Managing adolescent obesity and the role of bariatric surgery.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This update explores the current management options for adolescent obesity with a specific focus on bariatric surgery. RECENT FINDINGS: Research has highlighted the serious health complications associated with adolescent obesity and thus emphasized the need for effective interventions. With the increasing severity of obesity seen in younger populations, coupled with the modest effects of most behavioral and even pharmacologic interventions, there has been increased interest in, and attention on, bariatric surgery in younger populations. Recent adult-focused guidelines regarding the perioperative nutritional, metabolic, and nonsurgical support of the bariatric surgery patient outline the importance of careful patient selection, in addition to close monitoring, with a particular focus on preventing nutritional deficiencies. Several recent publications have focused on issues specific to bariatric surgery in the adolescent patient including the relationship between a patient's physical and emotional maturity and timing of surgery. SUMMARY: Adolescent obesity is prevalent with increasing severity and long-term health implications. To date nonsurgical interventions have had modest effects. Bariatric surgery is becoming more common and has been shown to be well tolerated and effective in adolescents, but requires careful preoperative screening and postoperative monitoring.

Hypertension awareness and control among young adults in the national longitudinal study of adolescent health.

BACKGROUND: Young adults are less likely than older adults to be aware they have hypertension or to be treated for hypertension. OBJECTIVE: To describe rates of hypertension awareness and control in a cohort of young adults and understand the impact of health insurance, utilization of preventive care, and self-perception of health on rates of hypertension awareness and control in this age group. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional study of 13,512 young adults participating in Wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health in 2007-2008. MAIN MEASURES: We defined hypertension as an average of two measured systolic blood pressures (SBP) ≥ 140 mmHg, diastolic blood pressures (DBP) ≥ 90 mmHg, or self-report of hypertension. We defined hypertension awareness as reporting having been told by a health care provider that one had high blood pressure, and assessed awareness among those with uncontrolled hypertension. We considered those aware of having hypertension controlled if their average measured SBP was < 140 mmHg and DBP was < 90 mmHg. KEY RESULTS: Of the 3,303 young adults with hypertension, 2,531 (76%) were uncontrolled, and 1,893 (75%) of those with uncontrolled hypertension were unaware they had hypertension. After adjustment for age, sex, race/ethnicity, weight status, income, education, alcohol and tobacco use, young adults with uncontrolled hypertension who had (vs. didn't have) routine preventive care in the past 2 years were 2.4 times more likely (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.68-3.55) to be aware, but young adults who believed they were in excellent (vs. less than excellent) health were 64% less likely to be aware they had hypertension (OR 0.36, 95% CI 0.23-0.57). Neither preventive care utilization nor self-rated health was associated with blood pressure control. CONCLUSIONS: In this nationally representative group of young adults, rates of hypertension awareness and control were low. Efforts to increase detection of hypertension must address young adults' access to preventive care and perception of their need for care.

BMI Trajectories from Birth to Young Adulthood.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare BMI trajectories from childhood to early adulthood in those with overweight and/or obesity versus severe obesity. METHODS: Longitudinal BMI values (2,542 measurements) were calculated from measured heights and weights for 103 children, adolescents, or young adults with overweight, obesity, or severe obesity. Segmented regression with splines was used to model BMI trajectories. RESULTS: Sixty-nine participants were classified as ever having severe obesity versus 34 who never had severe obesity. Trajectories and slopes did not differ by sex or race/ethnicity. Compared with those who never had severe obesity, BMI was higher in the group with severe obesity at all ages, and BMI slope was higher for those with severe obesity at age 14 (P = 0.002), with peak slope occurring later (18 years vs. 16 years) and higher (4.5 ± 0.5 kg/m2 /y vs. 2.9 ± 0.5 kg/m2 /y; P < 0.02). In the group without severe obesity, BMI fell below zero by the mid-20s (-0.3 ± 0.6 kg/m2 /y); in those with severe obesity, BMI slope never reached zero (0.9 ± 0.5 kg/m2 /y). CONCLUSIONS: Youth with severe obesity, compared with their peers without, started with higher BMIs, had more rapid rates of BMI increase beginning at age 14, as well as a higher peak and longer period of increase, and never achieved weight stabilization.

Mid-infrared complex refractive indices for oleic acid and optical properties of model oleic acid/water aerosols.

Frequency-dependent, complex refractive indices for oleic acid in the mid-infrared have been retrieved from aerosol extinction spectroscopy from 750 to 5000 cm(-1). The major absorption bands can be attributed to the relevant vibrational modes of the acid, including those that originate with the hydrogen bond induced dimerization through the carboxylic group. The newly reported indices for oleic acid are used to investigate the optical properties of model core-shell aerosols formed by coating a water droplet with a layer of oleic acid. The ability of a non-linear least-squares program to retrieve the structural parameters for core-shell particles is also explored. The initial results indicate that these parameters can be determined for such aerosols as long as the particles give rise to a sufficient amount of scattering in their extinction spectra. Low-scattering spectra, however, can yield suspicious results. Some limits on the application of the retrieval procedure to particles observed in the field are also discussed.