School nurses' experience of communicating growth data and weight development to parents of children 8 and 10 years of age.

INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of overweight and obesity among children has risen sharply during recent decades. School nurses are key health professionals in interventions targeting the early onset of overweight and obesity during childhood. Understanding how school nurses experience communication with parents concerning their child´s growth and weight development are essential. The aim of the study is to describe school nurses' experience of communicating growth data and weight development to parents of school children ages 8 and 10 years. METHOD: The design of the study is a descriptive, qualitative design with purposive and snowball sampling. Sixteen interviews with school nurses were conducted and analysed with qualitative content analysis. RESULT: The analysis resulted in three main categories including subcategories. In Challenges in the professional role, the school nurses expressed a lack of knowledge, skills and tools in communication, described a perception of parental responsibility and stated using several different approaches in communicating growth data and weight development to parents. In Sustainable communication with parents, the school nurses described the value of creating a dialogue, a supportive approach to the parents, and the building of a relation between them and the parents as essential. In Barriers in communicating the child´s weight, the school nurses described the experience of stigma concerning the subject of overweight and obesity, increased concern when they detected underweight as well as an ambivalence towards measuring weight. CONCLUSION: The study highlights an educational challenge concerning the need for training, skills, and strategies for communication with parents. A variety of ways in school nurses' communication with parents were identified in the present study and this shows an inconsistency in how School health services was offered and a need for the development of evidence-based procedures for communicating growth data and weight development to parents.

Weight a minute: The smaller and more immature, the more predictable the autonomic regulation?

AIM: To investigate the relation between autonomic regulation, measured using heart rate variability (HRV), body weight and degree of prematurity in infants. Further to assess utility to include body weight in a machine learning-based sepsis prediction algorithm. METHODS: Longitudinal cohort study including 378 infants hospitalised in two neonatal intensive care units. Continuous vital sign data collection was performed prospectively from the time of NICU admission to discharge. Clinically relevant events were annotated retrospectively. HRV described using sample entropy of inter-beat intervals and assessed for its correlation with body weight measurements and age. Weight values were then added to a machine learning-based algorithm for neonatal sepsis detection. RESULTS: Sample entropy showed a positive correlation with increasing body weight and postconceptual age. Very low birth weight infants exhibited significantly lower HRV compared to infants with a birth weight >1500 g. This persisted when reaching similar weight and at the same postconceptual age. Adding body weight measures improved the algorithm's ability to predict sepsis in the overall population. CONCLUSION: We revealed a positive correlation of HRV with increasing body weight and maturation in infants. Restricted HRV, proven helpful in detecting acute events such as neonatal sepsis, might reflect prolonged impaired development of autonomic control.

Parents' Experiences of Communication With School Nurses About Their Child's Weight Development in Sweden.

This study aimed to describe parents' experiences of communication with school nurses concerning the growth data and weight development of their children aged 8 and 10 years old in Sweden. Eighteen interviews with parents were conducted and analyzed through qualitative content analysis. The result showed a need for improved dialogue where the parents viewed the health visit's purpose as unclear and lacked feedback. The parents desired access to their child's growth data and described the need for an improved channel for receiving information. The parents moreover experienced the lack of a child-centered perspective, described the child's context as not in focus, and desired collaboration around their child. This study shows the need for the development of evidence-based methods for communicating growth data and weight development between School Health Service (SHS) and parents, as well as the need for a reformed SHS perspective towards parents and children.

Plastic film mulching stimulates brace root emergence and soil nutrient absorption of maize in an arid environment.

BACKGROUND: Root-shoot ratio plays an important role in mulching effects on increases in maize kernel dry weight and grain yield. RESULTS: We examined the effects of plastic film mulching with fertigation on soil nitrate, soil Olsen-P, aboveground and belowground growth, grain filling, and yield of maize. The 2-year research was conducted in a field with a subsoil sand layer (FSS) and in a field without a subsoil sand layer (FNS) in the Hetao Irrigation District, northwest China. Treatments included two levels of plastic film mulching (FM, fully mulched; PM, partially mulched with a cover ratio of 60%), and a non-mulched (NM) control. Mulching methods significantly increased soil NO3 -N concentrations (SNCs) in the main root zone in FSS, but not in FNS. Mulching significantly increased root length density in the 0-40 cm soil layer. Mulching increased brace roots emergence by 20.2% under full, and by 9.9% under partial mulching, accelerating soil phosphorus use in the surface soil layer. Mulching increased grain yield in spring maize via enhancing base stem diameter, leaf area, and relative chlorophyll content, decreased the ratio of surface root area to leaf area, and improved kernel dry weight increase. CONCLUSIONS: A high proportion of base fertilizer to total fertilizer input resulted in nutrient deficiency during reproductive stage in fertigated maize, therefore, applying a portion of base fertilizer after the maize elongation stage is recommended for a further yield increase of mulched fertigated maize. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Adherence to the New Nordic Diet during pregnancy and subsequent maternal weight development: a study conducted in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa).

