Long-term changes in eating-related problems and quality of life in children with overweight and obesity attending a 10-week lifestyle camp.

BACKGROUND: Eating-related problems (e.g., binge eating (BE)) and impaired quality of life (QoL) is more prevalent in children with overweight and obesity. This study aimed to investigate changes in self-reported overeating (OE), BE, and QoL in children with overweight or obesity attending multicomponent 10-week lifestyle camps with a 52-weeks follow-up. Additionally, the study sought to investigate whether self-reported OE/BE before camp was associated with changes in QoL. METHODS: Children aged 7 to 14-years could attend camp if they had overweight/obesity, were lonely, unhappy, or had social or family-related problems. In this study only children with overweight and obesity were included (n:185). OE, BE, and QoL were measured using self-reported questionnaires. RESULTS: In total, 38 % of the children reported regular BE at baseline. Regular OE, occasional BE, and occasional OE was reported by 14 %, 13 %, and 11 %, respectively, while 24 % reported no eating-related problems. The relative risk of experiencing eating-related problems decreased at 10-weeks compared to baseline. Additionally, the probability of regular OE (RR 0.12 (95 % CI 0.04;0.38) (X2 = 8.44, p = 0.004)) and regular BE (RR 0.01 (95 % CI 0.00;0.11) (X2 = 9.91, p = 0.002)) remained lower at 52-weeks relative to baseline. All QoL dimensions improved after camp, and the presence of self-reported OE and regular BE at baseline was significantly associated with lower QoL at baseline, 10 and 52-weeks. CONCLUSION: Children self-reporting OE and BE may be a particular vulnerable group that needs more support from camp staff and healthcare professionals to improve QoL. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov with ID: NCT04522921.

Association between quality of life and emotional overeating - a cross-sectional study in Danish children attending a multicomponent lifestyle camp.

Emotional eating seems to emerge during the transition from childhood to adulthood; however, limited research has explored the association between emotional overeating and quality of life (QoL) in children with overweight and obesity. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the association between QoL and emotional overeating in a Danish sample of children with overweight and obesity. The present cross-sectional study is based on baseline questionnaire data from a nonrandomized controlled trial. Children attending a 10-week multicomponent lifestyle camp from October 2020 to March 2022 was invited to participate. Multiple linear regressions were used to examine if QoL was associated with emotional overeating before starting camp. In total, 229 children were included, and 45 children were excluded due to missing data, leaving 184 children in this study. The children had a mean age of 11.8 years (SD ± 1.38), with 60.9% girls and 39.1% boys, and the majority (94.6%) had overweight or obesity defined by a Body Mass Index Standard Deviation Score (BMI-SDS) > 1 SD. On average, children with a high tendency of emotional overeating had a 13.7 (95% CI 18.9; 8.5, p < 0.01) lower QoL score compared to children with a low tendency of emotional overeating.  Conclusions: This study shows that children with a high tendency of emotional overeating have lower quality of life, compared to children with a lower tendency of emotional overeating. Due to study limitations, the findings should be supported by further research. (Trial registration: clinicaltrials.gov with ID: NCT04522921). What is Known: • Emotional eating seems to emerge during the transition from childhood to adulthood. • Limited research has explored the association between quality of life and emotional overeating in children with overweight and obesity. What is New: • Children with a high tendency of emotional overeating had a lower quality of life compared to children with a lower tendency of emotional overeating. • Emotional overeating was negatively associated with quality of life in children with overweight and obesity.

Association between Food, Beverages and Overweight/Obesity in Children and Adolescents-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.

A healthy diet is essential to prevent childhood obesity, however, adherence to a healthy diet is challenging. The aim of this study was to give a comprehensive overview of the literature investigaating associations between food and beverages and overweight/obesity in children and adolescents in order to identify dietary risk factors. A systematic search was performed in four databases and observational studies were included. Meta-analysis was performed using the random effect model. Sixty records met inclusion criteria and 14 different food or beverage categories were identified. A higher intake of sugar-sweetened beverages increased the odds of overweight/obesity by 1.20 (p < 0.05) (n = 26) and higher intake of fast food increased the odds of overweight/obesity by 1.17 (p < 0.05) (n = 24). Furthermore, higher intake of meat (OR 1.02, p < 0.05 (n:7)) and refined grains (OR 1.28, p < 0.05 (n:3)) was associated with an increased risk of overweight/obesity. In contrast, higher intake of whole grain (OR 0.86, p = 0.04 (n:5)) and more surprisingly sweet bakery (OR 0.59, p < 0.05 (n:3)) was associated with a decreased risk of overweight/obesity. In conclusion, a higher intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and a higher intake of fast food was identified as the primary dietary risk factors for overweight/obesity. Future research is needed to strengthen the generalizability of these results.

Effects of foods, beverages and macronutrients on BMI z-score and body composition in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

PURPOSE: A healthy diet is fundamental for healthy growth and for future disease prevention. However, scientific consensus on how to compose healthy diets for children has not been established. Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to investigate if an independent effect exists between foods, beverages or the composition of macronutrients and body composition in children and adolescents. METHODS: A systematic search was performed in four databases up to July 2021. A systematic review of randomized controlled studies (RCTs) and meta-analyses were carried out by extracting mean difference (MDs) and standard deviation (SD) and performed using the random effect model. RESULTS: Sixteen RCTs met inclusion criteria. Beyond dairy, sugar-sweetened beverages and macronutrient composition, no trials were identified for other food groups. Based on five RCTs (n:5), a higher-dairy diet was found to reduce body fat percentage - 0.47 [- 0.92, - 0.03] (p = 0.04). A higher-dairy diet was also found to increase lean body mass (kg) 0.34 [0.06, 0.62] (p = 0.02) (n:2), but did not affect BMI z-score - 0.05 [- 0.16, 0.06] (p = 0.39) (n:4). Substituting sugar-sweetened beverage with non-caloric beverages or flavored milk reduced body fat percentage (- 0.70 [- 0.78, - 0.62] (p < 0.001)) (n:3) but did not change BMI z-score (- 0.05 [- 0.20, 0.09] (p = 0.48)) (n:2). No significant effects were found between different macronutrient compositions and BMI z-score or body fat percentage. CONCLUSION: Changes in diet from low to higher-dairy consumption and from sugar-sweetened beverages to non-caloric beverages or flavored milk resulted in favorable changes in body composition among children and adolescents. Eligible studies investigating other foods are lacking. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration number (CRD42020173201).

Can a Multicomponent-Overnight Camp Increase Physical Activity Among Danish Children? A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: In Denmark, most children are not sufficiently physically active and only a few interventions have been found to increase long-term physical activity among overweight and obese children. The aim of our study was to investigate if children are physically active in correspondence to Danish recommendations after attending a multicomponent-overnight camp. METHODS: A questionnaire was developed to estimate children's physical activity level and behavior and investigate how transport, economy, availability, time, motivation, and knowledge about physical activity affect children's physical activity level and behavior. RESULTS: In this study, 60.9% of the children did vigorous physical activity (VPA) minimum 30 minutes 3 times per week up to 3 years after camp. Most children were physically active at a sports club (44.3%) and only 5.7% of the children did not participate in physical activity. Parental physical activity and child motivation toward physical activity were significantly (P < .05) associated with children doing VPA. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that 60.9% of children who attended camp engage in VPA after camp, which compared with a recent Danish study, is more frequent than children who did not attend camp. Further investigations are needed to determine the long-term health effects in children attending interventions such as multicomponent-overnight camps.