Search

Social media use has become an integral part of children’s and adolescents’ lives. It has become a novel way of interaction among people and influences people’s social lives and public opinion as well as people’s purchasing decisions and businesses. Any website or platform that allows social interaction is considered to be a social media site. Social media use among children in 25 European countries has been reported to be 38% among 9–12 year olds and 77% among those aged 13–16 years. All these children report having their own profile on at least one social network site. While social networking provides children and adolescents with many opportunities and benefits, it also carries many risks. Among the benefits are socialization and communication enhancement, improving learning skills, positive impact on education and getting health information. Potential risks of social media use include falsifying age and identity, cyberbullying, sexting, Facebook depression, gamification, glamourization, cyberostracism and sleep disturbances. Conclusion: Paediatricians play a vital role in promoting the physical, mental and social welfare of all children. There is a critical need for paediatricians to play an active role, guiding children and families appropriately through the impact of social networking, in order to become a real driver of children’s development.

This study aimed to analyze the associations between sedentary behavior, physical activity (PA), and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), with carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), a marker of atherosclerosis already present at an early stage among obese adolescents. The associations between anthropometric measures, sedentary time, PA, CRF, and cIMT of 54 Caucasian obese adolescents were analyzed using partial correlations (controlling for age and sex) and multiple linear regressions. Differences between participants with and without a healthy CRF were also analyzed using independent sample t test. Sedentary time did not correlate with any of the variables. Light physical activity correlated positively with mean cIMT (r(38) = 0.36, p = 0.024). Moderate physical activity (MPA) correlated positively with both mean (r(38) = 0.37, p = 0.018) and maximum (r(38) = 0.33, p = 0.039) cIMT. CRF was inversely associated with mean cIMT (r(40) = −0.36, p = 0.019), even when controlling for sedentary time (r(37) = −0.35, p = 0.030). The best predictors of cIMT were MPA and weight. No significant differences in cIMT were found between participants with healthy and unhealthy CRF. Conclusion: Although we need to be cautious due to the limitations of the study, the results suggest that despite the importance of decreasing sedentary time, increasing PA intensity may be more effective in improving endothelial structural health among obese adolescents.

In many European countries, paediatric junior staff has no formal training in adolescent medicine and is ill-equipped to deal with issues and health problems such as substance use, unprotected sex, eating disorders and transition to adult care. This position paper of the European Academy of Paediatrics proposes a set of competency-based training goals and objectives as well as pedagogic approaches that are expected to improve the capacity of paediatricians to meet the needs of this important segment of the paediatric population. The content has been developed from available publications and training programmes and mostly covers the generic aspects of adolescent healthcare, such as how to communicate effectively, how to review and address lifestyles, how to perform a respectful and relevant physical examination, how to address common problems of adolescents and how to support adolescents in coping with a chronic condition. Conclusion: The European Academy of Paediatrics urges national bodies, paediatric associations and paediatric teaching departments to adopt these training objectives and put them into practice, so that paediatricians will be better prepared in the future to meet the challenge of delivering appropriate and effective healthcare to adolescents.

In order to determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in a Portuguese pediatric overweight population according to three different sets of criteria, 237 overweight and obese adolescents were evaluated at engagement in a specific multidisciplinary program. Two of the used definitions were based on the National Cholesterol Education Program (ATPIII) guidelines modified for pediatric age and were proposed by Cook et al. (Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 157(8):821–827, 2003) and de Ferranti et al. (Circulation 110(16):2494–2497, 2004). The third definition used resulted from a consensus of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF 2005). All of them include five components: waist circumference, blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and fasting glucose values, with different cut-off points. Of the studied sample, 53% were girls, median age 13.4 years, 89% classified as obese, and the remaining as overweight. MS prevalence was 15.6%, 34.9%, and 8.9% according to Cook’s, de Ferranti's, and IDF definitions, respectively. No adolescent fulfilled the five MS criteria, and only three (1.2%), 15 (6%), and 13 (5.1%) had no criteria at all, according to the three definitions used. Waist circumference was the most prevalent component (89.5%, 98.7%, and 93.2%), and high fasting glucose the least (1.3% for the two first and 2.5% according to the IDF definition). A significant correlation between increased body mass index and MS was found, using the two first definitions (Cook et al. p < 0.05; de Ferranti et al. p < 0.01), but not when using the third one. Considerable prevalence differences were found using three different MS criteria. It is urgent to establish a consensus on MS definition to allow early identification of adolescents at risk and the development of prospective studies to define what cut-offs are the best indicators of future morbidity.