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Background: The prevalence of childhood obesity (CHO) has gradually increased in India over the past two decades and has necessitated advanced research to address it. Assessing CHO-related research conducted so far is necessary to guide future research. However, a bibliometric assessment of Indian CHO research is unavailable. Aim: The study aimed to map the CHO research published in India during the last two decades. Materials and Methods: The publication data was retrieved from Elsevier's Scopus database using a predefined search strategy. The quality of publications was assessed using indicators such as citations per paper (CPP), relative citation index (RCI), and Hirsch index (HI). Results: India contributed 705 (1.8%) to a global total of 37,762 publications and is currently ranked 15th in CHO-related research; the top 3 countries are the USA, UK, and Australia with 38.1%, 9.6%, and 6.5% publication share respectively. The annual growth in India's publications was 27.4% compared to the global average of 8.7%. The research quality has declined (average CPP 50.6 during 2002-2011 and 25.4 during 2012-2021). Only 25.2% of publications were internationally collaborative. The most productive organizations were AIIMS, New Delhi, PGIMER, Chandigarh, and St. John's Research Institute, Bengaluru, whereas Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, J&K, and Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research, New Delhi were the most impactful. CS Yajnik, N Tandon, and V Khadilkar were the most prolific, whereas A Laxmaiah, HPS Sachdev, and V Mohan were the most impactful authors. Seven of the ten top productive journals were Indian, but only three were among the most impactful. Conclusion: India lags in CHO research behind other countries having similar current and future projections for the prevalence of CHO. Its research output, but not impact, has increased over the past two decades. India's international collaboration in CHO research is meager. Our analysis identifies the contributions of various stakeholders in addressing CHO and provides a framework for researchers, policymakers, organizations, and national government for future research to develop interventions for effective prevention and control of CHO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In India, the prevalence of overweight among adolescents is on the rise, setting the stage for an increase in metabolic syndrome (MS). This paper presents the national prevalence of MS in adolescents in India. Methods: A nationally representative data of adolescents (10–19 years) from the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey was used. MS was defined based on the NCEP–ATP III criteria for adolescents. Bivariate analysis was used to report socio-demographic differentials in prevalence and to assess interstate variability. Multivariate logistic regression model was constructed to measure the association between socio-demographic characteristics and prevalence of MS. Census data from 2011 was projected to 2017 to calculate burden. Results: The prevalence of MS was 5.2% among adolescents. 11.9%, 15.4%, 26.0%, 31.9% and 3.7% had central obesity, high blood pressure, hypertriglyceridemia, low HDL-cholesterol and high fasting glucose, respectively. The prevalence was higher among males (5.7% vs. 4.7%, adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 1.3, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.0, 1.6), those residing in urban areas (7.9% vs 4.2%, AOR: 1.4, 95% CI: 1.1, 1.8), and from wealthier households as compared to their counterparts (8.3% vs. 2.4%, AOR: 3.4, 95% CI: 2.1, 5.5). There was wide interstate variability in the prevalence of MS (0.5% – 16.5%). In 2017, 14.2 million adolescents had MS in India. Conclusions: The prevalence of MS among adolescents in India is low and clustered in urban areas and richer households. Early prevention interventions promoting a healthy lifestyle, especially in high prevalence areas, are needed to keep MS from becoming a public health issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-communicable diseases are already acknowledged as a double burden, and now childhood obesity is putting extra strain on our health system. The current paper aimed to analyze the ongoing health and related programmes/policies in India, and we discussed the existing opportunities in the programmes to address the issue of childhood obesity in India. We searched the "MEDLINE," "PsycINFO," "Scopus," "Web of Science," and "Google Scholar" databases using the following keywords: ("overweight") and ("obesity"), ("childhood obesity"), ("nutritional programmes in India"), ("Health policies in India"), ("malnourished children in India") in combination with each other and in truncated form. All the relevant articles and policy documents (MOHFW, INDIA) available in the public domain were included to support the argument for this