-
Nutrients Oct 2020An effective behavior change program is the first line of prevention for youth obesity. However, effectiveness in prevention of adolescent obesity requires several...
An effective behavior change program is the first line of prevention for youth obesity. However, effectiveness in prevention of adolescent obesity requires several approaches, with special attention paid to disordered eating behaviors and psychological support, among other environmental factors. The aim of this systematic review is to compare the impact of two types of obesity prevention programs, inclusive of behavior change components, on weight outcomes. "Energy-balance" studies are aimed at reducing calories from high-energy sources and increasing physical activity (PA) levels, while "shared risk factors for obesity and eating disorders" focus on reducing disordered eating behaviors to promote a positive food and eating relationship. A systematic search of ProQuest, PubMed, PsycInfo, SciELO, and Web of Science identified 8825 articles. Thirty-five studies were included in the review, of which 20 regarded "energy-balance" and 15 "shared risk factors for obesity and eating disorders". "Energy-balance" studies were unable to support maintenance weight status, diet, and PA. "Shared risk factors for obesity and eating disorders" programs also did not result in significant differences in weight status over time. However, the majority of "shared risk factors for obesity and eating disorders" studies demonstrated reduced body dissatisfaction, dieting, and weight-control behaviors. Research is needed to examine how a shared risk factor approach can address both obesity and eating disorders.
Topics: Adolescent; Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Body Weight Maintenance; Energy Metabolism; Exercise; Feeding Behavior; Feeding and Eating Disorders; Female; Humans; Male; Pediatric Obesity; Preventive Health Services; Program Evaluation; Psychology, Adolescent; Risk Factors
PubMed: 33066501
DOI: 10.3390/nu12103134 -
PloS One 2021Obesity is a serious social and public health problem in the world, especially in children and adolescents. For school-age children with obesity, this stage is in the... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Effects of aerobic exercise and resistance exercise on physical indexes and cardiovascular risk factors in obese and overweight school-age children: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
BACKGROUND
Obesity is a serious social and public health problem in the world, especially in children and adolescents. For school-age children with obesity, this stage is in the transition from childhood to adolescence, and both physical, psychological, and external environments will be full of challenges. Studies have showed that school-age children are the largest proportion of people who continue to be obese in adulthood. Physical exercise is considered as an effective way to control weight. Therefore, we focus on this point to study which factors will be improved to reduce childhood obesity.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the effects of aerobic and resistance exercise on physical indexes, such as body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage, and cardiovascular risk factors such as VO2peak, triglycerides (TG) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), total cholesterol (TC), insulin and insulin resistance in school-age children who are overweight or obese.
METHOD
PubMed, SPORTDiscus, Medline, Cochrane-Library, Scopus, Ovid and Web of Science were searched to locate studies published between 2000 and 2021 in obese and overweight school-age children between 6-12 years old. The articles are all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and in English. Data were synthesized using a random-effect or a fixed-effect model to analyze the effects of aerobic and resistance exercise on six elements in in school-age children with overweight or obese. The primary outcome measures were set for BMI.
RESULTS
A total of 13 RCTs (504 participants) were identified. Analysis of the between-group showed that aerobic and resistance exercise were effective in improving BMI (MD = -0.66; p < 0.00001), body fat percentage (MD = -1.29; p = 0.02), TG (std.MD = -1.14; p = 0.005), LDL (std.MD = -1.38; p = 0.003), TC (std.MD = -0.77; p = 0.002), VO2peak (std.MD = 1.25; p = 0.001). However, aerobic and resistance exercise were not significant in improving HDL (std.MD = 0.13; p = 0.27).
CONCLUSIONS
Aerobic exercise and resistance exercise are associated with improvement in BMI, body fat percentage, VO2peak, TG, LDL, TC, while not in HDL in school-age children with obesity or overweight. Insulin and insulin resistance were not able to be analyzed in our review. However, there are only two articles related to resistance exercise in children with obesity and overweight at school age, which is far less than the number of 12 articles about aerobic exercise, so we cannot compare the effects of the two types of exercises.
