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Caloric beverages may promote obesity by yielding energy without producing satiety, but prior laboratory and intervention studies are inconclusive. This study examined whether the diets of free-living overweight and obese women show evidence that calories from beverages are offset by reductions in solid food within individual eating occasions and across entire days. Eighty-two women weighed and recorded all consumed foods and beverages for seven days. Beverages were coded as high-calorie (≥ 0.165 kcal/g) or low-calorie (<0.165 kcal/g), and total energy intake and energy intake from solid food were calculated for each eating occasion and day. In covariate-adjusted models, energy intake from solid food did not differ between eating occasions that included high-calorie or low-calorie beverages and those with no reported beverage. Energy intake from solid food was also unrelated to the number of high-calorie or low-calorie beverages consumed per day. On average, eating occasions that included a high-calorie beverage were 169 kcal higher in total energy than those with no reported beverage, and 195 kcal higher in total energy than those that included a low-calorie beverage. Each high-calorie beverage consumed per day contributed an additional 147 kcal to women's daily energy intake, whereas low-calorie beverage intake was unrelated to daily energy intake. Beverages contributed to total energy intake in a near-additive fashion among free-living overweight and obese women, suggesting a need to develop more effective interventions to reduce caloric beverage intake in the context of weight management, and to potentially reexamine dietary guidelines., (© 2013.)

Context: Individuals with metabolically healthy or benign obesity vs. unhealthy or at risk obesity have been distinguished; however, the predisposing factors for developing these phenotypes are poorly understood., Objective: Our objective was to examine pubertal timing marked by menarcheal age in relation to at-risk obese, benign obese, and healthy normal-weight phenotypes at midlife and to characterize the potential role of androgens, marked by the free androgen index (FAI), in accounting for any associations between menarcheal age and obesity phenotype., Design: The study was cross-sectional., Setting and Participants: Participants included a multiethnic community sample of 989 premenopausal women ages 25-45 yr (mean=35.2 yr; sd=5.5 yr)., Main Outcome Measure: Membership in at-risk obese, benign obese, and healthy normal-weight groups was defined by body mass index and number of metabolic syndrome components., Results: With each 1-yr increase in menarcheal age, the probability of having the at-risk obese compared with the healthy normal-weight phenotype decreased by 22%. This association attenuated when FAI was covaried, suggesting androgen levels may account for this association. In addition, higher FAI was independently related to having the at-risk obese compared with the healthy normal-weight phenotype as well as having the at-risk compared with the benign obese phenotype (all P<0.05)., Conclusions: Younger menarcheal age is associated with having the metabolically unhealthy obesity phenotype compared with the healthy normal-weight phenotype at midlife. This relation may be driven by levels of bioavailable androgens, which were especially elevated among women with the at-risk obesity phenotype.

ContextPrepubertal obesity is a well-established predictor of earlier pubertal onset, which is itself a risk factor for poor health and well-being. Identifying specific patterns of weight gain in early life may help explain differential risk for earlier pubertal onset.ObjectiveThe objective of the study was to examine patterns of weight gain across infancy and early childhood in relation to pubertal onset outcomes.Design setting and participantsParticipants were 426 girls in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, a longitudinal birth cohort of children and their families followed between birth and adolescence.Main outcome measuresThree pubertal onset outcomes were examined, including age at menarche and ages at Tanner stage II for dimensions of breast and pubic hair development.ResultsIn infancy (birth to 15 months), greater percent weight gain and higher birthweight predicted earlier pubertal onset for all outcomes (Ps < 0.05). In early childhood (24 months to grade 1), body mass index (BMI) trajectories reflecting BMI values that were persistently high or changed from low to high over time (vs BMI values that were stable at median or low levels), predicted younger ages at menarche and the onset of breast (Ps < 0.05), but not pubic hair (Ps > 0.05), development. All associations were independent of breastfeeding, maternal menarcheal age, and race/ethnicity.ConclusionsDistinct patterns of early life weight gain predict differential risk for earlier onset puberty. Focusing on these patterns for earlier and more targeted intervention may help lessen life course linkages between prepubertal obesity, accelerated pubertal development, and negative postpubertal outcomes.

