To revise 1998 recommendations on childhood obesity, an Expert Committee, comprised of representatives from 15 professional organizations, appointed experienced scientists and clinicians to 3 writing groups to review the literature and recommend approaches to prevention, assessment, and treatment. Because effective strategies remain poorly defined, the writing groups used both available evidence and expert opinion to develop the recommendations. Primary care providers should universally assess children for obesity risk to improve early identification of elevated BMI, medical risks, and unhealthy eating and physical activity habits. Providers can provide obesity prevention messages for most children and suggest weight control interventions for those with excess weight. The writing groups also recommend changing office systems so that they support efforts to address the problem. BMI should be calculated and plotted at least annually, and the classification should be integrated with other information such as growth pattern, familial obesity, and medical risks to assess the child’s obesity risk. For prevention, the recommendations include both specific eating and physical activity behaviors, which are likely to promote maintenance of healthy weight, but also the use of patient-centered counseling techniques such as motivational interviewing, which helps families identify their own motivation for making change. For assessment, the recommendations include methods to screen for current medical conditions and for future risks, and methods to assess diet and physical activity behaviors. For treatment, the recommendations propose 4 stages of obesity care; the first is brief counseling that can be delivered in a health care office, and subsequent stages require more time and resources. The appropriateness of higher stages is influenced by a patient’s age and degree of excess weight. These recommendations recognize the importance of social and environmental change to reduce the obesity epidemic but also identify ways healthcare providers and health care systems can be part of broader efforts.

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Expert Committee Recommendations Regarding the Prevention, Assessment, and Treatment of Child and Adolescent Overweight and Obesity: Summary Report

This document details the procedures and recommendations of the Goals and Metrics Committee of the Strategic Planning Task Force of the American Heart Association, which developed the 2020 Impact Goals for the organization. The committee was charged with defining a new concept, cardiovascular health, and determining the metrics needed to monitor it over time. Ideal cardiovascular health, a concept well supported in the literature, is defined by the presence of both ideal health behaviors (nonsmoking, body mass index 25 kg/m 2 , physical activity at goal levels, and pursuit of a diet consistent with current guideline recommendations) and ideal health factors (untreated total cholesterol 200 mg/dL, untreated blood pressure 120/80 mm Hg, and fasting blood glucose 100 mg/dL). Appropriate levels for children are also provided. With the use of levels that span the entire range of the same metrics, cardiovascular health status for the whole population is defined as poor, intermediate, or ideal. These metrics will be monitored to determine the changing prevalence of cardiovascular health status and define achievement of the Impact Goal. In addition, the committee recommends goals for further reductions in cardiovascular disease and stroke mortality. Thus, the committee recommends the following Impact Goals: "By 2020, to improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20% while reducing deaths from cardiovascular diseases and stroke by 20%." These goals will require new strategic directions for the American Heart Association in its research, clinical, public health, and advocacy programs for cardiovascular health promotion and disease prevention in the next decade and beyond. (Circulation. 2010;121:586-613.)

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Defining and Setting National Goals for Cardiovascular Health Promotion and Disease Reduction The American Heart Association’s Strategic Impact Goal Through 2020 and Beyond

background The prevalence and magnitude of childhood obesity are increasing dramatically. We examined the effect of varying degrees of obesity on the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its relation to insulin resistance and to C-reactive protein and adiponectin levels in a large, multiethnic, multiracial cohort of children and adolescents. methods We administered a standard glucose-tolerance test to 439 obese, 31 overweight, and 20 nonobese children and adolescents. Baseline measurements included blood pressure and plasma lipid, C-reactive protein, and adiponectin levels. Levels of triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and blood pressure were adjusted for age and sex. Because the body-mass index varies according to age, we standardized the value for age and sex with the use of conversion to a z score. results The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome increased with the severity of obesity and reached 50 percent in severely obese youngsters. Each half-unit increase in the bodymass index, converted to a z score, was associated with an increase in the risk of the metabolic syndrome among overweight and obese subjects (odds ratio, 1.55; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.16 to 2.08), as was each unit of increase in insulin resistance as assessed with the homeostatic model (odds ratio, 1.12; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.07 to 1.18 for each additional unit of insulin resistance). The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome increased significantly with increasing insulin resistance (P for trend, <0.001) after adjustment for race or ethnic group and the degree of obesity. C-reactive protein levels increased and adiponectin levels decreased with increasing obesity. conclusions The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome is high among obese children and adolescents, and it increases with worsening obesity. Biomarkers of an increased risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes are already present in these youngsters.

