Prevention Of Overweight Research Articles

Methylophiopogonanone A, an Ophiopogon homoisoflavonoid, alleviates high-fat diet-induced hyperlipidemia: assessment of its potential mechanism.

Methylophiopogonanone A (MO-A), a homoisoflavonoid extracted from Ophiopogon japonicus, has been shown to attenuate myocardial apoptosis and improve cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. However, the hypolipidemic effects remain unknown. This study was performed to investigate a potential hypolipidemic effect of MO-A in hyperlipidemia rats, as well as its underlying mechanism of action. A rat model of hyperlipidemia was induced by a high-fat diet (HFD). Animals were randomly divided into three groups (n=8/group): normal control group (NC), HFD group, and HFD+MO-A (10 mg·kg-1·d-1) treatment group. The effects of MO-A on serum lipids, body weight, activity of lipoprotein metabolism enzyme, and gene expression of lipid metabolism were evaluated in HFD-induced rats. In HFD-induced rats, pretreatment with MO-A decreased the body weight gain and reduced serum and hepatic lipid levels. In addition, pretreatment with MO-A improved the activities of lipoprotein lipase and hepatic lipase in serum and liver, down-regulated mRNA expression of acetyl CoA carboxylase and sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c, and up-regulated mRNA expression of low-density lipoprotein receptor and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α in the liver. Our results indicated that MO-A showed strong ability to ameliorate the hyperlipidemia in HFD-induced rats. MO-A might be a potential candidate for prevention of overweight and dyslipidemia induced by HFD.

Migration background and overweight prevalence in preschool children

Abstract Migration background is accepted as an important health determinant in public health research. This contribution presents the findings on ethnic differences in the prevalence of children overweight derived from the school entry examination data in the Hannover Region in 2010–2014. The prevalence of overweight was significantly higher among migrant children (12.7%) than among the non-migrant children (6.9%). While all ethnic groups showed an educational gradient in the prevalence of overweight, the gradient tended to be more evident in non-migrant children. Further efforts in childhood overweight prevention are needed to successfully address especially children with less educated parents or migrant background.

Sleep during Infancy and Associations with Childhood Body Composition: A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis.

Introduction: Prevention of childhood overweight should start as early as possible preferably in "the first 1000 days of life." Sleep is one of the modifiable health behaviors during this age period, besides dietary intake and physical activity. The aim of this systematic review is to summarize the existing literature regarding the association between sleep during infancy (age ≤24 months) and body composition measures during childhood (age ≤12 years). Methods: We registered the protocol of this systematic review (PROSPERO registration no. CRD42018087088) and conducted the review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement. We searched for articles published until July 31, 2019 reporting on longitudinal associations with a minimal follow-up of 6 months. Methodological Quality was assessed and a narrative synthesis was performed. Results: We included 19 studies. Sleep was reported as sleep duration (n = 18) or sleep problems (n = 2). Sleep was assessed at least once before the age of 12 months in 14 out of the 19 studies. Methodological quality was rated as strong for five studies, moderate for five studies, and weak for nine studies. Conclusion: This narrative synthesis found inconsistent evidence that longer infant sleep duration during the first 2 years of life is associated with a healthier body composition during childhood.

Effect of Mediterranean Diet Enriched in High Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil on Oxidative Stress, Inflammation and Gut Microbiota in Obese and Normal Weight Adult Subjects.

