Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

Childhood Obesity May Do Lasting Damage To The Brain

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by StudyFinds.

Studies continue to show that childhood obesity puts kids at greater risk for developing diseases like Type 2 diabetes and hypertension. However, there’s a less talked about problem that excess weight at a young age could cause — poor brain health. Researchers working with the Radiological Society of North America found that children with a higher body mass index before reaching adolescence also displayed poorer cognitive functioning.

“We know being obese as an adult is associated with poor brain health,” says researcher Simone Kaltenhauser, a post-graduate research fellow in radiology and biomedical imaging at the Yale School of Medicine. “However, previous studies on children have often focused on small, specific study populations or single aspects of brain health.”

Kaltenhauser and the team used MRI data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study to reach their findings. This study included 11,878 children between nine and 10 years-old from 21 centers across the country in order to provide a diverse dataset that is representative of the greater population. According to BMI z-scores, which measure relative weight, adjusting for age, sex, and height, 21 percent and 17.6 percent were overweight or obese, respectively.

The team then evaluated brain health by examining information from structural MRI and resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) scans, which help capture changes in blood flow. Additionally, the team used diffusion tensor imaging to study the brain’s white matter.

After correcting for confounding factors like age, sex, race-ethnicity, left or right-handedness, and socioeconomic status, the researchers found that brain structure was altered in children of greater weight and BMI z-scores. Obese children also displayed impaired white matter integrity.

“It is striking that these changes were visible early on during childhood,” Kaltenhauser says in a media release. “We expected the decrease in cortical thickness among the higher weight and BMI z-score children, as this was found previously in smaller subsamples of the ABCD study.”

“However, we were surprised by the extent of white matter impairment.”

Source: StudyFinds
https://studyfinds.org/childhood-obesity-damage-brain/

Waist-to-Height Ratio Detects Fat Obesity in Children and Adolescents Significantly Better than BMI

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by ScienceDaily.

An inexpensive measure of obesity in children and adolescents that could replace body mass index (BMI) has been identified in a new study as waist circumference-to-height ratio. This measure detected excess fat mass and distinguished fat mass from muscle mass in children and adolescents more accurately than BMI.

The study was conducted in collaboration between the University of Bristol in the UK, the University of Exeter in the UK, and the University of Eastern Finland, and the results were published in Pediatric Research.

For nearly a generation, weight-to-height ratio charts and BMI for age and sex have been used to diagnose children with obesity. However, these surrogate assessment tools are inaccurate in childhood and adolescence since they do not distinguish fat mass from muscle mass. For instance, two children with similar BMI might have different proportions of fat and muscle mass which makes obesity diagnosis difficult.

Expensive tools such as the dual-energy Xray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan accurately measures fat and muscle content of the body, but this device is not readily available in primary health care centers. Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published a clinical guideline on childhood obesity and requested urgent research on inexpensive and accurate alternative measures of obesity.

There has been no former evaluation of how much waist circumference-to-height ratio measurements agree with DEXA-measured fat mass and muscle mass during growth from childhood to young adulthood. In addition, the threshold of waist circumference-to-height ratio needed to detect excess fat in children is not clear, hence this new  study.

The study included 7,237 children (51% females) aged 9 years who were followed-up until age 24 years. Their BMI and waist circumference-to-height ratio were measured at ages 9, 11, 15, 17, and 24 years.

Waist circumference-to-height ratio had a very high agreement of 81 -- 89% with DEXA-measured total body fat mass and trunk fat mass, but a low agreement with muscle mass (24 -- 39%). BMI had a moderate agreement with total fat mass and trunk fat mass (65 -- 72%) and muscle mass (52 -- 58%).

The study concluded that waist circumference-to-height ratio might be preferable to BMI assessment in children and adolescent clinics as an inexpensive tool for detecting excess fat. Parents should not be discouraged by the BMI or weight of their children but can inexpensively confirm whether the weight is due to increase in excess fat by examining their kid's waist circumference-to-height ratio.

Source: ScienceDaily
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/03/240305134243.htm

Drinking Soda Linked to Obesity Among Teenagers in Over 100 Countries

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by StudyFinds.

Is soda and other sugary beverages the root cause of childhood obesity? A new study argues that there’s a strong link between the consumption of soda and obesity among teenagers in over 100 countries. The research, conducted across 107 nations worldwide, reveals that every 10-percent increase in daily soft drink consumption has a correlation with a 3.7-percent increase in the number of overweight and obese adolescents.

