Exceso ponderal y obesidad abdominal en niños y adolescentes gallegos

Associations between social network addiction, anxiety symptoms, and risk of metabolic syndrome in Peruvian adolescents-a cross-sectional study

Background

The link between physical and mental health and screen time in adolescents has been the subject of scientific scrutiny in recent years. However, there are few studies that have evaluated the association between social network addiction (SNA) and metabolic risk in this population.

Objective

This study determined the association between SNA and anxiety symptoms with the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adolescents.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted in Peruvian adolescents aged 12 to 18 years, who completed a Social Network Addiction Questionnaire and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 2-item scale (GAD-2), between September and November 2022. A total of 903 participants were included in the study using a non-probability convenience sample. Sociodemographic and anthropometric data were also collected. Binary logistic regression was used to explore the association between SNA and anxiety symptoms with MetS in a cross-sectional analysis.

Results

Males were more likely to have MetS than females (OR = 1.133, p = 0.028). Participants who were 16 years of age or older and those with excess body weight were 2.166, p = 0.013 and 19.414, p < 0.001 times more likely to have MetS, respectively. Additionally, SNA (OR = 1.517, p = 0.016) and the presence of anxiety symptoms (OR = 2.596, p < 0.001) were associated with MetS.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest associations between SNA, anxiety symptoms, and MetS among youth. However, more studies are needed to better understand this association and to deepen the possible clinical and public health implications.

Self-perceived body weight and weight status: analysis of concordance by age group and sex

OBJECTIVES

Previous studies suggest that there is discordance between actual weight status and body-weight perception. This fact has implications when it comes to designing public health interventions. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of the different categories of weight status and body-weight perception and to analyse their concordance in a representative Spanish population sample.

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

METHODS

Data were sourced from the 2018 Galician Risk Behaviour Data System, with the target population being all persons aged 16 years and above. We collected data on self-perceived body weight and assessed weight status on the basis of body mass index (BMI). BMI was estimated using self-reported measures of weight and height. To estimate concordance, Cohen's kappa coefficient, both unweighted and weighted with Cicchetti weights, was calculated.

RESULTS

Data were obtained for 7853 individuals aged 16 years and above, whereas the overall unweighted concordance was 0.393 (95%CI: 0.377-0.409), with an agreement percentage of 61.6%, weighted concordance was 0.503 (0.490-0.517), with an agreement percentage of 86.6%. The highest concordance between self-perceived body weight and weight status was observed in women. By age group, the highest concordance was observed in the youngest group (16-24 years) for the BMI categories of underweight and overweight, and in the 45-64 age group for the category of obesity.

CONCLUSIONS

The results highlight the existence of differences between self-perceived body weight and weight status, according to sex and age.

Role of obesity and blood pressure in epicardial adipose tissue thickness in children

BACKGROUND

Elevated body mass index (BMI) has been associated with cardiac changes, such as higher epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) thickness. This fat has been identified as a predictive factor of cardiovascular diseases during adulthood. However, few studies have tested the association of multiple cardiovascular risk factors (high weight or blood pressure) with EAT in adolescents and children. Therefore, the main objective of this current research was to determine the impact of BMI, overweight, obesity, and blood pressure on EAT thickness in children.

METHODS

A descriptive cross-sectional study focused on elementary and high school students aged 6-16 years was carried out by utilizing diverse measurements and instruments, such as echocardiography.

RESULTS

EAT thickness (N = 228) was linked to sex (more predominant in boys 2.3 ± 0.6; p = 0.044), obesity (2.3 ± 0.6; p < 0.001), and hypertension (2.6 ± 0.6; p = 0.036). The logistic regression indicated that age, sex, and BMI seemed to be more relevant factors in EAT thickness in children (adjusted R square = 0.22; p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

This paper examined the associations of sex, age, and cardiovascular risk factors (arthrometric measures and blood pressure) with EAT thickness, indicating that it is necessary to assess whether the findings are associated with future events.

IMPACT

Excessive weight gain and blood pressure in the early stages of life have been associated with adipose tissue. This increase in weight and blood pressure has been attributed to alterations in the epicardial adipose tissue linked to anthropometric markers in adults, but no related study has been implemented in Spanish children. This study revealed how higher epicardial adipose tissue is linked to body mass index, other anthropometric parameters, and blood pressure in Spanish children. These measurements are related to high epicardial adipose tissue thickness, which in early stages does not imply pathology but increases the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.

