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Nutrition, Obesity and Adolescent Health

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition Methodology & Assessment".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2023) | Viewed by 2235

Special Issue Editors

1. Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes, First Department of Pediatrics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, “Aghia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, 11527 Athens, Greece
2. Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Center of Clinical, Experimental Surgery and Translational Research, Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
Interests: childhood obesity; adolescent endocrinology; growth disorders; disorders of sex development; gender dysphoria; anorexia nervosa; stress-related disorders; molecular mechanisms of glucocorticoid action
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Center for Adolescent Medicine and UNESCO Chair in Adolescent Health Care, First Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Aghia Sophia Children's Hospital, 1 Thivon Street, 11527 Athens, Greece
Interests: adolescent medicine; pediatrics; endocrinology; pediatric adolescent gynecology; stress; mental health; obesity; metabolic syndrome; learning disabilities; childhood cancer survivors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Adolescent Health Unit, 2nd Department of Pediatrics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, “P. & A. Kyriakou” Children’s Hospital, 11527 Athens, Greece
Interests: nutrition; obesity; anorexia nervosa; adolescent medicine; disorders of sex development; gender dysphoria; mental health; internet high-risk behavior; developmental health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Obesity in adolescents represents one of the most challenging public health problems of the 21st century, owing to its epidemic proportions worldwide and the associated significant morbidity, mortality and public health costs. In the United States, obesity rates remain high, affecting more than 20% of adolescents, with 4%–6% having severe obesity.

The physical, psychological and social changes in adolescence greatly influence the development of obesity; during puberty, the body composition changes, with adiposity increasing in females and decreasing in males. In addition, the increased autonomy during adolescence allows free access to food, increased eating outside the home, the ability to purchase their own food and the inclusion of food during peer interactions, thereby contributing to an increased caloric intake. Cognitively, adolescents are vulnerable when making choices that may or may not support their health and positive self-esteem and empowerment.

Obesity is a chronic health problem, and its presence during adolescence is associated with medical and psychological consequences and medical comorbidities, including diabetes mellitus type 2, dyslipidemia, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, obstructive sleep apnea, fatty liver disease, reproductive complications, alterations in puberty, musculoskeletal complications and the predisposition to cancer. Psychological comorbidities and concerns include depression, being teased or bullied and being subjected to discrimination, leading to an impaired quality of life. Obesity has also been associated with lower academic achievement and a decreased socioeconomic status, with childhood obesity and cardiovascular risk factors having a strong impact through adolescence into adult life.

The prevention and treatment of adolescent obesity require that all health care professionals (HCPs) work together. They should have the knowledge, skills and resources to prevent and treat obesity, while incorporating the biopsychosocial stages of adolescent development. HCPs are uniquely positioned to advocate for changes within and outside the health care setting to address the obesity epidemic. Areas for advocacy include the increasing availability of clinical and community resources to prevent and treat obesity, leveraging support for adolescent-focused research, the promotion of environmental and policy changes related to healthy eating and active living, the elimination of policies and practices stigmatizing obese adolescents both explicitly and implicitly and the integration of preventative approaches in the obesity and eating disorder fields addressing weight-related disorders.

This Special Issue, entitled “Nutrition, Obesity and Adolescent Health”, aims to host original articles, systematic reviews and meta-analyses for the advancement of our current knowledge and understanding regarding the role of nutrition on the development of adolescent obesity and its associated health conditions.

Prof. Dr. Evangelia Charmandari
Dr. Flora Bacopoulou
Dr. Artemis K. Tsitsika
Guest Editors

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

  • overweight
  • obesity
  • adolescent health
  • nutrition
  • diet

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 298 KiB  
Article
A Close Association between Body Weight, Health-Related Quality of Life, and Risk Behaviors in a Sample of Italian High School Students
by Maria Francesca Lodovica Lazzeri, Francesca Mastorci, Paolo Piaggi, Cristina Doveri, Irene Marinaro, Gabriele Trivellini, Anselmo Casu, Caleb Devine, Lamia Ait-Ali, Cristina Vassalle and Alessandro Pingitore
Nutrients 2023, 15(24), 5107; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15245107 - 14 Dec 2023
Viewed by 689
Abstract
Introduction: Adolescents experience rapid physical, cognitive, and psychosocial growth with different factors contributing to health and well-being. In this view, an important role is played by body weight and related perceptions. The purpose was to determine, in a sample of Italian high school [...] Read more.
Introduction: Adolescents experience rapid physical, cognitive, and psychosocial growth with different factors contributing to health and well-being. In this view, an important role is played by body weight and related perceptions. The purpose was to determine, in a sample of Italian high school students, whether health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is associated with the different weight status categories (underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese), even considering sex differences. Material and methods: Data were collected from 1826 adolescents (n = 735 males). HRQOL was analyzed using the Italian version of KIDSCREEN-52. Results: Overweight adolescents showed reductions in psychological well-being (p < 0.05) and self-perception (p < 0.05) compared with individuals in other BMI categories. Subjects with obesity reported increased bullying victimization (p < 0.05) and reductions in self-perception and eating disorders (p < 0.001), while underweight individuals were characterized by altered adherence to the Mediterranean diet (p < 0.001), eating disorders (p < 0.001), and problematic use of social media (p < 0.05). No sex differences were found, except for socio-economic status perceptions, where underweight girls reported higher economic well-being than boys (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Our findings may suggest that there is an association between weight status categories and HRQoL that is more pronounced in underweight and overweight adolescents. The association between BMI categories and psychosocial dimensions opens the need to define specific domains on which such preventive interventions should focus, always through a personalized perspective. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition, Obesity and Adolescent Health)
23 pages, 657 KiB  
Article
Non-Traditional Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Adolescents with Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome May Predict Future Cardiovascular Disease
by Athanasia Tragomalou, George Paltoglou, Maria Manou, Ioannis V. Kostopoulos, Sofia Loukopoulou, Maria Binou, Ourania E. Tsitsilonis, Flora Bacopoulou, Penio Kassari, Marina Papadopoulou, George Mastorakos and Evangelia Charmandari
Nutrients 2023, 15(20), 4342; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15204342 - 12 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1237
Abstract
Obesity in adolescence is associated with significant morbidity and predisposes adolescents to the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Although a number of traditional CVD risk factors have been identified in youth, limited data exist regarding non-traditional CVD risk factors. In 89 adolescents with [...] Read more.
Obesity in adolescence is associated with significant morbidity and predisposes adolescents to the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Although a number of traditional CVD risk factors have been identified in youth, limited data exist regarding non-traditional CVD risk factors. In 89 adolescents with metabolic syndrome (MetS), with 60 age-, gender-, and BMI-matched controls, we determined the non-traditional CVD risk factors (hs-CRP, TG/HDL ratio, ApoB/ApoA1 ratio, NAFLD) in order to investigate whether they may be used as biomarkers for predicting future CVD, and we evaluated their response to the implementation of a multidisciplinary, personalized, lifestyle intervention program for 1 year. We demonstrated that the TG/HDL ratio, IL-2, IL-6, IL-17A, and INF-γ were significantly increased in subjects with MetS than in controls, and may be used as biomarkers to predict future CVD. Subjects with MetS had an increased mean carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) and prevalence of NAFLD than the controls, while the prevalence of NAFLD correlated strongly with cIMT and IL-6 concentrations. Most of the non-traditional cardiovascular risk factors improved following the implementation of a lifestyle intervention program. These findings indicate that adolescents with MetS may have a greater risk for developing atherosclerosis early in life, while early lifestyle intervention is crucial for preventing the arteriosclerotic process in youth. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition, Obesity and Adolescent Health)
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