An Overview of the Obese-Asthma Phenotype in Children

Asthma is the most common chronic disease in childhood. Overweight and obesity are included among the comorbidities considered in patients with difficult-to-treat asthma, suggesting a specific phenotype of the disease. Therefore, the constant increase in obesity prevalence in children and adolescents raises concerns about the parallel increase of obesity-associated asthma. The possible correlation between obesity and asthma has been investigated over the last decade by different authors, who suggest a complex multifactorial relationship. Although the particular non-eosinophilic endotype of obesity-related asthma supports the concept that high body weight precedes asthma development, there is ongoing debate about the direct causality of these two entities. A number of mechanisms may be involved in asthma in combination with obesity disease in children, including reduced physical activity, abnormal ventilation, chronic systemic inflammation, hormonal influences, genetics and additional comorbidities, such as gastroesophageal reflux and dysfunctional breathing. The identification of the obesity-related asthma phenotype is crucial to initiate specific therapeutic management. Besides the cornerstones of asthma treatment, lifestyle should be optimized, with interventions aiming to promote physical exercise, healthy diet, and comorbidities. Future studies should clarify the exact association between asthma and obesity and the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of these two related conditions with the aim to define personalized therapeutic strategies for asthma management in this population.

Trends of overweight and obesity among preschool children from 2013 to 2018: A cross-sectional study in Rhine-Neckar County and the City of Heidelberg, Germany

BackgroundEarly childhood overweight and obesity is a growing public health concern worldwide. Few recent studies have addressed how time trends varied by sociodemographic characteristics at the regional level using large and high-quality data. This study aims to determine how time trends vary in the prevalence of early childhood overweight and obesity by age, gender, and migration background at the regional level.MethodsWe described the distribution change in the BMI with a Kernel-density curve, and evaluated the trends of overweight and obesity by age, gender, and migration background using logistic regression.ResultsMean BMI and the prevalence of overweight and obesity increased among preschool children aged 4-6 years in the Rhine-Neckar County and the City of Heidelberg. After adjusting for age, gender, and migration background, trends in the prevelance of overweight significantly increased only among male children in the age 5 year group with migration background (P < 0.05), and an upward trend of obesity was observed only among male children in the age 5 year group and female children in the age 6 year group with migration background (P < 0.05).ConclusionsBMI distribution as well as general prevalence of overweight and obesity are still increasing among preschool children. Children with migration backgrounds, particularly male children in the age 5 year groups and female children in the age 6 year group should be prioritized. More prevention policies should be targeted towards vulnerable groups.

Parental Adherence to Ideal Cardiovascular Health Status Was Associated With a Substantially Lower Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in Their Offspring Aged 6–18 Years

Background: Parental health status had a potential influence on offspring health. This study aimed to investigate the separate associations between paternal and maternal cardiovascular health statuses and the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in the offspring.Methods: Data were from a cross-sectional study conducted in seven provinces or cities of China in 2013. A total of 29,317 children aged 6–18 years old and their parents, making up 9,585 father-offspring pairs and 19,732 mother-offspring pairs, were included in the final analysis. Information on parental cardiovascular health status factors (dietary behaviors, body mass index (BMI), smoking, physical activity, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus) was obtained from the structured self-administrated questionnaires. Based on the health status factors, we then generated an ideal cardiovascular health (iCVH) score. The overweight and obesity of children were defined using age- and sex-specific cutoffs based on the International Obesity Task Force criteria. A multilevel log-binomial regression model was used to assess the association between parental cardiovascular health status and prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in the offspring.Results: The prevalence of pediatric overweight and obesity was 22.0% in the father-offspring subset and 23.8% in the mother-offspring subset, respectively. Fathers with ideal BMI, non-smoking, and absence of hypertension and diabetes, and mothers with ideal BMI, ideal physical activity, and absence of hypertension and diabetes were found to be associated with lower prevalence of overweight and obesity in the offspring. The prevalence of offspring overweight and obesity was significantly decreased with the parental iCVH scores increased. Each additional increase in paternal and maternal iCVH factor was associated with a 30% and 27% lower prevalence of overweight and obesity in the offspring. Compared with children whose parental iCVH scores ≤ 3, offspring whose fathers or mothers met all six iCVH factors had 67% [prevalence ratio (PR): 0.33, 95%CI: 0.25–0.42] and 58% (PR: 0.42, 95%CI: 0.29–0.62) lower prevalence of overweight and obesity, respectively.Conclusions: Parental adherence to iCVH status was associated with a lower prevalence of pediatric overweight and obesity in offspring. Our findings support the intervention strategy that parents should involve in the obesity intervention program for children.

