Assessing physical activity/behavior of adolescents living in the Pacific with accelerometer data: 231 GENEActiv records in New Caledonia.

This paper presents a dataset related to the physical activity behavior of 206 adolescents (107 females and 99 males) from 11 to 16 years old and 25 adults (13 females and 12 males) living in rural (77 adolescents and 15 adults) and urban (129 adolescents and 10 adults) parts of New Caledonia, an archipelago of the South Pacific. Physical behavior was assessed through 60-Hz triaxial GENEActiv accelerometers worn for 5 to 7 consecutive days between July 2018 and April 2019. Participants were randomly recruited at school and trained staff fitted the devices on the nondominant wrist, at which time all were reminded of the expectations while wearing the device.

Associations between academic achievement and weight status in a multi-ethnic sample of New Caledonian adolescents.

Several studies have reported a negative association between obesity and academic achievement in school-aged children. In the Pacific region, the prevalence of adolescent overweight is high, but no study has considered issues of academic achievement in this population. To rectify this, we examined relationships between academic achievement and weight status in a multi-ethnic (European and Kanak) sample of New Caledonian adolescents.

Self-reported and accelerometry measures of sleep components in adolescents living in Pacific Island countries and territories: Exploring the role of sociocultural background.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to assess the concordance and its association with sociocultural background of a four-question survey with accelerometry in a multiethnic adolescent population, regarding sleep components. Based on questions from the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and adapted to a school context, the questionnaire focussed on estimating sleep onset time, wake-up time and sleep duration on both weekdays and weekends. This subjective survey was compared with accelerometry data while also considering the influence of sociocultural factors (sex, place of living, ethnic community and socio-economic status).

Prevalence, causes and contexts of childhood overweight and obesity in the Pacific region: a scoping review.

Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a major threat to health and development and account for 75% of deaths in the Pacific Islands Countries and Territories (PICTs). Childhood obesity has been identified as a main risk factor for NCDs later in life. This review compiled overweight and obesity (OWOB) prevalence (anthropometric data) for children aged six to 12 years old living in the Pacific region and identified possible related causes.

Generational issues in linking family farming production, traditional food in diet, physical activity and obesity in Pacific Islands countries and territories: the case of the Melanesian population on Lifou Island.

In the Melanesian culture, traditional activities are organized around family farming, although the lifestyle transition taking place over the last several decades has led to imbalances in diet and physical activity, with both leading to obesity. The aim of this interdisciplinary study was to understand the links between family farming (produced, exchanged, sold, and consumed food), diet (focused on produced, hunted, and caught food), physical activity (sedentary, light, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity) and obesity in Melanesian Lifou Island families (parents and children). Forty families, including 142 adults and children, completed individual food frequency questionnaires, wore tri-axial accelerometers for seven continuous days, and had weight and height measured with a bio-impedance device.

Adolescent screen time and unhealthy food consumption in the context of the digital development in New Caledonia.

Objective: For several years, the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) have been undergoing digital developments that have had an impact on the time adolescents spend in front of screens. The association between screen time and the overconsumption of unhealthy foods has been observed but little studied in New Caledonia. The twofold aim of this research was to analyze adolescent screen time based on the number of screens at home, gender, place of living, ethnic community and family socio-professional category and determine the link with the consumption of unhealthy food and drinks.

An examination of procrastination in a multi-ethnic population of adolescents from New Caledonia.

Background: Although procrastination has been widely studied in adults, comparatively little work has focused on adolescent procrastination, especially in the Pacific region. As a contribution to knowledge and diversification of population sampling, therefore, we examined procrastination in a multi-ethnic sample of adolescents from New Caledonia. Specifically, we examined gender and ethnic differences in procrastination, as well as sociodemographic and ethnic identity predictors of procrastination.

Physical Activity in Adolescents Living in Rural and Urban New Caledonia: The Role of Socioenvironmental Factors and the Association With Weight Status.

Physical activity (PA) is an important factor for the prevention of overweight and obesity, particularly during adolescence. This study focuses on the understudied adolescent population of New Caledonia with the aim to (1) determine the daily PA levels and estimate the sedentary time through out-of-school sitting time; (2) highlight the influence of sociodemographic and environmental factors, and (3) assess the associations of PA and sitting time with overweight and obesity. A sample of 508 school-going adolescents living in New Caledonia was surveyed about their PA habits using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form, as well as about the context in which they usually engage in PA.

