Emerging pathomechanisms involved in obesity.

Objective: Overweight/obesity prevalence has increased dramatically worldwide. Recent evidence suggests sleep deprivation/fragmentation, fructose-exceedingly rich diets, and exposure to endocrine disruptors (eg, bisphenol A, BPA) as emerging additional factors involved in pathomechanisms and in the treatment resistance of obesity and its complications. Our study focuses on these factors for further preventive/therapeutic approaches in paediatric obesity.

Perceived difficulty with physical tasks, lifestyle, and physical performance in obese children.

We estimated perceived difficulty with physical tasks, lifestyle, and physical performance in 382 children and adolescents (163 obese, 54 overweight, and 165 normal-weight subjects) and the relationship between perceived physical difficulties and sports participation, sedentary behaviors, or physical performance. Perceived difficulty with physical tasks and lifestyle habits was assessed by interview using a structured questionnaire, while physical performance was assessed through the six-minute walking test (6 MWT). Obese children had higher perceived difficulty with several activities of daily living, were less engaged in sports, and had lower physical performance than normal-weight or overweight children; on the contrary, they did not differ with regard to time spent in sedentary behaviors.

Determinants of weight gain in children from 7 to 10 years.

Background And Aim: To determine the influence of the family risk factors (parental weight, socioeconomic status and cultural level) on the distribution of overweight or obesity in prepubertal children and the dynamics of their weight gain.

Methods And Results: Three hundred forty-one children (183 boys) attending the second grade of primary school (age 7.4+/-0.