Severe obesity and global developmental delay in preschool children: Findings from a Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program study.

Background: The co-presentation of severe obesity (SO) and global developmental delay (GDD) in Canadian preschool children has not been examined. However, SO and GDD may require syndromic diagnoses and unique management considerations. Objectives: To determine (1) minimum incidence; (2) age of onset and risk factors; and (3) health care utilization for co-presenting SO and GDD. Methods: Through the Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program (CPSP), a monthly form was distributed to participants from February 2018 to January 2020 asking for reports of new cases of SO and GDD among children ≤5 years of age. We performed descriptive statistics for quantitative questions and qualitative content analysis for open-ended questions. Results: Forty-seven cases (64% male; 51% white; mean age: 3.5 ± 1.2 years) were included. Age of first weight concern was 2.5 ± 1.3 years and age of GDD diagnosis was 2.7 ± 1.4 years. Minimum incidence of SO and GDD was 3.3 cases per 100,000 for ≤5 years of age per year. Identified problems included school and/or behavioural problems (n = 17; 36%), snoring (n = 14; 30%), and asthma/recurrent wheeze (n = 10; 21%). Mothers of 32% of cases (n = 15) had obesity and 21% of cases (n = 10) received neonatal intensive care. Microarray was ordered for 57% (n = 27) of children. A variety of clinicians and services were accessed. As reported by CPSP participants, challenges faced by families and health service access were barriers to care. Conclusion: Children with SO and GDD have multiple comorbidities, and require early identification and referral to appropriate services. These cases may also benefit from additional testing to rule out known genetic obesity syndromes.

The Edmonton Obesity Staging System for Pediatrics: A proposed clinical staging system for paediatric obesity.

Traditionally, clinical recommendations for assessing and managing paediatric obesity have relied on anthropometric measures, such as body mass index (BMI), BMI percentile and/or BMI z-score, to monitor health risks and determine weight management success. However, anthropometric measures do not always accurately and reliably identify children and youth with obesity-related health risks or comorbidities. The authors propose a new clinical staging system (the Edmonton Obesity Staging System for Pediatrics, EOSS-P), adapted from the adult-oriented EOSS. The EOSS-P is used to stratify patients according to severity of obesity-related comorbidities and barriers to weight management into four graded categories (0 to 3) within four main health domains: metabolic, mechanical, mental health and social milieu (the 4Ms). The EOSS-P is based on common clinical assessments that are widely available and routinely completed by clinicians, and has the potential to provide clinical and prognostic information to help evaluate and inform the management of paediatric obesity.

D'ordinaire, les recommandations cliniques pour évaluer et prendre en charge l'obésité juvénile reposent sur des mesures anthropométriques, telles que l'indice de masse corporelle (IMC), le percentile d'IMC ou l'écart réduit de l'IMC, pour surveiller les risques sur la santé et déterminer la bonne gestion du poids. Cependant, les mesures anthropométriques ne permettent pas toujours de déterminer avec précision et fiabilité les enfants et les adolescents présentant des risques de santé ou des comorbidités liés à l'obésité. Les auteurs proposent un nouveau système clinique d'établissement du stade de l'obésité (le système d'Edmonton pour évaluer le stade de l'obésité, ou EOSS-P), adapté de l'EOSS destiné aux adultes. L'EOSS-P est utilisé pour stratifier les patients selon la gravité des comorbidités liées à l'obésité et les obstacles à la gestion du poids en quatre catégories (0 à 3) tirées de quatre grands domaines de santé : métabolique, mécanique, santé mentale et milieu social (les 4M). L'EOSS-P, qui repose sur des évaluations cliniques courantes généralisées souvent remplies par les cliniciens, peut fournir de l'information clinique et pronostique pour contribuer à évaluer et étayer la prise en charge de l'obésité juvénile.

Randomized placebo-controlled trial of metformin for adolescents with polycystic ovary syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether metformin or placebo could, in conjunction with healthy lifestyle counseling, decrease serum testosterone levels and related aberrations in adolescents with hyperandrogenism, hyperinsulinemia, and polycystic ovarian syndrome. DESIGN: Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial. SETTING: Pediatric university teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-two adolescents aged 13 to 18 years with hyperinsulinemia and polycystic ovarian syndrome. INTERVENTION: Participants were randomly assigned to take a 12-week course of either metformin or placebo. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pretreatment and posttreatment oral glucose tolerance tests, fasting lipid profiles, and clinical measurements. RESULTS: There was a significant decline in mean serum testosterone concentration with metformin (-38.3 ng/dL) compared with placebo (-0.86 ng/dL) (95% confidence interval, -infinity to -0.29 for the mean difference between groups). At completion, the relative risk of menses was 2.50 times higher in the metformin group compared with the placebo (95% confidence interval, 1.12 to 5.58). Measures of insulin sensitivity, including insulin area under the curve and HOMA (homeostasis model assessment), demonstrated improvement only with metformin, but these did not reach statistical significance. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels increased by 6.98 mg/dL with metformin vs a decrease of -2.33 mg/dL with placebo (95% confidence interval, 0.78 to 18.23 for the mean difference between groups). There were no significant changes in body mass index, hirsutism, triglyceride levels, or total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. CONCLUSION: Metformin significantly lowered total testosterone concentrations, increased the likelihood of menses, and improved high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels without affecting measures of insulin sensitivity or body weight.

