Prevention of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in Children

Abstract

In recent decades, the prevalence of overweight and obesity has become increasingly common such that it is now the major nutritional problem worldwide. Obesity occurs when dietary energy intake exceeds energy expenditure and has arisen in many societies due to an increasingly “obesogenic” environment in which physical activity has declined and yet children continue to be exposed to unhealthy, energy-dense diets. Additional risks for the development of obesity also include psychological issues and genetic factors. Obesity has many adverse health consequences including development of insulin resistance, Type 2 diabetes, and the metabolic syndrome. There are also important genetic influences on the likelihood of developing insulin resistance. Given the limited success of therapeutic interventions to treat obesity and the metabolic syndrome, there has been an increased interest in preventative strategies. These are likely to be most successful when targeting the young and will require a combination of approaches which will need inter-disciplinary collaborations across health and local government to target families, schools, and local environments to facilitate behavior changes which influence young people's eating behaviors and habitual levels of physical activity.

Inflammation in Obesity-Related Complications in Children: The Protective Effect of Diet and Its Potential Role as a Therapeutic Agent

“…Poor nutrition can profoundly affect children's physical health, as well as their emotional and social life, contributing to atherosclerosis, obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and psychological distress [99]. Dietary attitudes and lifestyle choices, including fast eating [100] and irregular feeding with multiple meals [101], have been shown to exert potentially harmful influences on health, increasing, among other things, the onset of eating disorders [102,103].…”

<p>Converging Relationships of Obesity and Hyperuricemia with Special Reference to Metabolic Disorders and Plausible Therapeutic Implications</p>

“…Currently, obesogenic factors, for instance, palatable energy-condensed food, convenient transportation, attracting entertainment TV shows at home, are widespread in the modern society. 1,2 These changes in lifestyle have been shown to result in disarrangement in metabolism, for example, morbid obesity and gout. 3 In 2014, the age-standardized worldwide prevalence of obesity (defined as a BMI ≥30 kg/m2) was 10.8% and 15.0% and the prevalence of overweight (BMI between 25 and 30 kg/m2) was 24.4% and 27.9% in men and women, respectively.…”

Tempo de prática de atividade física de intensidade moderada a vigorosa e marcadores de síndrome metabólica em adolescentes

“…As prevalências dos fatores da SM variaram de 31,3% para o HDL-C a 4,6% para triglicérides 4 . O uso de escores de SM, recorrendo a estratégias como o cálculo da mé-dia dos desvios padronizados, tem sido adotado para a população pediátrica 8,15 , pois possibilita o acompanhamento da SM como variável contínua, fornecendo um parâmetro de risco escalonado. Este procedimento viabiliza a análise de potenciais estratégias de intervenção antes da síndrome se instalar.…”