Increasing Prevalence Of Overweight Research Articles

Prevalence of overweight among Tunisian adolescents: Trend analysis 1996-2016

Abstract Background Overweight among adolescents is a growing public health concern worldwide, and Tunisia is no exception. However, prevalence trends of overweight among Tunisian adolescents have not been well documented. This study aimed to determine prevalence trends of overweight among adolescents in Tunisia between 1996 and 2016. Methods Data were collected from three national surveys conducted in Tunisia between 1996 and 2016. The first was conducted in 1996 (n = 729). The second was the Epidemiological Transition and Health Impact in North Africa Survey (TAHINA-2005, n = 1019), and the third was the Tunisia National Health Examination Survey (THES-2016, n = 482). All surveys used a similar methodology and included a representative sample of the Tunisian population. Overweight was defined as Body Mass Index≥ 85th percentile. STATA software was used for statistical analysis and chi-squared test for trend was performed. Results A total of 2230 participants was enrolled (sex ratio=0.99). The prevalence of overweight among adolescents increased from 10.8% (4.3% for boys and 17.7% for girls) in 1996 to 18.9% (17.2% for boys and 20.7% for girls) in 2005, then to 30.5% (22% for boys and 39.2% for girls) in 2016. Linear trend test concluded to significant increase in overweight prevalence estimated at 179.6% in two decades. The results showed a significant effect of time on overweight prevalence (p < 10-3), as well as a significant effect of sex group (p < 10-3). The model estimated that the prevalence of overweight increased by 1.29% per year from 1996 to 2016. The odds of overweight increased significantly over time, with an Odds Ratio (OR = 1.79, (95% CI: 1.39-2.30)) for TAHINA survey and (OR = 2.80 (95% CI: 2.21-3.55)) for THES survey. Conclusions Our study showed a significant increase in the prevalence of overweight among Tunisian adolescents over the past two decades. It is crucial to refine the analysis of associated risks to develop targeted interventions and adapt current policies. Key messages • The prevalence of overweight increased significantly among Tunisian adolescents in the past two decades. • Targeted interventions and policies to address this issue are therefore urgent.

A systematic analysis and future projections of the nutritional status and interpretation of its drivers among school-aged children in South-East Asian countries.

Nutrition inadequacy during childhood and adolescence can cause suboptimal growth, intergenerational effects on offspring and an increased risk of chronic diseases in adulthood. There is little information on the prevalence and drivers of malnutrition in children aged 5-19 years, in the South-East Asian setting, since most existing interventions have to date targeted undernutrition. We assessed the national prevalence of nutritional indicators, their trends, and associated risk factors among children aged 5-19 years from 11 countries of WHO South-East Asia Region (SEA Region) in order to provide evidence to guide future policy direction. We included 5,210,646 children for analysis from 345 studies and 25 survey datasets. A Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess the quality of the study. Bayesian regression models were used to estimate the prevalence of malnutrition between 2000 and 2030, and a series of subgroup analyses were performed to assess variation in pooled estimates by different socio-demographic and lifestyle factors. The protocol was registered with PROSPERO database (CRD42023400104). Overall, pooled analysis demonstrated that indicators of undernutrition in SEA is predicted to decrease between 2000 and 2030 including stunting (36.6%-27.2%), thinness (29.5%-6.2%), and underweight (29.2%-15.9%). However, a substantial increase in prevalence of overweight (6.0% in 2000-16.9% in 2030), and obesity (2.6%-9.5%) are predicted. The prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies between 2000 and 2030 is predicted to decrease-vitamin A by 84% and vitamin D by 53%. Parents' education levels and household wealth were inversely associated with malnutrition. Children's health-related behaviours, such as unhealthy dietary habits and spending more time watching TV, playing games, or using the computer, were associated with increased chance of overweight and obesity. There were no clear signs of publication bias in our study. Our analysis highlights the pattern of a double burden of malnutrition, with clear differences between different socio-demographic groups. Despite a substantial reduction in the prevalence of stunting, underweight, and anaemia since 2000, an emerging increase in overweight/obesity and micronutrient deficiencies warrants urgent attention. World Health Organization Regional Office for South-East Asia New Delhi, India.

