As the obesity epidemic spreads, concern about the significant health and economic consequences has also grown. Obesity has been linked to a variety of chronic diseases, almost 300,000 deaths each year, and 117 billion dollars in direct and indirect annual costs in the United States alone. In this article we review the recent trends in overweight and obesity, summarize the lifestyle factors that influence the increasing prevalence of obesity, and discuss the health and economic impact of the obesity epidemic.

The only independent predictor of prolonged symptoms after sport-related concussion is overall symptom burden.

Over 6 million people around the world die from cancer each year. Modifiable risk factors have been linked to a wide range of malignancies, including cancers of the oropharynx, oesophagus, larynx, lung, kidney, bladder, pancreas, skin, stomach, ovary, breast, cervix, uterus, prostate, and colon. Research indicates that over half of all cancers in developed countries could be prevented if we implemented population-wide measures to promote the following behaviours: reduce tobacco use, increase physical activity, control weight, improve diet, limit alcohol, utilise safer sex practices, get routine cancer screening tests, and avoid excess sun exposure.

Purpose-To determine whether change in physical activity level impacts adolescents' selfperceptions.Methods-Using questionnaire responses from the Growing Up Today Study (GUTS) in 1997 and 1999, we evaluated data from 5,260 girls and 3,410 boys. Physical activity changes were compared to changes in perceived competence in 3 domains (social, athletic, and scholastic) as well as in global self-worth. Analyses controlled for sibling clustering as well as for potential confounders, including body mass index, cigarette smoking, baseline activity levels, and baseline self-perception scores.Results-For girls and boys, increase in physical activity was positively associated with change in social and athletic (p<0.0001), but not scholastic or global. self-perception. Compared to those with little or no change in activity, those who increased physical activity were more likely to have increased self-perception measures. Girls who increased physical activity by 5 or more hours/week were at least 33% more likely to have increased social self-perception, and at least 44% more likely to have increased athletic self-perception. In boys, those who increased activity by 10 or more hours/week were 45% more likely to have increased social self-perception. The reverse was also true; for both girls and boys, those with decreased physical activity were more likely to have decreased selfperception scores.Conclusions-This research indicates that increased physical activity has a positive impact on athletic and social self-perception in girls and boys.

This study assessed whether between‐sex differences in concussion reporting intention and behavior among young adults are explained by the extent to which the individual conforms to traditional masculine norms that often characterize contemporary sport culture. A survey of college athletes in the United States (n = 328) found greater symptom reporting intention among females as compared to males, but no difference in their likelihood continued play while experiencing symptoms of a possible concussion. Greater conformity to the norms of risk‐taking was associated with greater likelihood of continued play while symptomatic among female athletes but not among male athletes. These findings suggest that gendered behavior, rather than biologically determined sex, is an important consideration for concussion safety in this age group. Addressing elements of the contemporary sport ethos that reinforce risk taking in service of athletic achievement may be a relevant direction for interventions aimed at improving injury reporting among all athletes.

Sports injuries in young males and females differed by injury type, diagnosis, and body area. These results may be related to the referral patterns unique to the division of the hospital, including a high number of female dancers. Further investigation is required to better understand the injury risk in pediatric male and female athletes.

Background:Limited data exist regarding the effect of the growth process on anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk in male versus female children.Hypothesis:The proportion of ACL injuries/sports injuries presenting to clinic will vary by age, sex, and body mass index (BMI).Study Design:Cross-sectional epidemiologic study.Level of Evidence:Level 3.Methods:The study group consisted of a randomly selected 5% probability sample of all children 5 to 17 years of age presenting to a sports medicine clinic from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2009; 2133 charts were reviewed. Data collected included demographics, height and weight, injury mechanism, diagnosis, treatment, previous injury, and organized sports.Results:A total of 206 ACL tears were analyzed (104 girls, 102 boys). Girls were slightly older than boys (15.1 ± 1.7 vs 14.3 ± 2.1 years; P < 0.01). Male-female comparison of ACL injury/total injury by age revealed that girls had a steeper increase by age than boys. Among 5- to 12-year-olds, boys had a higher ACL injury/total injury ratio than girls (all P < 0.01). Children 13 to 17 years of age showed no significant difference for sex in ACL injury/total injury ratio. As age advanced, the proportion of ACL injuries/total injuries increased for both girls (P < 0.01) and boys (P = 0.04). BMI was independently associated with an ACL injury (P < 0.01).Conclusion:The proportion of ACL injuries/total injuries was similar for boys and girls aged 13 to 17 years. Girls showed a significantly steeper increase in ACL injury proportion versus boys through puberty.Clinical Relevance:This study will increase clinician awareness of ACL injury occurrence in young male and female athletes 5 to 12 years of age. Injury prevention efforts should target young girls before the onset of puberty and before injury occurs.

Health care providers should not underestimate the degree to which symptoms and loss of activities affect young athletes' general well-being. In addition to the negative impact of concussion symptoms, there is an obvious cost of physical, cognitive, and social activity restrictions for patients recovering from sport-related concussions that should be explicitly addressed.