Topics: Adipose Tissue; Body Mass Index; Child; Exercise; Heart Disease Risk Factors; Humans; Lipids; Pediatric Obesity; Publication Bias; Resistance Training; Risk; Schools
PubMed: 34543302
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257150 -
Obesity Reviews : An Official Journal... Jan 2022In recent decades, the incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) has increased dramatically in children and adolescents, posing a real public health problem. Beyond unhealthy... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
In recent decades, the incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) has increased dramatically in children and adolescents, posing a real public health problem. Beyond unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyles, growing evidence suggests that some perinatal factors, such as low birth weight (LBW), are associated with higher risk of T2D in adulthood. In this regard, it remains unclear whether the increased risk is already present in childhood and adolescence. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to clarify the association of LBW or being small for gestational age (SGA) with insulin resistance in childhood and adolescence. The systematic review resulted in 28 individual studies, and those with the same outcome were included within two random-effects meta-analyses. Compared with children or adolescents born with adequate size for gestational age, those SGA had 2.33-fold higher risk of T2D (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.05-5.17). Furthermore, LBW and being SGA were associated with 0.20 higher mean homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) values (95% CI: 0.02-0.38). Given the high prevalence of preterm babies, from a population perspective, these results may be of great importance as they point to the existence of a potentially vulnerable subgroup of children and adolescents that could benefit from screening tests and early preventive strategies.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Birth Weight; Child; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Female; Gestational Age; Humans; Infant; Infant, Low Birth Weight; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Small for Gestational Age; Pediatric Obesity; Pregnancy; Premature Birth
PubMed: 34786817
DOI: 10.1111/obr.13380 -
Nutrients Jul 2020The objective of this review was to assess the impact of lifestyle interventions (including dietary interventions, physical activity, behavioral therapy, or any... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
The objective of this review was to assess the impact of lifestyle interventions (including dietary interventions, physical activity, behavioral therapy, or any combination of these interventions) to prevent and manage childhood and adolescent obesity. We conducted a comprehensive literature search across various databases and grey literature without any restrictions on publication, language, or publication status until February 2020. We included randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies from both high income countries (HIC) and low-middle-income countries (LMICs). Participants were children and adolescents from 0 to 19 years of age. Studies conducted among hospitalized children and children with any pre-existing health conditions were excluded from this review. A total of 654 studies (1160 papers) that met the inclusion criteria were included in this review. A total of 359 studies targeted obesity prevention, 280 studies targeted obesity management, while 15 studies targeted both prevention and management. The majority of the studies (81%) were conducted in HICs, 10% of studies were conducted in upper middle income countries, while only 2% of the studies were conducted in LMICs. The most common setting for these interventions were communities and school settings. Evidence for the prevention of obesity among children and adolescents suggests that a combination of diet and exercise might reduce the BMI -score (MD: -0.12; 95% CI: -0.18 to -0.06; 32 studies; 33,039 participants; I 93%; low quality evidence), body mass index (BMI) by 0.41 kg/m (MD: -0.41 kg/m; 95% CI: -0.60 to -0.21; 35 studies; 47,499 participants; I 98%; low quality evidence), and body weight (MD: -1.59; 95% CI: -2.95 to -0.23; 17 studies; 35,023 participants; I 100%; low quality evidence). Behavioral therapy alone (MD: -0.07; 95% CI: -0.14 to -0.00; 19 studies; 8569 participants; I 76%; low quality evidence) and a combination of exercise and behavioral therapy (MD: -0.08; 95% CI: -0.16 to -0.00; 9 studies; 7334 participants; I 74%; low quality evidence) and diet in combination with exercise and behavioral therapy (MD: -0.13; 95% CI: -0.25 to -0.01; 5 studies; 1806 participants; I 62%; low quality evidence) might reduce BMI -score when compared to the control group. Evidence for obesity management suggests that exercise only interventions probably reduce BMI -score (MD: -0.13; 95% CI: -0.20 to -0.06; 12 studies; 1084 participants; I 0%; moderate quality evidence), and might reduce BMI (MD: -0.88; 95% CI: -1.265 to -0.50; 34 studies; 3846 participants; I 72%) and body weight (MD: -3.01; 95% CI: -5.56 to -0.47; 16 studies; 1701 participants; I 78%; low quality evidence) when compared to the control group. and the exercise along with behavioral therapy interventions (MD: -0.08; 95% CI: -0.16 to -0.00; 8 studies; 466 participants; I 49%; moderate quality evidence), diet along with behavioral therapy interventions (MD: -0.16; 95% CI: -0.26 to -0.07; 4 studies; 329 participants; I 0%; moderate quality evidence), and combination of diet, exercise and behavioral therapy (MD: -0.09; 95% CI: -0.14 to -0.05; 13 studies; 2995 participants; I 12%; moderate quality evidence) also probably decreases BMI -score when compared to the control group. The existing evidence is most favorable for a combination of interventions, such as diet along with exercise and exercise along with behavioral therapy for obesity prevention and exercise alone, diet along with exercise, diet along with behavioral therapy, and a combination of diet, exercise, and behavioral therapy for obesity management. Despite the growing obesity epidemic in LMICs, there is a significant dearth of obesity prevention and management studies from these regions.