Introduction: The Mediterranean Diet (MD) is useful in the prevention of overweight, obesity and metabolic disease. High Quality-Extra Virgin Olive Oil (HQ-EVOO), an essential component of this diet, exerts protective effects against chronic diseases. Gut Microbiota (GM), recognized as a key factor in driving metabolic activities, is involved in the regulation of host immunity. Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) and their probio-active cellular substances produce beneficial effects in the gastrointestinal tract.Materials and Methods: Eighteen overweight/obese subjects (cases, BMI ≥25 kg/m2) and 18 normal weight controls (BMI 18.5–24.9 kg/m2) were fed with MD enriched with 40 g/die HQ-EVOO for three months. Feces and blood samples were collected at time 0 (T0) and after three months (T1) for LAB composition, oxidative stress, metabolic and inflammation parameter determinations.Results: Myeloperoxidase and 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine, markers of inflammation and oxidative stress, were significantly decreased after MD rich in HQ-EVOO both in controls and in cases. Proinflammatory cytokines levels were significantly decreased in cases in comparison to controls, while IL-10 and adiponectin were significantly increased in cases. LAB’s rpoB copies/ng of DNA increased 55.6 folds in cases compared to their baseline after MD rich in HQ-EVOO. MD rich in HQ-EVOO increased adiponectin and IL-10 concentration in overweight/obese subjects and decreased oxidative stress and inflammation parameters and at the same time, increased LAB number in GM.Discussion: Our results indicate that MD rich in HQ-EVOO induces an increase of LAB in GM and could have a potential role in the prevention of inflammation.Clinical Trial Registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT03441802.

Dynamics of prices and consumption of unhealthy foods as a monitoring tool of the strategy against obesity in Mexico

INTRODUCTION: Mexico faces an epidemic of overweight and obesity, in 2018 75% of adults were overweight or obese. This condition as a risk factor generates a significant financial impact in the Health Sector. In response, the National Strategy for Prevention and Control of Overweight, Obesity, and Diabetes was implemented in 2013, which included as one of its pillars the implementation of fiscal policies. As part of fiscal policy, taxes were established on sugary drinks and foods with high-calorie content. Seven years after the implementation of the Strategy to control the epidemic of overweight and obesity, there have been some results. However, it is necessary to continue working and especially monitoring the performance of the different actions implemented.OBJECTIVES: Propose an analytical intelligence model for monitoring the fiscal policies implemented to control overweight and obesity in Mexico.METHODS: The proposed analytical intelligence model considers three methodological bases, a) price index of healthy and unhealthy foods through Principal Component Analysis, b) volatility measurement of both baskets through a GARCH model and c) monitoring of consumption patterns through household income and expenditure surveys.RESULTS: The main results identified a price differential between the baskets of products healthy and unhealthy, especially at the beginning of the fiscal policy. Healthy products have higher price volatility than unhealthy products and according to consumption patterns, on average Mexican households spend 30% of their food expenditure on unhealthy products.CONCLUSION: To strengthen fiscal actions to control overweight and obesity, it is recommended to have monitoring systems for the dynamic design and implementation of public policies. Although taxes have reduced in some grade the consumption of unhealthy products, it is necessary to promote the affordability of healthy products, helping to improve the diet of Mexican households.

Sex and racial/ethnic differences in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among U.S. college students, 2011–2015

Objective To investigate sex and racial/ethnic differences in overweight and obesity in college students. Participants: A nationally representative sample of 319,342 U.S. college students (mean age = 20.4 years; 67.7% female) from Fall 2011 to Spring 2015. Methods: A secondary data analysis of multi-year cross-sectional data was performed. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine factors (e.g. cumulative grade average, year in school, and living place) associated with overweight and obesity determined from BMI calculated by self-reported height and weight. Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity was significantly higher for both sexes in Spring 2015 than in Fall 2011. Significant differences were found in overweight and obesity by sex and race/ethnicity. Higher adjusted odds ratios for overweight and obesity were observed for men, blacks, and Hispanics (compared to whites). Asians had the lowest adjusted odds of overweight and obesity. Conclusions: Intervention strategies for the prevention and management of overweight and obesity in U.S. college students should consider sex and racial/ethnic inequalities.