The rising prevalence of overweight and obesity is a worldwide public health challenge. Pregnancy and beyond is a potentially important window for future weight gain in women. We investigated associations between maternal adherence to the New Nordic diet (NND) during pregnancy and maternal BMI trajectories from delivery to 8 years post delivery. Data are from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort. Pregnant women from all of Norway were recruited between 1999 and 2008, and 55 056 are included in the present analysis. A previously constructed diet score, NND, was used to assess adherence to the diet. The score favours intake of Nordic fruits, root vegetables, cabbages, potatoes, oatmeal porridge, whole grains, wild fish, game, berries, milk and water. Linear spline multi-level models were used to estimate the association. We found that women with higher adherence to the NND pattern during pregnancy had on average lower post-partum BMI trajectories and slightly less weight gain up to 8 years post delivery compared with the lower NND adherers. These associations remained after adjustment for physical activity, education, maternal age, smoking and parity (mean diff at delivery (high v. low adherers): -0·3 kg/m2; 95 % CI -0·4, -0·2; mean diff at 8 years: -0·5 kg/m2; 95 % CI -0·6, -0·4), and were not explained by differences in energy intake or by exclusive breast-feeding duration. Similar patterns of associations were seen with trajectories of overweight/obesity as the outcome. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the NND may have beneficial properties to long-term weight regulation among women post-partum.

Early maternal perceived stress and children's BMI: longitudinal impact and influencing factors.

BACKGROUND: Maternal perceived stress has been discussed to contribute to the development of childhood overweight. Our aim was to investigate the longitudinal relationship of early maternal perceived stress and BMI z-scores in preschool children (≤ five years). METHODS: A longitudinal analysis was conducted in 498 mother-child pairs of the German prospective birth cohort LINA with information on maternal perceived stress during pregnancy, one and two years after birth. BMI z-scores were based on annual measurements of children's weight/height and calculated based on WHO reference data. General estimation equations were applied to evaluate the impact of maternal stress on children's longitudinal BMI z-scores. Potential stressors contributing to the perceived stress of the mother were assessed by linear regression models. Using mediation analyses we evaluated the relationship between stressors, maternal perceived stress, and children's BMI z-score development. RESULTS: Postnatal maternal stress during the first year after birth had a positive longitudinal relationship with children's BMI z-scores up to the age of five years. Gender-stratified analyses revealed that only girls showed this positive association while boy's BMI z-scores were unaffected by maternal stress. We identified three neighborhood strains and two socio-demographic factors, which contributed to the maternal perceived stress level. Stressors themselves did not directly affect girl's BMI z-scores but rather mediated their effect through the perceived stress level. CONCLUSIONS: While different stressors contribute to maternal stress, the perceived stress level - rather than the stressors themselves - is strongly positively associated with BMI z-score development in girls.

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.

Time-lagged and acute impact of heat stress on production and fertility traits in the local dual-purpose cattle breed "Rotes Höhenvieh" under pasture-based conditions.

Climate change causes rising temperatures and extreme weather events worldwide, with possible detrimental time-lagged and acute impact on production and functional traits of cattle kept in outdoor production systems. The aim of the present study was to infer the influence of mean daily temperature humidity index (mTHI) and number of heat stress days (nHS) from different recording periods on birth weight (BWT), 200 d- and 365 d-weight gain (200 dg, 365 dg) of calves, and on the probability of stillbirth (SB), and calving interval (CINT) of their dams. Data recording included 4,362 observations for BWT, 3,136 observations for 200 dg, 2,502 observations for 365 dg, 9,293 observations for the birth status, and 2,811 observations for CINT of the local dual-purpose cattle breed "Rotes Höhenvieh" (RHV). Trait responses on mTHI and nHS were studied via generalized linear mixed model applications with identity link functions for Gaussian traits (BWT, 200 dg, 365 dg, CINT) and logit link functions for binary SB. High mTHI and high nHS before autumn births had strongest detrimental impact on BWT across all antepartum- (a.p.) periods (34.4 ± 0.79 kg maximum). Prolonged CINT was observed when cows suffered heat stress (HS) before or after spring calvings, with maximum length of 391.6 ± 3.82 d (56 d a.p.-period). High mTHI and high nHS during the 42 d- and 56 d a.p.-period implied increased probabilities for SB. We found a significant (P < 0.05) seasonal effect on SB in model 3 across all a.p.-periods, with the highest probability in autumn (maximum of 5.4 ± 0.82% in the 7 d a.p.-period). Weight gains of calves (200 dg and 365 dg) showed strongest HS response for mTHI and nHS measurements from the long-term postnatal periods (42 d- and 56 d-periods), with minimum 200 dg of 194.2 ± 4.15 kg (nHS of 31 to 42 d in the 42 d-period) or minimum 365 dg of 323.8 ± 3.82 kg (mTHI ≥ 60 in the 42 d-period). Calves born in summer, combined with high mTHI or high nHS pre- or postnatal, had lower weight gains, compared with calves born in other calving seasons or under cooler conditions. Highest BWT, weight gains, and shortest CINT mostly were detected under cool to moderate climate conditions for mTHI, and small to moderate nHS. Results indicate acute and time-lagged HS effects and address possible HS-induced epigenetic modifications of the bovine genome across generations and limited acclimatization processes to heat, especially when heat occurs during the cooler spring and autumn months.