ObjectiveTo identify early life adversity (ELA) risk factors for earlier pubertal timing, itself a risk factor for poor cardiometabolic health, and to determine whether such ELA-related risk may be mediated by pre-pubertal body mass index (BMI).MethodsSubjects included 426 female participants in a prospective birth cohort study, the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Survival analysis models were fit to examine ELA exposures, representing childhood socioeconomic status (SES), maternal sensitivity, mother-child attachment, and negative life events, along with child health indicators and covariates, in relation to pubertal timing outcomes, including age at menarche and ages at Tanner stage II for breast and pubic hair development.ResultsHigher childhood SES emerged as an independent predictor of older age at menarche, showing each one standard deviation increase in childhood SES corresponded to a 1.3% increase in age at menarche (factor change = 1.013; 1.003-1.022; p < .01), but did not predict breast or pubic hair development (ps > .05). In mediation analyses, indirect (mediated) effects of mother-child attachment on the pubertal timing outcomes, via pre-pubertal BMI, were all statistically significant (ps < .05).ConclusionsHigher childhood SES predicted directly, and secure (vs. insecure) mother-child attachment predicted indirectly (via pre-pubertal BMI), later pubertal timing, suggesting these factors may protect girls from earlier pubertal development. By extension, clinical implications are that intervention strategies designed to lessen ELA- and pre-pubertal obesity-related risk may be effective in remediating life course pathways linking ELA, accelerated pubertal development, and cardiometabolic risk.

Objective: This study examined predictors of physical performance, a key aspect of quality of life, in children with excess weight. Methods: Participants were 269 children aged 6–12 years with a body mass index above the 85th percentile. Children completed a standardized physical performance task capturing lower extremity strength, balance, and gait speed. Height, weight, and waist circumference were objectively measured, and daily moderate‐vigorous physical activity (min/day) and sedentary time (% of day) were assessed with a 7‐day accelerometer protocol. Results: Physical performance task completion averaged 15.0 (SD = 2.5) seconds. Children with higher body mass index z‐scores and waist circumferences had significantly longer task completion times. The task took 1.8 additional seconds per 1.0 body mass index z‐score (p <.001), and 1.2 additional seconds for every 20 cm higher waist circumference (p <.001). Daily moderate‐vigorous physical activity and sedentary time were unrelated to physical performance, and did not moderate its associations with the adiposity measures. Conclusion: Among children with excess weight, physical performance declines with increasing levels of total and central adiposity. Daily activity levels do not moderate this association. Interventions that directly target weight reduction would likely yield the greatest improvement in physical performance in children with overweight or obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Executive functions (EF) support engagement in goal-directed behaviors, including several health behaviors. Stressful and cognitively demanding events can disrupt EFs and interfere with health behavior, possibly to a greater extent in those with preexisting EF deficits. This study examined the association between preexisting EF deficits and subsequent negative changes in eating patterns, physical activity, sedentariness, and alcohol/substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Participants were 374 young adults in a follow-up study of the longitudinal, multisite Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD). Preexisting EF deficits were assessed with the Barkley Deficits in Executive Function Scales-Short Form, and personally impactful negative changes in four health behaviors (physical activity, unhealthy eating, sedentary time, alcohol/substance use) during the COVID-19 pandemic were subsequently assessed with the Epidemic-Pandemic Impacts Inventory. Results: In ordered logistic regression models, higher preexisting total EF deficits were associated with greater negative impactful changes in physical activity and unhealthy eating, independent of sociodemographic variables, obesity, and (as relevant) accelerometer-based physical activity and pre-COVID-19 diet quality. Socioeconomic status moderated the association between total EF deficits and impactful change in alcohol/substance use, with EF deficits linked to greater impactful change in alcohol/substance use only in higher socioeconomic strata. Conclusion: Individuals with preexisting EF deficits appear more vulnerable to the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on several key health behaviors. As the pandemic unfolds, strategies may be needed to identify those with EF deficits (e.g., screening tools) and provide them with tailored support for chronic disease risk reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study documents psychological problems in obese adolescents seeking bariatric surgery with laparoscopic adjustable gastric band. Depression, self-harm, suicidal ideation, anxiety, and bullying were reported frequently. Professionals will need to carefully assess adolescents for high-risk behaviors and provide appropriate follow-up care if these individuals undergo laparascopic banding. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]