Prevalence of Overweight/Obesity and Associated Factors Among Under-Five Children in Ethiopia: Evidence From the 2019 Ethiopia Mini Demographic and Health Survey (Emdhs); A Multilevel Analysis

Background: Childhood overweight and obesity are emerging public health challenges of the 21st century. There was a 24% increase in the number of overweight children under the age of five years in low-income countries. Despite the significant risk of childhood overweight/obesity for non-communicable diseases, premature death, disability, and reproductive disorders in their adult life, little attention has been given. Therefore, we aimed to assess the prevalence of overweight/obesity and associated factors among under-five children. Methods: This study was conducted using data from a nationally representative sample of the 2019 Ethiopia Mini Demographic and Health Survey (EMDHS). The Mini EDHS was a community-based cross-sectional study that covered all the administrative regions of Ethiopia. The data collection was conducted between March 21, 2019, to June 28, 2019. Both descriptive and analytic findings were produced using STATA version 14. For associated factors, a multilevel binary logistic regression model was fitted to account for the hierarchical nature of the data. Adjusted odds ratio (aOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was reported to show the strength of association and statistical significance. Results: A total 5,164 under-five children were included in this study. The overall prevalence of overweight/obesity was 2.14 % (95% CI; 1.74-2.53) (more than two standard deviations (+2SD) above the median of the reference population) based on the body mass index (BMI) Z-score. The odds of overweight/obesity was higher among children aged less than 6 months (aOR= 5.19; 95%CI: 2.98-9.04), 6-24 months (aOR = 1.97; 95%CI: 1.18-3.29), delivered by caesarean section (aOR = 1.75; 95% CI: 1.84-3.65), living in Addis Ababa city (aOR = 2.16; 95%CI: 1.59-7.81), Oromia region (aOR = 1.93; 95CI: 1.71-5.24), having mothers with the age 40-49 years (aOR = 3.91; 95%CI: 1.90-16.92), uses traditional contraceptive methods (aOR = 2.63; 95%CI: 1.66-10.47), and households headed by male (aOR = 1.71; 95%CI: 1.84-3.48). Conclusion: This study showed that childhood overweight/obesity is the problem in Ethiopia. There was an interplay of several factors that affect childhood obesity including child factors, maternal socio-demography, and healthcare utilization, and geography of residence. Therefore, strategies to reduce childhood overweight and obesity should consider a multitude of contributing factors.

A STUDY TO DETERMINE THE NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF HIGH SCHOOL CHILDREN IN RURAL AREA RAJASTAHAN

Background: Over the past few years in India, childhood overweight and obesity is increasingly being observed with the changing lifestyle of families with inadequate exercises and unhealthy food lifestyles. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 100 students from each class was selected using systematic random sampling. Results: The overweight students were mainly boys and the underweight students were mainly girls. Nutritional value of the majority of students was poor due to consumption of junk foods, lack of exercise, outdoor activities, inadequate intake of food and imbalanced diet. Conclusion: In the present study, majority of high school students in 8th, 9th, and 10th standards were underweight, and the prevalence of overweight and obesity were less. Keywords: Overweight, Underweight, Rural