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Background & Aim: A diet quality index (DQI) is a tool that provides an overall score of an individual's dietary intake when assessing compliance with food-based dietary guidelines. A number of DQIs have emerged, albeit their associations with health-related outcomes are debated. The aim of the present study was to assess whether adherence to dietary intervention, and the overall quality of the diet, can predict body composition changes., Methods: To this purpose, overweight/obese adolescents (n = 117, aged: 13-16 years; 51 males, 66 females) were recruited into a multi-component (diet, physical activity and psychological support) family-based group treatment programme. We measured the adolescents' compliance and body composition at baseline and after 2 months (intensive phase) and 13 months (extensive phase) of follow-up. Also, at baseline, after 6 months, and at the end of follow-up we calculated the DQI., Results: Global compliance with the dietary intervention was 37.4% during the intensive phase, and 14.3% during the extensive phase. Physical activity compliance was 94.1% at 2-months and 34.7% at 13months and psychological support compliance were growing over the intervention period (10.3% intensive phase and 45.3% during extensive phase). Adolescents complying with the meal frequency criteria at the end of the extensive phase had greater reductions in FMI z-scores than those did not complying (Cohen's d = 0.53). A statistically significant association was observed with the diet quality index. DQI-A variation explained 98.1% of BMI z-score changes and 95.1% of FMI changes., Conclusions: We conclude that assessment of changes in diet quality could be a useful tool in predicting body composition changes in obese adolescents involved in a diet and physical activity intervention programme backed-up by psychological and family support., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.)

Background & Aims: In recent years, obesity has reached alarming levels among children and adolescents. The study of plasma fatty acid (FA) composition, as a reflection of diet, and its associations with other parameters, that are closely linked to obesity and the cardiometabolic profile, may be useful for setting nutritional goals for obesity treatment and prevention. This study explored the relationship between plasma FA levels and body fat and cardiometabolic risk markers, in overweight adolescents., Methods: A multidisciplinary weight loss program was followed by 127 overweight and obese adolescents aged 12-17 years old. Plasma FA composition, anthropometric indicators of adiposity and biochemical parameters were analyzed at baseline, two months (the end of the intensive intervention phase) and six months (the end of the extensive phase)., Results: While saturated fatty acid (SFA) and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) levels decreased significantly during the intervention, monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) and n-3 PUFA showed the opposite trend. The decrease in SFA C14:0 was associated with a reduction in total and LDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein B and insulin. The increase in MUFAs, especially C18:1n-9, was related to a reduction in weight, fat mass, fat mass index and glucose. Regarding PUFAs, changes in the n-3 series were not associated with any of the parameters studied, whereas the reduction in n-6 PUFAs was directly related to weight, fat mass, total and HDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein A1, glucose and insulin, and inversely associated with diastolic blood pressure. The adolescents with greater weight loss presented significant changes in MUFAs, n-6 PUFAs and C14:0., Conclusions: Modifications in plasma FA composition were associated with adiposity reduction and cardiometabolic profile improvement in an anti-obesity program aimed at adolescents. The changes observed in FA composition were related to the success of the treatment, since the individuals most affected by these variations were those who presented the greatest weight loss., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.)

Background & Aims: In vivo and in vitro evidence suggests that antioxidant vitamins and carotenoids may be key factors in the treatment and prevention of obesity and obesity-associated disorders. Hence, the objective of the present study was to determine the relationship between plasma lipid-soluble antioxidant vitamin and carotenoid levels and adiposity and cardio-metabolic risk markers in overweight and obese adolescents participating in a multidisciplinary weight loss programme., Methods: A therapeutic programme was conducted with 103 adolescents aged 12-17 years old and diagnosed with overweight or obesity. Plasma concentrations of α-tocopherol, retinol, β-carotene and lycopene, anthropometric indicators of general and central adiposity, blood pressure and biochemical parameters were analysed at baseline and at 2 and 6 months of treatment., Results: Lipid-corrected retinol (P < 0.05), β-carotene (P = 0.001) and α-tocopherol (P < 0.001) plasma levels increased significantly, whereas lipid-corrected lycopene levels remained unaltered during the treatment. Anthropometric indicators of adiposity (P < 0.001), blood pressure (P < 0.01) and biochemical parameters (P < 0.05) decreased significantly, whereas fat free mass increased significantly (P < 0.001). These clinical and biochemical improvements were related to changes in plasma lipid-corrected antioxidant vitamin and carotenoid levels. The adolescents who experienced the greatest weight loss also showed the largest decrease in anthropometric indicators of adiposity and biochemical parameters and the highest increase in fat free mass. Weight loss in these adolescents was related to an increase in plasma levels of lipid-corrected α-tocopherol (P = 0.001), β-carotene (P = 0.034) and lycopene (P = 0.019)., Conclusions: Plasma lipid-soluble antioxidant vitamin and carotenoid levels are associated with reduced adiposity, greater weight loss and an improved cardio-metabolic profile in overweight and obese adolescents., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.)

