Objective This study examined the role of demographic characteristics, psychological factors, and family functioning on attendance in a randomized controlled trial of a family-based pediatric obesity program. Method Participants included 155 children between the ages of 4 and 7 years (M age = 5.77, 57.4% female, 73.6% African-American, M BMI = 25.5) and their primary caregivers who were randomized to the treatment group. Three groups of participants were created based on their patterns of attendance during the program: 1) noncompleters, 2) partial completers, and 3) completers. Results Results indicated no differences among the attendance groups in child gender, child BMI, or child psychological functioning. Significant group differences were found with respect to race/ethnicity, parent marital status, and family income, such that noncompleters were more likely to be racial/ethnic minorities, to living in single parent households, and to have lower incomes than partial completers and completers. After controlling for the effects these socio-demographic risk factors, noncompleters and partial completers reported more family dysfunction characterized by high levels of disengagement than completers. Conclusion Adapting existing weight management programs to include a focus on family engagement in the early stages of treatment may help to improve participation in family-based obesity interventions targeting high risk, socio-economically disadvantaged youth.

Left ventricular hypertrophy is recognized as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular morbid events. The primary mechanisms responsible for stimulating it are unknown. Epidemiological theories suggest that left ventricular hypertrophy is a continuous variable with no threshold, while morphological studies argue that it is the structure, or quality, and function of the myocardium (and therefore non-continuous), not the quantity of the myocardial mass, that poses the cardiovascular risk. Although left ventricular hypertrophy has been classically viewed as an adaptive response of the cardiovascular system to an imposed load, it has been demonstrated that haemodynamic overloading in selected hypertensive patients is not the sole determinant of left ventricular structure and function. Pathological and physiological states of left ventricular hypertrophy have been described primarily using criteria focusing on normal chamber performance and oxygen delivery as well as the reversibility of the hypertrophy once the overload is removed. Both states are also defined by the nature of the imposed load and the resulting myocardial adaptations. This review addresses the pathological and physiological states of left ventricular hypertrophy, the hypertrophy patterns, and the corresponding structural and functional characteristics, together with some of the biochemical factors thought to influence remodelling.

This community-school-home initiative using a professional team's celebrity platform within a certain locale is largely overlooked by school districts and should be considered as a positive strategy to confront childhood obesity.

As systolic ABP variables increase, there is greater likelihood for increased LVMI. Staging based on ABPM allows assessment of cardiovascular risk in children with primary hypertension.