Guidelines and Expert Consensus Documents summarize and evaluate all currently available evidence on a particular issue with the aim to assist physicians in selecting the best management strategies for a typical patient, suffering from a given condition, taking into account the impact on outcome, as well as the risk–benefit ratio of particular diagnostic or therapeutic means. Guidelines are not substitutes for textbooks. The legal implications of medical guidelines have been discussed previously.

A great number of Guidelines and Expert Consensus Documents have been issued in recent years by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) as well as by other societies and organizations. Because of the impact on clinical practice, quality criteria for development of guidelines have been established in order to make all decisions transparent to the user. The recommendations for formulating and issuing ESC Guidelines and Expert Consensus Documents can be found on the ESC web site (http://www.escardio.org/knowledge/guidelines/rules).

In brief, experts in the field are selected and undertake a comprehensive review of the published evidence for management and/or prevention of a given condition. A critical evaluation of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures is performed, including assessment of the risk–benefit ratio. Estimates of expected health outcomes for larger societies are included, where data exist. The level of evidence and the strength of recommendation of particular treatment options are weighed and graded according to predefined scales, as outlined in the tables below.

The experts of the writing panels have provided disclosure statements of all relationships they may have which might be perceived as real or potential sources of conflicts of interest. These disclosure forms are kept on file at the European Heart House, headquarters of the ESC. Any changes in conflict of interest that arise during the writing period must be notified to the ESC. The Task Force report was entirely …

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European guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice (version 2012) : the fifth joint task force of the European society of cardiology and other societies on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice (constituted by representatives of nine societies and by invited experts).

https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(12)60735-1.pdf

Correlates of physical activity: why are some people physically active and others not?

Overweight and obesity in youth are important public health concerns and are of particular interest because of possible long-term associations with adult weight status and morbidity. The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature and update evidence concerning persistence of childhood overweight. A computerized bibliographical search--restricted to studies with a prospective or retrospective longitudinal design--was conducted. Two authors independently extracted data and assessed the methodological quality of the included studies in four dimensions (i) study population and participation rate; (ii) study attrition; (iii) data collection and (iv) data analysis. Conclusions were based on a rating system of three levels of evidence. A total of 25 publications were selected for inclusion in this review. According to a methodological quality assessment, 13 studies were considered to be of high quality. The majority of these high-quality studies were published after 2001, indicating that recently published data, in particular, provide us with reliable information. All included studies consistently report an increased risk of overweight and obese youth becoming overweight adults, suggesting that the likelihood of persistence of overweight into adulthood is moderate for overweight and obese youth. However, predictive values varied considerably. Limiting aspects with respect to generalizability and methodological issues are discussed.

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Tracking of childhood overweight into adulthood: a systematic review of the literature

The "fetal" or "early" origins of adult disease hypothesis was originally put forward by David Barker and colleagues and stated that environmental factors, particularly nutrition, act in early life to program the risks for adverse health outcomes in adult life. This hypothesis has been supported by a worldwide series of epidemiological studies that have provided evidence for the association between the perturbation of the early nutritional environment and the major risk factors (hypertension, insulin resistance, and obesity) for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and the metabolic syndrome in adult life. It is also clear from experimental studies that a range of molecular, cellular, metabolic, neuroendocrine, and physiological adaptations to changes in the early nutritional environment result in a permanent alteration of the developmental pattern of cellular proliferation and differentiation in key tissue and organ systems that result in pathological consequences in adult life. This review focuses on those experimental studies that have investigated the critical windows during which perturbations of the intrauterine environment have major effects, the nature of the epigenetic, structural, and functional adaptive responses which result in a permanent programming of cardiovascular and metabolic function, and the role of the interaction between the pre- and postnatal environment in determining final health outcomes.

https://www.physiology.org/doi/pdf/10.1152/physrev.00053.2003

Developmental Origins of the Metabolic Syndrome: Prediction, Plasticity, and Programming