The Impact of Overweight and Obesity in Early Pregnancy on Maternal and Fetal Outcome

The recent increase in prevalence of overweight and obesity in pregnancy has become a major public health problem as it is associated with increased risk of obstetric and neonatal complications. A hospital based observational comparative study was done on women attending obstetrics and gynecology outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital in Kathmandu from September 2021 to January 2022 after taking ethical clearance from Institutional Review Committee. A total of 113 overweight/obese women in first trimester of singleton pregnancies and similar number of women with normal BMI were recruited for the study and followed throughout pregnancy for the development of maternal complications like gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes mellites, antepartum hemorrhage, preterm labor and postpartum hemorrhage. The neonatal outcome compared were birth weight, low Apgar score at birth and NICU admission. Maternal overweight/obesity as compared to normal BMI was associated with increased risk of gestational diabetes mellites (RR 2.06, 95% CI: 1.2 to 3.52; P value = 0.006), gestational hypertension (RR 2.2, 95% CI: 1.09 to 4.43; P value = 0.02) and caesarean delivery (RR 1.81, 95% CI: 1.28 to 2.55; P value = 0.004). The risk of primary postpartum hemorrhage was also increased in overweight/ obese women than in normal weight women (RR 2.8, 95% CI: 1.04 to 7.51; P value=0.03). In neonatal outcomes, the mean birth weight (3.18 + 0.54 kg vs 2.9 + 0.33kg, P value < 0.001) and admission to NICU (28.3% vs 10.61%, P value = 0.008) were significantly higher in overweight/ obese women. Maternal overweight/obesity in early pregnancy is associated with higher risk of adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcome.

Study on prevalence of obesity in urban and rural adolescents in Odisha: Implications for public health strategies

Obesity and overweight have become a worldwide public health challenge and there is an urgent need to examine prevalence of obesity among adolescents. The aim of the present research is to determine health status with respect to obesity of urban & rural adolescents. The data were derived from cross-sectional sampling of adolescent boys and girls of urban and rural population. Age, gender and body mass Index was used to define overweight and obesity. The overweight and obesity were considered using an updated body mass index reference based on the revised consensus guidelines for India. It is observed that the average height and weight, physical growth of adolescents of urban area is greater than that of rural area irrespective of their gender. The BMI (Body Mass Index) of urban adolescents are more than their counterparts in rural area, but the mean BMI of rural and urban adolescents are significantly different. On the other hand BMI do not show any variation due to gender, area and gender considered together. Most of the adolescents irrespective of their area of residence, in spite of their long hours of sedentary behavior are falling under normal category. The result showed physical activities did influence change in BMI, which has a strong independent association with family history of obesity in both rural and urban adolescents. This study analysis showed an increase in prevalence of overweight and obesity in urban adolescents especially with male gender, calling for an urgent need for targeted preventive measures targeting undernutrition and overweight involving public health nutrition interventions for healthy public policies and implementation of equitable nutrition interventions for optimizing public health outcomes for those populations in greater need.

Nutrition beyond the first 1000 days: diet quality and 7-year change in BMI and overweight in 3-year old children from the Dutch GECKO Drenthe birth cohort.

The identification of early-life determinants of overweight is crucial to start early prevention. As weight gain accelerates between 2 and 6 years, we studied the association between diet quality in children aged 3 years and the change in BMI and overweight incidence in the following 7 years. From the Dutch GECKO Drenthe birth cohort, 1001 children born in 2006 or 2007 with complete data on diet (food frequency questionnaire at the age of 3 years) and growth at the age of 3 and 10 years were included. Diet quality was estimated with the evidence-based Lifelines Diet Score (LLDS). Measured height and weight at the age of 3 and 10 years were used to calculate BMI z-scores standardized for age and sex. The associations of the LLDS (in quintiles) with BMI-z change and overweight incidence were studied with linear and logistic regression analyses. Overweight prevalence in the total study population increased from 8.3% at the age of 3 years to 16.7% at the age of 10 years. The increase in overweight prevalence ranged from 14.7% in Q1 to 3.5% in Q5. Children with a better diet quality (higher quintiles of LLDS) increased significantly less in BMI-z (confounder adjusted βLLDS = -0.064 (-0.101; -0.026)). Children with a poor diet quality at the age of 3 years had a considerably higher risk for overweight at the age of 10 years (confounder adjusted OR for Q1 vs. Q5 was 2.86 (95% CI 1.34-6.13). These results show the importance of diet in healthy development in the early life following the first 1000 days when new habits for a mature diet composed of food groups with lifelong importance are developed, providing a relevant window for overweight prevention early in life.