Impact of a Ration Negative in Dietary Cation-Anion Difference and Varying Calcium Supply Fed before Calving on Colostrum Quality of the Dams and Health Status and Growth Performance of the Calves.

This study investigated the effect of diets negative in dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) or restricted in Ca fed prepartum to dairy cows for three weeks on colostrum yield and composition, and the health and growth performance of their calves. Thirty-six pregnant non-lactating Holstein-Friesian cows were randomly assigned to three isoenergetic diets: (1) low Ca: 0.24% Ca, DCAD: +86 mEq/kg; (2) high Ca: 1.23% Ca, DCAD: +95 mEq/kg; and (3) low DCAD: 1.28% Ca, DCAD: -115 mEq/kg (all dry matter (DM) basis). While colostrum quality was not affected, low Ca supply prepartum tended to increase the colostrum yield compared to high Ca (low Ca = 8.81 vs. high Ca = 5.39 kg). However, calves from cows fed low DCAD showed higher serum concentrations of K, lower body weight (BW), starter feed intake and average daily weight gain before weaning compared to low Ca and high Ca calves (53.12 vs. 57.68 and 57.32 kg) but BW was similar postweaning (d 70). In addition, calves from dams fed low DCAD were more likely to develop diarrhea and had increased number of days with abnormal fecal scores. Consequently, calves from low DCAD dams had to be treated more frequently.

Weight Development in Children After Gastric Bypass Surgery.

Objective: More and more young obese women get pregnant after undergoing gastric bypass surgery (GBP) but little is known about weight development in their offspring. The first aim of this study was to investigate weight development of children whose mothers have undergone GBP before pregnancy and compare them to age specific reference values in Sweden. Second aim was to study the frequency of small for gestational age (SGA) in this population. Materials and methods: Weight of offspring (38 male and 28 female) where the mother had undergone GBP before pregnancy were studied from birth up to 18 months of age and compared to age-specific reference values in Sweden. Results: The boys to mothers who had undergone GBP before pregnancy weighed more than Swedish reference values at 6 months, 8.44 ± 1.18 kilogram (kg) (n = 35) vs. 7.98 ± 0.81 kg (n = 1388; p = 0.001), and less at 18 months, 11.54 ± 0.93 kg (n = 19) vs. 12.27 ± 1.19 kg (n = 862; p < 0.001). The girls to mothers who had undergone GBP before pregnancy weighed more than Swedish reference values at 6 months, 7.84 ± 1.00 kg (n = 28) vs. 7.50 ± 0.77 kg (n = 1375; p = 0.020). Frequency of SGA was 3.0%. Conclusion: No clear pattern was found concerning the short-term weight development of the children. However, studies with larger material and more follow up time must be performed.

Effects of a gestational weight gain restriction program for obese women: Sibling pairs' weight development during the first five years of life.

OBJECTIVES: Successful gestational weight gain (GWG) restriction programs for obese (Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m2) pregnant women, have not, so far, shown convincing effects on infant's weight development. An intervention starting during the pregnancy might be too late and a pre-conceptional life style change may be preferable. Thus, the aim of this study was to follow children born to mothers who had participated in a weight gain restriction program during pregnancy, and make comparisons with their younger siblings. STUDY DESIGN AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: An extended analysis of 262 children belonging to an intervention group and a control group. The effects of BMI at five years of age and weight-for-length/height development from two months of age until five years of age were assessed. RESULTS: In the intervention group there was a difference in BMI at five years of age, between index boys and their younger sisters (p = 0.016). Mean BMI was lower among the boys compared with their younger female siblings. Regarding maternal GWG or the Swedish national reference data there was no difference between the index children and their younger siblings within the intervention or control groups or between younger siblings in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal pre-conceptional lifestyle change may have a positive effect on the child's weight development during the five first years of age. However, the effect of participation in an extensive GWG restriction program when it comes to the impact on the offspring's weight development is still unclear and further research is required.