The findings highlight a strong connection between consistently drinking carbonated beverages and the risk of weight gain in adolescents. Niue, a small Pacific Island nation, had the highest prevalence of both overweight and obese youngsters, as well as the highest number of teens consuming at least one soft drink each day.

The study was based on school surveys across 107 countries, designed to measure the link between the consumption of sugary drinks and obesity among adolescents. Some of these countries have imposed taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages, while others have not.

The survey, which included 405,528 school-going adolescents, asked about each child’s consumption of “soft drinks.” These were defined as carbonated beverages that typically contain sugar, including well-known brands like Coca-Cola and Pepsi, as well as unbranded drinks. The teens were asked about their daily consumption of these drinks, as well as their intake of fruits and vegetables.

The authors of the study found a consistent trend across all nations: every 10-percent increase in the daily consumption of soft drinks led to a 3.7-percent increase in the prevalence of overweight and obese teens.

The study was published in the medical journal JAMA Network Open.

Source: StudyFinds
https://studyfinds.org/drinking-soda-obesity-teenagers/

Words Can Wound When Parents Talk to Kids About Obesity

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by HealthDay.

With U.S. health officials calling childhood obesity a public health crisis, conversations about weight are important. But what you say to your kids can be challenging, and even counterproductive, a new study found.

"Body weight is a sensitive issue, and the way we talk about it matters," said lead author Rebecca Puhl, deputy director of the University of Connecticut Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health.

"We really want to identify language that adolescents feel more comfortable using in these conversations, that they don't feel stigmatized, that they don't feel blamed or shamed," Puhl noted.

To do that, researchers reviewed 2021 survey data from more than 2,000 kids ages 10 to 17, along with more than 1,900 parents. Participants were asked about 27 terms and phrases that can be used to describe body weight.

The teens felt the most negative emotions about terms like "overweight," "fat," and "extremely obese," the study found. More than one-third of youths reported feeling embarrassment, shame, and sadness when their parents used these words.

Have a daughter? Tread lightly, the researchers recommended. Girls reported feeling more negative emotions in response to words used about weight than boys did.

"I think a lot of parents have positive intentions when it comes to talking about their child's weight. They want their child to be healthy. They want their adolescent to feel good about their body size, but sometimes the way that they communicate can come across as being critical or judgmental or using words that really make them feel bad about themselves," Puhl said.

At least half of the kids surveyed don't want their parents talking about weight. They're more willing to talk when they bring it up first or if their parents ask their permission to discuss it, Puhl said.

Even better than talking is modeling healthy behaviors and providing opportunities to eat healthy food at home. Go for walks and make dinner together as a family, she said.

The study findings were published in the December issue of Pediatrics.

Source: HealthDay
https://consumer.healthday.com/child-obesity-2658669715.html

Obesity Drug Helps Teens Lose Weight

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by ScienceDaily.

A drug called semaglutide, which is approved for adults with obesity or overweight, also helps adolescents shed pounds and have healthier hearts, according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

In an international phase 3a clinical trial, adolescents with obesity who received once-weekly semaglutide compared to placebo had a 16.1% decrease in their body mass index (BMI), while the BMI of those who took placebo rose by 0.6%.

Semaglutide is an obesity drug that mimics a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 to target areas of the brain that decrease appetite and improve control of eating. In 2021, this drug was approved for chronic weight management in adults with obesity or overweight.

To assess whether semaglutide is also effective in youths, researchers enrolled 201 adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years with obesity or overweight across multiple centers. Participants received either once-weekly subcutaneous injections of semaglutide 2.4 mg or placebo, and all received concurrent lifestyle intervention -- counseling on healthy nutrition and physical activity -- throughout the trial.

After 68 weeks, 72.5% of semaglutide participants had achieved at least 5% weight loss compared to just 17% of those on placebo.

"The results are amazing," said Silva Arslanian, M.D., professor of pediatrics and clinical and translational science and who holds the Richard L. Day Endowed Chair in Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. "For a person who is 5 foot, 5 inches tall and weighs 240 pounds, the average reduction in BMI equates to shedding about 40 pounds."

The analysis showed that semaglutide participants had improvements in cardiovascular risk factors, including waist circumference, a blood sugar metric called HbA1c, total, low-density, and very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and liver enzymes compared with the placebo group. However, there was no statistically significant difference in blood pressure or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol between the two groups.

