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Summary 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: 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 &y& Elsevier]

Objective: To examine the association of participation in physical sports activity during leisure time, sedentary behaviors, cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, and weight status with cognitive performance in Spanish adolescents. Study design: This cross-sectional study comprised a total of 1820 adolescents (958 female) aged 13.0 to 18.5 years. Cognitive performance (verbal, numeric and reasoning abilities, and an overall score) was measured with the “SRA-Test of Educational Ability.” Participation in physical sports activity during leisure time (yes/no) and time devoted to study, television viewing, and playing video games were self-reported and categorized as ≤3 hours/day and >3 hours/day. We assessed cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness with field-based tests. Adolescents were classified as underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obese. Results: Participation in physical sports activities during leisure time was associated with better cognitive performance study variables (all P < .001), independent of potential confounders including cardiorespiratory fitness and body mass index. We did not observe an association of time devoted to study, television viewing, or playing videogames with cognitive performance. Likewise, cognitive performance was similar across cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness levels and body weight categories. Conclusion: Participation in physical sports activity during leisure time may positively influence cognitive performance in adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: We assessed the individual association of sedentary behaviors with the risk of overweight and excess body fat (overfat) in adolescents. Methods: A representative sample (1960 subjects, 1012 males, age 13–18.5 y) of Spanish adolescents was studied within the framework of the Alimentación y Valoración del Estado Nutricional de los Adolescentes (AVENA) study. Television (TV) watching, videogame and computer usage, doing homework, and the way students got to school, physical activity, and socioeconomic status were analyzed. Anthropometrics were measured to describe overweight (International Obesity Task Force cutoffs for body mass index) and overfat (body fat percentage >85th percentile). Results: When all subjects were considered as an entire group, the overweight risk increased by 15.8% (P < 0.05) per increasing hour of TV watching. The overweight risks decreased by 32.5% in females, 22% per increasing year of age, and 12.5% by increasing socioeconomic status by 1 U (all Ps < 0.05). The obesity risks decreased with age by 17.8% per year in males and 27.1% in females (both Ps < 0.05). The overfat risks increased by 26.8% and 9.4% per increasing hour of TV and weekend videogame usage, respectively (both Ps < 0.05). In males, the overfat risk increased by 21.5% per increasing hour in weekend videogame usage (P < 0.05). Each hour of TV use increased the overfat risks by 22% in males and 28.3% in females (both Ps < 0.05). Conclusions: Time spent watching TV increased the risk of overweight and obesity in Spanish adolescents, but the effect was influenced by age, sex, and socioeconomic status. Moreover, an excess of body fat was more directly explained by the time spent watching TV and playing videogames during the weekend. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]