Interventions for improving metabolic risk in overweight Latino youth

Abstract

This review highlights various components of interventions that reduced obesity and type 2 diabetes risk factors among overweight Latino youth. A total of 114 overweight Latino adolescents completed one of four randomized controlled trials: 1) strength training (ST; boys only); 2) modified carbohydrate nutrition program (N); 3) combination of N+ST; or 4) N + Combination of Aerobic and ST (N+CAST; girls only). Measures included: strength by 1-repetition max, dietary intake by 3-d records, body composition by DEXA/MRI, glucose/insulin indices by oral and IV glucose tolerance tests. ST improved insulin sensitivity by 45% in Latino boys, and N, N+ST, and N+CAST improved glucose control in Latino boys and girls. The CAST approach reduced all adiposity measures by ∼3% in Latina girls. Participants who decreased added sugar, increased dietary fiber, and had increased parental attendance, regardless of intervention group, improved insulin action and reduced visceral adipose tissue. In conclusion, ST, CAST, and a modified carbohydrate nutrition program with separate parental classes were all successful components of the interventions that decreased obesity and related metabolic diseases.

Increased hepatic fat in overweight Hispanic youth influenced by interaction between genetic variation in PNPLA3 and high dietary carbohydrate and sugar consumption

“…Thus, aggressive strategies aimed at weight loss would perhaps be the obvious approach for addressing NAFLD. However, in our ongoing experience with interventions in Hispanic children and adolescents, this weight loss goal is difficult to achieve (11,29) and even more difficult to maintain for extended periods of time. There is therefore a great need to identify novel and more sustainable strategies that can address this problem based on the mechanism of liver fat accumulation, especially in individuals with a genetic predisposition.…”

Vegetable Consumption Is Linked to Decreased Visceral and Liver Fat and Improved Insulin Resistance in Overweight Latino Youth

“…Furthermore, there may be other dietary patterns or lifestyle factors that may confound this relationship, or work in conjunction with vegetable intake (for example, stress) to affect metabolic health. Another possible lifestyle determinant is physical activity, which we have previously shown to be associated with improved hepatic fat, adiposity and glucose control in minority youth, 41–43 but this was not included in this analysis given systematic missing data. Additionally, a minimum of two 24-h dietary recalls may not be sufficient to explain long-term dietary patterns (especially of NRV, which may be more inconsistent than other variables), and underreporting is a frequent limitation of dietary recall.…”

Is adipose tissue metabolically different at different sites?

“…Apparently exercise has no additional effects in reduction of the VWAT depot, compared with the major effects of hypocaloric diet alone; in addition, the effects of exercise per se on VWAT are relatively limited (48) although in eight‐year‐old children greater physical activity is only associated with lower VWAT (49). Nonetheless, a combination of aerobic and strength training with modified carbohydrate nutrition program (low sugar, high fiber) has been reported to improve insulin action and reduce VWAT in youth (50). The diminution in blood thyroid hormone concentrations associated with weight loss could affect BAT activity and UCP1 expression, which is strongly under the control of these hormones, at least based on extrapolation from rodent studies (51).…”