Influence of Lifestyle Habits in the Development of Obesity during Adolescence

Background: The alarming increase in childhood obesity is a global public health problem since it has significant health consequences. This cross-sectional study aimed to identify the potentially modifiable risk factors for developing excess weight and determine the importance of developing certain habits to prevent childhood overweight and obesity. Methods: The sample included 416 students between the ages of 12 and 14 (12.8 ± 0.62) first-year high school students from Murcia in Spain. Data were collected on their lifestyle habits through the ENHASA questionnaire, and the somatometry of the participants was measured. Such data were studied through structural equation modeling and importance-performance map analyses. Results: The modifiable risk factors that presented the greatest potency directly regarding when developing excess weight in adolescents were ‘use of electronic devices’ and ‘not performing physical activity’ (p < 0.001). ‘Social and school environment’ and ‘diet’ showed relationships but no significant differences with overweight or obesity. Globally, the lifestyle habit of the greatest importance for not being overweight was ‘engagement in extracurricular physical activities’. On the other hand, the habits related to using new technologies in a sedentary way showed the best capacity for improvement. Therefore, it would be very efficient to focus on them to control excess weight. Conclusion: Responsible and limited use of screens and engaging in extracurricular physical activities may be the most remarkable and cost-effective strategies for obesity prevention programs.

Gender differences in the development of childhood obesity in young teenagers in Murcia, Spain

BACKGROUND

The number of overweight children is increasing at an alarming rate. This issue requires effective action plans, as childhood obesity has become a problem in which addressing environmental factors is decisive. Significant differences have also been shown in lifestyle habits that determine overweight based on sex. This study therefore aimed to examine these risk factors according to sex.

METHODS

The sample included first-year high school students from Murcia, Spain. Information was collected through the "Questionnaire on Healthy Habits in Adolescents," validated for this age range, and the weight, height, and waist circumference of the participants were obtained. Data were analyzed through partial least squares structural equation modeling to determine which modifiable risk factors promoted the appearance of excess weight and in what magnitude.

RESULTS

A total of 421 students participated in the study, and 40.6% of overweight patients were detected according to their body mass index. No differences were found between the sexes and weights. The environment and the use of new technologies that do not involve sitting were significant only in girls (P < 0.05). Conversely, physical activity was significantly higher in boys (P < 0.05). Dietary factors and sedentary activities did not differ according to sex.

CONCLUSIONS

The social and school environment, the use of new technologies (for girls), and physical activity (for boys) condition nutritional status. Identifying gender disparities in behaviors that involve health should be a priority for new prevention programs. Targeting young people's health from a gender perspective has considerable potential to reduce overweight problems in adulthood.

Relationship between modifiable risk factors and overweight in adolescents aged 12-14 years

INTRODUCTION

Spain is the European leader in overweight (O-W), partly to the social and environmental changes of the last decades. The objective of the work was to study the modifiable risk factors that lead to O-W.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A self-designed questionnaire with factors related to childhood obesity was produced, and was administered to the parents of adolescents who were attending first year of high school in four centres in Health Area V in Murcia. Weight, height, abdominal circumference and Waist-Height Index (WHI) of the students were measured, and classified as overweight-obesity. A reduction technique was applied, generating factors that grouped the items according to subject, as well as a multivalent technique to assess the dependency relationship between the variables, and the SB-OI.

RESULTS

Of the 421 students included, 28% and 35% had excess weight and abdominal obesity, respectively. The factor analysis grouped the items into 4 factors: diet, physical activity, technologies, and environment, with a subsection about body perception. The structural equation model presented an R² of 0.440. The highest relationship was obtained with the environment factor (t 2.89), and perception (t 14.61), followed by the use of technologies. A direct relationship was also revealed regarding diet and physical activity, although not significant.

CONCLUSIONS

Family perception and the social-school environment have an important influence on the development of the O-W. Health education interventions involving parents and teachers are probably the smartest and most cost-effective strategies.

Prevalence and trends of underweight in European children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis

PURPOSE

This study aimed at providing prevalence trend estimates of underweight among children and adolescents in Europe from 2000 to 2017.