Impact of sleep and screen times on incidence of overweight in European children and adolescents

Abstract Background A deeper understanding of the modifiable risk factors leading to excess weight in children and adolescents can provide unique opportunities for preventing the immediate and long-lasting health consequences of overweight. The aim of the study was to explore independent, prospective associations of screen time and sleep duration with incident overweight in a sample of European children. Methods Data from 4285 participants of the IDEFICS/I.Family cohort who were followed-up from 2009/2010 to 2013/2014 was analyzed. Hours per day of screen time and sleep duration were collected by parental report at baseline. Logistic regression analyses were carried in separate and mutually adjusted models controlled for sex, age, European country region, parental level of education and baseline BMI z-scores. Results At baseline screen time (hours/day) and sleep duration (hours/day) were inversely correlated behaviors (rs= -0.226, p<.001), indicating the necessity of exploring their separate and joint effects on the weight trajectory. In the non-overweight/non-obese population at baseline (N = 3734), separate models suggest that every hour increase on screen time and every hour decrease on sleep duration were associated with higher odds of the child becoming overweight or obese at follow up (OR = 1.156, 95% CI 1.015-1.316 and OR = 1.226, 95% CI 1.053- 1.428 respectively). In the mutually adjusted model, the screen time association was attenuated to non-significance (OR = 1.125, 95% CI 0.986- 1.284), while the association with sleep duration was also attenuated but remained statistically significant (OR = 1.198, 95% CI 1.026-1.398). Conclusions Both screen time and sleep duration are significant predictors of incident overweight in children and adolescents. However, according to our results sleep duration plays a stronger role than screen time, suggesting an increased value of overweight prevention strategies that emphasize adequate sleep duration. Key messages A holistic and integrated approach is needed to prevent overweight from early age and with a life-course perspective. New strategies for overweight prevention could benefit from prioritizing interventions that promote adequate sleep duration and reduce excessive screen time.

Food and lifestyle education at primary and secondary school: an Italian project on health promotion

Abstract Background Nutrition and life styles have a crucial role as health determinants. In particular, an intervention on eating habits and physical activity/inactivity does heavily influence obesity and overweight prevention, alongside associated diseases. Preteen and teenage profile is critical for developing the state of health in adulthood, and it is heavily determined by the sociocultural family background. For this reason, school could become an important actor in health promotion, in the form of coordinated and cross-disciplinary courses about food and behaviors. The aim of the study is to verify the effect of an intervention of food education in several schools. Methods This cross-sectional study, originated from the “sCOOL FOOD” project of Monte dei Paschi Foundation of Siena, involves schools of southeastern Tuscany, Italy. The project currently engages various classes from primary and secondary schools in which year-round awareness campaigns are conducted. The activities consist in theory classes and workshops held by professionals or teachers of the school previously trained for the purpose. A same questionnaire was administered to families before and after each campaign, exploring eating habits, lifestyle and biometrics. The data analyzed so far date from October 2017 to May 2018. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was performed on the distributions of children BMI classes, defined according to IOTF cutoffs, obtained exclusively from participants who submitted both questionnaires. Results 308 paired records of data were collected as mentioned above. We found that, after the campaign, children BMI classes distribution shift towards reduction was statistically significant (z=-2.053; p < 0.05). Conclusions Since the intervention was able to influence a childhood health determinant, it could be an opportunity to compensate those family dynamics that could lead towards health disadvantages in adulthood. Key messages A coordinated and cross-disciplinary food and lifestyle year-round education campaign at school can impact on health determinants of children. School can correct unfavorable eating and lifestyle behaviors determined by family habits.