Temporal pattern of cardiovascular risk factors depending on outpatient care status

Aim. To study the temporal pattern of cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the adult cohort depending on outpatient care status.Materials and Methods. We analyzed the incidence of CVD in the adult cohort (n = 1170) admitted to Research Institute – Ochapovsky Regional Clinical Hospital # 1 in 2015 (baseline) and after 3 years of follow-up. Groups were stratified according to the outpatient care status.Results. After 3 years of follow-up, the proportion of patients adhered to unhealthy diet decreased by 32.2%, 28.8% and 28.0% in groups without regular outpatient care, with regular outpatient care, and with regular outpatient care and CVD, respectively, as compared to baseline. Similar trend was observed regarding low physical activity (reduction by 50.3%, 24.7% and 21.8%, respectively) and tobacco smoking (45.6%, 63.0% and 61.8%, respectively). However, patients without regular outpatient care demonstrated an increase in overweight and obesity by 19.2%. Notably, the frequency of arterial hypertension increased by 48.33% in patients without regular outpatient care but decreased by 24% in those with regular outpatient care and CVD.Conclusion. During 3-year outpatient observation, we found a trend to a reduction in prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, also in patients with CVD. Nevertheless, patients without regular outpatient care showed a statistically significant increase in prevalence of overweight, obesity and arterial hypertension.

Stunting and overweight among children in Northeast Brazil: prevalence, trends (1992-2005-2015) and associated risk factors from repeated cross-sectional surveys

BackgroundA study involving children from Alagoas (Northeast Brazil) revealed that, as a consequence of a drastic reduction in the prevalence of stunting between 1992 to 2005, (22.5 to 11.4%) combined with an increase in overweight prevalence (6.7 to 9.3%), the prevalence of these two conditions in 2005 was very close. If these trends were maintained, it is very likely that, at this time, the childhood overweight prevalence has already exceeded that of the stunting. However, no study is available to confirm this hypothesis. The identification of these changes is relevant to the planning and evaluation of public policies. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence, time trends and associated factors with stunting and overweight in children from Alagoas.MethodsIndependent cross-sectional household surveys were conducted in 1992 (n = 1231), 2005 (n = 1381) and 2015 (n = 988). Data were collected from probabilistic samples of children aged 0–60 months. Stunting was defined by stature-for-age < − 2 sd and overweight by weight-for-stature > 2 sd.ResultsBetween 1992, 2005 and 2015, the stunting prevalence was 22.6, 11.2 and 3.2% (reduction of 85.8%), while the overweight prevalence was 6.9, 7.5 and 14.9% (increase of 115.9%), respectively. After multivariate analysis, the following positive associations with stunting were observed in 1992: age group > 24 months (28.3% vs 14.5%), mother with ≥2 children (28.8% vs 12.8%), low birth weight (28.3% vs 15.7%) and mother with low schooling (29.3% vs 7.2%). In 2015 there was a higher prevalence of stunting in males (4.2% vs 2.2%), in children < 24 months (4.6% vs 2.2%), with low birth weight (8.6% vs 3.0%) and in those who had mothers with low schooling (7.0% vs 2.6%). Regarding overweight, in 1992 there was higher prevalence for male (9.1% vs 4.7%) and in children whose mothers had ≤2 children (8.9% vs 5.8%), while in 2015 only birth weight > 4 kg was associated to overweight (27.3% vs 14.2%).ConclusionsDuring the analyzed period, there was a significant decrease in stunting prevalence. At the same time, a substantial increase was observed in the overweight prevalence. Currently, stunting is a problem of low magnitude, while overweight has become a worrying public health problem.