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Obesity and the metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents.

Background In adults the metabolic syndrome imposes a substantial risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus and premature coronary heart disease. Even so, no national estimate is currently available of the prevalence of this syndrome in adolescents. Objective To estimate the prevalence and distribution of a metabolic syndrome among adolescents in the United States. Design and Setting Analyses of cross-sectional data obtained from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-1994), which was administered to a representative sample of the noninstitutionalized civilian population of the United States. Participants Male and female respondents aged 12 to 19 years (n = 2430). Main Outcome Measures The prevalence and distribution of a metabolic syndrome among US adolescents, using the National Cholesterol Education Program (Adult Treatment Panel III) definition modified for age. Results The overall prevalence of the metabolic syndrome among adolescents aged 12 to 19 years was 4.2%; 6.1% of males and 2.1% of females were affected ( P = .01). The syndrome was present in 28.7% of overweight adolescents (body mass index [BMI], ≥95th percentile) compared with 6.8% of at-risk adolescents (BMI, 85th to P Conclusions Perhaps 4% of adolescents and nearly 30% of overweight adolescents in the United States meet these criteria for a metabolic syndrome, a constellation of metabolic derangements associated with obesity. These findings may have significant implications for both public health and clinical interventions directed at this high-risk group of mostly overweight young people.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/articlepdf/481403/poa30126_821_827.pdf

Prevalence of a metabolic syndrome phenotype in adolescents: findings from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988-1994.

Objective. Childhood obesity has contributed to an increased incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome (MS) among children. Intrauterine exposure to diabetes and size at birth are risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus, but their association with MS in childhood has not been demonstrated. We examined the development of MS among large-for-gestational-age (LGA) and appropriate-for-gestational age (AGA) children. Study Design. The major components of MS (obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and glucose intolerance) were evaluated in a longitudinal cohort study of children at age 6, 7, 9, and 11 years who were LGA ( n = 84) or AGA ( n = 95) offspring of mothers with or without gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The cohort consisted of 4 groups, ie, LGA offspring of control mothers, LGA offspring of mothers with GDM, AGA offspring of control mothers, and AGA offspring of mothers with GDM. Biometric and anthropometric measurements were obtained at 6, 7, 9, and 11 years. Biochemical testing included measurements of postprandial glucose and insulin levels and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels at 6 and 7 years and of fasting glucose, insulin, triglyceride, and HDL cholesterol levels at 9 and 11 years. We defined the components of MS as (1) obesity (BMI >85th percentile for age), (2) diastolic or systolic blood pressure >95th percentile for age, (3) postprandial glucose level >140 mg/dL or fasting glucose level >110 mg/dL, (4) triglyceride level >95th percentile for age, and (5) HDL level Results. There were no differences in baseline characteristics (gender, race, socioeconomic status, and maternal weight gain during pregnancy) for the 4 groups except for birth weight, but there was a trend toward a higher prevalence of maternal obesity before pregnancy in the LGA/GDM group. Obesity (BMI >85th percentile) at 11 years was present in 25% to 35% of the children, but rates were not different between LGA and AGA offspring. There was a trend toward a higher incidence of insulin resistance, defined as a fasting glucose/insulin ratio of Conclusions. We showed that LGA offspring of diabetic mothers were at significant risk of developing MS in childhood. The prevalence of MS in the other groups was similar to the prevalence (4.8%) among white adolescents in the 1988–1994 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. This effect of LGA with maternal GDM on childhood MS was previously demonstrated for Pima Indian children but not the general population. We also found that children exposed to maternal obesity were at increased risk of developing MS, which suggests that obese mothers who do not fulfill the clinical criteria for GDM may still have metabolic factors that affect fetal growth and postnatal outcomes. Children who are LGA at birth and exposed to an intrauterine environment of either diabetes or maternal obesity are at increased risk of developing MS. Given the increased obesity prevalence, these findings have implications for perpetuating the cycle of obesity, insulin resistance, and their consequences in subsequent generations.

R. Clark

Papers

Report of the expert panel on blood cholesterol levels in children and adolescents