narrative review. We found that we have programme gaps like guidelines issues by Food Safety Standards Authority of India to tackle childhood obesity and it has not been strictly implemented due to multiple reasons. School health programme has an opportunity to address the issue of childhood obesity, but at the ground level the outcomes are not very promising. The National Nutrition Mission have only focussed on undernutrition and anemia problem, ignoring the overweight/childhood obesity. Primary care physicians are key players in the treatment of childhood obesity, yet rates of obesity management in the primary care setting are low. National Programme for prevention & Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases & stroke is dealing with health promotion and prevention, early diagnosis, and management of all ages, except children. Diet provided in Integrated Child Development Scheme is calculated based on calories, not by the quality which is a concern to us. The breastfeeding promotion programme named Mothers Absolute Affection programme has not been implemented with letter and spirit. Other than health programmes, we assume that Ministry of Urban Planning, Foreign Direct Investment policy, Advertisement Council of India and many more sector/policy/programme are indirectly responsible for the increasing burden of childhood obesity in India. Lack of awareness and wrong perception also responsible for the development of childhood obesity. We have multiple National Health Programmes and Policies to address the childhood malnutrition, but are focussing the undernutrition component only, ignoring overnutrition problem in the children, which is emerging as quadruple burden to our health system. Appropriate actions and inclusion of suggestions provided in this study for the improvement of the programmes at the practical level needs to be considered by the policy makers to halt the ever-rising trend of childhood obesity and primary care physicians should play a leadership role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood obesity is a burden in developed and developing countries. Overweight and obesity are caused by numerous social and environmental factors that infl fence people's food habit and physical activity. Role of primary or secondary prevention is the mainstay plan for controlling this epidemic. Various adaptable best practice models are available in the developed nations. However, further research needs to be done to examine the most effective strategies of intervention, prevention, and treatment of obesity in our setting. Through this paper, we would like to highlight best practices and potential interventions to reduce the burden of obesity in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Overweight and obesity among the adolescent population are emerging as worldwide epidemics. Its increasing occurrence in India is highly concerning. Amidst the burden of malnutrition, where undernutrition is a long-standing health problem, the rising concerns around childhood overweight/obesity has several repercussions for this population. The aim of this scoping review is to map the evidence of the prevalence and contributing factors of overweight and obesity among adolescents (10 to 19 years) in the Indian population. Methods: The study will be conducted according to the Arksey and O'Malley scoping review framework and the Joanna Briggs institute Reviewers' manual. The Population, Concept and Context strategy (PCC) will ensure the review questions, eligibility criteria, and search strategy. The Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Extension for Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR) will be used for the findings of the study of Scoping Review. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT), Version- 2018 will be used to assess the methodological quality of all relevant studies. Literature search will be done using electronic databases: PubMed, Google Scholar, SCOPUS, EMBASE, and Cochrane library by specific keywords such as "prevalence"; "overweight"; "obesity"; "obese"; "malnutrition"; "BMI"; "adolescent"; "teenager"; and "youth" etc. Additional studies will be considered using cross-references. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Child and maternal malnutrition are the most serious health risks in India, accounting for 15% of the country's total disease burden. Malnutrition in children can manifest as 'stunting' (low height in relation to age) or 'wasting' (low weight in relation to height) or both and underweight or obesity among women. Other nutritional indicators show that India lags behind, with high levels of anaemia in women of reproductive age. The study aims to analyse the wealth related inequalities in the nutrition status among women and children of different wealth quintiles in a high focus state (Chhattisgarh; CG) and a non-high focus state (Tamil Nadu; TN) in India. Methods: We used National Family Health