Overweight in Indonesia: an observational study of trends and risk factors among adults and children

ObjectiveTo conduct a secondary data analysis detailing overweight prevalence and associations between key hypothesised determinants and overweight.DesignThis observational study used publicly available data from the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS)...

Comparison of underweight, overweight and obesity prevalence among Indian women in different national health surveys

BackgroundEarlier studies are mostly based on the first three National Family Health Surveys (NFHSs) for estimating and comparing prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity among Indian women and lack the information on latest survey. ObjectivesThe objective of this work was to study and compare the prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity among Indian women using the updated data from different NFHSs. Materials and methodsData collected under three surveys – NFHS-2, NFHS-3 and NFHS-4 – from different states of India were arranged according to geographical regions. Data on age, marital status, area of urban or rural, education, religion and wealth index were also collected. Body mass index (BMI) less than 18.5 kg/m2 was labelled as ‘underweight’, 25–30 kg/m2 ‘overweight’ and greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2 ‘obese’. ResultsOverall prevalence of underweight in Indian women reduced to 22.9%, while overweight (15.5%) and obese (5.1%) increased over different survey years. There was a decline in prevalence of underweight (−17.1%) and increase in prevalence of overweight (7.3%) and obese (2.3%) among illiterate. The urban areas showed comparatively higher burden of obesity (9.1%) than the rural areas (3.1%), but there was not much change (4.8–6%) over years. Prevalence of underweight remained higher in rural areas (26.7%) although there was apparent decline (13.8%). The states/union territories (UTs) belonging to Central (25.3%–28.3%) and Eastern regions (21.3%–31.5%) of India showed higher prevalence of underweight. ConclusionIndian women are recovering from throes of underweight, but a rising trend in overweight and obesity is a great concern.

Body Composition, Chronic Disease Risk and Physical Activity Levels of Urban and Rural Women in Selected Zimbabwean Communities

BACKGROUND: Maintaining a physically active lifestyle helps to keep a healthy weight and lowers the risks of chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to determine and compare body composition, chronic disease risk and physical activity levels of rural and urban women in selected Zimbabwean communities. &#x0D; &#x0D; METHOD: The study followed a descriptive, comparative, and cross sectional design. A sample size of 280 women aged 18 to 60 years volunteered to participate. Anthropometric variables, blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol were measured using standard protocols. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and a Nutritional Questionnaires were self-administered. Routine descriptive statistics, independent t-tests and Chi-square tests were used and the significance was set at p&amp;le;0.05.&#x0D; &#x0D; RESULTS: A significant difference between urban and rural women with regards to Body Mass Index (BMI) p=0.009 (mean difference 1.62; 95% CI), Waist-Hip Ratio (WHR) p=0.003 (mean difference 0.02; 95%CI) was noted. Regarding chronic disease risk, urban women were classified as high and very high risk compared to rural women, p=0.019. With regard to the IPAQ there were significant differences in the transport domain, p=0.046, domestic domain p=0.02 and leisure domain p=0.020 between urban and rural women.&#x0D; &#x0D; CONCLUSION: The study indicated an increase in prevalence of overweight and obesity with increased chronic disease risk in urban women compared to rural women. Both urban and rural women showed high levels of physical activity.

Secular Trends in Blood Pressure and Overweight and Obesity in Chinese Boys and Girls Aged 7 to 17 Years From 1995 to 2014.

The current study aimed to assess the secular trends in overweight and obesity status and high blood pressure (HBP) in Chinese children and adolescents for 2 decades. Data on 943 128 participants aged 7 to 17 years were obtained from the Chinese National Survey on Students' Constitution and Health from 1995 to 2014. The population attributable risk of overweight status for HBP was calculated. The prevalence of overweight increased from 4.3% in 1995 to 18.4% in 2014, whereas HBP prevalence fluctuated in the range of 4.4% to 6.4% during the same time period, the lowest in 2005. Within each survey year, blood pressure levels and HBP prevalence increased with higher body mass index. Notably, the population attributable risk of HBP because of being overweight steadily increased from 6.3% in 1995 to 19.2% in 2014. The same trends of linear growth for obesity, fluctuating blood pressure, and its sustained increasing population attributable risk for overweight also occurred among the domestic 29 provinces. Despite dramatic increases in overweight prevalence among Chinese children from 1995 to 2014, the HBP prevalence remained relatively stable, suggesting that other independent factors are affecting HBP trends to a greater extent. Yet, over time, the magnitude of the impact of being overweight or obese on HBP increased sharply, predicting looming heavy burden of HBP. Reductions in overweight status may aid in preventing HBP so as to prevent coronary risk in adulthood.

