BackgroundTo assess the clinical validity of controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) in the diagnosis of hepatic steatosis in a series of overweight or obese children by using the imperfect gold standard methodology.MethodsConsecutive children referred to our institution for auxological evaluation or obesity or minor elective surgery were prospectively enrolled. Anthropometric and biochemical parameters were recorded. Ultrasound (US) assessment of steatosis was carried out using ultrasound systems. CAP was obtained with the FibroScan 502 Touch device (Echosens, Paris, France). Pearson’s or Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient were used to test the association between two study variables. Optimal cutoff of CAP for detecting steatosis was 249 dB/m. The diagnostic performance of dichotomized CAP, US, body mass indexes (BMI), fatty liver index (FLI) and hepatic steatosis index (HSI) was analyzed using the imperfect gold standard methodology.ResultsThree hundred five pediatric patients were enrolled. The data of both US and CAP were available for 289 children. Steatosis was detected in 50/289 (17.3%) children by US and in 77/289 (26.6%) by CAP. A moderate to good correlation was detected between CAP and BMI (r = 0.53), FLI (r = 0.55) and HSI (r = 0.56). In obese children a moderate to good correlation between CAP and insulin levels (r = 0.54) and HOMA-IR (r = 0.54) was also found. Dichotomized CAP showed a performance of 0.70 (sensitivity, 0.72 [0.64–0.79]; specificity, 0.98 [0.97–0.98], which was better than that of US (performance, 0.37; sensitivity, 0.46 [0.42–0.50]; specificity, 0.91 [0.89–0.92]), BMI (performance, 0.22; sensitivity, 0.75 [0.73–0.77]; specificity, 0.57 [0.55–0.60]) and FLI or HSI.ConclusionsFor the evaluation of liver steatosis in children CAP performs better than US, which is the most widely used imaging technique for screening patients with a suspicion of liver steatosis. A cutoff value of CAP of 249 dB/m rules in liver steatosis with a very high specificity.

Puberty is a crucial developmental stage in the life span, necessary to achieve reproductive and somatic maturity. Timing of puberty is modulated by and responds to central neurotransmitters, hormones, and environmental factors leading to hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis maturation. The connection between hormones and nutrition during critical periods of growth, like fetal life or infancy, is fundamental for metabolic adaptation response and pubertal development control and prediction. Since birth weight is an important indicator of growth estimation during fetal life, restricted prenatal growth, such as intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and small for gestational age (SGA), may impact endocrine system, affecting pubertal development. Successively, lactation along with early life optimal nutrition during infancy and childhood may be important in order to set up timing of sexual maturation and provide successful reproduction at a later time. Sexual maturation and healthy growth are also influenced by nutrition requirements and diet composition. Early nutritional surveillance and monitoring of pubertal development is recommended in all children, particularly in those at risk, such as the ones born SGA and/or IUGR, as well as in the case of sudden weight gain during infancy. Adequate macro and micronutrient intake is essential for healthy growth and sexual maturity.

Obesity is a growing health problem in both children and adults, impairing physical and mental state and impacting health care system costs in both developed and developing countries. It is well-known that individuals with excessive weight gain frequently develop obesity-related complications, which are mainly known as Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and many other risk factors proven to be associated with chronic inflammation, causing disability and reduced life expectancy. This review aims to present and discuss complications related to inflammation in pediatric obesity, the critical role of nutrition and diet in obesity-comorbidity prevention and treatment, and the impact of lifestyle. Appropriate early dietary intervention for the management of pediatric overweight and obesity is recommended for overall healthy growth and prevention of comorbidities in adulthood.

The triglyceride and glucose (TyG) index has been proposed as a simple surrogate of insulin resistance (IR) with high sensitivity as an IR index besides the well known homeostasis model assessment of IR (HOMA-IR). Limited data are reported in children. We investigated the sensitivity and specificity of TyG index in a pediatric Caucasian population, as a surrogate measure of IR and compared the results with HOMA-IR. Methods: We enrolled 541 children (11.7±2.71 yrs). According to body mass index (BMI) chart, the subjects were divided into three groups: normal weight BMI<75th percentile, overweight BMI 75th-95th percentile, and obese>95 th percentile. TyG index was calculated as (ln[fasting triglycerides(mg/dl)×fasting plasma glucose(mg/dl)/2]) and considered pathological when exceeding 7.88. HOMA-IR was calculated as (insulin×glucose)/22.5 and defined pathological whenever exceeding 97.5th percentile for age and sex. Results: In children with overweight/obesity TyG index was higher compared to normal weight subjects (p<0.001). TyG index was correlated with BMI (p<0.001); WHtR (p<0.001), total and HDL cholesterol (p<0.001); ALT (p<0.001), blood pressure (p<0.001). A correlation between TyG index and HOMAIR (p<0.001) as well as high TyG index and pathological HOMA-IR (p<0.001) were noted. The optimal cutoff for IR was considered 7.98 (sensitivity 60%; specificity 78%; AUC 0.69). Conclusions: TyG index is a useful and cost-effective index of IR among children and adolescents. The cutoff 7.98 may be used for IR risk screening in childhood obesity, but we recommend caution when used in other populations.