Overweight in the pluri-ethnic adolescent population of New Caledonia: Dietary patterns, sleep duration and screen time.

Background: A high prevalence of overweight and obesity has been found in adolescents of New Caledonia and other Pacific Island Countries and Territories. Although Westernization may contribute to the weight gain in populations of Oceanian, Non-European, Non-Asian ancestry (ONENA), little is known about the sociodemographic and lifestyle factors associated with overweight in the Melanesian and Polynesian adolescents of New Caledonia.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a pluri-ethnic sample of New Caledonian adolescents (N = 954; age M = 13.

Associations between weight status, body satisfaction, ethnic identity and self-esteem in Oceanian adolescents.

Background: Self-esteem has consistently been observed to be relatively low in adolescents with obesity. In the Pacific region, the prevalence of obesity in adolescence is high, but few studies have considered issues of self-esteem in this population.

Objective: To examine associations between weight status, body dissatisfaction and self-esteem in a sample of New Caledonian adolescents and to test for moderation effects of ethnicity on predictors of self-esteem.

'Eating well' in Pacific Islands countries and territories: A qualitative and normative approach to food cultures in New Caledonia.

In recent decades, the food cultures of the Pacific populations have undergone a profound transition, particularly because the increasing trade exchanges with Western countries have facilitated access to a wide range of processed foods. Essentially, a new normative model of eating is now taking the place of the traditional models. The aims of this qualitative study were to explore what 'eating well', 'good food' and 'bad food' now mean in the New Caledonian family context and, more broadly, to categorise the current food practices and representations in adolescents' families.

Living in Rural and Urban Areas of New Caledonia: Impact on Food Consumption, Sleep Duration and Anthropometric Parameters Among Melanesian Adolescents.

Background: Food consumption, sleep duration and overweight were assessed in rural and urban Melanesian adolescents.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 312 rural and 104 urban adolescents (11-16 years old) was conducted. Food intakes were assessed by a 26-item food frequency questionnaire and then categorised into the number of serves from each of the three recommended Pacific food groups (energy foods, protective foods, bodybuilding foods), with two additional categories for foods and drinks to be avoided i.

Too big or too thin? New Caledonian adolescents' perceptions of overweight and underweight.

Objectives: The first aim was to examine New Caledonian adolescents' views of what constitutes an overweight or underweight person. The second aim was to assess whether an environment with a high prevalence of overweight is associated with different norms of overweight or underweight in this population.

Methods: The Stunkard Figure Rating Scale was used for a sample of 699 pluriethnic adolescents in New Caledonia.

Energy drink consumption in a pluri-ethnic population of adolescents in the Pacific.

Objective: Energy drinks are very popular among teenagers but may cause health problems. Energy drink consumption is partly associated with energy drink perception, but little is known about this in the Pacific Island Countries and Territories. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to identify the relationships between energy drink consumption, energy drink perception, weight status and sociodemographic characteristics in a school-going sample of Pacific adolescents.

Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption and Associated Factors in School-Going Adolescents of New Caledonia.

This cross-sectional study assessed sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption and its associations with the sociodemographic and physical characteristics, behavior and knowledge of New Caledonian adolescents. The survey data of 447 adolescents from ages 11 to 16 years were collected in five secondary public schools of New Caledonia between July 2015 and April 2016. These data included measured height and weight, SSB consumption, sociodemographic characteristics, body weight perception, physical activity, and knowledge (sugar quantity/SSB unit; energy expenditure required to eliminate a unit) and opinions about the SSB‒weight gain relationship.

Tackling the Consumption of High Sugar Products among Children and Adolescents in the Pacific Islands: Implications for Future Research.

The Pacific Islands are experiencing an obesity epidemic with a rate of overweight and obesity as high as 80% among adults in some Pacific Island nations. Children and adolescents in the region are also affected by overweight and obesity, which is alarming due to the increased likelihood of remaining overweight as an adult. Research supports an association between poor diet and an increased risk of obesity and development of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Potential for waist-to-height ratio to detect overfat adolescents from a Pacific Island, even those within the normal BMI range.

