Search

Byline: Diganta. Saikia, Bandana. Mahanta Children are at increased risk of perioperative respiratory and cardiovascular complications because of their unique respiratory and cardiovascular physiology compared to adults. Anaesthesia can exaggerate [...]

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether the number and type of electronic screens available in children's bedrooms matter in their relationship to adiposity, physical activity and sleep. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 502 children aged 9-11 years from Ottawa, Ontario. The presence (yes/no) of a television (TV), computer or video game system in the child's bedroom was reported by the parents. Percentage body fat was measured using bioelectrical impedance. An accelerometer was worn over seven days to assess moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), total sedentary time, sleep duration and sleep efficiency. Screen time was self-reported by the child. RESULTS: After adjustment for age, sex, ethnicity, annual household income and highest level of parental education, children with 2-3 screens in their bedroom had a significantly higher percentage of body fat than children with no screen in their bedroom. However, while children with 2-3 screens in their bedroom engaged in more screen time overall than those with no screen, total sedentary time and MVPA were not significantly different. Sleep duration was not related to the number of screens in the bedroom, but sleep efficiency was significantly lower in children with at least 2 screens in the bedroom. Finally, children having only a TV in their bedroom had significantly higher adiposity than those having no screen at all. In contrast, the presence of a computer in children's bedrooms was not associated with higher adiposity than that of children with no screen. CONCLUSIONS: A higher number of screens in a child's bedroom was associated with higher adiposity, more total screen time and lower sleep efficiency. Having a TV in the bedroom appears to be the type of screen presence associated with higher levels of adiposity. Given the popularity of screens among children, these findings are increasingly relevant to health promotion strategies. KEY WORDS: Television; computer; video games; body fat; exercise; sedentary behaviour OBJECTIF: Examiner si le nombre et le type d'ecrans electroniques disponibles dans la chambre a coucher des enfants ont un lien avec leur adiposite, leur pratique d'activites physiques et leur sommeil. METHODES: Une etude transversale a ete realisee aupres de 502 enfants ages entre 9 et 11 ans provenant de la region d'Ottawa (Ontario). La presence (oui/non) d'un televiseur, d'un ordinateur ou d'un jeu video dans la chambre a coucher de l'enfant a ete rapportee par les parents. Le pourcentage de graisse corporelle a ete mesure par impedance bioelectrique. Un accelerometre a ete porte sur une periode de sept jours afin d'evaluer l'activite physique d'intensite moyenne a elevee, le temps sedentaire total, la duree ainsi que la qualite du sommeil. RESULTATS: Apres ajustement statistique pour l'age, le sexe, l'ethnicite, le revenu familial annuel et le niveau d'education parental, les enfants qui avaient 2 ou 3 ecrans dans leur chambre a coucher avaient un pourcentage de gras significativement plus eleve que les enfants n'ayant aucun ecran dans leur chambre a coucher. Alors que les enfants ayant 2 a 3 ecrans dans leur chambre a coucher s'adonnaient a plus de temps ecran total que ceux n'ayant pas d'ecran, le temps sedentaire total et l'activite physique d'intensite moyenne a elevee n'etaient pas differentes entre les deux groupes. La duree du sommeil n'etait pas reliee au nombre d'ecrans dans la chambre a coucher alors que la qualite du sommeil etait significativement moins bonne chez les enfants ayant au moins 2 ecrans dans leur chambre a coucher. Finalement, les enfants ayant seulement un televiseur dans leur chambre a coucher avaient une adiposite significativement plus elevee en comparaison a ceux qui n'avaient pas d'ecrans du tout. Par contraste, la presence d'un ordinateur dans la chambre a coucher des enfants n'etait pas associee avec une adiposite plus elevee. CONCLUSIONS: Un nombre plus eleve d'ecrans dans la chambre a coucher des enfants est associe a une adiposite plus importante, davantage de temps ecran total et une qualite de sommeil moins bonne. Avoir un televiseur dans la chambre a coucher des enfants semble etre le type de presence d'ecran associe avec les niveaux d'adiposite les plus eleves. Etant donne la popularite des ecrans chez les enfants, ces resultats sont d'une importance grandissante pour la formulation de strategies de promotion en sante publique. MOTS CLES: television; ordinateur; jeux video; adiposite; exercice; comportement sedentaire, The presence of electronic screen devices in a child's bedroom has gained in popularity, and children report using these technologies late at night. (1-3) For example, 71% of American (US) [...]

