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AimTo examine individual variability between perceived physical features and hormones of pubertal maturation in 9–10-year-old children as a function of sociodemographic characteristics.MethodsCross-sectional metrics of puberty were utilized from the baseline assessment of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study—a multi-site sample of 9–10 year-olds (n = 11,875)—and included perceived physical features via the pubertal development scale (PDS) and child salivary hormone levels (dehydroepiandrosterone and testosterone in all, and estradiol in females). Multi-level models examined the relationships among sociodemographic measures, physical features, and hormone levels. A group factor analysis (GFA) was implemented to extract latent variables of pubertal maturation that integrated both measures of perceived physical features and hormone levels.ResultsPDS summary scores indicated more males (70%) than females (31%) were prepubertal. Perceived physical features and hormone levels were significantly associated with child’s weight status and income, such that more mature scores were observed among children that were overweight/obese or from households with low-income. Results from the GFA identified two latent factors that described individual differences in pubertal maturation among both females and males, with factor 1 driven by higher hormone levels, and factor 2 driven by perceived physical maturation. The correspondence between latent factor 1 scores (hormones) and latent factor 2 scores (perceived physical maturation) revealed synchronous and asynchronous relationships between hormones and concomitant physical features in this large young adolescent sample.ConclusionsSociodemographic measures were associated with both objective hormone and self-report physical measures of pubertal maturation in a large, diverse sample of 9–10 year-olds. The latent variables of pubertal maturation described a complex interplay between perceived physical changes and hormone levels that hallmark sexual maturation, which future studies can examine in relation to trajectories of brain maturation, risk/resilience to substance use, and other mental health outcomes.

Objectives Veterans with serious mental illness are at increased risk of obesity, sedentary lifestyle, and a host of related chronic diseases. Although evidence suggests that lifestyle interventions can help mental health consumers achieve modest weight loss, several studies have failed to show a benefit and most have concluded that significant challenges remain in delivering effective interventions. In 2006, the Veterans Health Administration introduced MOVE!, a weight management program that includes behaviorally based dietary and physical activity self-management support. This article describes modifications used to manualize MOVE! for veterans with serious mental illness and reports findings from a randomized controlled trial of the new intervention. Methods Between January 2007 and June 2009, overweight or obese veterans with serious mental illness were randomly assigned to a six-month trial of MOVE! (N=53), which includes both individual and group sessions, or to a control condition that offered basic information about diet and exercise every month (N=56). Weight and metabolic, attitudinal, behavioral, and functional variables were measured at baseline and six months, and weight was also measured monthly. Results Thirty participants in MOVE! and 41 participants in the control group completed the six-month assessment, and only seven lost 5% of their baseline weight; there was no effect of group assignment on weight loss. There were no significant group × time differences in any metabolic, dietary, physical activity, attitudinal, or functional measure. Conclusions Despite the negative findings of this study, research is crucial to identify lifestyle interventions and related supports and services to help veterans with mental illness reduce overweight and obesity.

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Objective: The obesity prevalence is growing worldwide and largely responsible for cardiovascular disease, the most common cause of death in the western world. The rationale of this study was to distinguish metabolically healthy from unhealthy overweight/obese young and adult patients as compared to healthy normal weight age matched controls by an extensive anthropometric, laboratory, and sonographic vascular assessment. Design and Methods: Three hundred fifty five young [8 to < 18 years, 299 overweight/obese(ow/ob), 56 normal weight (nw)] and 354 adult [>18‐60 years, 175 (ow/ob), 179 nw)] participants of the STYJOBS/EDECTA (STYrian Juvenile Obesity Study/Early DEteCTion of Atherosclerosis) cohort were analyzed. STYJOBS/EDECTA (NCT00482924) is a crossectional study to investigate metabolic/cardiovascular risk profiles in normal and ow/ob people free of disease except metabolic syndrome (MetS). Results: From 299 young ow/ob subjects (8‐< 18 years), 108 (36%), and from 175 adult ow/ob subjects (>18‐60 years), 79 (45%) had positive criteria for MetS. In both age groups, prevalence of MetS was greater among males. Overweight/obese subjects were divided into “healthy” (no MetS criterion except anthropometry fulfilled) and “unhealthy” (MetS positive). Although percentage body fat did not differ between “healthy” and “unhealthy” ow/ob, nuchal and visceral fat were significantly greater in the “unhealthy” group which had also significantly higher values of carotid intima media thickness (IMT). With MetS as the dependent variable, two logistic regressions including juveniles <18 years or adults >18 years were performed. The potential predictor variables selected with the exception of age and gender by t test comparisons included IMT, ultrasensitive c‐reactive protein (US‐CRP), IL‐6, malondialdehyde (MDA), oxidized LDL, leptin, adiponectin, uric acid (UA), aldosterone, cortisol, transaminases, fibrinogen. In both groups, uric acid and in adults only, leptin and adiponectin, turned out as the best predictor. Conclusion: Serum levels of UA are a significant predictor of unhealthy obesity in juveniles and adults.