Obesity

For Contemporary Pediatrics, Dr Bobby Lazzara discusses a recent study published in Pediatrics that looked at the connections between maternal and paternal obesity and childhood development issues.

The last year or so has given the nation mixed pictures on childhood obesity, with plenty of challenges ahead.

Preschool-aged children who go to bed early are half as likely as those whose bedtime is late to be obese as adolescents, according to a new study.

As the prevalence of childhood obesity has grown, said David Brumbaugh, MD, FAAP, so has the importance of identifying early signs of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

I found myself in the trenches of the war on obesity in 2000 when I began working as a general pediatrician at a local community clinic in Southern California. I immediately became aware of the day-to-day barriers that my patients were facing and I began to take on the responsibility of making sure that the children I was seeing would not only survive, but also thrive.

Feeding an infant solid foods early won’t make them any more likely to become obese, but there are still many reasons to consider later introduction to solid foods, according to a new report from the CDC.

Children from poor households are at greater risk for obesity, according to a UK study, but early interventions could be key to better outcomes.

Parent-led diet and lifestyle changes may not be as effective as when getting a child excited about new foods that they help prepare, according to two women leading the charge for better nutrition education.

A 3- to 5-minute intervention delivered during routine pediatric visits and targeting 4 behaviors related to obesity-milk consumption, juice and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, television/screen time, and physical activity-decreased the rate at which body mass index (BMI) percentile increased in young children in a recent trial.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has unveiled new recommendations for pediatricians treating children and adolescents who have become obese.

Despite our best efforts, pediatricians have little success in encouraging our patients to eat a healthy diet and get the recommended amount of daily physical exercise.

A study in more than 64,500 children aged from birth to 59 months found that repeated exposure to broad-spectrum antibiotics up to age 23 months is associated with obesity during early childhood.

Babies who receive repeated doses of certain antibiotics between birth and 23 months of age have a higher risk of developing obesity in early childhood than babies who don’t, a 12-year study reveals.

After years of knowing that obesity and asthma had some connection, but not whether obesity brought about asthma or vice versa, new evidence may finally hold the answer.

Children, especially girls, who weigh more at 5 years of age tend to have lower levels of a hormone that affects the onset of puberty and enter puberty earlier than less heavy children, a new study reports.

A new study supports the hypothesis that a genetic disposition to being overweight rests in part on an association with a low level of responsiveness to internal satiety cues, which can lead to overeating and weight gain.

Adding to the long list of bodily damage done by obesity, researchers now find that a significant number of children and adolescents-close to 1 in 5-who are severely obese have evidence of kidney abnormalities.

A new investigation assessing whether openings or expansions of American Indian-owned casinos are associated with the risk of overweight suggests that economic resources have a direct effect on overweight/obesity risk.

Not everyone agrees that the obesity rate among our nation’s preschoolers is dropping, as we reported earlier this month.

Efforts to increase the time adolescents spend in physical activity and reduce the time they spend watching television seem to be paying off, according to analysis of data from 3 quadrennial surveys of students in grades 6 to 10.

Pediatricians have a critical role in addressing childhood overweight and obesity. However, their success in achieving positive outcomes with individual patients depends on the spoken and unspoken messages delivered during the clinical encounter.

Because childhood obesity is a chronic issue, Contemporary Pediatrics would like to serve as a clearinghouse and forum for sharing your ideas, success stories, and anecdotal wins.

Childhood obesity comes at a high cost. Not only does it threaten the health and lives of future generations, but it also puts a heavy burden on future health care spending.

Body mass index (BMI) or degree of change in BMI is insufficient when it comes to evaluating the success or failure of obesity interventions in children, finds a new study.

Although the mechanisms are currently unclear, 19 states/territories in the United States managed to reduce their rates of childhood obesity among low-income preschoolers, according to a report from the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.