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Bioimpedance analysis (BIA) is a simple, convenient and widely used tool for the measurement of body composition in population surveys and surveillance. Prediction equations based on BIA applicable to preschool children are available but are based on total body water estimation and have not been developed across multiple ethnic groups. Our aim was to develop a BIA-based equation in a multi-ethnic sample of 2-year old using fat-free mass (FFM) from dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) as criterion measure. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Single-frequency hand-to-foot BIA (model BIM4, Impedimed) and whole-body DXA measurements were carried out in 77 (35 boys, 42 girls;27 European, 20 Polynesian, 30 Asian and other) healthy preschool children (age range 22-38 months). Body mass index s.d. scores were 0.41 [+ or -] 1.23 for boys and 0.61 ± 1.09 for girls. The performance of published equations applicable to this age group was assessed. The predicted residual sum of squares method was used to develop and cross-validate a multiple regression equation relating FFM to BIA measures. RESULTS: Published equations performed poorly for estimating FFM in this group of children. The prediction equation developed in all 77 children was: FFM (kg) = 0.367 height(cm)2/resistance + 0.188 weight (kg) + 0.077 height (cm) + 0.273 sex (male = 1, female = 0)-2.490, [R.sup.2] = 0.89, standard error of estimate = 0.50 kg. Ethnicity and age did not add significantly to the model. CONCLUSIONS: We have developed an equation that may have application for prediction of FFM in 2-3-year-old children, which does not require determination of hydration factors. Further work should be carried out using DXA scanning to extend the applicable age range. doi:10.1038/ejcn.2012.182; published online 12 December 2012 Keywords: bioimpedance analysis; dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry; fat-free mass; children, INTRODUCTION The most rapid postnatal growth takes place in the first 3 years of a child's life. An early understanding of changes in the differential accumulation of fat and fat-free [...]

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Considering the large number of children worldwide attending all-day schools, information on the effects of lunch on short-term cognitive performance is of public health relevance. However, only adult studies investigated this issue yet. Therefore, this study examined the impact of skipping lunch vs having lunch on children's cognitive functioning in the early afternoon. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Participants in this randomized crossover study with two groups were healthy 6th grade students of an all-day school in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Group 1 skipped lunch on study day 1 and received an ad libitum lunch 1 week later on study day 2. The order for group 2 was vice versa. In the afternoon tonic alertness, visuospatial memory and selective attention were determined using a computerized test battery of the Vienna Test System. For continuous and discrete interval-scaled variables, treatment effect was estimated using the two sample t-test or the Wilcoxon rank-sum test, for discrete ordinal-scaled variables using generalized linear models. RESULTS: Data on 105 children (48% male;12.6±0.6 years) were analyzed. Except for tonic alertness there were no significant differences in cognitive functioning between the skipping lunch day and the having lunch day. The higher number of omission errors on the skipping lunch day lost significance when adjusting for multiple testing. CONCLUSIONS: In the first study on this topic lunch did not have relevant effects on children's cognitive functioning in the early afternoon. Future research needs to be done to figure out potential methodical and physiological explanations. doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2012.209 Keywords: child; attention; memory; diet; food services; schools, INTRODUCTION The long-standing National School Lunch Program of the US (1) and its nutrition standards (2) set an example for a well-organized provision of school meals with the objective of [...]

OBJECTIVES: Body mass index (BMI) percentiles have been routinely and historically used to identify elevated adiposity. The aim of this study was to investigate the optimal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) BMI percentile that predicts elevated visceral adipose tissue (VAT), fat mass and cardiometabolic risk in a biracial sample of children and adolescents. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional analysis included 369 white and African-American children (5-18 years). BMI was calculated using height and weight and converted to BMI percentiles based on CDC growth charts. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis identified the optimal (balance of sensitivity and specificity) BMI percentile to predict the upper quartile of age-adjusted VAT (measured by magnetic resonance imaging), age-adjusted fat mass (measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) and elevated cardiometabolic risk (≥ 2 of high glucose, triglycerides and blood pressure, and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) for each race-by-sex group. RESULTS: The optimal CDC BMI percentile to predict those in the top quartile of age-adjusted VAT, age-adjusted fat mass and elevated cardiometabolic risk were the 96th, the 96th and the 94th percentiles, respectively, for the sample as a whole. Sensitivity and specificity was satisfactory (>0.70) for VAT and fat mass. Compared to VAT and fat mass, there was a lower overall accuracy of the optimal percentile in identifying those with elevated cardiometabolic risk. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings support the utility of the 95th CDC BMI percentile as a useful threshold for the prediction of elevated levels of VAT, fat mass and cardiometabolic risk in children and adolescents. doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2012.203; published online 12 December 2012 Keywords: body mass index; visceral adipose tissue; children; adolescents; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; body fat, INTRODUCTION Body mass index (BMI) is routinely used in surveillance and as a screening tool to identify those with excess adiposity. (1) In children, the absolute BMI is typically not [...]

