An evolving scientific basis for the prevention and treatment of pediatric obesity

Abstract

The 2013 Pennington Biomedical Research Center’s Scientific Symposium focused on the treatment and management of pediatric obesity and was designed to (i) review recent scientific advances in the prevention, clinical treatment and management of pediatric obesity, (ii) integrate the latest published and unpublished findings and (iii) explore how these advances can be integrated into clinical and public health approaches. The symposium provided an overview of important new advances in the field, which led to several recommendations for incorporating the scientific evidence into practice. The science presented covered a range of topics related to pediatric obesity, including the role of genetic differences, epigenetic events influenced by in utero development, pre-pregnancy maternal obesity status, maternal nutrition and maternal weight gain on developmental programming of adiposity in offspring. Finally, the relative merits of a range of various behavioral approaches targeted at pediatric obesity were covered, together with the specific roles of pharmacotherapy and bariatric surgery in pediatric populations. In summary, pediatric obesity is a very challenging problem that is unprecedented in evolutionary terms; one which has the capacity to negate many of the health benefits that have contributed to the increased longevity observed in the developed world.

Evidence Update on the Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Children and Adolescents

“…This represents a considerable cost to society through increased health care burden and associated spending (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen, & Dietz, 2009). An estimated 14.1 billion additional dollars are spent annually on medical care associated with excess weight in childhood (Trasande & Samprit, 2009), with these costs likely to increase as overweight children become overweight adults (Trasande, 2010), unless prevention and treatment efforts can decrease rates of obesity (Katzmarzyk et al, 2014). Thus, it is clear that effective interventions for childhood overweight and obesity (hereafter referred to as childhood obesity for conciseness) are urgently needed.…”

Metabolic syndrome in obese children and adolescents in Serbia: prevalence and risk factors

“…Our findings correlate with findings from other European studies, which emphasize the need for further longitudinal studies of MS in childhood and its consequences. Childhood obesity is a major public health problem in both developed and developing countries, and there is an urgent need for improvement in preventive and treatment strategies (37).…”

The Ontogeny of Brown Adipose Tissue

“…This is particularly surprising given the plethora of reviews that have implicated maternal obesity as a primary cause of excess adiposity in the offspring (54,59,88). One clear constraint in the current use of small animal models is that the main outcome of maternal obesity is a reduction rather than an increase in birth weight (122).…”