0000000000850172
AUTHOR
Julio Alvarez
Influence of Concurrent Obesity and Low Birth Weight on Blood Pressure Phenotype in Youth
The aim of this study was to assess the impact of obesity and low birth weight on both office and ambulatory blood pressure (BP) values, as well as on aortic-derived parameters in youths. A total of 422 white youths, from 10 to 18 years of age, were included. Subjects were divided into 4 groups according to the presence (234; 55%) or the absence (188; 45%) of obesity and according to low (114; 27%) or normal (308; 73%, birth weight. Spacelabs 90207 was used to measure ambulatory BP during a 24-hour period. SphygmoCor radial/aortic transform software was used to estimate aortic pressure waveform. Office, 24-hour, daytime, and nighttime systolic BP values were significantly higher in those s…
Prevalencia del trastorno por atracón en una muestra clínica de obesos
Resumen: Introducción: El trastorno por atracón se caracteriza por presencia de episodios de sobreingesta recurrentes en un periodo corto, acompañados de pérdida de control. Este trastorno es el más frecuente de entre todos los trastornos de la conducta alimentaria en población obesa, tanto en adultos como en niños. Objetivo: El objetivo de este estudio fue obtener datos prevalencia del trastorno por atracón en una muestra de niños y adolescentes obesos, usuarios de una unidad de pediatría especializada en el tratamiento de la obesidad infantil. Material y métodos: Se contó con una muestra 70 niños y adolescentes con edades comprendidas entre los 9 y los 16 años, con una edad media de 12 añ…
Using Virtual Reality to Distract Overweight Children from Bodily Sensations During Exercise
This study analyzes the potential of virtual reality (VR) to enhance attentional distraction in overweight children as they experience bodily sensations during exercise. It has been suggested that one reason why obese children stop exercising is the perception of bodily sensations. In a counterbalanced design, a total of 109 children (33 overweight, 10-15 years old) were asked to walk twice for 6 minutes on a treadmill under one of two conditions: (a) traditional condition (TC)-focusing their attention on their physical feelings and sensations or (b) distraction condition (DC)-focusing their attention on a virtual environment. Attentional focus during exercise, bad-good feeling states (pre-…
Blood cell transcript levels in 5-year-old children as potential markers of breastfeeding effects in those small for gestational age at birth
BackgroundNutrition of the newborn during the early postnatal period seems to be of capital importance and there is clinical evidence showing the protective effect of breastfeeding compared with formula feeding on childhood obesity and its comorbidities. Infants born small for gestation age may be more sensitive to the type of feeding during lactation. Here, we aimed to analyze the impact of birth weight and the type of infant feeding on the expression levels in peripheral blood cells of selected candidate genes involved in energy homeostasis in 5-year-old children, to find out potential early biomarkers of metabolic programming effects during this period of metabolic plasticity.MethodsFort…
Relationship between body composition and postural control in prepubertal overweight/obese children: A cross-sectional study
Abstract Background Excess body weight during childhood causes reduced motor functionality and problems in postural control, a negative influence which has been reported in the literature. Nevertheless, no information regarding the effect of body composition on the postural control of overweight and obese children is available. The objective of this study was therefore to establish these relationships. Methods A cross-sectional design was used to establish relationships between body composition and postural control variables obtained in bipedal eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions in twenty-two children. Centre of pressure signals were analysed in the temporal and frequency domains. Pearson…
Innovations in Infant Feeding: Future Challenges and Opportunities in Obesity and Cardiometabolic Disease
The field of nutrition in early life, as an effective tool to prevent and treat chronic diseases, has attracted a large amount of interest over recent years. The vital roles of food products and nutrients on the body’s molecular mechanisms have been demonstrated. The knowledge of the mechanisms and the possibility of controlling them via what we eat has opened up the field of precision nutrition, which aims to set dietary strategies in order to improve health with the greatest effectiveness. However, this objective is achieved only if the genetic profile of individuals and their living conditions are also considered. The relevance of this topic is strengthened considering the importance of …
Added impact of obesity and insulin resistance in nocturnal blood pressure elevation in children and adolescents.
The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between insulin resistance and the ambulatory blood pressure components in obese children and adolescents. Eighty-seven overweight and obese white children and adolescents of both sexes, of European origin from 6 to 18 years of age (mean age: 10.9±2.7 years), were selected. Obesity was defined on the basis of a threshold body mass index z score >2 (Cole’s least mean square method) and overweight with a body mass index from the 85th to 97th percentile. A validated oscillometric method was used to measure ambulatory BP (Spacelabs 90207) during 24 hours. Fasting glucose and insulin were measured, and the homeostasis model assessm…
Determinants of Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in the First Decade of Life
The present prospective study assessed the association of birth weight (BW) and growth pattern on cardiometabolic risk factors in a cohort followed from birth to 10 years of age. One hundred and forty-five subjects (73 girls) who fulfilled the inclusion criteria and had all their data recorded at birth and at 5 years were enrolled. Of these, 100 (52 girls) also recorded data at 10 years. Anthropometric measurements, office and 24-hour blood pressure, and metabolic parameters were obtained. At 5 years, both BW and current weight were determinants of blood pressure and metabolic parameters; however, as the subjects got older, the impact of body size increased. Higher BW and maternal obesity i…
Longitudinal genome-wide DNA methylation analysis uncovers persistent early-life DNA methylation changes
[Background] Early life is a period of drastic epigenetic remodeling in which the epigenome is especially sensitive to extrinsic and intrinsic influence. However, the epigenome-wide dynamics of the DNA methylation changes that occur during this period have not been sufficiently characterized in longitudinal studies.