Purpose: Research shows that monolingual children with cleft lip and/or palate (CLP) have a higher incidence of cognitive-linguistic deficits, but it is not clear whether bilingual preschool children with CLP are especially vulnerable because they need to acquire 2 languages. We tested the hypothesis that bilingual children with CLP score lower than bilingual children with typical development (TD) on receptive vocabulary, verbal memory, and visuospatial memory. Method: Participants were 86 bilingual CLP children and 100 TD children 3-6 years of age, dominant in English or Mandarin. Each child completed assessments of English and Mandarin vocabulary, verbal and visuospatial short-term and working memory, hearing, and articulation. Results: With analysis of covariance controlling for age and dominant language, no group differences were found between the CLP and TD bilingual children, although a correlational analysis indicated discrepancies in the relationship between variables. Conclusions: The findings do not support the hypothesis that preschool children with CLP score lower than preschool children with TD on receptive vocabulary and memory measures. Longitudinal research examining literacy skill development is needed to establish whether the deficits reported for school-age monolingual children with CLP become more obvious in bilingual children in later years, especially when the medium of instruction is the child'snondominant language. Key Words: cleft lip and palate, language, working memory, children, bilingual, Research on the communication skills in monolingual children with nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or palate (CLP) has predominantly focused on articulation (D'Antonio & Scherer, 1995; Henningsson et al., 2008), resonance (Kuehn [...]

Background The role of vitamin D status in patients with renal insufficiency and its relation to dietary intake and parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion is of utmost interest given the morbidity and mortality associated with the disordered mineral metabolism seen in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study of 100 pediatric patients with a diagnosis of CKD stage 1-5 at Children's Hospital Boston, measuring blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], 1,25-dihydroxyvitaminD [1,25[(OH).sub.2]D], and parathyroid hormone and obtaining data on nutrient intake and other variables related to vitamin D status. Results Subjects ranged in age from 6 months to 18 years, and 60 were male, 40 female. Of the 100 patients, 16% were deficient in 25(OH)D (≤ 20 ng/mL) and another 24% were insufficient ([less than or equal to] 30 ng/mL), with 40% in the suboptimal range. Serum 25(OH)D and dietary vitamin D intake were not correlated. Conclusions We found a high prevalence of hyperparathyroidism in early-stage CKD and a significant relationship between 25(OH)D and PTH regardless of calcitriol level. Our study results support the suggestion that optimization of vitamin D levels may provide additional benefit in preventing or improving hyperparathyroidism in patients with early CKD and likely remains important as an adjunctive therapy in children with advanced CKD. Keywords 25-Hydroxyvitamin D * Parathyroid hormone * Vitamin D insufficiency * Vitamin D deficiency * Chronic kidney disease * Hyperparathyroidism, Introduction An enhanced understanding of the role of vitamin D status in patients with renal insufficiency and its relation to dietary intake and parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion has the potential [...]

Background/Objectives: Children with celiac disease (CD) are at risk for decreased bone mineral density (BMD) because of fat-soluble vitamin malabsorption, inflammation and/or under-nutrition. The study objective was to determine the interrelationships between vitamin K/D status and lifestyle variables on BMD in children and adolescents with CD at diagnosis and after 1 year on the gluten-free diet (GFD). Subjects/Methods: Children and adolescents aged 3-17 years with biopsy proven CD at diagnosis and after 1 year on the GFD were studied. BMD was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Relevant variables included: anthropometrics, vitamin D/K status, diet, physical activity and sunlight exposure. Results: Whole-body and lumbar-spine BMD-z scores were low ([less than or equal to] -1) at diagnosis (10-20%) and after 1 year (30-32%) in the children, independent of symptoms. Whole-body BMD-z scores (-0.55 ± 0.7 versus 0.72 ± 1.5) and serum levels of 25(OH) vitamin D (90.3 [+ or -] 24.8 versus 70.5 ± 19.8 nmol/l) were significantly lower in older children (> 10 years) when compared with younger children ([less than or equal to] 10 years) (P < 0.001). Forty-three percent had suboptimal vitamin D status (25(OH)-vitamin D < 75 nmol/l) at diagnosis; resolving in nearly half after 1 year on the GFD. Twenty-five percent had suboptimal vitamin K status at diagnosis; all resolved after 1 year. Conclusions: Children and adolescents with CD are at risk for suboptimal bone health at time of diagnosis and after 1 year on GFD; likely due in part to suboptimal vitamin D/K status. Therapeutic strategies aimed at optimizing vitamin K/D intake may contribute to improved BMD in children with CD. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2012) 66, 488-495; doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2011.176; published online 5 October 2011 Keywords: vitamin K and D; bone health; children; celiac disease, Introduction Celiac disease (CD) is the most common autoimmune-mediated gastrointestinal (GI) disorder; occurring in approximately 1/100 individuals (Fasano and Catassi, 2001). Genetically susceptible individuals exposed to gluten peptides have an [...]

Summary: Variation in duration and frequency during two readings of each of four sentences by 15 normal 9- and 10-year-old children were compared. Instructions to the children included overt cues [...]

Abstract Despite the great importance given by the government to improve the conditions of children's living through fitness and recreation activities, there aren't many researches attempting to record prepubescent physical [...]

Byline: Pooja. Harijan, Arif. Khan, Nahin. Hussain Children and adolescents treated with antiepileptic drugs are known to have problems with bone metabolism, bone mineral density loss, and 2-3 times the [...]

'Did you know that there is a connection between what children eat and how they learn? Simply put, good nutrition promotes health, and healthy children learn better.' This is the [...]