Source: ScienceDaily
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/11/221103105016.htm

Too Little Sleep Could Have Teens Piling on Pounds

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by HealthDay.

New research suggests that not getting enough sleep may doom adolescents and teens to obesity and poorer health as they enter adulthood.

Those who slept less than eight hours a night were more likely to be overweight or obese than their peers who do get enough sleep, the study found. Those shorter sleepers were also more likely to have a combination of other health concerns, including excess fat around the middle, elevated blood pressure, and abnormal blood fat and sugar levels.

"Our study shows that most teenagers do not get enough sleep, and this is connected with excess weight and characteristics that promote weight gain, potentially setting them up for future problems," said study author Jesús Martínez Gómez. He is a researcher in training at the Cardiovascular Health and Imaging Laboratory at the Spanish National Centre for Cardiovascular Research in Madrid.

The study participants were 1,229 adolescents with an average age of 12 at baseline.

The researchers measured the youths' sleep for seven days using a wearable activity tracker three times over the course of the study, at ages 12, 14 and 16. The investigators then used body mass index to determine overweight and obesity status.

The kids were categorized as very short sleepers if they slept less than seven hours a night, short sleepers if they got seven to eight hours, and optimal if they had eight or more hours of sleep.

The team found that at age 12, only 34% of participants slept at least eight hours a night. This dropped to 23% by age 14 and to 19% by age 16. Boys tended to get less sleep. The teens who got the most sleep also woke less during the night and spent more time in bed.

Overweight and obesity prevalence was 27% at age 12, 24% at age 14, and 21% at age 16, the findings showed.

Compared with optimal sleepers, overweight/obesity was 21% and 72% more likely in very short sleepers at ages 12 and 14 years. Meanwhile, short sleepers were 19% and 29% more likely to be overweight/obese compared with optimal sleepers at ages 12 and 14.

The research will be presented at the European Society of Cardiology annual meeting in Barcelona. Findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Source: HealthDay
https://consumer.healthday.com/how-many-hours-of-sleep-do-teens-need-2657874932.html

Obesity Rates Continue to Climb Among U.S. Kids, Teens

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by HealthDay.

For the first time ever, more than 1 in 5 American kids is obese.

From 2011 to 2012 and again from 2017 to 2020, rates of obesity rose for kids between 2 and 5 years of age as well as 12- to 19-year-olds, a new analysis of nationwide health survey data shows. And the uptick was true for U.S. kids of every race and ethnic background, according to study leader Amanda Staiano.

"The proportion of kids having obesity increased from 18% in the 2011 cycle to 22% in the 2020 cycle," said Staiano, director of the pediatric obesity and health behavior lab at Louisiana State University's Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge.

"What is even more alarming is these data were all collected prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and other data published recently show that kids are gaining even more weight because of restrictions to their diet and activity during the pandemic," she said.

"Kids are bearing the cost of this disease, and adults are paying for the added health care costs of kids growing up with diseases and needing treatment," Staiano said. "Kids who aren't eating nutritious diets tend to perform worse in school, and so obesity affects every area of a child's life."

For the study, she and her Pennington Center colleague Kathy Hu analyzed data on nearly 15,000 U.S. children and teens who took part in the nationwide health and nutrition survey in 2011-2012, 2013-2014, 2015-2016 and 2017-2020.

Among 2- to 19-year-olds, obesity surged from 17.7% between 2011 and 2012 to 21.5% in the 2017-2020 survey.

During the decade-long span, obesity rates among boys rose from 18% to 21.4%, and among girls from 17% to 21.6%.

While obesity rates rose significantly in preschoolers and teens, they did not among 6- to 11-year-olds.

The findings were published online in JAMA Pediatrics.

Source: HealthDay
https://consumer.healthday.com/obese-kids-2657712221.html

10-Country Survey Reveals Nearly One in Four Adolescents Living with Obesity Do Not Know They Have Obesity

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by MedicalXpress.

New research from 10 countries presented at this year's European Congress of Obesity (ECO) shows that nearly one-quarter of adolescents living with obesity (ALwO) (24%) do not know they have obesity. However, most surveyed (85%) are worried about the impact of their weight on their future health. Many struggle to talk to even those closest to them about their weight status and two-thirds feel it is their sole responsibility to deal with their excess weight.