Situations in which mothers experience difficulty stimulating healthy EBRB in school-aged children

Abstract Background Parental support is an important element in overweight prevention programs for children. The purpose of this study was to examine everyday life situations in which mothers encounter difficulties encouraging healthy energy balance-related behavior in their school-age children. Methods We formed four focus groups containing 6-9 participants each. The participants were mothers of Dutch, Turkish, or Moroccan descent with a child 8-13 years of age. All focus group sessions were recorded, transcribed, and coded. Content was analyzed conventionally using ATLAS.ti 6. Results Twenty-seven difficult everyday life situations were identified in 14 settings. The five most frequently reported situations were a daily struggle regarding eating vegetables, eating breakfast on time before going to school, eating candy and snacks between meals, and spending excessive time watching television and using the computer. A perceived loss of parental control, the inability to establish rules and the failure to consistently enforce those rules were the most commonly cited reasons for why the mothers experience these situations as being difficult. Conclusions We identified five difficult everyday life situations related to healthy energy balance-related behavior. These five difficult situations were used as the input for developing a web-based parenting program designed to prevent children from becoming overweight. We reasoned that if we use these situations and the underlying reasons, many parents would recognize these situations and are willing to learn how to deal with them and complete the e-learning. Key messages The identified everyday-life-situations in which mothers experience difficulty stimulating healthy EBRBs in their children age 8-13 were used as input for our e-learning program to prevent overweight. Mothers who live in low-SES neighborhoods were easily willing to participate in focus groups and discuss EBRB-related topics.

The effectiveness of a web-based Dutch parenting program to prevent overweight in children age 9-13

Abstract Background We developed a web-based parenting program for parents entitled “Making a healthy deal with your child”. This e-learning program can be incorporated into existing prevention programs, thereby improving these interventions by reinforcing the role of parenting and providing parents with practical tools for use in everyday situations in order to stimulate a healthy lifestyle. Methods The effectiveness was studied in a two-armed cluster randomized controlled trial. We recruited 548 parent-child dyads of children 9-13 years in the Netherlands who participated in an existing school-based overweight prevention program. Primary outcomes included the child’s dietary and sedentary behavior, and level of physical activity. Secondary outcomes included general parenting style, specific parenting practices (set of rules, modeling, monitoring), and parental self-efficacy. Multilevel multiple regression analyses in Mplus were conducted. Results 87% of the parent-child dyads participated in the study and 47% of the parents in the intervention group completed 2 or more episodes of the e-learning. The score that parents gave to the e-learning is a 7.Main effect analyses showed in the intention-to-treat analyses that the the parents in the intervention group have more strict rules regarding eating snacks (0.046) and children of parents in the intervention group drink more milk (p = 0.018) and less sugar sweetened beverages (p = 0.024). The completers only analyses showed that the children of parents in the intervention group eat more vegetables and fruit, drink more water and less sugar sweetened beverages, and had less screentime than the children in the control group. Conclusions The e-learning program showed small indications to be effective. A second effectiveness study is currently being investigated. If the e-learning proves to be effective it can be easily incorporated into existing overweight prevention programs for children, as well as activities regarding Youth Health Care. Key messages The e-learning can easily incorporated into existing overweight prevention programs for children. www.gezondeafsprakenmetjekind.nl

Systematic review of the impact of nutrition claims related to fat, sugar and energy content on food choices and energy intake

BackgroundAs part of efforts to address high levels of overweight and obesity, the provision of nutrition information (e.g., through nutrition labels and nutrition claims) on food packages has increasingly become an important policy option. This study aimed to assess the influence of nutrition claims relating to fat, sugar, and energy content on product packaging on several aspects of food choices to understand how they contribute to the prevention of overweight and obesity.MethodsA systematic literature review was conducted using the online databases EBSCOhost Global Health, EBSCOhost Medline, ScienceDirect, Scopus, PsycINFO and Embase. Studies were included if they measured the influence of nutrition claims relating to fat, sugar, and energy content on outcomes related to body weight, and were published between January 2003 and April 2018.ResultsEleven studies were included in the review. Results showed that nutrition claims can influence the knowledge of consumers with respect to perceived healthfulness of products, as well as expected and experienced tastiness of food products – making food products with nutrition claims seem healthier and less tasty. Nutrition claims can make the appropriate portion size appear to be larger and lead to an underestimation of the energy content of food products. Nutrition claims can also influence food purchase intentions, moderated by the perceived healthfulness of the relevant food products and the health consciousness of individuals. Nutrition claims were also found to have an impact on food purchases, to influence ‘consumption guilt’ (i.e., feeling of guilt associated with eating), and to increase consumption, moderated by the weight status of individuals. These influences were shown to vary depending on the type of claim and food carrying the claim.ConclusionsThere is evidence that, while nutrition claims may lead some consumers to improve their nutrition knowledge and select healthier options, it may also lead consumers to increase food consumption and overall energy intake. This may run counter to efforts to address overweight and obesity.

