DOI 10.1515/ijamh-2014-0005 Int J Adolesc Med Health 2014; 26(3): 305–307
Editorial Sigal Israeli, Shoshana Aspler, Mohammed Morad and Joav Merrick
Healthy eating and physical activity Obesity is an important risk factor for many chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. Children who are overweight are at an even greater risk of developing such diseases because of their extended exposure to the harmful effects of excessive weight, and there is often an accelerated onset of chronic disease within this population. In addition, children who are overweight are more likely to suffer from impaired physical, psychological, and social development.
Israel Because Israel has large number of army recruits who are given physical exams each year, researchers were able to conduct a population-based study of Israeli Jewish males prior to army enrollment (1). This study provided valuable information for two body mass index (BMI) reference points: a national reference (NR) and an ethnic-specific reference (ER). This study included 109,570 Jewish males 17 years of age. Weight, height, and blood pressure values were recorded, and BMI was calculated. The 85th percentile of BMI was used as a lower limit for defining overweight status for NR and ER. Hypertension prevalence among recruits was used as a biomarker to confirm the reliability of the ER when discrepancies in classification between the two references were found. Compared to the NR, three ethnic groups had a BMI distribution shifted to the left (light subpopulation) and five had a BMI distribution shifted to the right (heavy subpopulation). In the light sub-population, 7% of the recruits who were classified as normal weight by the NR were considered overweight by the ER and had a hypertension rate similar to that of those defined as overweight by both references (3.1 per 1000). In the heavy subpopulation, 4% of the subjects who were classified as overweight by NR and normal by ER had hypertension rates similar to that of those defined as normal weight by both references (2.7 per 1000), and significantly lower than that of those classified as overweight by both references (10.8 per 1000). Type 2 diabetes has been increasing among children and adolescents during the past decade. A case report (2) of a boy (14 years) and two girls (16.5 and 17 years) and
a larger study (3) of 22 children and adolescents linked extreme obesity (BMI 39–47) with acanthosis nigricans, elevated diastolic blood pressure, hirsutism, menstrual disorders, and insulin resistance as part of this metabolic syndrome. One study of a weight management program included 177 obese children (6–16 years); this longitudinal, nonrandomized study compared 3- and 6-month combined dietary-behavioral-exercise interventions with matched control. The researchers demonstrated that body weight and BMI were reduced (p
Editorial Sigal Israeli, Shoshana Aspler, Mohammed Morad and Joav Merrick
Healthy eating and physical activity Obesity is an important risk factor for many chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. Children who are overweight are at an even greater risk of developing such diseases because of their extended exposure to the harmful effects of excessive weight, and there is often an accelerated onset of chronic disease within this population. In addition, children who are overweight are more likely to suffer from impaired physical, psychological, and social development.
Israel Because Israel has large number of army recruits who are given physical exams each year, researchers were able to conduct a population-based study of Israeli Jewish males prior to army enrollment (1). This study provided valuable information for two body mass index (BMI) reference points: a national reference (NR) and an ethnic-specific reference (ER). This study included 109,570 Jewish males 17 years of age. Weight, height, and blood pressure values were recorded, and BMI was calculated. The 85th percentile of BMI was used as a lower limit for defining overweight status for NR and ER. Hypertension prevalence among recruits was used as a biomarker to confirm the reliability of the ER when discrepancies in classification between the two references were found. Compared to the NR, three ethnic groups had a BMI distribution shifted to the left (light subpopulation) and five had a BMI distribution shifted to the right (heavy subpopulation). In the light sub-population, 7% of the recruits who were classified as normal weight by the NR were considered overweight by the ER and had a hypertension rate similar to that of those defined as overweight by both references (3.1 per 1000). In the heavy subpopulation, 4% of the subjects who were classified as overweight by NR and normal by ER had hypertension rates similar to that of those defined as normal weight by both references (2.7 per 1000), and significantly lower than that of those classified as overweight by both references (10.8 per 1000). Type 2 diabetes has been increasing among children and adolescents during the past decade. A case report (2) of a boy (14 years) and two girls (16.5 and 17 years) and
a larger study (3) of 22 children and adolescents linked extreme obesity (BMI 39–47) with acanthosis nigricans, elevated diastolic blood pressure, hirsutism, menstrual disorders, and insulin resistance as part of this metabolic syndrome. One study of a weight management program included 177 obese children (6–16 years); this longitudinal, nonrandomized study compared 3- and 6-month combined dietary-behavioral-exercise interventions with matched control. The researchers demonstrated that body weight and BMI were reduced (p
