Pulmonary function testing is performed in children and infants with the aim of documenting lung development with age and making diagnoses of lung diseases. In children and infants with an established lung disease, pulmonary function is tested to assess the disease progression and the efficacy of therapy. It is difficult to carry out the measurements in this age group without disturbances, so obtaining results of good quality and reproducibility is challenging. Young children are often uncooperative during the examinations. This is partly related to their young age but also due to the long testing duration and the unpopular equipment. We address a variety of examination techniques for lung function assessment in children and infants in this review. We describe the measuring principles, examination procedures, clinical findings and their interpretation, as well as advantages and limitations of these methods. The comparability between devices and centres as well as the availability of reference values are still considered a challenge in many of these techniques. In recent years, new technologies have emerged allowing the assessment of lung function not only on the global level but also on the regional level. This opens new possibilities for detecting regional lung function heterogeneity that might lead to a better understanding of respiratory pathophysiology in children.

Background: The objective of this study was to investigate differences in weight perception and self-concept of obese and lean children, and to examine parents’ awareness of overweight in themselves and their children. A total of 59 obese patients aged 7–17 years and 49 of their parents from a pediatric obesity out-patient clinic participated and were compared with 96 normalweight patients and 81 of their parents from a pediatric pulmonary disease out-patient clinic. Methods: Children’s and parents’ self-perception of weight, desire for weight change and weight concerns, children’s belief that their desired weight can be achieved, and parents’ perception of their child’s weight status were assessed using single questionnaire items. Children’s self-concept was measured by the Self-Perception Profile for Children. In addition, children drew pictures about themselves and their favorite activity. Results: Obese patients wished to change their weight more frequently (p < 0.001) and had more weight concerns (p < 0.001). Their self-concept was significantly more negative. Physical activities were more common in their drawings than in those of normal-weight peers. Parents of obese children were more frequently overweight or obese themselves (p < 0.001). 35 of them and 73 parents of normal-weight children perceived their own weight realistically. Of the parents with overweight or obese children, 69.4% perceived their own child as overweight and 28.6% as very overweight, whereas 83% of them were obese. Conclusion: Children and adolescents as well as their parents recognize overweight as a health problem. In the majority, weight perception matches real body weight. Most parents at least recognize overweight in their children.

No abstract

Global and regional lung functions were not affected by exercise in lung-healthy children. Exercise did not increase ventilation inhomogeneity. The obtained EIT-derived regional lung parameters can serve as reference values for future studies in children with lung diseases.

BackgroundIn-patient obesity treatment programs for adolescents are associated with good success and substantial weight loss. However, maintaining weight loss remains a challenge. This article presents the concept of the TeAM (Telephone counseling as Adiposity Management) program. TeAM is an innovative, weight maintenance program for obese adolescents after in-patient therapy. It applies the case management approach in combination with new media (telephone counseling, web forum, and SMS messaging). Adolescents (14–18 years) were recruited via German rehabilitation hospitals. The intervention of the TeAM program consists of telephone counseling through trained case managers in order to maintain body weight reduction (expressed as BMI-SDS: body mass index standard deviation score) achieved during an in-patient obesity therapy. At baseline and after completion of the program, participants provide anthropometric measures (obtained by trained medical staff) as well as information on socio-demographics, usage of health services, psychosocial status, daily physical activity, media consumption, and eating behavior. The core of the intervention is regular telephone contact with the adolescent participants combined with tailored SMS messages. Telephone counseling is based on the systemic approach and addresses the topics of mental hygiene, physical activity, sedentary behavior, diet and eating behavior.ResultsBaseline data of the feasibility study: Thirty-eight adolescents were recruited for the feasibility study (14 male, 24 female; mean age 15.82 years); out of them, ten participants lived with a single parent; 68% planned to graduate from school without pre-requisites for university admission (O-level). The mean weight loss during in-patient treatment was 0.32 BMI-SDS units. Mean BMI at the start of intervention was 31.93 kg/m2, corresponding to a mean BMI-SDS of 2.48.ConclusionsWeight maintenance treatment programs for adolescent obesity utilizing new media are a promising approach as they reach adolescents directly within their everyday life.Trial registrationDRKS00004583.