Características de las intervenciones realizadas con adolescentes en condición de sobrepeso y obesidad: una revisión integrativa

Introducción: Dado que el sobrepeso y la obesidad en la población adolescente van en aumento, es necesario identificar las intervenciones para la prevención y manejo de estas condiciones en el grupo de jóvenes. Objetivo: Presentar la evidencia encontrada, en relación con las características de las intervenciones publicadas en revistas científicas indexadas, sobre la prevención y manejo del sobrepeso y de la obesidad, respecto de la nutrición y la actividad física, para ser utilizada en la toma de decisiones, en cuanto a políticas y programas de promoción y prevención de esta condición de salud. Materiales y Métodos: Se realizó la revisión sistemática de estudios cualitativos y cuantitativos (desde descriptivos hasta experimentales, que incluyeran tanto revisiones sistemáticas como meta-análisis), publicados en el período comprendido entre 2005 y 2017, a través de las bases de datos PubMed y ScienceDirect, las bibliotecas virtuales Ovid y SciELO, y el compendio de revisiones Cochrane. Resultados: Existe gran variedad en diseño e implementación de las intervenciones, en cuanto a componentes, teorías, escenarios, evaluación de los efectos, dosis, tiempo y seguimiento, que tienen efecto en los hábitos nutricionales, en la actividad física, en la autoeficacia y en el índice de masa corporal (IMC) de la población estudiada. Discusión: La efectividad de las intervenciones varía, dependiendo de los componentes y de la fidelidad en la aplicación de la misma, lo cual debe revisarse a la luz de los mejores efectos encontrados. Conclusiones: 47 estudios cumplieron los requisitos de inclusión. Las intervenciones se robustecen con el uso de una teoría que direccione y fundamente los hallazgos que permitan dar mayores y mejores resultados. Los componentes de las intervenciones incluyen: duración, dosis, intensidad de la intervención, respuesta y seguimiento. Los adolescentes prefieren metodologías participativas e interactivas; sin embargo, aún no existe una intervención concreta y claramente definida que pueda ser estandarizada para enfrentar este problema de salud.
 Como citar este artículo: Bonilla CP, Díaz LP. Características de las intervenciones realizadas con adolescentes en condición de sobrepeso y obesidad: una revisión integrativa. Rev Cuid. 2019; 10(3): e681. http://dx.doi.org/10.15649/cuidarte.v10i3.681

Examination of Prefrontal Cortex Activity After EEG-Neurofeedback Stimulation in Overweight Cases

Food intake regulation is considered the key to weight control and overweight prevention. The brain activity in PreFrontal Cortex (PFC) plays a role in food intake behaviors. Most of the previous studies were aimed to PFC stimulation in overweight cases to modify the food intake behaviors. The EEG-neurofeedback is one of the brain stimulation techniques; therefore, this study aims to find the effect of EEG-NF stimulation on PFC function by EEG features analysis. For the purpose of analysis, the theta\beta ratio was extracted from ten healthy overweight participators in this study. All participants were divided into two groups, experimental group and control group with two phase-terms, pre and post-stimulation phase. The experiments were run using EEG-NF device. The results in this study indicate that success of EEG-Neurofeedback in PFC stimulation of overweight cases may have an influence on changing the food intake behavior.