Introduction: Waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) is a simple anthropometric proxy for central body fat; it is easy to use from a health education perspective. A WHtR value >0.5 has been proposed as a first level indicator of health risk.

Body image, body dissatisfaction and weight status of Pacific adolescents from different ethnic communities: a cross-sectional study in New Caledonia.

The prevalence of adolescent obesity is high among the various ethnic groups native to the Pacific region (European, Melanesian and Polynesian). An important factor of weight gain or loss is body size satisfaction; however, little is known about adolescent body self-perception in the Pacific region. Body dissatisfaction was evaluated using the Stunkard Figure Rating Scale in a sample of 699 adolescents from rural and urban areas of New Caledonia.

Anthropometric Characteristics and Physical Fitness in Rural and Urban 11- to 16-Year-Old Melanesian Adolescents: A Cross-sectional Study in New Caledonian Schools.

We evaluated anthropometric characteristics and physical fitness in 556 Melanesian adolescents from rural and urban New Caledonia to build health education programs focused on physical activity. In 2013, body weight, height, skinfold thickness, lean body mass (LBM), percentage fat body mass (%FBM), physical fitness (power, agility, speed, maximal aerobic speed [MAS], estimated VO), and self-reported physical activity were assessed. Rural adolescents were significantly shorter and faster, had lower weight, %FBM, LBM, and power output and similar MAS and VO, and were more active than urban adolescents.

Self-Reported Height and Weight in Oceanian School-Going Adolescents and Factors Associated With Errors.

We examined the accuracy of self-reported weight and height in New Caledonian school-going adolescents. Self-reported and measured height and weight data were collected from 665 adolescents of New Caledonia and were then compared. Multivariable logistic regressions identified the factors associated with inaccurate self-reports.

Relationship of body fat and body mass index in young Pacific Islanders: a cross-sectional study in European, Melanesian and Polynesian groups.

Background: Body mass index is the most often used indicator of obesity but does not distinguish between lean and fat mass. Adiposity at the same body mass index differs across ethnic groups.

Objectives: The twofold aim of this study was to determine whether body mass index (BMI)-based references are correlated with body fat percentage (%BF) in a pluri-ethnic population of Pacific Islanders and to assess the diagnostic accuracy of these references by using the percentage of body fat as the gold standard.

Nutrition behaviors and sociodemographic factors associated with overweight in the multi-ethnic adolescents of New Caledonia.

New Caledonia is a multi-ethnic French territory in the Pacific, characterized by communities with widely varying nutritional habits. Little is currently known about adolescent food behaviors and habits and their association with overweight. This study therefore determined the sociodemographic factors and food behaviors associated with overweight and underweight in this population, as well as the factors associated with skipping breakfast.

Misperception of weight status in the pacific: preliminary findings in rural and urban 11- to 16-year-olds of New Caledonia.

Background: Adolescent obesity is prevalent in Pacific region ethnic groups (European, Melanesian and Polynesian) living in both urban and rural areas. Although body perception is an important factor of weight gain or loss, little is known about the body self-perceptions of Pacific region adolescents. This study therefore evaluated adolescent perceptions of body weight according to ethnicity (European, Melanesian or Polynesian), socioeconomic status (low, intermediate or high) and living area (rural or urban) in New Caledonia.

Dexamethasone decreases phospholipase C beta1 isozyme expression in human vascular smooth muscle cells.

The molecular characterization of the human PLC beta1 gene was just reported by Peruzzi et al. [Biochim. Biophys.

Dexamethasone increases RAMP1 and CRLR mRNA expressions in human vascular smooth muscle cells.

A recent report has shown that in vitro the RAMP2/CRLR complex is a functional adrenomedullin receptor in human endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells. However, in vivo, it is well known that CGRP receptors are expressed in human coronary arteries and that a beneficial effect is observed in patients after CGRP infusion of patients with congestive cardiac failure. This contrast may be explained by the in vivo impregnation of major hormones, so we have tested if glucocorticoids were able in vitro to enhance the expression of the RAMP1/CRLR expression leading to functional CGRP receptors.