Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC), a WHO collaborative cross-national study, has provided information about the health, well-being, social environment and health behaviour of 11-, 13and 15-year-old boys and girls for over 30 years. This latest international report from the study presents findings from the 2013/2014 survey, which collected data from almost 220 000 young people in 42 countries in Europe and North America. The data focus on social context (relations with family, peers and school), health outcomes (subjective health, injuries, obesity and mental health), health behaviours (patterns of eating, toothbrushing and physical activity) and risk behaviours (use of tobacco, alcohol and cannabis, sexual behaviour, fighting and bullying) relevant to young people’s health and well-being. New items on family and peer support, migration, cyberbullying and serious injuries are also reflected in the report.

Growing up unequal: gender and socioeconomic differences in young people's health and well-being.

Type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus is a serious and lifelong condition commonly characterised by abnormally elevated blood glucose levels due to a failure in insulin production or a decrease in insulin sensitivity and function. Over the years, prevalence of diabetes has increased globally and it is classified as one of the leading cause of high mortality and morbidity rate. Furthermore, diabetes confers a huge economic burden due to its management costs as well as its complications are skyrocketing. The conventional medications in diabetes treatment focusing on insulin secretion and insulin sensitisation cause unwanted side effects to patients and lead to incompliance as well as treatment failure. Besides insulin and oral hypoglycaemic agents, other treatments such as gene therapy and induced β-cells regeneration have not been widely introduced to manage diabetes. Therefore, this review aims to deliver an overview of the current conventional medications in diabetes, discovery of newer pharmacological drugs and gene therapy as a potential intervention of diabetes in the future.

Type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus: A review on current treatment approach and gene therapy as potential intervention.

Excessive consumption of diets high in sugars and saturated fat, frequently known as western diet (WD), may lead to obesity and metabolic syndrome. Recent evidence shows that WD-induced obesity impairs cardiac function, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), a gut microbiota-dependent metabolite of specific dietary nutrients, has emerged as a key contributor to cardiovascular disease pathogenesis. We tested the hypothesis that elevated circulating TMAO levels contribute to cardiac dysfunction in WD-induced obesity. CD1 mice were fed a normal diet (ND) or a WD, without or with 1.0 % 3,3-Dimethyl-1-butanol (DMB, an inhibitor of trimethylamine formation) in drinking water for 8 weeks. Compared with mice fed a ND, mice fed a WD showed a significant increase in body weight and dyslipidemia, and had markedly higher plasma TMAO levels at the end of the feeding protocol. Echocardiography revealed that cardiac systolic and diastolic function was impaired in mice fed a WD. DMB treatment had no effects on body weight and dyslipidemia, but significantly reduced plasma TMAO levels and prevented cardiac dysfunction in mice fed a WD. In addition, mice fed a WD had elevated expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin IL-1β, decreased expression of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, and increased interstitial fibrosis in the hearts, all of which were prevented by DMB treatment. Notably, DMB treatment also reduced plasma TMAO levels in mice fed a ND but did not alter other parameters. These results suggest that consumption of a WD increases circulating TMAO levels, which lead to cardiac inflammation and fibrosis, contributing to cardiac dysfunction. Interventions that reduce circulating TMAO levels may be a novel therapeutic strategy for prevention and treatment of WD-induced cardiac dysfunction.

Gut Microbiota-Dependent Metabolite Trimethylamine N-Oxide Contributes to Cardiac Dysfunction in Western Diet-Induced Obese Mice.

Childhood and adolescent obesity have reached epidemic levels in the United States. Currently, about 17% of US children are presenting with obesity. Obesity can affect all aspects of the children including their psychological as well as cardiovascular health; also, their overall physical health is affected. The association between obesity and other conditions makes it a public health concern for children and adolescents. Due to the increase in the prevalence of obesity among children, a variety of research studies have been conducted to discover what associations and risk factors increase the probability that a child will present with obesity. While a complete picture of all the risk factors associated with obesity remains elusive, the combination of diet, exercise, physiological factors, and psychological factors is important in the control and prevention of childhood obesity; thus, all researchers agree that prevention is the key strategy for controlling the current problem. Primary prevention methods are aimed at educating the child and family, as well as encouraging appropriate diet and exercise from a young age through adulthood, while secondary prevention is targeted at lessening the effect of childhood obesity to prevent the child from continuing the unhealthy habits and obesity into adulthood. A combination of both primary and secondary prevention is necessary to achieve the best results. This review article highlights the health implications including physiological and psychological factors comorbidities, as well as the epidemiology, risk factors, prevention, and control of childhood and adolescent obesity in the United States.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2333794X19891305

Childhood and Adolescent Obesity in the United States: A Public Health Concern:

Schools can help to improve children’s health. The ‘Healthy Primary School of the Future’ (HPSF) aims to sustainably integrate health and well-being into the school system. This study examined the effects of HPSF on children’s dietary and physical activity (PA) behaviours after 1 and 2 years’ follow-up. The study (n = 1676 children) has a quasi-experimental design with four intervention schools, i.e., two full HPSF (focus: nutrition and PA) and two partial HPSF (focus: PA), and four control schools. Accelerometers and child- and parent-reported questionnaires were used at baseline, after 1 (T1) and 2 (T2) years. Mixed-model analyses showed significant favourable effects for the full HPSF versus control schools for, among others, school water consumption (effect size (ES) = 1.03 (T1), 1.14 (T2)), lunch intake of vegetables (odds ratio (OR) = 3.17 (T1), 4.39 (T2)) and dairy products (OR = 4.43 (T1), 4.52 (T2)), sedentary time (ES = −0.23 (T2)) and light PA (ES = 0.22 (T2)). Almost no significant favourable effects were found for partial HPSF compared to control schools. We conclude that the full HPSF is effective in promoting children’s health behaviours at T1 and T2 compared with control schools. Focusing on both nutrition and PA components seems to be more effective in promoting healthy behaviours than focusing exclusively on PA.

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/3/689/pdf

One- and Two-Year Effects of the Healthy Primary School of the Future on Children’s Dietary and Physical Activity Behaviours: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Childhood obesity has reached epidemic levels in developed as well as in developing countries. Overweight and obesity in childhood are known to have significant impact on both physical and psychological health. Overweight and obese children are likely to stay obese into adulthood and more likely to develop non-communicable diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular diseases at a younger age. The mechanism of obesity development is not fully understood and it is believed to be a disorder with multiple causes. Environmental factors, lifestyle preferences, and cultural environment play pivotal roles in the rising prevalence of obesity worldwide. In general, overweight and obesity are assumed to be the results of an increase in caloric and fat intake. On the other hand, there are supporting evidence that excessive sugar intake by soft drink, increased portion size, and steady decline in physical activity have been playing major roles in the rising rates of obesity all around the world. Childhood obesity can profoundly affect children's physical health, social, and emotional well-being, and self esteem. It is also associated with poor academic performance and a lower quality of life experienced by the child. Many co-morbid conditions like metabolic, cardiovascular, orthopedic, neurological, hepatic, pulmonary, and renal disorders are also seen in association with childhood obesity.

Krushnapriya Sahoo

Papers

Childhood obesity: causes and consequences