Prevalence of overweight and obesity and associated risk factors among adult residents of northwest China: a cross-sectional study

ObjectiveOverweight and obesity have been shown to be related to multiple chronic conditions, leading to a heavy economic burden on society throughout the world. This study aims to estimate the...

Adult Overweight and Survival from Breast and Colorectal Cancer in Swedish Women.

The impact of overweight duration and intensity during adulthood on the prognosis after a cancer diagnosis remains largely unknown. We investigated this association in Swedish women with breast and colorectal cancer. A cohort of 47,051 women from the Swedish Lifestyle and Health Study was included, of whom 1,241 developed postmenopausal breast (mean age at diagnosis, 57.5 years) and 259 colorectal (mean age at diagnosis, 59.1 years) cancer. Trajectories of body mass index (BMI) between ages 20 and 50 years were estimated for the full cohort using a quadratic growth model and studied in relation to risk of death from any cause using multivariate Cox regression models among cancer survivors. Compared with patients with cancer who were never overweight (BMI < 25) during early adulthood (ages 20-50 years), the risk of early death from breast cancer increased by 3% [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.03; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01-1.05] and from colorectal cancer by 4% (HR = 1.04; 95% CI, 1.01-1.06) for every year lived with overweight. A higher intensity of overweight (i.e., a combination of duration and degree of overweight-a concept comparable to pack-years of cigarette smoking) further increased the risk of dying in this population. Although risks were slightly more pronounced for women diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer, no clear association was found for colorectal cancer. Our results suggest that adulthood overweight duration and intensity have a long-lasting influence on breast and colorectal cancer survival. Our study highlights the need for effective prevention of overweight and obesity starting at an early age.

Too big or too thin? New Caledonian adolescents' perceptions of overweight and underweight.

The first aim was to examine New Caledonian adolescents' views of what constitutes an overweight or underweight person. The second aim was to assess whether an environment with a high prevalence of overweight is associated with different norms of overweight or underweight in this population. The Stunkard Figure Rating Scale was used for a sample of 699 pluriethnic adolescents in New Caledonia. Body mass index (BMI) was assessed for each participant and weight status was determined. The factors associated with higher figure ratings were determined by linear regression modeling. Multilinear regression analysis indicated that gender (being male) and BMI were associated with higher rating scores to designate overweight. Moreover, higher BMI z-scores were associated with higher underweight figure ratings. Ethnicity, area of residence, age, and socioeconomic status were not associated with higher ratings of body image. These findings show that an environment with a high prevalence of overweight does not necessarily shift adolescent "norms," contrary to visual normalization theory. These results should be taken into account in educational overweight prevention programs.

Exploring the Contributory Factors Toward Childhood Obesity and Being Overweight in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States.

Introduction: Saudi schoolchildren are 15.5% and 6% overweight and obese, respectively. Social dynamics contributing to being overweight or obese are not well explored. Purpose: Exploration of social interaction between parents, children, and society, which may influence feeding activities. Methodology: Grounded theory with embedded quantitative measures used a sample of 20 mothers of overweight or obese children in well-child clinics. Mothers discussed eating practices and completed an inventory providing food intake data, consumption patterns, and child height and weight. Results: Core category: against the tide. Main emerging categories: fun food, the way we do things, my voice, knowing how, emotional pegs, and family first. Quantitative data highlighted possible sources of excessive calories and consumption patterns. Discussion: Normative change, alteration of patterns of social interaction, and empowerment of the mother's role to promote prevention of child overweight and obesity may assist in addressing overweight and obesity among children in this group.