Purpose: The range of variability between individuals of the same chronological age (CA) in somatic and biological maturity is large and especially accentuated around the adolescent growth spurt. Maturity assessment is an important consideration when dealing with adolescents, from both a research perspective and youth sports stratification. A noninvasive, practical method predicting years from peak height velocity (a maturity offset value) by using anthropometric variables is developed in one sample and cross-validated in two different samples. Methods: Gender specific multiple regression equations were calculated on a sample of 152 Canadian children aged 8-16 yr (79 boys; 73 girls) who were followed through adolescence from 1991 to 1997, The equations included three somatic dimensions (height, sitting height, and leg length), CA, and their interactions. The equations were cross-validated on a Combined sample of Canadian (71 boys, 40 girls measured from 1964 through 1973) and Flemish children (50 boys, 48 girls measured from 1985 through 1999). Results: The coefficient of determination (R2) for the boys' model was 0.92 and for the girls' model 0.91 the SEEs were 0.49 and 0.50, respectively, Mean difference between actual and predicted maturity offset for the verification samples was 0.24 (SD 0.65) yr in boys and 0,001 (SD 0.68) yr in girls. Conclusion: Although the cross-validation meets statistical standards or acceptance, caution 1, warranted with regard to implementation. It is recommended that maturity offset be considered as a categorical rather than a continuous assessment. Nevertheless, the equations presented are a reliable, noninvasive and a practical solution for the measure of biological maturity for matching adolescent athletes.

An assessment of maturity from anthropometric measurements.

For those who perform artistic (‘Olympic’) gymnastics on a top level, body mass and especially body composition are important determining morphological characteristics1. Besides the optimal body weight, the knowledge of % body fat and the amount of lean body mass are of real value for both the athlete and the coach. For use in the field anthropometric prediction equations estimating body composition are preferable to laboratory techniques for practical reasons. However, there are an overwhelming number of anthropometric prediction equations available in the literature. Because of the ‘population specificity’ of top female gymnasts, the aim of the study was to compare some ‘well-known’ anthropometric prediction formulae in estimating body composition characteristics in world top female gymnasts.

A comparison of different prediction equations in determining body composition of outstanding female gymnasts.

Midlife muscle function is associated with disability and premature mortality later in life. Biological maturity is associated with muscle function during growth; however, it is unknown whether biological maturity during adolescence is associated with muscle mass and function in middle-aged healthy men.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate if late maturation during adolescence is associated with better muscle function in middle-aged men.

Methods: One hundred and thirty-three middle-aged men 45 to 49 yr were included. During adolescence, height was measured at annual intervals, and age at peak height velocity was derived from the individual growth curves and was used to classify participants into early-, average-, and late-maturing groups. Outcome measurements and tests included lean body mass (dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry), muscle-bone areas, isometric strength, and muscle power. Stature, body mass, cardiorespiratory fitness (V[spacing dot above]O2peak), and physical activity level were included as confounding characteristics.

Results: Contrasting maturity groups did not differ in the confounding characteristics (size, mass, aerobic power, and physical activity). Furthermore, no differences were observed for lean mass and muscle-bone areas. Late-maturing adults had greater strength and power, and average differences were between 0.7 and 0.9 SD units (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: Late maturation during adolescence is associated with better muscle function at middle age.

Timing of adolescent somatic maturity and midlife muscle function: a 34-yr follow-up.

Genetic Variation in Physical Performance~!2009-07-05~!2009-11-01~!2010-05-03~!

Modeling stability of somatotype: a study in boys and girls from the autonomous region of Madeira (Portugal)

Este estudo teve os seguintes objetivos: (1) apresentar procedimentos metodologicos utilizados na estimacao da idade ossea; (2) descrever o metodo Tanner-Whitehouse (TW3), e (3) destacar os resultados da reprodutibilidade deste metodo em criancas e jovens. A metodologia adotada na preparacao do processo de aprendizagem e reprodutibilidade do metodo TW3 foi estruturada em tres fases, tendo sido realizadas em duas Instituicoes de ensino (Portugal e Belgica), sob a orientacao e supervisao de avaliadores experientes. Apos varias etapas de treinamento, os resultados alcancados na avaliacao inter e intraobservador situaram-se entre 81,3 e 87,9%. Os resultados finais do estudo possibilitaram comprovar a eficacia de um rigoroso processo de treino, como elemento essencial na preparacao previa do avaliador, para a utilizacao da avaliacao da maturacao esqueletica com base no metodo TW3.

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Gaston Beunen

Papers

A comparison of different prediction equations in determining body composition of outstanding female gymnasts.

Timing of adolescent somatic maturity and midlife muscle function: a 34-yr follow-up.

Genetic Variation in Physical Performance~!2009-07-05~!2009-11-01~!2010-05-03~!

Modeling stability of somatotype: a study in boys and girls from the autonomous region of Madeira (Portugal)

Maturação biológica: da sua relevância à aprendizagem do método TW3