Topics: Adolescent; Behavior Therapy; Body Mass Index; Child; Community Health Services; Developed Countries; Developing Countries; Diet, Healthy; Disease Management; Exercise Therapy; Female; Humans; Life Style; Male; Non-Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Pediatric Obesity; Poverty; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; School Health Services; Treatment Outcome; Weight Reduction Programs
PubMed: 32722112
DOI: 10.3390/nu12082208 -
The Cochrane Database of Systematic... Nov 2016Child and adolescent obesity has increased globally, and can be associated with significant short- and long-term health consequences. (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
Child and adolescent obesity has increased globally, and can be associated with significant short- and long-term health consequences.
OBJECTIVES
To assess the efficacy of drug interventions for the treatment of obesity in children and adolescents.
SEARCH METHODS
We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed (subsets not available on Ovid), LILACS as well as the trial registers ICTRP (WHO) and ClinicalTrials.gov. Searches were undertaken from inception to March 2016. We checked references and applied no language restrictions.
SELECTION CRITERIA
We selected randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of pharmacological interventions for treating obesity (licensed and unlicensed for this indication) in children and adolescents (mean age under 18 years) with or without support of family members, with a minimum of three months' pharmacological intervention and six months' follow-up from baseline. We excluded interventions that specifically dealt with the treatment of eating disorders or type 2 diabetes, or included participants with a secondary or syndromic cause of obesity. In addition, we excluded trials which included growth hormone therapies and pregnant participants.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two review authors independently assessed trial quality and extracted data following standard Cochrane methodology. Where necessary we contacted authors for additional information.
MAIN RESULTS
We included 21 trials and identified eight ongoing trials. The included trials evaluated metformin (11 trials), sibutramine (six trials), orlistat (four trials), and one trial arm investigated the combination of metformin and fluoxetine. The ongoing trials evaluated metformin (four trials), topiramate (two trials) and exenatide (two trials). A total of 2484 people participated in the included trials, 1478 participants were randomised to drug intervention and 904 to comparator groups (91 participants took part in two cross-over trials; 11 participants not specified). Eighteen trials used a placebo in the comparator group. Two trials had a cross-over design while the remaining 19 trials were parallel RCTs. The length of the intervention period ranged from 12 weeks to 48 weeks, and the length of follow-up from baseline ranged from six months to 100 weeks.Trials generally had a low risk of bias for random sequence generation, allocation concealment and blinding (participants, personnel and assessors) for subjective and objective outcomes. We judged approximately half of the trials as having a high risk of bias in one or more domain such as selective reporting.The primary outcomes of this review were change in body mass index (BMI), change in weight and adverse events. All 21 trials measured these outcomes. The secondary outcomes were health-related quality of life (only one trial reported results showing no marked differences; very low certainty evidence), body fat distribution (measured in 18 trials), behaviour change (measured in six trials), participants' views of the intervention (not reported), morbidity associated with the intervention (measured in one orlistat trial only reporting more new gallstones following the intervention; very low certainty evidence), all-cause mortality (one suicide in the orlistat intervention group; low certainty evidence) and socioeconomic effects (not reported).Intervention versus comparator for mean difference (MD) in BMI change was -1.3 kg/m (95% confidence interval (CI) -1.9 to -0.8; P < 0.00001; 16 trials; 1884 participants; low