Baby\u2019s first bites: a randomized controlled trial to assess the effects of vegetable-exposure and sensitive feeding on vegetable acceptance, eating behavior and weight gain in infants and toddlers

BackgroundThe start of complementary feeding in infancy plays an essential role in promoting healthy eating habits. Evidence shows that it is important what infants are offered during this first introduction of solid foods: e.g. starting exclusively with vegetables is more successful for vegetable acceptance than starting with fruits. How infants are introduced to solid foods also matters: if parents are sensitive and responsive to infant cues during feeding, this may promote self-regulation of energy intake and a healthy weight. However, the effectiveness of the what and the how of complementary feeding has never been experimentally tested in the same study. In the current project the what and how (and their combination) are tested in one study to determine their relative importance for fostering vegetable acceptance and self-regulation of energy intake in infants.MethodsA four-arm randomized controlled trial (Baby’s First Bites (BFB)) was designed for 240 first-time Dutch mothers and their infants, 60 per arm. In this trial, we compare the effectiveness of (a) a vegetable-exposure intervention focusing on the what in complementary feeding; (b) a sensitive feeding intervention focusing on the how in complementary feeding, (c) a combined intervention focusing on the what and how in complementary feeding; (d) an attention-control group. All mothers participate in five sessions spread over the first year of eating solid foods (child age 4–16 months). Primary outcomes are vegetable consumption, vegetable liking and self-regulation of energy intake. Secondary outcomes are child eating behaviors, child anthropometrics and maternal feeding behavior. Outcomes are assessed before, during and directly after the interventions (child age 18 months), and when children are 24 and 36 months old.DiscussionThe outcomes are expected to assess the impact of the interventions and provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying the development of vegetable acceptance, self-regulation and healthy eating patterns in infants and toddlers, as well as the prevention of overweight. The results may be used to improve current dietary advice given to parents of their young children on complementary feeding.Trial registrationThe trial was retrospectively registered during inclusion of participants at the Netherlands National Trial Register (identifier NTR6572) and at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03348176).Protocol issue date: 1 April 2018; version number 1.

PISIoT: A Machine Learning and IoT-Based Smart Health Platform for Overweight and Obesity Control

Overweight and obesity are affecting productivity and quality of life worldwide. The Internet of Things (IoT) makes it possible to interconnect, detect, identify, and process data between objects or services to fulfill a common objective. The main advantages of IoT in healthcare are the monitoring, analysis, diagnosis, and control of conditions such as overweight and obesity and the generation of recommendations to prevent them. However, the objects used in the IoT have limited resources, so it has become necessary to consider other alternatives to analyze the data generated from monitoring, analysis, diagnosis, control, and the generation of recommendations, such as machine learning. This work presents PISIoT: a machine learning and IoT-based smart health platform for the prevention, detection, treatment, and control of overweight and obesity, and other associated conditions or health problems. Weka API and the J48 machine learning algorithm were used to identify critical variables and classify patients, while Apache Mahout and RuleML were used to generate medical recommendations. Finally, to validate the PISIoT platform, we present a case study on the prevention of myocardial infarction in elderly patients with obesity by monitoring biomedical variables.

The effectiveness of wearable technologies as physical activity interventions in weight control: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Wearable technologies represent a novel approach in the prevention of obesity and overweight that encourages users to engage in physical activities aided by technological assistance. This is the first meta-analysis to investigate the effects of wearable technologies as physical activity interventions on weight control. Various electronic databases were searched to select eligible articles, including EBSCO, ScienceDirect, and PubMed, from the first available date to January 9, 2019. All analyses were performed using a random-effects model. Moderator analyses were conducted to investigate differences in the effect size. This meta-analysis of 19 randomized controlled trials indicated that wearable technologies as a physical activity intervention achieved a moderate and significant effect size on body weight and waist circumference and large and significant effect sizes on the body mass index. A subgroup analysis confirmed that wearable technologies were more efficient for weight control in individuals with obesity and chronic diseases. A duration of using wearable technologies for a total of more than or equal to 12 weeks was more effective. Meta-regressions have also revealed that the body weight of individuals who received an additional week of treatment could be reduced by more than 0.37%. Wearable technologies offer innovative platforms of physical activity interventions and an efficient method for weight control.