A total of 5,275 ALwO (aged 12-<18 years), 5,389 caregivers (CGs), and 2,323 healthcare professionals (HCPs) were surveyed via an online panel, telephone calls, and in-person meetings on a wide range of topics, including attitudes towards obesity and its impact, the number of weight loss attempts and motivations/barriers to weight loss. HCPs were most likely (89%) and CGs least likely (67%), to indicate obesity has a strong impact on a person's overall health and well-being, with ALwO in between at 72%. Most participants thought obesity was at least as, or more, impactful than heart disease, cancer, or diabetes, among other conditions.

While more than half (58%) of ALwO had tried to lose weight in the past year, three-quarters 75% of ALwO were somewhat/very likely to attempt to lose weight in the next 6 months. Fewer CGs reported that their 'linked' ALwO attempted weight loss (WL) over the past year (41%) and that their ALwO was somewhat/very likely to attempt to lose weight in the next 6 months (63%). HCPs indicated that 38% of their ALwO patients had made a serious WL attempt in the past year.

Regarding motivation for ALwO to lose weight, the most commonly reported motivators for ALwO were wanting to be more fit/in better shape (40%), not being happy with their weight (37%) and wanting to feel more confident (35%).

The top three barriers to losing weight reported by ALwO were not being able to control hunger (38%), lack of motivation (34%), and enjoying eating unhealthy food (32%).

The study also highlights the feelings of isolation felt by ALwO. One in three felt they could not talk to either parent about their weight; around one in three could talk to their doctor, and a quarter felt they could talk to their boyfriend or girlfriend with a similar proportion (22%) feeling able to discuss the subject with a sibling. Worryingly, one in 10 ALwO surveyed felt they could talk to no one at all about their weight.

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-country-survey-reveals-adolescents-obesity.html

Impulsive Children Eat Food Faster and Are at Higher Risk of Obesity

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by StudyFinds.

Parents with impulsive children may want to keep a close eye on their weight. A recent study reveals impulsive kids tend to eat faster than their more introverted peers and are therefore more likely to become obese. A team from the University of Buffalo adds their research found that impulsive children are also more likely to have greater urges to eat when food is sitting in front of them.

“Temperament is linked to many child developmental and behavioral outcomes, yet despite emerging evidence, few studies have examined its relationship with pediatric obesity,” says Robert Berkowitz, MD, emeritus professor at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Weight and Eating Disorders Research Program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in a university release.

The research team studied 28 participants from a family intervention program that encourages slower eating behaviors for four to eight-year-old children at high risk for obesity. They studied each child’s internal food cues, such as the feeling of fullness from a meal, and external food cues including their response to seeing, smelling, or tasting food, and how fast they ate food. The eating cues were studied in relation to a child’s personality, self-control, impulsivity, and their ability to manage negative emotions.

Results showed that children who felt full had more self-control to not overeat. Children who were slow eaters were also less likely to be extroverted or impulsive.

More research exploring the relationship between impulsivity and food cues should also focus on understanding their temporal relationship. In other words, it is still unknown whether it’s impulsivity that’s driving bad eating habits or bad eating habits that reinforce impulsive behavior.

The findings appear in the journal Pediatric Obesity.

Source: StudyFinds
https://www.studyfinds.org/impulsive-children-obesity/

Free Fruit in Schools Did Not Have an Effect on Obesity Among Children and Youth

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by MedicalXpress.

The scheme providing free fruit to schools lasted from 2007 to 2014 and was mainly introduced to improve learning in school through a better diet. Among other possible positive effects of the scheme was a reduced prevalence of obesity.

The school fruit scheme was a government initiative at all of Norway's lower secondary and combined primary and lower secondary schools. The initiative consisted of one free fruit or vegetable for each pupil every day.

Between 2010 and 2017, the National Institute of Public Health conducted four different child growth studies in which the height and weight of more than 11,000 children and adolescents were measured. The researchers used the data from these studies to look at how the school fruit scheme affected the children's weight when they were eight and 13 years old.

"After doing this research, we cannot see that school fruit has any effect on obesity among children and young people," says Ph.D. Research Fellow Bente Øvrebøat the Department of Sport Science and Physical Education at UiA.

"We find no effect from the school fruit scheme on the pupils' weight, neither positive nor negative. This shows that there was no basis for claiming that the scheme would lead to a reduction in obesity among young people."

The findings were recently published in the scientific journal Plos Medicine.

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-free-fruit-schools-effect-obesity.html