certainty evidence). When split by drug type, sibutramine, metformin and orlistat all showed reductions in BMI in favour of the intervention.Intervention versus comparator for change in weight showed a MD of -3.9 kg (95% CI -5.9 to -1.9; P < 0.00001; 11 trials; 1180 participants; low certainty evidence). As with BMI, when the trials were split by drug type, sibutramine, metformin and orlistat all showed reductions in weight in favour of the intervention.Five trials reported serious adverse events: 24/878 (2.7%) participants in the intervention groups versus 8/469 (1.7%) participants in the comparator groups (risk ratio (RR) 1.43, 95% CI 0.63 to 3.25; 1347 participants; low certainty evidence). A total 52/1043 (5.0%) participants in the intervention groups versus 17/621 (2.7%) in the comparator groups discontinued the trial because of adverse events (RR 1.45, 95% CI 0.83 to 2.52; 10 trials; 1664 participants; low certainty evidence). The most common adverse events in orlistat and metformin trials were gastrointestinal (such as diarrhoea, mild abdominal pain or discomfort, fatty stools). The most frequent adverse events in sibutramine trials included tachycardia, constipation and hypertension. The single fluoxetine trial reported dry mouth and loose stools. No trial investigated drug treatment for overweight children.
AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
This systematic review is part of a series of associated Cochrane reviews on interventions for obese children and adolescents and has shown that pharmacological interventions (metformin, sibutramine, orlistat and fluoxetine) may have small effects in reduction in BMI and bodyweight in obese children and adolescents. However, many of these drugs are not licensed for the treatment of obesity in children and adolescents, or have been withdrawn. Trials were generally of low quality with many having a short or no post-intervention follow-up period and high dropout rates (overall dropout of 25%). Future research should focus on conducting trials with sufficient power and long-term follow-up, to ensure the long-term effects of any pharmacological intervention are comprehensively assessed. Adverse events should be reported in a more standardised manner specifying amongst other things the number of participants experiencing at least one adverse event. The requirement of regulatory authorities (US Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency) for trials of all new medications to be used in children and adolescents should drive an increase in the number of high quality trials.
Topics: Adolescent; Anti-Obesity Agents; Body Mass Index; Child; Cyclobutanes; Fluoxetine; Humans; Lactones; Metformin; Orlistat; Pediatric Obesity; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
PubMed: 27899001
DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD012436 -
Journal of Obesity 2015Parents play a critical role in developing and shaping their children's physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviours, particularly in the early years of life. The aim... (Review)
Review
Parents play a critical role in developing and shaping their children's physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviours, particularly in the early years of life. The aim of this systematic review is to identify current literature investigating associations of parental influences with both PA and screen time in young children. This systematic review was conducted in November 2013 using 6 electronic databases covering research literature from January 1998 to November 2013. Thirty articles that met inclusion criteria were identified. These studies covered five important aspects of parenting: (1) parenting practices; (2) parents' role modelling; (3) parental perceptions of children's PA and screen viewing behaviours; (4) parental self-efficacy; and (5) general parenting style. Findings suggest that parents' encouragement and support can increase children's PA, and reducing parents' own screen time can lead to decreased child screen time. Improving parenting practices, parental self-efficacy or changing parenting style may also be promising approaches to increasing PA time and decreasing screen time of young children.