Obstacles and Impediments of Overweight and Obesity

Obstacles and Impediments of Overweight and Obesity

Trends in Food and Beverage Portion Sizes in Australian Children; a Time-Series Analysis Comparing 2007 and 2011-2012 National Data.

In 2011–2012 approximately 26% of Australian children aged between 5–17 years were reported to be overweight or obese. Furthermore, the increase in prevalence of overweight and obesity among US children parallels reported increases in energy intake and portion sizes of common foods, leading to the recognition that availability of larger portion sizes contributes to the rise in overweight and obesity prevalence. Thus, the aim of this time-series analysis was to investigate whether selected food portion sizes in Australian children aged 2–16 years changed between 2007 and 2011–2012. Portion size data from 24-h recalls collected in Australian nutrition surveys were compared between 2007 and 2011–2012. Portion sizes changed significantly in 23% of items with increases in 15% and decreases in 8%. Changes in portion sizes varied by age, sex, and food group. Changes occurred for many meat-based items, energy-dense, nutrient-poor food items, breads, cereals, and some fruits and vegetables. Vegetable and fruit portion sizes were below the respective serving sizes of 75 g and 150 g in the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, while portion sizes of some energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods have increased. These findings suggest approaches to increasing consumption of nutrient-dense core foods and reducing energy-dense, nutrient-poor food items in children are warranted.

Healthy casetas: A potential strategy to improve the food environment in low-income schools to reduce obesity in children in Guatemala City

ABSTRACTDeveloping countries have undergone transitions driven by globalization and development, accelerating increases in prevalence of overweight and obesity among children. Schools have been identified as effective settings for interventions that target children’s dietary behaviors. In Guatemala, public schools commonly have food kiosks (Casetas) that sell products to children. From July through October 2013, observations during recess, in-depth interviews with school principals (n = 4) and caseta vendors (n = 4), and focus groups with children (n = 48) were conducted. This article explores products available to children at casetas. Factors that affect what casetas offer include regulations and enforcement, vendor investment and earnings, vendor resources, product demand, pricing, and children’s preferences. These factors influence the products that are available and children’s tendency to purchase them. Potential strategies for improvement include healthy food preparation, price manipulation and promotions, raffles and games to encourage healthier choices, and policy to push toward development of healthier products.

New Momentum in Healthy Nutrition: A Proposal for a Nutrient-Energy Density Score Concept

Life expectancy is increasing globally however later life years are often connected to ill-health. One of the reasons is that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are on the rise and societies face challenges in a continuous increase in the global prevalence of overweight and obesity. This is partly due to the sedentary lifestyle and a trend to processed foods with the availability of cheap and high energy dense foods combined with large portion sizes. As a consequence a major part of the world population has an inadequate and too high intake of energy and in parallel a too low intake of essential nutrients like vitamins and minerals. There is substantial evidence for a link of lifestyle factors and the risk for NCDs, like osteoporosis, diabetes, cardio-vascular disease, cancer and others. The introduction of nutrient profile scores and indices for energy may help consumers in their food choices and allow food companies to design and promote healthier food items. The goal is to use a nutrient-energy density score to rate food products based on their nutrient and energy profile. The consumer can use the system as a “nutritional navigation system” to make informed choices and optimize the diets. The proposed approach provides a win-win situation for the consumer for long term health and the food industry for new and innovative food items.

Prevalence of underweight, overweight, general and central obesity among 8-15-years old Bulgarian children and adolescents (Smolyan region, 2012-2014).

