Abstract
European Union Adopts Childhood Obesity Action Plan
The European Union (EU) adopted the “EU Action Plan on Childhood Obesity 2014–2020” at a meeting preceding the conference “Nutrition and Physical Activity from Childhood to Old Age: Challenges and Opportunities” held in Greece. In 2010, approximately one third of EU children ages 6–9 years were overweight or obese. The plan aligns with World Health Organization (WHO) frameworks and will use WHO monitoring tools for assessing success. It calls for long-term approaches to bring about change in key areas, such as promoting healthier environments, restricting advertising to children, making healthy options easier to take advantage of, and informing and empowering families. The report outlines several steps necessary to address each action item. Member states can develop and implement their own plans. They also are encouraged to share good practices and use compatible tools for monitoring their policies.
Low Glycemic Index Diet Helps in Managing Obese Adolescents
Researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong randomized 104 local, obese teens, ages 15–18 years, to receive a low glycemic index diet or a conventional Chinese diet. They found that young people in the intervention group, eating the low glycemic index diet, had a significantly greater decrease in obesity indices than the control group. That included BMI, body weight, and waist circumference. The researchers concluded, in the journal BMC Public Health, that a low glycemic index diet within a comprehensive lifestyle modification program may be helpful in the management of obese teens and serve as an alternative to a traditional diet.
Nationwide Japan Study Finds Breastfeeding Protects Against Overweight
Researchers from the National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, report in Obesity that even partial or short-term breastfeeding provides a latent protective effect against excessive weight gain as children grow into late childhood. The effect was stronger for boys than girls. The researchers collected breastfeeding and anthropometric information annually on 21,425 boys and 20,147 girls participating in a nationwide population-based study. Boys who had been exclusively or partially breastfed had lower BMI at ages 7–8 years and a slower increase in the inclination in BMI than formula-fed babies. Breastfed girls also experienced lower BMI, but the results were not statistically significant.
Youth Weight Management Program Launched in Qatar
Qatar University, MoreLife, and Imperial College, London—the latter two both in the United Kingdom—have launched a pilot weight management program for Qatari youth in Doha aimed at helping children and families learn how to lead healthier lives. A recent survey found that 21% of Qatari youth ages 9–11 years are overweight and 18% are obese. MoreLife said that the confluence of affluence of the country, a hot climate, a culture of food-centric social gatherings, and the lack of infrastructure to encourage active lifestyles have all contributed to a high level of obesity. The program draws on years of youth weight management experience and research from MoreLife and expertise from Imperial College in the science of behavior change and in technologies, including smartphone apps and virtual environments, to support weight loss. During the winter months, the program will offer an intensive 2-week camp followed by a 3-month after-school club, and then a virtual club accessible throughout the summer.
Increased Fat Leads to Less Physical Activity
While acknowledging that less physical activity may contribute to childhood obesity, researchers from the University of Bristol in the UK and Uppsala University in Sweden found that increased adiposity was associated with less physical activity in children age 11 years by analyzing a panel of genes associated with adiposity. They found that greater BMI was likely to be causally associated with lower daily activity. With every 3.3-kg/m2 increase in BMI, the children recorded ∼2.8 less minutes per day of moderate-to-vigorous-intensity activity. The researchers said, in PLOS Medicine, that the propensity for less physical activity may lead to further weight gain.
Formula with Less Protein Decreases Obesity Risk
The European Childhood Obesity Trial Study Group was a multi-center, double-blind, randomized clinical trial to determine whether decreasing the amount of protein in infant formula would affect BMI and obesity prevalence at age 6 years. More than 1600 infants participated, with formula-fed babies randomized to receive higher- or lower-protein diets. Breastfed infants served as a control. The researchers reported, in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, that formula with less protein content decreased the risk of obesity at school age and suggested that avoiding foods with high protein content could help reduce the problem of childhood obesity.
Schools in Australian Capital To Remove Sugary Drinks
The sale of sugary drinks in schools within the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) will not be allowed in vending machines by the end of the 2013–2014 term and not in canteens (cafeterias) by the end of the year. The ACT government committed in 2013 to develop a school food and drink policy that will mandate the implementation of the National Healthy School Canteen Guidelines in ACT Government Schools. The ban of sugary drinks supports that goal. Minister for Education and Training Joy Burch said that government schools would accomplish the phasing out of sugary drinks by increasing the provision of water refill stations and reusable drink bottles.
Scotland Launches Weight Loss Program
National Health Service (NHS) Greater Glasgow and Clyde in Scotland has created Weigh to Go, a free obesity prevention program for youth ages 16–18 years with a BMI of 25 or higher. The 2012 Scottish Health Survey found that 64.3% of Scots 16 and older are either overweight or obese. Youngsters will receive free gym membership and weight management services. The program will be piloted in certain areas in Possilpark and Maryhill before a more widespread roll out. Teens will receive 12 weeks of intensive support, and if they are using the supporting services, they are eligible for 12 more weeks. The British Heart Foundation Scotland, as part of its Hearty Lives program, funds Weigh to Go, which is managed by Glasgow City Community Health Partnerships.
Patterns of Overweight Identifiable at Young Age
Australian children in low socioeconomic groups were more prone to obesity than those in middle and higher socioeconomic groups, and the results held during the 6-year span of the study, according to researchers at the University of Sydney in Australia. The team looked at height and weight for 939 youth in school grades 2–6 from 10 schools. They concluded that the patterns of overweight and obesity were observed at a young age and the socioeconomic pattern continues into the teen years. The researchers suggested “obesity prevention and intervention programs should be designed, implemented, and evaluated with the social determinants of health in mind and in collaboration with community members.”