Survey-3rd (2005–06) & 4th (2015–16) to study the trends and differentials of inequalities in the nutrition status. We have used two summary indices. - absolute inequalities using the slope index of inequality (SII), and relative inequalities using the concentration index (CIX). Results: There is reduction in wealth related inequality in nutrition status of women and children from all wealth quintiles between 2005–06 and 2015–16. However the reduction in inequality in some cases such as that of severe stunting among children was accompanied by increase among children from better off households The values of SII and CIX imply that malnutrition except obesity is still concentrated among the poor. The prevalence of anaemia (mild, moderate and severe) has reduced among women and children in the past decade. The converging pattern observed with respect to prevalence of mild and moderate anaemia is not only due to reduction in prevalence of anaemia among women from poor households but an increase in prevalence in rich households. Conclusion: Malnutrition remains a major challenge in India, despite encouraging progress in maternal and nutrition outcomes over the last decade. Our study findings indicate the importance of looking at the change in inequalities of nutrition status of women and children of different wealth quintiles sub nationally. Given the country's rapidly changing malnutrition profile, with progress across several indicators of under nutrition but rapidly rising rates of overweight/obesity, particularly among adults, appropriate strategies needs to be devised to tackle the double burden of malnutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimated that 1.1 million children and adolescents aged 14–19 years are living with diabetes. Diabetes is a chronic, progressive disease characterized by elevated levels of blood glucose. It is also recognized as a complex disease that affects people of different ages due to different causes. The present study aims to estimate the prevalence of pre-diabetes/diabetes at the national level. Additionally, the respective study determines the factors associated with pre-diabetes/diabetes conditions among adolescents at the national level. Methods: The data for this study was carried out from the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS), the first-ever nationally representative nutrition survey of children and adolescents in India. The study used a sample size of 17,865 adolescent boys and 17,965 adolescent girls for the analysis. Descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis, and logistic regression analysis were done to carve out the results. Results: The prevalence of pre-diabetes/diabetes was 12.3% and 8.4% among adolescent boys and girls in India, respectively. Body mass index and Subscapular skinfold thickness were the two most important predictors of pre-diabetes/diabetes among adolescents. Further, physical activities show a negative association with pre-diabetes/diabetes. Moreover, interaction models in the present study clearly reveal the fact that adolescent girls were less likely to suffer from pre-diabetes/diabetes than adolescent boys. Additionally, it was found that the prevalence of pre-diabetes/diabetes was high among adolescent girls from lower socio-economic strata. Conclusion: The high prevalence of pre-diabetes and diabetes among adolescents portrayed serious public health concern in India. As body mass index and Subscapular skinfold thickness were positively associated with pre-diabetes/diabetes conditions among adolescents. Therefore, effective approaches are needed to be taken to tackle these pre-diabetes/diabetes conditions among adolescents and especially among adolescent boys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to examine the association between breastfeeding and childhood obesity. A multinational cross‐sectional study of 4,740 children aged 9–11 years was conducted from 12 countries. Infant breastfeeding was recalled by parents or legal guardians. Height, weight, waist circumference, and body fat were obtained using standardized methods. The overall prevalence of obesity, central obesity, and high body fat were 12.3%, 9.9%, and 8.1%, respectively. After adjustment for maternal age at delivery, body mass index (BMI), highest maternal education, history of gestational diabetes, gestational age, and child's age, sex, birth weight, unhealthy diet pattern scores, moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity, sleeping, and sedentary time, exclusive breastfeeding was associated with lower odds of obesity (odds ratio [OR] 0.76, 95% confidence interval, CI [0.57, 1.00]) and high body fat (OR 0.60, 95% CI [0.43, 0.84]) compared with exclusive formula feeding. The multivariable‐adjusted ORs based on different breastfeeding durations (none, 1–6, 6–12, and > 12 months) were 1.00, 0.74, 0.70, and 0.60 for obesity (Ptrend =.020) and 1.00, 0.64, 047, and 0.64 for high body fat (Ptrend =.012), respectively. These associations were no longer significant after adjustment for maternal BMI. Breastfeeding may be a protective factor for obesity and high body fat in 9‐ to 11‐year‐old children from 12 countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background - Childhood obesity is a major health problem in many developing countries, including India. As a result, overweight and obese children achieve fewer opportunities to develop proficient motor skills. Early assessment should be done to evaluate children having poor coordination problem and early intervention should be given to avoid risk of any neuromotor disturbances later. This study is done to find out the level of motor proficiency in terms of Body coordination, strength and agility in overweight and obese school going children aged 7-12 years using BOT-2 test. Method: A cross sectional analytical study was conducted using BOT-2 long form. Purposive sampling of 54 overweight and obese children (32 males and 22 females) aged 7-12 years who met the inclusion criteria were taken for the study and assessed under 2 motor area composite of BOT -2. The study was conducted after the ethical clearance obtained by the institutional ethical committee. Each task was explained verbally and demonstrated to each student, to ensure proper understanding of the task. Results: 54 children were assessed (59.2% males and 40.8% females) and standard score of the BOT -2 test was calculated which signifies the level of proficiency. For Body coordination component mean standard score of 45.07 and for strength and agility component it was 37.79. Conclusion: This study concludes that according to Descriptive Category of BOT -2 test in Body coordination 33%, in Strength and agility 74% of overweight and obese children aged 7-12 years has motor deficits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Body mass index (BMI) is recommended globally as the optimal, straight forward measure of obesity. Nonetheless, in a resource-poor setting, Mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC) is considered as a key indicator for overweight and obesity. Objective: The present study is an attempt to determine the accuracy of MUAC for the assessment of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents of Khiamniungan tribe. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study which includes 960 Khiamniungan tribal children and adolescents of both sexes aged 5-16 years. All the somatometric measurements were assessed objectively. Result: MUAC was found to be strongly correlated with height, weight, waist circumference and body mass index in both children (r≥0.617; p<0.001) and adolescents (r≥0.74, p<0.001). The MUAC cut-off to identify BMI-defined overweight/obesity among children 16.50 cm and adolescent's 21.50 cm. AUC results were 'fair' for children and 'excellent' for adolescents (0.75 and 0.95, respectively). Conclusion: MUAC can be preferred over conventional BMI as an alternative screening tool in a resource-poor setting as it is simple, inexpensive, easy to use, and non-invasive method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: : Infant body mass index (BMI) peak has received much interest recently as a potential predictor of future obesity and metabolic risk. No studies, however, have examined infant BMI peak in Asian populations, in whom the risk of metabolic disease is higher.Methods: : We utilized data among 1020 infants from a mother-offspring cohort, who were Singapore citizens or permanent residents of Chinese, Malay or Indian ethnicity with homogeneous parental ethnic backgrounds, and did not receive chemotherapy, psychotropic drugs or have diabetes mellitus. Ethnicity was self-reported at recruitment and later confirmed using genotype analysis. Subject-specific BMI curves were fitted to infant BMI data using natural cubic splines with random coefficients to account for repeated measures in each child. We estimated characteristics of the child's BMI peak [age and magnitude at peak, average pre-peak velocity (aPPV)]. Systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), BMI, sum of skinfolds (SSF) and fat-mass index (FMI) were measured during a follow-up visit at age 48 months. Weighted multivariable linear regression was used to assess the predictors (maternal BMI, gestational weight gain, ethnicity, infant sex, gestational age, birthweight-for-gestational age and breastfeeding duration) of infant BMI peak and its associations with outcomes at 48 months. Comparisons between ethnicities were tested using Bonferroni post-hoc correction.Results: : Of 1020 infants, 80.5% were followed up at the 48-month visit. Mean (SD) BMI, SSF and FMI at 48 months were 15.6 (1.8) kg/m 2 , 16.5 (5.3) mm and 3.8 (1.3) kg/m 2 , respectively. Mean (SD) age at peak BMI was 6.0 (1.6) months, with a magnitude of 17.2 (1.4) kg/m 2 and pre-peak velocity of 0.7 (0.3) kg/m 2 /month. Compared with Chinese infants, the peak occurred