2000. Primary care providers are seeking education on this relatively new topic. This article provides fundamental information based on the medical evidence for pediatricians to learn how to care for their overweight pediatric patients in the office setting.