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Aim: The prevalence of obesity is continually increasing worldwide. Determining risk factors for obesity may facilitate effective preventive programs. The present review focuses on sleep duration as a potential risk factor for childhood obesity. The aim is to summarize the evidence on the association of sleep duration and obesity and to discuss the underlying potential physiological and/or pathophysiological mechanisms.Data Synthesis: The Ovid MEDLINE, Scopus and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases were searched for papers using text words with appropriate truncation and relevant indexing terms. All studies objectively measuring sleep duration and investigating the association between sleep duration and obesity or factors (lifestyle and hormonal) possibly associated with obesity were included, without making restrictions based on study design or language. Data from eligible studies were extracted in tabular form and summarized narratively. After removing duplicates, 3540 articles were obtained. Finally, 33 studies (including 3 randomized controlled trials and 30 observational studies) were included in the review.Conclusion: Sleep duration seems to influence weight gain in children, however, the underlying explanatory mechanisms are still uncertain. In our review only the link between short sleep duration and the development of insulin resistance, sedentarism and unhealthy dietary patterns could be verified, while the role of other mediators, such as physical activity, screen time, change in ghrelin and leptin levels, remained uncertain. There are numerous evidence gaps. To answer the remaining questions, there is a need for studies meeting high methodological standards and including a large number of children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Hypoinsulinemia characteristic to type 1 diabetes may theoretically inhibit the conversion of essential fatty acids to their longer-chain metabolites. Fatty acids were determined in plasma and erythrocyte membrane lipids in young diabetic adults (n=34) and in age-matched healthy controls (n=36). Values of linoleic acid (56.01 [5.02] versus 51.05 [7.32], % by wt, median [range from the first to the third quartile], P<0.00l) and arachidonic acid (AA) (11.17 [2.98] versus 9.69 [1.95] P<0.001) were significantly higher in diabetic subjects than in controls. However, α-linolenic acid values did not differ, and docosahexaenoic acid (0.43 [0.12] versus 0.57 [0.29], P<0.01) values were significantly lower in diabetic than in control subjects. Significant inverse correlations were found between AA and hemoglobin A1c values in the phospholipid (r=−0.40, P<0.05) and sterol ester (r=−0.40, P<0.05) fractions. The data obtained in the present study suggest that the availability of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid may be reduced in young diabetic adults. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective:To estimate the frequency of Arg64 allele of the β3-adrenergic receptor (3-BAR) gene in healthy (H) and obese (O) Hungarian children, and to look for possible associations between this polymorphism and some clinical and metabolic characteristics of obese children.Patients/methods:In all, 147 healthy (male: 68) and 295 obese (male: 168) children were examined. The average age of the children in the two groups was 12.4±1.7 vs 12.6±3.2, respectively. Exon 1 of 3-BAR was amplified by polymerase chain reaction and the fragments were digested with BstN1. In obese children, oral glucose tolerance test was carried out and blood pressure (BP) was checked.Results:The frequency of Trp64Arg polymorphism in normal and obese Hungarian children was similar (H vs O: n=14/9.5% vs n=35/11.8%). Obese children carrying the Arg64 allele (n=35, male: 23) were compared to randomly chosen, obese children without the Arg64 allele (n=35, male: 20). A significant difference was found between the body weight (81.2±23.2 vs 75.6±17.7 kg; mean±s.d.; P<0.01), body fat (38.8±3.9 vs 36.5±2.3%; mean±s.d.; P<0.05), mean fasting insulin levels (31.4±16.7 vs 16.9±7.6 μIU/ml; P<0.001) and mean systolic BP values (125.2±10.1 vs 114.5±8.3 mmHg; P<0.001) of the two obese groups.Conclusions:The frequency of Trp64Arg polymorphism was similar in Hungary as compared to other European countries. Although the prevalence of this polymorphism was similar in H and O children, the presence of Arg64 allele seems to be associated with increased adiposity, elevated systolic BP and higher fasting insulin levels.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2005) 59, 955–959. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602164; published online 8 June 2005 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low birthweight has been epidemiologically associated with unfavourable plasma lipid profiles and enhanced risk of cardiovascular morbidity in adulthood. Plasma lipids, lipoprotein cholesterols, apolipoproteins, fatty acid composition of plasma phospholipids and basic indices of glycaemia were investigated in 10-y-old children born with similarly low birthweights as small-for-gestational-age (SGA; n= 16) or preterm infants (n= 16). Plasma total cholesterol (4.32 ± 0.57 vs 4.60 ± 0.52, mmol l[sup -1] , mean ± SD, SGA vs preterm subjects), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (2.54 ± 0.51 vs 2. 65 ± 0.51) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (1.61 ± 0.25 vs 1.76 ± 0.18) concentrations did not differ between the 2 groups. There was no difference in plasma triacylglycerol, apolipoprotein A-I and B, insulin and glucose concentrations or phospholipid fatty acid values. There was no correlation between indices of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. In conclusion, plasma lipid profiles and basic indices of glycaemia are not different in 10-y-old children born with similarly low birthweights as SGA or preterm infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]