New type of weight measurement more accurate than BMI in teenagers
Researchers from the University of Alabama have found that triponderal body mass index (TMI) may be more accurate than BMI in estimating body fat amongst adolescents. In a study published in JAMA Paediatrics the researchers found that during adolescent development, weight was not proportional to height squared, which is the calculation for BMI. By examining data from 2,285 children and adolescents, in the Nutrition and Health Examination Survey, they found that TMI estimated body fat better than BMI. TMI itself is calculated by dividing weight by the cube of the height, they also reported that comparing TMI was much easier as it did not involve complicated percentiles, as comparing BMI does.
One particular area that the authors found BMI to be worse than TMI was the incorrect diagnosis of overweight. BMI calculations would do this 19.4% of the time, whilst TMI would result in 8.4% incorrect diagnoses, this data is especially important in lean adolescents. The authors stress that tracking body fat through adolescence is difficult as there is a complex relationship between height and weight due to the commencement of puberty. Further to this they highlighted that TMI should be considered in the context of other health and demographic factors. It is hoped that more research will be undertaken to assess the accuracy of TMI in a wider range of ethnicities and age ranges.
Read MoreChildhood obesity quadruples risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes
According to a large-scale study published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society a child with obesity faces a four-fold increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes by the time they are 25 than their normal weight counterparts. The study examined data from 375 GP practices around the UK, using the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink. In total this amounted to 369,362 children between the ages of 2 and 15. Children and adolescents with obesity constituted nearly half of all diagnoses of Type 2 Diabetes between 1994 and 2013. As expected, there was no relationship between obesity and Type 1 diabetes, which is caused by an underlying autoimmune disorder.
Dr Ali Abbasi, lead author from King’s College London said, “given that diabetes and obesity are preventable from early life, our findings and other research will hopefully motivate the public and policymakers to invest and engage in diabetes prevention efforts.” Both obesity and type 2 diabetes are large scale health problems that often present together, hopefully this research will be taken into account by experts and policy makers in the future.
Read MoreHow to save billions in medical costs with small changes
A team from Johns Hopkins University has found that increasing the percentage of elementary school children (ages 8-11) in the US who participate in 25 minutes of exercise three times a week from 32% to 50% could save $21.9 billion. This number is a combination of medical costs and lost wages over the course of a lifetime. They also reported that there would be a reduction in the amount of overweight and obese children by 4.18% (equating to 1.2 million people). For the study, the team developed a computational model that relied on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; they found that on average, 32% of children aged 8-11 get 25 minutes of physical activity three times a week.
The authors are keen to point out that their research shows that not only will encouraging exercise in children reap health benefits, but will pay big dividends when they grow up. They were also keen to admit that the savings are most likely an underestimate as there are other costs that weren’t taken into account, such as improving bone density and improving muscle mass. According to this data, schools in the USA should add more to their physical education programmes, as it is not only in the children’s best interests, but also the nation’s.
Read MoreSchool based nutrition intervention improves BMI
A California-based programme that aims to improve children’s dietary behaviours and prevent obesity has been shown to be effective. The initiative was called ‘The Shaping Healthy Choices Program’ and involved 409 students aged 9-10, split into a control group and an intervention group. The program itself took place over the course of a year and involved the use of gardens established at the school and education on fruit and vegetables. This was also supplemented by cooking demonstrations and health fairs for the parents as well as the public.
As a result of the program, students showed vast improvements on nutritional knowledge and vegetable identification. The intake of fruit and vegetables in the intervention group however did not increase as hoped, however significant improvements in BMI were seen in this arm of the trial, with the overweight and obese population declining from 55.6% to 37.8%. The authors hope that this is due to the positive health messages that are conveyed through the programme, and are keen for these types of programmes to be used in the community so that a wider range of individuals may benefit.
Read MoreRoutine and regular bedtimes may help stave off obesity
A study from the Ohio State University has concluded that regular bedtimes, mealtimes, and limited screen time is related to emotional health and obesity in preschool children. The study has been published in the International Journal of Obesity, and uses data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. For the research itself, data from 10,955 children was included; this was then combined with reports of routine and self-regulation to make the link with obesity rates. Regular bedtimes, mealtimes and limited screen times were all associated with improved emotional health regulation, children with greater dysregulation were more likely to be obese in later life. Even children who ‘usually’ had a bedtime had much higher rates of emotional dysregulation than those who ‘always’ had a bedtime.
It is hoped that this research will prompt further work into looking at the role of emotional self-regulation in weight gain and how routines can support healthy development. It is important to note that this work does not prove that routines prevent obesity, only that they improve emotion regulation, which in turn has a large effect on obesity.
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