Impact of ESH and AAP hypertension guidelines for children and adolescents on office and ambulatory blood pressure-based classifications.
The objective was to assess the differences between the 2016 European Society of Hypertension (ESH) and the 2017 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) hypertension (HTN) guidelines in the distribution of office blood pressure (BP) categories as well as in the office and ambulatory BP mismatches.The study included 4940 clinical evaluations performed in 2957 youth (5-18 years) of both sexes. BP and anthropometric parameters were measured following standard conditions. The classification of the BP measurements was normotension, high-normal, stages 1 and 2 HTN, following the criteria of both guidelines. In a subgroup of 2467 participants, 3941 office BP assessment was completed with 24-h ambulat…
Cardiovascular fitness in youth: association with obesity and metabolic abnormalities
[ES] Las terapias que se implantan actualmente para la obesidad se centran en los aspectos nutricionales y sobre la actividad física. Con el fin de hacer que la actividad física sea una terapia positiva en vez de un desencadenador de discapacidades, es relevante evaluar de forma precisa el entrenamiento cardiovascular. Objetivo: evaluar el entrenamiento cardiovascular midiendo el consumo máximo de oxígeno y evaluar su relación con los parámetros cardiometabólicos clásicos. Métodos: se aplicó el protocolo modificado de Balke a 126 individuos caucásicos (60 % de varones), con edades entre 9 y 16 años, que se sometieron a una evaluación de obesidad. El grupo de no obesos consistía de individuo…
Uric acid is linked to cardiometabolic risk factors in overweight and obese youths.
OBJECTIVE Observational studies have indicated that high levels of serum uric acid are associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease. The aim of the present study is to investigate the association of uric acid with individual cardiometabolic risk factors, as well as their degree of clustering, in overweight and moderate obese youth. METHODS Three hundred and thirty-three Caucasians of both sexes (149 women), from 5-18 years of age from those who underwent an assessment of overweight/obesity. Anthropometric parameters, office and 24-h blood pressure measurements and metabolic profile, including HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin, HOMA index and uric acid were assessed. RESULTS Uric…
Competitive active video games: Physiological and psychological responses in children and adolescents
Recent strategies to reduce sedentary behaviour in children include replacing sedentary screen time for active video games. Active video game studies have focused principally on the metabolic consumption of a single player, with physiological and psychological responses of opponent-based multiplayer games to be further evaluated.To determine whether adding a competitive component to playing active video games impacts physiological and psychological responses in players.Sixty-two healthy Caucasian children and adolescents, nine to 14 years years of age, completed three conditions (8 min each) in random order: treadmill walking, and single and opponent-based Kinect active video games. Affect,…
Obesity and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors : from Childhood to Adulthood
Obesity has become a major epidemic in the 21st century. It increases the risk of dyslipidemia, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes, which are known cardiometabolic risk factors and components of the metabolic syndrome. Although overt cardiovascular (CV) diseases such as stroke or myocardial infarction are the domain of adulthood, it is evident that the CV continuum begins very early in life. Recognition of risk factors and early stages of CV damage, at a time when these processes are still reversible, and the development of prevention strategies are major pillars in reducing CV morbidity and mortality in the general population. In this review, we will discuss the role of well-known but also …
Obesity Affects Postural Control in Middle Childhood and Adolescence but not in Early Childhood
Introduction:Overweight/obese children have postural control differences compared with normal-weight children. Nevertheless, there are not studies that analyze the effect of obesity during the entire period comprised between childhood and adolescence. The objective of this study was to determine the differences in postural control between normal-weight and overweight/obese participants during early and middle childhood and adolescence.Methods:359 children were divided into six groups according to age and weight status. Each participant carried out one 30-s trial with eyes open (EO) and one 30-s trial with eyes closed (EC). Center of pressure signals were acquired using a Wii Balance Board. …
Sexual Dimorphism in the Transition From Masked to Sustained Hypertension in Healthy Youths
The risk and factors related to the development of hypertension among healthy youths with elevated ambulatory and normal conventional blood pressure, masked hypertension, have not been established. We performed a long-term follow-up study assessing how hypertension develops over time in healthy, masked hypertensive youths. The potential sex dimorphism in the incidence and timing of the development of hypertension has been analyzed. In a long-term follow-up study (median follow-up, 36 months), we enrolled 272 healthy conventional normotensive youths (aged 6–18 years; 55.8% girls) of whom 39 had masked hypertension at baseline. Development of sustained hypertension (hypertension in both conv…
Blood pressure and obesity exert independent influences on pulse wave velocity in youth.
The objective was to analyze pulse wave velocity (PWV) in normotensive, high-normal, and hypertensive youths by using aortic-derived parameters from peripheral recordings. The impact of obesity on vascular phenotypes was also analyzed. A total of 501 whites from 8 to 18 years of age were included. The subjects were divided according to BP criteria: 424 (85%) were normotensive, 56 (11%) high-normal, and 21 (4%) hypertensive. Obesity was present in 284 (56%) and overweight in 138 (28%). Pulse wave analysis using a SphygmoCor device was performed to determine central blood pressure (BP), augmentation index, and measurement of PWV. Among the BP groups, differences appeared in age, sex, and hei…