later in Malay {B [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.64 mo (0.36, 0.92)]} and Indian infants [1.11 mo (0.76, 1.46)] and was lower in magnitude in Indian infants [-0.45 kg/m 2 (-0.69, -0.20)]. Adjusting for maternal education, BMI, gestational weight gain, ethnicity, infant sex, gestational age, birthweight-for-gestational-age and breastfeeding duration, higher peak and aPPV were associated with greater BMI, SSF and FMI at 48 months. Age at peak was positively associated with BMI at 48 months [0.15 units (0.09, 0.22)], whereas peak magnitude was associated with SBP [0.17 units (0.05, 0.30)] and DBP at 48 months [0.10 units (0.01, 0.22)]. Older age and higher magnitude at peak were associated with increased risk of overweight at 48 months [Relative Risk (95% CI): 1.35 (1.12-1.62) for age; 1.89 (1.60-2.24) for magnitude]. The associations of BMI peak with BMI and SSF at 48 months were stronger in Malay and Indian children than in Chinese children.Conclusions: : Ethnic-specific differences in BMI peak characteristics, and associations of BMI peak with early childhood cardio-metabolic markers, suggest an important impact of early BMI development on later metabolic outcomes in Asian populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Overweight and obesity are a public health problem in India not only in adults but also in children. The authors sought to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in school-going children of 6–17 years of age and examine its demographic and dietary correlates in context of their urban-rural status and socio-economic status. Methods: In this cross-sectional survey height and weight were measured in 1266 school children in government and private schools of urban and rural areas. Dietary assessment was done using single day 24-hour dietary recall method. The data were analyzed using SPSS (IBM SPSS Statistics Version 19) and WHO AnthroPlus Software. Factorial ANOVA was used for testing interaction within and between subgroups for continuous variables and Chi-square test was used for categorical variables. Results: It was found that the overall prevalence of overweight was 15.6% of which 5.4% were obese, with maximum prevalence in boys attending urban private schools. The mean caloric intake in the study population with 24-hour dietary recall method was 1558.2 kilocalories (SD: 428 kilocalories). Conclusion: Overweight and obesity is a significant problem in school-going children. Higher socio-economic status continues to remain an important driver of this epidemic in the younger generation and affects demographic and dietary determinants of this problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the potential of leveraging competitive advantages of markets to address childhood obesity in India, with studies showing lifestyle and eating behaviour influenced by market, particularly in the marketing of processed food to target children. Topics discussed include adverse health outcomes faced by overweight or obese children like metabolic problems, prevalence of the rue of market in society, and the concept of Whole of society (WoS) to prevent childhood obesity.

A cross-sectional study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity among 431 Bengalee schoolgirls aged 6–9 years in Kolkata, India. Anthropometric measurements of height and weight were made on 431 girls. The body mass index (BMI) was computed following the standard equation. Overweight and obesity was defined following the internationally accepted BMI cut-off points. Results revealed that the overall rates of overweight and obesity were 17.63% and 5.10%, respectively. A steady increase in number of overweight individuals was observed from 6 to 9 years. The prevalence of overweight among affluent Bengalee children was higher than those reported from other Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of obesity and overweight in urban school children in Kochi, Kerala, South India. Three schools from the city were selected representing upper, middle and lower socioeconomic groups and the children aged 6-15 years of age were interviewed. The prevalence of obesity was 3.0% for boys and 5.3% for girls. The prevalence of obesity (7.5%) and overweight (21.9%) were highest among high income group and lowest (1.5% and 2.5%) among low income group. Prevalence of obesity and overweight was found to be higher in the high income group and among girls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors comment on an article published in this issue of the journal which examined the association between obesity in Indian children and magnesium (Mg) intake. According to the authors, it is challenging to accurately measure Mg status. They contend that the low serum Mg levels in obese Indian children can be considered as an effect instead of a cause. The authors emphasize the importance of the dietary environment in any study of the link between serum Mg and other outcomes.