METHODS

MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus and CINAHL were searched from their inception up to March 2020. Moreover, searches were conducted on health institutions' websites to identify studies not published in scientific journals. Underweight was defined according to the body mass index (BMI) cut-offs proposed by the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) definition criteria. The Mantel-Haenszel method was used to compute the pooled prevalence estimates whenever there was no evidence of heterogeneity; otherwise, the DerSimonian and Laird random-effects method was used. Subgroup analyses by sex, age range (2-13 and 14-18 years old), study year (2000-2006 and 2007-2017), country and European region were conducted.

RESULTS

A total of 49 studies with data from 323,420 children and adolescents aged 2 to 18 years, from 26 countries were included. From 2000 to 2017, according to the IOTF criteria, the prevalence of underweight showed an increasing trend in Eastern, Northern and Southern Europe, where the underweight prevalence ranged from 9.1 to 12.0%, from 4.1 to 6.8%, and from 5.8 to 6.7%, respectively. In Western Europe, the prevalence of underweight tended to decrease, from 14.0 to 11.8%. No significant differences were found by sex or age range.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of underweight is considerable (overall, around 8-9%), particularly in Eastern Europe, and follows a slight upward trend during the past decade.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO CRD42017056924.

Percentiles and Principal Component Analysis of Physical Fitness From a Big Sample of Children and Adolescents Aged 6-18 Years: The DAFIS Project

Assessing physical fitness has emerged as a proxy of the health status of children and adolescents and therefore as relevant from a public health point of view. DAFIS is a project included in Plan Galicia Saudable (Healthy Galicia Plan) of the regional government of Galicia (Spain). DAFIS consists of an on-line software devoted to record the results of a standard physical fitness protocol carried out as a part of the physical education curriculum. The aims of this study were: to obtain normative values of physical fitness of the Galician school population evaluated in the DAFIS project, and to identify a reduced number of components and tests able to capture a significant amount of the variability in the physical fitness of children and adolescents. From an initial sample of 27784 records, 15287 cases (7543 males, 7744 females) were considered after filtering. Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape were used for obtaining percentile curves and tables for each sex. Furthermore, a principal components analysis was performed, selecting the number of components by applying the Kaiser's rule and selecting a subset of variables considering the correlation between each variable and the components. Percentile curves and normative values are reported for each test and sex. Physical fitness was better in boys than in girls throughout age groups, except for flexibility that was consistently higher in girls. Two main components were detected throughout age groups: the first one representing body composition and partially cardiorespiratory fitness and the second one muscular fitness. For boys and girls, waist to height ratio had the highest correlations with the first component in four out of six age groups. The highest correlation with the second component, was most frequently observed for the handgrip test both in boys and girls (four out of six age groups). This study provides evidence about the utility of school community actions like DAFIS aimed to track the health-related fitness of children and adolescents. The results suggest that fat mass distribution (i.e., waist to height ratio and waist circumference) and muscular performance (mainly handgrip) concentrate a high proportion physical fitness variance.

Prevalence of overweight, obesity and abdominal obesity in the Spanish population aged 3 to 24 years. The ENPE study

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of excess weight and abdominal obesity (AO), based on individual anthropometric measurements, according to various criteria in the Spanish population aged 3 to 24 years and to analyze their distribution by age and sex.

METHODS

We analyzed data from the ENPE study. This analysis included the population aged 3 to 24 years (n=1601). Anthropometric measurements were taken in participants' homes by trained observers following standardized international protocols. We defined overweight and obesity according to the International Obesity Task Force, World Health Organization, and Orbegozo 2011 criteria, and AO according to a waist-to-height index ≥ 0.5, Taylor criteria, and the 90th percentile of Orbegozo 2011.

RESULTS

The prevalence of excess weight (overweight+obesity) exceeded 30% with all the criteria used. The prevalence of excess overweight (International Obesity Task Force) was estimated at 34.1% (95%CI, 31.8-36.4) and obesity at 10.3% (95%CI, 8.9-11.9). The estimated prevalence of AO (waist-to-height index ≥ 0.5) was 31.2% (95%CI, 29.0-33.5), and 20.9% (95%CI, 18.1-22.1) satisfied all 3 criteria. A total of 16% (95%CI, 13.8-17.8) were overweight and had concomitant AO.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of overweight, obesity and AO in the Spanish population aged 3 to 24 years old is high and is higher in men than in women. When distinct criteria were used, the prevalence of AO was approximately 30%. Among persons classified as obese by the 3 criteria, 71.6% were also classified as having AO according to distinct cutoffs.