Topics: Adult; Body Mass Index; Child; Child Behavior; Child, Preschool; Exercise; Female; Humans; Male; Parent-Child Relations; Parenting; Parents; Pediatric Obesity; Sedentary Behavior; Television; Time Factors; Video Games
PubMed: 25874123
DOI: 10.1155/2015/546925 -
International Journal of Environmental... Jan 2019With the dramatic growth of the Chinese economy, the number of children/adolescents with being overweight/having obesity is increasing, which has a certain impact on... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
The Prevalence of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms among Overweight/Obese and Non-Overweight/Non-Obese Children/Adolescents in China: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
With the dramatic growth of the Chinese economy, the number of children/adolescents with being overweight/having obesity is increasing, which has a certain impact on their psychology, such as depression and anxiety symptoms. Our purpose was to conduct a meta-analysis to assess the prevalence and odds ratios of depression and anxiety symptoms among overweight/obese children/adolescents and non-overweight/obese children/adolescents in China. As of July 2018, the three most comprehensive computerized academic databases in China have been systematically screened, namely China national knowledge infrastructure (CNKI) databases, Wanfang databases and Vip databases. The same operations are performed in PubMed and Web of Science (SCIE) databases without language restrictions. Case-control studies on prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms in overweight/obese children/adolescents in China were analyzed. Study selection and evaluation were performed independently by three authors. Unweighted prevalence, pooled random-effects estimates of odds ratio (OR), and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were all calculated. A total of 11 eligible studies involving 17,894 subjects were included. The prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms in overweight/obese children/adolescents was significantly higher than that in non-overweight/non-obese children/adolescents (depression: 21.73% vs. 17.96%, OR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.14, 1.87, = 0.003; anxiety: 39.80% vs. 13.99%, OR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.21, 1.79, < 0.001). Subgroup analyses conducted according to scale types showed that scale types have certain significance to evaluate the relationship between depression symptoms and overweight/obesity. The OR of depression symptoms between overweight/obese children/adolescents and non-overweight/non-obese children/adolescents was greatest on the Middle School Student Mental Health Scale (MSSMHS) was 2.06 (95% CI: 1.41, 3.02, I² = 0.00%), Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was 1.03 (95% CI: 0.84, 1.25, I² = 0.00%), and Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) was 1.21 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.42, I² = 0.00%). We concluded that the prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms in overweight/obese children/adolescents in China is higher than that in the non-overweight/obese children/adolescents. The results of the study indicate that the prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms among overweight/obese children/adolescents in Chinese medical institutions should receive more attention. Physical exercise and psychological interventions should be strengthened to prevent psychological problems. However, because of some clear limitations (no clinical interview and few studies), these results should be interpreted with caution.
Topics: Adolescent; Anxiety; Asian People; Case-Control Studies; Child; China; Depression; Depressive Disorder; Exercise; Humans; Obesity; Odds Ratio; Overweight; Pediatric Obesity; Prevalence
PubMed: 30691096
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16030340 -
The Cochrane Database of Systematic... Jun 2017Child and adolescent overweight and obesity has increased globally, and can be associated with significant short- and long-term health consequences. This is an update of... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
Child and adolescent overweight and obesity has increased globally, and can be associated with significant short- and long-term health consequences. This is an update of a Cochrane review published first in 2003, and updated previously in 2009. However, the update has now been split into six reviews addressing different childhood obesity treatments at different ages.
OBJECTIVES
To assess the effects of diet, physical activity and behavioural interventions (behaviour-changing interventions) for the treatment of overweight or obese children aged 6 to 11 years.
SEARCH METHODS
We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, LILACS as well as trial registers ClinicalTrials.gov and ICTRP Search Portal. We checked references of studies and systematic reviews. We did not apply any language restrictions. The date of the last search was July 2016 for all databases.
SELECTION CRITERIA
We selected randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of diet, physical activity, and behavioural interventions (behaviour-changing interventions) for treating overweight or obese children aged 6 to 11 years, with a minimum of six months' follow-up. We excluded interventions that specifically dealt with the treatment of eating disorders or type 2 diabetes, or included participants with a secondary or syndromic cause of obesity.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two review authors independently screened references, extracted data, assessed risk of bias, and evaluated the quality of the evidence using the GRADE instrument. We contacted study authors for additional information. We carried out meta-analyses according to the statistical guidelines in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions.