The objective of this work is to investigate the distribution of underweight, overweight, the general and central obesity in 8-15-year-old Bulgarian children and adolescents, through the use of the anthropometric indices BMI and WHtR. Subject of this study are 878 children and adolescents (437 boys and 441 girls) of Smolyan region, Bulgaria, at the age of 8 to 15 years. The study is cross-sectional and was conducted in the period 2012-2014. The body height, weight and waist circumference were measured. In addition, the body mass index (BMI) and waist to height ratio (WHtR) were calculated. Overweight and obesity were defined according to the cut-off points of BMI, recommended of IOTF and developed by Cole et al. (2000; 2007). The central obesity was defined according to the discriminatory values of 0.500 of WHtR. The collected data were analysed by statistical software packages STATISTICA 10.0 and SPSS 16. Overweight occurs among 18.8% of the boys and 17.0% of the girls, and obesity occurs among 7.6% of boys and 3.7% of the girls. The underweight are 8.0% of the boys and 10.4% of the girls. Central obesity (WHtR ≥ 0.500) occur among average 12.75% of all investigated children independently of their nutritional status (16.2% of boys and 9.3% of girls). With central obesity (WHtR ≥ 0.500) are on average 2.7% of all boys and girls with normal weight (n = 96) and an average 46.82% of all participants with overweight and with obesity (n = 205). With increased health risk (WHtR ≥ 0.500) are total of 2.01% (n=16) of all surveyed children (n = 793) from categories normal weight. There has been an increase in prevalence of overweight and obesity among Bulgarian children and adolescents from Smolyan region during the over one last decade. The relatively high percentage of underweight children, especially among in group of the girls alter puberty. The central obesity, as well as its combination with overweight or general obesity is more frequent in boys than in girls.

Contributing factors to childhood overweight and obesity in Kuwait

The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in children is a major public health concern in Kuwait. Understanding the contributing factors is key to the development of an effective intervention strategy. This study was designed to identify what factors contribute to overweight and obesity in school-aged children. Method: A cross-sectional study, using questionnaires, was conducted with public intermediate school children (girls and boys) and their parents to elicit information related to the children's daily lifestyle. A total of 635 children aged 11-14 years and their parents (N=635) were surveyed and children's height and weight were measured by school nurses to identify their Body Mass Index. Results: When classified by BMI, about one quarter of the children (25.5%) were overweight and over one third (36.5%) were classified as obese. Multiple regression model found that the BMI of the male children increased significantly with respect to age if they had overweight siblings, spent time on sedentary activities, and regularly ate food from fast food restaurants. The BMI of the female children also increased significantly with respect to age, having overweight siblings, eating at fast food restaurants and for every time not actively travelling to school. Conclusion: The rate of childhood overweight and obesity in Kuwait is currently still high, and Kuwaiti children have been found to be leading unhealthy lifestyles. Involving parents as a part of the solution is an important step in promoting a healthy lifestyle.

OVERWEIGHT AS ONE OF THE RISK FACTORS FOR HYPERTENSION IN SCHOOLCHILDREN OF TYUMEN

O bjective. To assess the epidemiology of overweight as the main risk factor for hypertension and its 18-year trends in Tyumen pupil population in order to develop basic preventive strategies. Design and methods. Two single epidemiological studies were carried out in a population of pupils ofTyumen schools selected by the method of random numbers. The first study was conducted in 1986–1987 years using a standard questionnaire of World Health Organization (WHO) MONICA project. Altogether 3704 pupils aged 7–15 years (1836 boys and 1866 girls) were examined with 93 % response. The second study was carried out 18 years later (2005–2006 years) when 2640 pupils aged 7–17 years (1308 boys and 1332 girls) were examined with 87,7 % response. The following methods were used in both studies: assessment of blood pressure (BP) and Quetelet index for overweight detection (Quetelet index threshold for 7–9 years old ≥ 20,0 kg/m 2; for 10–14 years old ≥ 22,0 kg/m 2; for 15–17 years old ≥ 25,0 kg/m 2). R esults. The prevalence of overweight in the pupil population was 8,8 %: among boys — 9,2 %, among girls — 8,3 %. A tendency for increased overweight prevalence was found at second screening study as compared to the first one (9,3 vs. 8,5 %, respectively, р > 0,05). It was caused mainly by the increased overweight prevalence (9,3 vs. 7,6 % respectively, р < 0,05). The incidence of high BP in overweight pupils was significantly higher than in pupils with normal body weight (2,7-times higher in boys vs. 2,8-times higher in girls, р < 0,001). Moreover, in overweight pupils puberty progressed more rapidly. Pupils with excessive body weight complain of problems related to autonomic dysfunction 1,5–2 times more often than pupils with normal body weight. C onclusions. Our study showed high prevalence of overweight in the population ofTyumen schoolchildren, a tendency for increasing overweight prevalence in boys nowadays, association between overweight, high BP, puberty and autonomic dysfunction.