The coexistence of childhood obesity (or its risk) and COVID-19 pandemic put children and adolescents in greater risk to develop respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. In fact, the restrictions introduced to limit the spread of the virus had detrimental effects on various lifestyle components, especially in young population. This resulted in augmented levels of physical inactivity and sedentary behaviors and a reduced time spent in play outdoors or sport practices. Contrariwise, the increased use of technology led clinicians, teachers, and trainers to maintain relations with obese children/adolescents so as to reduce sedentary behaviors and the associated health risks. This narrative review aims to describe the role of Telehealth and Tele-exercise as useful tools in the management of pediatric obesity during COVID-19 pandemic. Telehealth and Tele-exercise were effective in promoting self-monitoring and behavioral changes, including adherence to exercise training programs in children and adolescents. Moreover, tele-exercise platforms such as applications or exergames allowed flexible scheduling, limiting the infection risks.

Introduction: Allostatic load (AL) refers to the physiological response associated with the burden of chronic stress. Excessive weight is an important source of physiological stress that promotes a detrimental chronic low-inflammation state. In order to define a correlation between cumulative biological dysregulation and excess weight, we measured AL scores in a pediatric population. Patients and Methods: We enrolled 164 children and adolescents (11.89 ± 3.89). According to their body mass index (BMI) threshold, subjects were classified as normal in the BMI < 75th percentile, overweight in the BMI 75–95th percentile or obese in the BMI >95th percentile. Data based on 16 biomarkers were used to create the AL score. A dichotomous outcome for high AL was defined in those who had more than four dysregulated components. Results: High AL was noted in 88/164 subjects (53.65%), without significant differences between genders ( p = 0.07) or pubertal status ( p = 0.10). Subjects with a high AL, in addition to a higher BMI ( p < 0.001), showed higher WC and WC/HtR ( p < 0.001), triglycerides ( p = 0.002), fasting blood glucose ( p = 0.03), insulin resistance ( p < 0.001), systolic ( p < 0.001) and diastolic blood pressure ( p = 0.001), GGT ( p = 0.01), PCR ( p = 0.01), and calprotectin ( p < 0.01) as well as lower HDL cholesterol ( p = 0.002) than subjects with a low AL. The rate of the cumulative biological dysregulation increased progressively with increases in BMI ( p < 0.001). Conclusions: A high AL was associated with excess weight. AL may be considered a significant factor correlated with increased morbidity in children who are overweight/obese.

Pediatric obesity is a multifaceted disease that can impact physical and mental health. It is a complex condition that interweaves biological, developmental, environmental, behavioral, and genetic factors. In most cases lifestyle and behavioral modification as well as medical treatment led to poor short-term weight reduction and long-term failure. Thus, bariatric surgery should be considered in adolescents with moderate to severe obesity who have previously participated in lifestyle interventions with unsuccessful outcomes. In particular, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is considered the most commonly performed bariatric surgery worldwide. The procedure is safe and feasible. The efficacy of this weight loss surgical procedure has been demonstrated in pediatric age. Nevertheless, there are barriers at the patient, provider, and health system levels, to be removed. First and foremost, more efforts must be made to prevent decline in nutritional status that is frequent after bariatric surgery, and to avoid inadequate weight loss and weight regain, ensuring successful long-term treatment and allowing healthy growth. In this narrative review, we considered the rationale behind surgical treatment options, outcomes, and clinical indications in adolescents with severe obesity, focusing on LSG, nutritional management, and resolution of metabolic comorbidities.

Background: The incidence of autoimmune thyroid diseases (ATD) may vary with the beginning of reproductive function, although few reports differentiate the incidence before and during the onset of puberty, examining gender bias. We analyzed onset of ATD in a pediatric population to assess gender differences in onset age, disease subtype, pubertal status, autoimmune co-morbidity, family history and treatment, focusing on the interaction between gender and pubertal stage. Patients and methods: We retrospectively recorded 382 children and adolescents with ATD. In each patient physical examination was considered. The presence of other associated autoimmune diseases (AAD) and familial predisposition was also recorded. Results: Predominant prevalence was noted in females compared to males (p < 0.001), both in Hashimoto's diseases (HD or HT) and Graves' disease (GD) (p < 0.001). Mean age at diagnosis showed no significant difference between sexes (p > 0.05). A higher prevalence in pubertal subjects was noted compared to prepubertal (p < 0.001, particularly HT in early and GD in late pubertal stage), without sexes difference intra-(prepubertal vs. pubertal) and inter-puberty groups (prepubertal vs. early pubertal vs. late pubertal). Both in HT and in GD, the prevalence of autoimmune associated diseases (AAD) was higher in males compared to females (p = 0.04), with similar distribution according to the pubertal maturation. The familial predisposition was similarly distributed in both genders (p > 0.05) and into pubertal stages (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Females are more prone to develop ATD during puberty, earlier in HT than in GD. The effect of puberty is not different between genders, suggesting the role of additional factors other than hormones. The screening for detection of ATD is recommended in all patients with positive family history and other autoimmune diseases, mostly in males. Considerations of gender in pediatrics could be important to define pathogenic mechanisms of ATD and to help in early diagnosis and clinical management.