MAIN RESULTS
We included 70 RCTs with a total of 8461 participants randomised to either the intervention or control groups. The number of participants per trial ranged from 16 to 686. Fifty-five trials compared a behaviour-changing intervention with no treatment/usual care control and 15 evaluated the effectiveness of adding an additional component to a behaviour-changing intervention. Sixty-four trials were parallel RCTs, and four were cluster RCTs. Sixty-four trials were multicomponent, two were diet only and four were physical activity only interventions. Ten trials had more than two arms. The overall quality of the evidence was low or very low and 62 trials had a high risk of bias for at least one criterion. Total duration of trials ranged from six months to three years. The median age of participants was 10 years old and the median BMI z score was 2.2.Primary analyses demonstrated that behaviour-changing interventions compared to no treatment/usual care control at longest follow-up reduced BMI, BMI z score and weight. Mean difference (MD) in BMI was -0.53 kg/m (95% confidence interval (CI) -0.82 to -0.24); P < 0.00001; 24 trials; 2785 participants; low-quality evidence. MD in BMI z score was -0.06 units (95% CI -0.10 to -0.02); P = 0.001; 37 trials; 4019 participants; low-quality evidence and MD in weight was -1.45 kg (95% CI -1.88 to -1.02); P < 0.00001; 17 trials; 1774 participants; low-quality evidence.Thirty-one trials reported on serious adverse events, with 29 trials reporting zero occurrences RR 0.57 (95% CI 0.17 to 1.93); P = 0.37; 4/2105 participants in the behaviour-changing intervention groups compared with 7/1991 participants in the comparator groups). Few trials reported health-related quality of life or behaviour change outcomes, and none of the analyses demonstrated a substantial difference in these outcomes between intervention and control. In two trials reporting on minutes per day of TV viewing, a small reduction of 6.6 minutes per day (95% CI -12.88 to -0.31), P = 0.04; 2 trials; 55 participants) was found in favour of the intervention. No trials reported on all-cause mortality, morbidity or socioeconomic effects, and few trials reported on participant views; none of which could be meta-analysed.As the meta-analyses revealed substantial heterogeneity, we conducted subgroup analyses to examine the impact of type of comparator, type of intervention, risk of attrition bias, setting, duration of post-intervention follow-up period, parental involvement and baseline BMI z score. No subgroup effects were shown for any of the subgroups on any of the outcomes. Some data indicated that a reduction in BMI immediately post-intervention was no longer evident at follow-up at less than six months, which has to be investigated in further trials.
AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
Multi-component behaviour-changing interventions that incorporate diet, physical activity and behaviour change may be beneficial in achieving small, short-term reductions in BMI, BMI z score and weight in children aged 6 to 11 years. The evidence suggests a very low occurrence of adverse events. The quality of the evidence was low or very low. The heterogeneity observed across all outcomes was not explained by subgrouping. Further research is required of behaviour-changing interventions in lower income countries and in children from different ethnic groups; also on the impact of behaviour-changing interventions on health-related quality of life and comorbidities. The sustainability of reduction in BMI/BMI z score and weight is a key consideration and there is a need for longer-term follow-up and further research on the most appropriate forms of post-intervention maintenance in order to ensure intervention benefits are sustained over the longer term.
Topics: Behavior Therapy; Body Mass Index; Child; Combined Modality Therapy; Exercise; Humans; Overweight; Pediatric Obesity; Quality of Life; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
PubMed: 28639319
DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD012651 -
Genes Jun 2021Obesity is a chronic disease, which needs to be early detected early and treated in order prevent its complications. Changes in telomere length (TL) have been associated...
Obesity is a chronic disease, which needs to be early detected early and treated in order prevent its complications. Changes in telomere length (TL) have been associated with obesity and its complications, such as diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review to summarize results of studies that have measured TL in children and adolescents with obesity. Fourteen studies aiming to assess TL in pediatric patients with either obesity or who were overweight were included in this review. In conclusion, obesity and adiposity parameters are negatively associated with TL. Shorter telomeres are observed in children with obesity compared with their lean counterparts. Factors involved in obesity etiology, such as diet and physical activity, may contribute to maintenance of TL integrity. In the long term, TL change could be used as a biomarker to predict response to obesity treatment.
Topics: Adolescent; Child; Humans; Pediatric Obesity; Telomere Homeostasis
PubMed: 34205609
DOI: 10.3390/genes12060946