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Advances in Pediatric Obesity Prevention

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition and Obesity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 March 2024) | Viewed by 5768

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Chicago, IL, USA
Interests: nutrition assessment; obesity; metabolism; human nutrition; applied nutrition; nutritional medicine

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There is considerable evidence demonstrating that nutrition and physical activity interventions in the home, school, healthcare and community settings can help to prevent pediatric obesity. However, to be effective, interventions must target the appropriate developmental stage and ideally include multiple components (e.g, nutrition and physical activity) and settings or levels (e.g., family, school, policy, neighbourhood environment, etc.). In addition, while nutrition and physical activity interventions are key in helping reduce the risk of obesity and associated adverse health outcomes, it is crucial to consider, and ideally, address, how social determinants of health and environmental factors contribute to these health outcomes.

The aim of this Special Issue is to investigate the impact of comprehensive or complex exposures or interventions for the prevention of pediatric obesity. We welcome submissions related to exposures and interventions in the family and school settings as well as interventions tailored to individual needs and circumstances. Study designs may include interventions, observational studies, modelling of publicly available data from the general population, or other methods to investigate the impact of comprehensive or complex exposures or interventions for prevention of pediatric obesity. We encourage authors to consider how social determinants of health, food access, dietary intake, and environmental factors impact the prevention of pediatric obesity.

Thank you for your contribution.

Dr. Mary R. Rozga
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • pediatric obesity, social determinants of health
  • nutritional status
  • schools
  • home environment
  • food insecurity
  • nutrition therapy

Published Papers (3 papers)

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13 pages, 866 KiB  
Article
A Randomized Controlled Cluster Trial of an Obesity Prevention Program for Children with Special Health Care Needs: Methods and Implications
by Ruby Natale, Michelle Schladant, Martha H. Bloyer, Julieta Hernandez, Joanne Palenzuela, Yaray Agosto, Youmeizi Peng and Sarah E. Messiah
Nutrients 2024, 16(9), 1274; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16091274 - 25 Apr 2024
Abstract
Children with disabilities have higher prevalence estimates of obesity than typically developing children. The Healthy Caregivers–Healthy Children Phase 3 (HC3) project implemented an obesity prevention program adapted for children with special health care needs (CSHCN) that includes dietary intake and physical activity (PA) [...] Read more.
Children with disabilities have higher prevalence estimates of obesity than typically developing children. The Healthy Caregivers–Healthy Children Phase 3 (HC3) project implemented an obesity prevention program adapted for children with special health care needs (CSHCN) that includes dietary intake and physical activity (PA) components. The primary outcome was a change in dietary intake, PA, and the body mass index (BMI) percentile. Ten childcare centers (CCCs) serving low-resource families with ≥30 2- to 5-year-olds attending were randomized to either the intervention (n = 5) or control (n = 5). The HC3 CCCs received (1) snack, beverage, PA, and screen time policies via weekly technical assistance; (2) adapted lesson plans for CSHCN; and (3) parent curricula. The control CCCs received a behavioral health attention curriculum. HC3 was delivered over three school years, with data collected at five different timepoints. It was delivered weekly for six months in year one. To ensure capacity building, the HC3 tasks were scaled back, with quarterly intervention delivery in year 2 and annually in year 3. Adaptations were made to the curriculum to ensure appropriate access for CSHCN. Given that the program was being delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic, special modifications were made to follow CDC safety standards. The primary outcome measures included the Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation (EPAO) tool, standardized dietary intake and PA assessments, and the child BMI percentile. CCCs are an ideal setting for targeting CSHCN for obesity prevention efforts as they provide an opportunity to address modifiable risk factors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Pediatric Obesity Prevention)
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13 pages, 871 KiB  
Article
Social Network, Food Patterns, Physical Activity and Associations with Overweight and Obesity in Adolescents from a School in Rural Brazil
by Maria de Jesus Xavier Aguirre, Flavia Cristina Drumond Andrade, Moisés Alberto Calle Aguirre, Josivan Ribeiro Justino and Bruna Leal Lima Maciel
Nutrients 2023, 15(15), 3305; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15153305 - 26 Jul 2023
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Abstract
The objective of this study was to evaluate the social network, food patterns, physical activity, and their associations with overweight/obesity in adolescents from a school in rural Brazil. Students from a rural school in Northeast Brazil (n = 90) completed questionnaires on [...] Read more.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the social network, food patterns, physical activity, and their associations with overweight/obesity in adolescents from a school in rural Brazil. Students from a rural school in Northeast Brazil (n = 90) completed questionnaires on sociodemographic characteristics, food consumption, physical activity, and a name generator. Social networks were constructed using students’ social proximity ties. Principal component analysis was performed to determine food patterns, and logistic models were used to investigate variables associated with overweight/obesity. Most participants were girls (62.9%), and the proportion of overweight/obesity was 30% among adolescents. Students cited 2070 people from their networks (family, friends at school, friends outside of school, and others). Among them, the family had the highest degree of influence (61%) in the network and had the most shared meals with adolescents (47%). Adolescents’ perception of their family members’ body size as obese, compared to normal or underweight, was prevalent (51%). Adolescents with unhealthy food patterns were 72% more likely to be categorized as overweight/obese, and eigenvector centrality was also associated with overweight/obesity (OR = 5.88, 95% CI = 1.08–32.03). Adolescents presented a social network with strong family influence, in which a high percentage of overweight/obesity was observed. Adolescents with high eigenvector centrality were more likely to be in the overweight/obesity category. Additionally, overweight/obesity was associated with unhealthy food patterns in the family network. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Pediatric Obesity Prevention)
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25 pages, 885 KiB  
Systematic Review
Nutrition Interventions for Pediatric Obesity Prevention: An Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews
by Mary Rozga and Deepa Handu
Nutrients 2023, 15(24), 5097; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15245097 - 13 Dec 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2824
Abstract
Nutrition interventions to prevent pediatric obesity can help to establish healthy habits to improve current and future health. The objective of this umbrella review of systematic reviews (SRs) is to examine the impact of obesity prevention interventions with a nutrition component on body [...] Read more.
Nutrition interventions to prevent pediatric obesity can help to establish healthy habits to improve current and future health. The objective of this umbrella review of systematic reviews (SRs) is to examine the impact of obesity prevention interventions with a nutrition component on body mass index measures, overweight/obesity prevalence, and cost-effectiveness in participants 2–17 years old. Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methods were used, and this umbrella review was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42023443033). Included SRs were required to search ≥2 databases and to assess the risk of bias (RoB) of primary studies, and they were published 2017–June 2023. Database searches identified 4776 articles, and 31 SRs were included. In all age groups combined, interventions with both nutrition and physical activity were effective and cost-effective in all settings combined, and in the community setting specifically. In children ≤5 years old, interventions in the home and family, community, and healthcare settings demonstrated some efficacy, whereas in children 6–12 years old, school interventions were most effective. Evidence with individuals 13–17 years was limited. The certainty of evidence was generally low due to RoB in included studies, inconsistency, and imprecision. Pediatric obesity prevention interventions with nutrition should be tailored to the developmental stage to ensure appropriateness and efficacy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Pediatric Obesity Prevention)
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