Longitudinal associations of health-related behavior patterns in adolescence with change of weight status and self-rated health

Introduction Promoting a healthy lifestyle especially in adolescents is important because health-related behaviors adopted during adolescence most often track into adulthood [1] . Longitudinal studies are necessary for identifying health-related risk groups of adolescents. Multiple health behavior research may represent a useful approach towards a better understanding of the complexity of health-related behavior. The aim of this study was to examine the longitudinal association of health-related behavior patterns with change of weight status and self-rated health in adolescents in Germany. Methods Within the framework of the longitudinal German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS) and the Motorik-Modul (MoMo), four clusters of typical health-related behavior patterns of adolescents have been previously identified [2] . Therefor the variables ‘physical activity’, ‘media use’ and ‘healthy nutrition’ were included. In the current study longitudinal change of objectively measured weight status ( n = 556) and self-rated health ( n = 953) in the clusters was examined. Statistical analyses comprised ANOVA with repeated measurements and t -tests for paired samples. Results The prevalence of overweight increased in all four clusters. The health-related behavior pattern of low activity level with high media consumption and low diet quality had the strongest increase in prevalence of overweight, while the smallest and non-significant increase was found with the behavior pattern of a high physical activity level and average media consumption and diet quality. Only some significant relationships between health-related behavior patterns and change in self-rated health were observed. Conclusions High-risk patterns of health-related behavior were identified. Further, cumulative as well as compensatory effects of different health-related behaviors on each other were found. The information gained in this study contributes to a better understanding of the complexity of health-related behavior and its impact on health parameters and may facilitate the development of targeted prevention programs.

Longitudinal associations of health-related behavior patterns in adolescence with change of weight status and self-rated health over a period of 6 years: results of the MoMo longitudinal study.

BackgroundPromoting a healthy lifestyle especially in adolescents is important because health-related behaviors adopted during adolescence most often track into adulthood. Longitudinal studies are necessary for identifying health-related risk groups of adolescents and defining target groups for health-promoting interventions. Multiple health behavior research may represent a useful approach towards a better understanding of the complexity of health-related behavior. The aim of this study was to examine the longitudinal association of health-related behavior patterns with change of weight status and self-rated health in adolescents in Germany.MethodsWithin the framework of the longitudinal German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS) and the Motorik-Modul (MoMo), four clusters of typical health-related behavior patterns of adolescents have been previously identified. Therefor the variables ‘physical activity’, ‘media use’ and ‘healthy nutrition’ were included. In the current study longitudinal change of objectively measured weight status (N = 556) and self-rated health (N = 953) in the four clusters was examined. Statistical analyses comprised T-tests for paired samples, McNemar tests, multinomial logistic regression analysis and two-way ANOVA with repeated measures.ResultsThe prevalence of overweight increased in all four clusters. The health-related behavior pattern of low activity level with high media use and low diet quality had the strongest increase in prevalence of overweight, while the smallest and non-significant increase was found with the behavior pattern of a high physical activity level and average media use and diet quality. Only some significant relationships between health-related behaviour patterns and change in self-rated health were observed.ConclusionsHigh-risk patterns of health-related behavior were identified. Further, cumulative as well as compensatory effects of different health-related behaviors on each other were found. The information gained in this study contributes to a better understanding of the complexity of health-related behavior and its impact on health parameters and may facilitate the development of targeted prevention programs.