High incidence of childhood type 1 diabetes in the Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland, Canada.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of type 1 diabetes among children aged 0-14 years in the Avalon Peninsula in the Canadian Province of Newfoundland. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This was a prospective cohort study of the incidence of childhood type 1 diabetes in children aged 0-14 years who were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes from 1987 to 2002 on the Avalon Peninsula. Identified case subjects during this time period were ascertained from several sources and verified using the capture-recapture technique. Data were obtained from the only pediatric diabetes treatment center for children living on the Avalon Peninsula. RESULTS: Over the study period, 294 children aged 0-14 years from the Avalon Peninsula were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. The incidence of type 1 diabetes in this population over the period 1987-2002 inclusive was 35.93 with a 95% CI of 31.82-40.03. The incidence over this period increased linearly at the rate of 1.25 per 100,000 individuals per year. CONCLUSIONS: The Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland has one of the highest incidences of type 1 diabetes reported worldwide. The incidence increased over the 16-year study period.

Beyond BMI: The Next Chapter in Childhood Obesity Management.

Pediatric obesity treatment has traditionally focused on body mass index (BMI) and has had limited success. Recent research has suggested new ways to approach this topic that focuses more on holistic measures of health and inclusion of a larger population of children. This paper discusses new evidence in the prevention of chronic disease and treatment of obesity that has a body positive and mental health lens as well as integrating research from several areas of health, including the prevention of chronic disease. Practical medical and mental health assessments tools are suggested for clinical use. Implications for an individualized, positive treatment future are presented.

It's like rocket science only more complex: challenges and experiences related to managing pediatric obesity in Canada.

Pediatric obesity is an urgent and complex public health issue. Approximately one-third of Canadian children are overweight or obese, a proportion that highlights the need for effective and accessible services to improve short- and long-term health risks. In our experience, we have encountered a number of challenges common in pediatric obesity management across our clinical and research centers. For the purpose of this review, these challenges and our real-world experiences are grouped as issues that span (i) caring for children, adolescents, and families, (ii) collaborating with colleagues and (iii) working within the health care system. Collectively, we highlight a number of lessons learned from our years of experience and detail ongoing initiatives designed to optimize health services for managing obesity for children and adolescents in Canada.

Concordance of BAI and BMI with DXA in the Newfoundland population.

BACKGROUND: Body adiposity index (BAI), indirect method proposed to predict adiposity, was developed using Mexican Americans and very little data are available regarding its validation in Caucasian populations to date. OBJECTIVE: The study objectives were to validate the BAI with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) body fat percentage (%BF), taking into consideration the gender and adiposity status. DESIGN AND METHODS: A total of 2,601 subjects (Male 662, Female 1939) from our Complex Diseases in the Newfoundland population: Environment and Genetics (CODING) study participated in this investigation. Pearson correlations, with the entire cohort along with men and women separately, were used to compare the correlation of both BAI and BMI with %BF. Additionally, the concordance between BAI and BMI with %BF were also performed among normal-weight (NW), overweight (OW), and obese (OB) groups. Adiposity status was determined by the Bray Criteria according to DXA %BF. RESULTS: BAI performs better than BMI in our Caucasian population by: (1) reflecting the gender difference in total %BF between women and men, (2) correlating better with DXA %BF than BMI when women and men are combined, and (3) performing better in NW and OW subjects for both the sexes. However, BAI performs less effectively than BMI in OB men and women. CONCLUSION: In summary, the BAI method is a better estimate of adiposity than BMI in non-OB subjects in our Caucasian population. A measurement sensitive to the changes in adiposity for both men and women is suggested to be incorporated into the present BAI equation to increase accuracy.

Obesity predicts primary health care visits: a cohort study.

The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between body mass index (BMI), its association with chronic disease, and its impact on health services utilization in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, from 1998 to 2002. A data linkage study was conducted involving a provincial health survey linked to 2 health care use administrative databases. The study population comprised 2345 adults between the ages of 20 and 64 years. Self-reported height and weight measures and other covariates, including chronic diseases, were obtained from a provincial survey. BMI categories include: normal weight (BMI 18.5-24.9), overweight (BMI 25-29.9), obese class I (BMI 30-34.9), obese class II (BMI ≥ 35), and obese class III (BMI ≥ 40). Survey responses were linked with objective physician and hospital health services utilization over a 5-year period. Weight classifications in the study sample were as follows: 37% normal, 39% overweight, 17% obese, and 6% morbidly obese. The obese and morbidly obese were more likely to report having serious chronic conditions after adjusting for age and sex. Only the morbidly obese group (BMI ≥ 35 kg/m(2)) had a significantly higher number of visits to a general practitioner (GP) over a 5-year period compared to the normal weight group (median 22.0 vs. 17.0, P<0.05). Using multivariate models and controlling for the number of chronic conditions and other relevant covariates, being morbidly obese remained a significant predictor of GP visits (P<0.001), but was not a predictor for visits to a specialist or any type of hospital use. The increase in the prevalence of obesity is placing a burden at the primary health care level. More resources are needed in order to support GPs in their efforts to manage and treat obese adults who have associated comorbidities.

Childhood obesity and cardiovascular disease.

Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions. Many of these children have risk factors for later disease, including cardiovascular disease. For optimal cardiovascular health, health care professionals must be able to identify children and youth at risk and provide appropriate support as needed. The present article reviews the current medical literature on obesity and cardiovascular disease risk factors in the paediatric population, the long-term cardiovascular consequences of childhood obesity and the importance of early life. Recommendations promoting optimal cardiovascular health in all children and youth are discussed.