WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT:The prevalence of overweight and obesity in US adolescents has increased over the last century. However, recent evidence indicates a potential change in this trend. Parallel trends in adolescent behaviors that drive this epidemic have not been well studied. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS:Analyses of recent data indicate the prevalence of overweight and obesity may be stabilizing. Over the same period, adolescent physical activity, breakfast eating, and fruit and vegetable consumption increased and television viewing and consumption of sweets and sweetened beverages decreased. abstract OBJECTIVE: The high prevalence of adolescent obesity in the United States has been attributed to population changes in physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviors, and dietary behaviors. This study examines 8-year trends in these behaviors in US adolescents ages 11 to 16. METHODS:Nationally representative samples of US students in grades 6 to 10 were recruited during the 2001-2002 (N = 14 607), 2005-2006 (N = 9150), and 2009-2010 (N = 10 848) school years by using multistage stratified designs, with census regions and grades as strata, and school districts as the primary sampling units. African-American and Hispanic students were oversampled to obtain better estimates for those groups. Using the Health Behavior in School-aged Children quadrennial surveys, identical questions assessed BMI, PA, and sedentary and dietary behaviors at each school year. Logistic and linear regression analyses were conducted taking into account the sampling design and controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, and family affluence. RESULTS:Across the quadrennial surveys, significant increases were identified in number of days with at least 60 minutes of PA, daily consumption of fruits and vegetables, eating breakfast on weekdays and weekends, and BMI. Television viewing and consumption of sweets and sweetened beverages decreased across this same period. These same patterns were seen in all racial/ethnic groups.CONCLUSIONS: These patterns suggest that public health efforts to improve the obesity-related behaviors of US adolescents may be having some success. However, alternative explanations for the increase in BMI over the same period need to be considered. Dr Iannotti conceptualized and designed the study, coordinated and supervised data collection, contributed to the analysis, and drafted the initial manuscript; Dr Wang contributed to the conceptualization of the manuscript, carried out the initial analyses, and reviewed and revised the manuscript; and all authors approved the final manuscript as submitted.www.pediatrics.org/cgi

To examine the associations between body weight and physical, verbal, relational and cyber victimization among U.S. boys and girls in grade 6 through 10. Underweight boys and girls were more likely to be physical and relational victims respectively. Overweight boys and obese girls were more likely to be verbal victims. Keywords victimization; body weight; gender difference; youthBullying is an aggressive behavior involving an imbalance of power between the bully and victim [1]. It may take various forms, such as physical (e.g., hitting), verbal (e.g., calling mean names), social or relational (e.g., social exclusion and spreading rumors), or a relatively new form -cyber bullying (e.g., bullying through computers or cell phones) [2,3].When asked why teens are bullied in a recent study, the most common response of the adolescents was a different appearance of a victim [4]. For instance, overweight and obese adolescents are at higher risk to be bullied at school [5]. However, few studies have examined the association between underweight status and victimization, and mixed results were found. For example, one study suggested that underweight boys are more likely to be victims of physical bullying as they are physically weak [6]. Yet other studies showed no difference between underweight and normal youth [7] or less likelihood for underweight boys to be bullied [8]. In addition, potential gender difference in this relationship is unclear.This study examined the associations between body weight and four types of victimization (physical, verbal, relational and cyber) and evaluated potential gender differences. Methods Sample and ProcedureData were obtained from the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) 2005/2006 U.S. study [9]. In-school surveys were completed by a nationally representative sample of students in grades 6 to 10 identified through a multistage survey design. Youth assent and Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. NIH Public Access MeasuresSocio-Demographic variables-Demographic variables included gender, age, and race/ ethnicity (Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, and others).Victimization-The revised Olweus' bully/victim instrument [1] was used to measure experience with physical (1 item, i.e., "hitting, pushing, …"), verbal (3 items, e.g., "calling mean names in a hurtful way"), and relational (2 items, i.e., being left out of things and being spread rumors by others) victimization. Two additional items were used to measure cyber victimization (i.e, using computers or using cell phones). The description of these eight items and the...

BackgroundObesity increases the risk of many diseases. However, there has been little literature about the epidemiology of obesity classified by body mass index (BMI) or waist (abdominal obesity) among urban Chinese adults. This study is to fill the gap by assessing the prevalence of obesity and associated risk factors among urban Chinese adults.MethodsA representative sample of 25,196 urban adults aged 18 to 74 years in Northeast China was selected and measurements of height, weight and waist circumference (WC) were taken from 2009–2010. Definitions of overweight and obesity by the World Health Organization (WHO) were used.ResultsThe overall prevalence rates of general obesity and overweight classified by BMI were 15.0% (15.7% for men and 14.3% for women, p<0.01) and 19.2% (20.8% for men and 17.7% for women, p<0.01), respectively, and the overall prevalence rate of abdominal obesity was 37.6% (31.1% for men and women 43.9% for women, p<0.01). Multivariable logistic regression showed that the elderly and those who had a history of parental obesity, alcohol drinking, or former cigarette smoking were at high risk of obesity classified by BMI or WC, whereas those with a higher level of education, higher family income, or a healthy and balanced diet were at low risk of obesity. Analysis stratified by gender showed that men with a higher level education level, a white-collar job, a cadre job, or higher family income were the high risk group, and women with a higher level of education or higher family income were the low risk group.ConclusionsObesity and overweight have become epidemic in urban populations in China; associations of risk factors with obesity differ between men and women.

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