Maternal Weight Predicts Children's Psychosocial Development via Parenting Stress and Emotional Availability.

INTRODUCTION: Maternal obesity has been shown to be a risk factor for obesity in children and may also affect children's psychosocial outcomes. It is not yet clear whether there are also psycho-emotional mechanisms explaining the effects of maternal weight on young children's weight and psychosocial development. We aimed to evaluate whether maternal body mass index (BMI), mother-child emotional availability (EA), and maternal parenting stress are associated with children's weight and psychosocial development (i.e., internalizing/externalizing symptoms and social competence) and whether these predictors interact with each other. METHODS: This longitudinal study included three assessment points (~11 months apart). The baseline sample consisted of N = 194 mothers and their children aged 5-47 months (M = 28.18, SD = 8.44, 99 girls). At t 1, we measured maternal weight and height to calculate maternal BMI. We videotaped mother-child interactions, coding them with the EA Scales (fourth edition). We assessed maternal parenting stress with the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) short form. At t 1 to t 3, we measured height and weight of children and calculated BMI-SDS scores. Children's externalizing and internalizing problems (t 1-t 3) and social competence (t 3, N = 118) were assessed using questionnaires: Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL 1.5-5), Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ: prosocial behavior), and a checklist for behavioral problems at preschool age (VBV 3-6: social-emotional competence). RESULTS: By applying structural equation modeling (SEM) and a latent regression analysis, we found maternal BMI to predict higher BMI-SDS and a poorer psychosocial development (higher externalizing symptoms, lower social competence) in children. Higher parenting stress predicted higher levels of externalizing and internalizing symptoms and lower social competence. Better maternal EA was associated with higher social competence. We found parenting stress to serve as a mediator in the association between maternal weight and children's psychosocial outcomes. Moreover, children of mothers with an elevated BMI were at greater risk of lower social competence only when their mothers showed low levels of maternal EA (moderation). CONCLUSION: Interventional studies are needed that investigate the causal pathways between parenting stress, mother-child interaction quality and child outcomes. These aspects might be targets to improve the psychosocial development of the offspring of overweight or obese mothers.

Desenvolvimento corporal e adiposidade de ratos Wistar submetidos a diferentes regimes alimentares / Development and adiposity of Wistar rats under different feeding regimens

Este trabalho avaliou o desenvolvimento de ratos submetidos a restrição alimentar (RA), seguida por alimentação livre. Foram feitos 3 grupos: controle (GC); RA na lactação (GRL); e RA até 60 dias com realimentação por 30 dias (GRR). O peso corporal do GRL sempre foi menor que o do GC, e a alimentação livre para o GRR não foi suficiente para ganho de peso compensatório completo. O peso relativo dos órgãos nos grupos que passaram por RA foi maior do que no GC, mas o peso relativo dos depósitos lipídicos foi: GC>GRL>GRR. A RA seguida de realimentação neste estudo não gerou indícios de obesidade.

This work evaluated the development of rats subjected to food restriction (FR) followed by free feeding. Three groups were designed: control (GC), FR during lactation (GRL), and FR until 60 days of age followed by free feeding for the next 30 days (GRR). Body weight of GRL was always lower than that of GC, and the free feeding of GRR was not long enough for complete compensatory body weight gain. The relative weight of the organs in the groups undergoing FR was higher than on GC, but the relative weight of the fat depots was GC>GRL>GRR. The FR followed by free feeding in this study did not create evidence of obesity.

Efeitos da inoculação de endotoxina produzida por Escherichia coli, na morfologia tímica e no desenvolvimento ponderal de camundongos jovens / Effects of inoculation of endotoxin produced by Escherichia coli on thymic morphology and weight development in young mice

Este estudo descreve o efeito da injeção única, intraperitoneal de dose subletal de endotoxina, produzida por Escherichia coli na morfologia tímica e no desenvolvimento ponderal de camundongos jovens. Os animais foram separados em grupos de doze, sacrificados a cada 24 horas durante cinco dias e ao final de cada experimen.to, um grupo controle recebeu injeção intraperitoneal de solução salina. Observou-se, neste experimento, nítida redução de peso corpóreo nas primeiras 48 horas, com recuperação após esta fase e redução no peso dos timos, assim como alterações histológicas importantes. Um outro grupo, formado por oito camundongos, teve seu desenvolvimento ponderal acompanhado durante dois meses. Neste experimento foram constatados sinais de recuperação após as primeiras horas, mas cujo desenvolvimento não chegou a alcançar níveis normais como os controles (AU).