Improvements in Diet and Lifestyle Needed in Ireland
A study reviewing reports on diet and lifestyle habits of overweight or obese Irish children found that improvements are needed to control rising levels of weight gain in the country, one in which approximately 20% of children, ages 2–17 years, are overweight or obese. The team reported, in Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, that as children aged, they ate a less energy-dense diet than before they entered school. As children got older, they ate less fiber, fruits, and vegetables and more fat, sweets, and sugar-sweetened beverages. School-age children and teens also reported watching more television than preschoolers. Children eating outside the home consumed food higher in fat and lower in fiber than home-cooked meals.
Singapore Set To Open Nutrition Research Center
A $20 million joint venture comprised of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research and the National University Health Systems in Singapore will be used to open a Clinical Nutrition Research Center. The new center will conduct nutritional studies that will gather information to increase people's understanding of the causes of obesity and formulate diets and develop products that can reduce the risks. The center will conduct studies involving children. It aims to be the first center in Asia capable of performing a wide range of nutrition research—from the cellular level to whole-body nutrition. In regard to pediatric nutrition, the center will study how early nutrition affects health and the risk of metabolic disease later in life.
Sugar-Sweetened Beverages at School Associated with Weight Gain
The availability and consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages in secondary schools in British Columbia, Canada, was associated with higher adolescent obesity rates, not rates of overweight, according to a study published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. The researchers asked school principals about the availability of the beverages and linked the responses to children participating in the British Columbia Adolescent Health Survey. Students from suburban and rural schools were more likely to be obese than those who attended urban schools. Girls were less likely to be obese than boys. Students who attended schools where sugary beverages were available, and who reported consuming more than one such drink in the previous day, were more likely to be obese. The researchers concluded: “Creating school environments that are more conducive to healthy eating and implementing a comprehensive approach that includes all of the environments in which adolescents spend their time will likely provide the greatest benefit in supporting healthy food choices and healthy weights.”
Lower Academic Achievement Observed in Teen Girls with Obesity
Throughout the teen years, obesity is associated with lower academic achievement among girls, according to a study in the International Journal of Obesity. The researchers from three universities in the UK compared weight status and academic performance on national tests in a cohort of 5966 participants. The tests were administered to youth at 11, 13, and 16 years of age. After controlling for many confounders, including mental health and IQ, the researchers determined that girls who were obese at 11 years, achieved less academically at ages 11, 13, and 16 than normal weight girls. The researchers suggest that additional research is needed to understand the underlying reasons.
New Zealand Plans To Adopt Obesity Prevention Program
Tony Ryall, New Zealand health minister, announced that registration has opened for Healthy Families NZ, a new healthy eating and antiobesity initiative. The country has selected 10 communities to take part in the government-funded local initiative. Health promoters will work with schools, early childhood education centers, workplaces, and sports clubs to help participants make healthier living choices. “The Healthy Families approach is supported by a growing body of evidence, including Healthy Together Victoria, Colac in Australia, and EPODE in France,” Ryall said. “As a result of the Colac trial, children aged between 4 and 12 now weigh 1 kg less, have smaller waistlines, and a lower BMI compared to children in nearby towns.”
Children with Healthier Lifestyles Experience Better Quality of Life
Australian researchers investigated the relationship between children's weight status and health-related quality of life, using the Child Health Utility 9D to measure quality of life. They collected weight, activity, eating, and quality-of-life information from students in grades 4–6 and 9–10. They found that regardless of BMI, children who were more physically active, with healthier sleep patterns or eating behavior, scored higher on quality of life. The associations were stronger for sleep and eating patterns than for weight. The researchers concluded, in Pediatrics, that “future economic evaluations for obesity interventions should more formally investigate the relationship between changes over time in weight status and health-related quality of life for children and adolescents.”
WHO and the EU Release Country Profiles
WHO staff and representatives of the EU released a jointly developed set of country profiles, which provide an overview of obesity in European member states. The reports include information about nutrition, physical activity, and obesity in each country, breastfeeding rates, supplies of fruits and vegetables, policies in place for reducing salt and trans-fatty acids and for decreasing marketing of foods and nonalcoholic beverages to children, price policies, and policies about physical activity. The report found, among 11 year olds, that Greece had the highest rate of overweight at 33%, followed by Portugal at 32%, and Ireland and Spain at 30%. The Netherlands at 13% and Switzerland at 11% had the lowest prevalence of overweight in that age group.
Underweight and Overweight Coexist in Korea
Researchers led by Jin-Won Noh at Eulji University in South Korea, using data from 9411 youngsters participating in the 2009 Korean Survey on the Obesity of Youth and Children, conducted by the National Youth Policy Institute, evaluated the levels of over- and underweight among the participants. Children's BMIs ranged from 11.1 to 40.6, with 9.1% of them underweight and 18.7% overweight. The team reported, in the Journal of Epidemiology, that boys in the study were more obese than girls, and females were more likely to be underweight than males. Students in grades 4–6 were more overweight than secondary school students, and those living with an overweight parent were more likely to be overweight themselves. Higher economic status seemed to protect against excessive weight gain.
UK Association Warns of Online Games for Children
The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents almost 400 councils in England and Wales, warns that food companies are posting free advergames that entice youngsters and their parents to buy products. The games can be played on smartphones or computers and advertise foods that contain sugars, salts, and fats. The organization said that current advertising rules do not apply to the games and suggests strengthening the rules to require placing health warnings on the games. The LGA claims children play the games for hours, all while receiving subtle messages about the products.