The new and recent advances in neuroelectric and neuroimaging technologies provide a new era for further exploring and understanding how brain and cognition function can be stimulated by environmental factors, such as exercise, and particularly to study whether physical exercise influences brain development in early ages. The present study, namely the ActiveBrains project, aims to examine the effects of a physical exercise programme on brain and cognition, as well as on selected physical and mental health outcomes in overweight/obese children. A total of 100 participants aged 8 to 11 years are randomized into an exercise group (N=50) or a control group (N=50). The intervention lasts 20-weeks, with 3-5 sessions per week of 90 min each, and is mainly focused on high-intensity aerobic exercise yet also includes muscle-strengthening exercises. The extent to what the intervention effect remains 8-months after the exercise programme finishes is also studied in a subsample. Brain structure and function and cognitive performance are assessed using structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalographic recordings. Secondary outcomes include physical health outcomes (e.g. physical fitness, body fatness, bone mass and lipid-metabolic factors) and mental health outcomes (e.g. chronic stress indicators and overall behavioural and personality measurements such as anxiety or depression). This project will substantially contribute to the existing knowledge and will have an impact on societies, since early stimulation of brain development might have long lasting consequences on cognitive performance, academic achievement and in the prevention of behavioural problems and the promotion of psychological adjustment and mental health. Clinical trials. Gov identifier: NCT02295072., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background & Aims: The main objectives of weight loss interventions in children and adolescents are to decrease fat mass while maintaining fat-free mass. Several methods are available to assess childhood and adolescence obesity, such as weight and height, bioelectrical impedance, skin-fold thickness measurements and other laboratory methods. The aim was to assess simple anthropometric indices as predictors of body-fat changes, using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry measurements as reference method., Methods: Multi-intervention approach (diet, physical activity and psychological support in a family-group-based treatment) was implemented with a one-year follow-up in 13-to-16-year-old overweight or obese Spanish adolescents. A total of 83 adolescents were recruited from Granada and Zaragoza, males (n = 43) (31.6 kg/m(2)) and females (n = 40) (32.0 kg/m(2)). We measured body composition with anthropometry and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. All measurements were made at baseline, and after 2 and 13 months. Random coefficient regression model was used to calculate the proportion of body composition changes during follow-up that would be explained by simple body composition indices based on anthropometric measures., Results: After controlling for age and Tanner stage, body mass index explained 76.5% of body composition changes in males and 90.1% in females, while fat mass index (assessed by skin-folds) explained 78.9% of body composition changes in males and 84.0% of body composition changes in females., Conclusions: In conclusion, we found that BMI was a good indicator of body fat composition changes in children and adolescents, although FMI assessed by anthropometry was also a good indicator., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To evaluate the association between specific dietary habits and body fatness in Spanish adolescents, and to analyze the role of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) in this association., Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1,978 adolescents (1,017 girls) aged 13.0-18.5 years from the AVENA (Alimentación y Valoración del Estado Nutricional en Adolescentes) study were included. Particular dietary habits (breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and nighttime snack, as well as time spent eating, number of meals, consumption of soft drinks, and ready-to-eat foods) and LTPA were self-reported and analyzed as dichotomic variables (yes/no). The sum of six skinfold thicknesses and waist circumference (WC) values were the main body fatness variables., Result: Skinfolds and WC values were lower in adolescents who reported consumption of mid-morning snack, afternoon snack, more than four meals per day, and an adequate speed of eating, independently of participation in LTPA. Moreover, a beneficial influence of breakfast consumption on skinfolds and WC values was observed in those adolescent boys who did not participate in LTPA (p for interactions = .044 and .040, respectively)., Conclusions: In Spanish adolescents, certain healthy dietary habits (i.e., mid-morning snack, afternoon snack, > 4 meals per day, adequate eating speed) are associated with lower body fatness, independently of engaging in LTPA. In addition, among boys with non-LTPA, those who skipped breakfast showed the highest body fatness values, indicating a beneficial influence of daily breakfast on body fat in this particular group., (Copyright © 2012 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)