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Background: Being overweight affects millions of infants and preschoolers in the world, affecting their quality and life expectancy. Exposure to day care centers may play an important role in preventing unhealthy weight (UW). Objective: To point out the prevalence and association of day care exposure and other factors associated with UW in infants and preschoolers. Material and methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was carried out. Infant population aged 6-47 months without comorbidities that compromised their nutritional status were included, and those with formal childcare different from the selected day care were excluded. Exposure to day care, and other factors (perinatal, physical activity, nutritional, and familiar) were evaluated. A z score > 1 SD was considered UW. Prevalence, odds ratios (OR), 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) and adjusted RM by low birth weight, initiation of complementary feeding, consumption of sugary drinks, daytime naps, maternal nutritional status, and family income quintile through logistic regression. Results: The overall prevalence of UW was 17.84% (95%CI: 14.93-21.16), 11.84 (95%CI: 8.54-16.14) for children exposed to day care, and 23.78% (95%CI: 19.21-29.02) in unexposed infant population, showing significant differences between both prevalences (p < 0.001). The adjusted OR for UW presentation was 0.39 (95% CI: 0.23-0.66). Conclusions: Exposure to IMSS day care has shown to be a possible protective environment against the development of a UW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Mexico, 1 out of 3 schoolchildren aged 5 to 11 years is overweight or obese, which represents one of the main public health concerns, due to the fact that this condition in the child population is highly associated with the development of metabolic complications in adults. To date, dietary and physical activity interventions to prevent this problem have shown modest results worldwide. Biomedical studies in Mexico have shown that the pathophysiology of childhood overweight and obesity presents different molecular patterns, inflammation and oxidative stress, possibly associated with specific variants in the genome. However, the challenge is to achieve a secure characterization of this evidence so that it can be used in intervention studies aimed to improve the ability to predict and treat childhood overweight and obesity in Mexico. The biomedical challenge is to make knowledge a prevention strategy in families, in society and in the country, in order to fight the serious problem of obesity and its consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is some concern because the generations born in the last decades of the 20th century could have lower longevity than the previous ones as a result of the diseases caused by obesity. Mexico has the highest index of prevalence of childhood obesity, and it has increased very fast. It is fundamental to generate healthcare models focused on obese patients, and oriented to the prevention of complications. Implementing preventive actions since childhood must be the priority. Health education in childhood obesity will be the only realistic way to solve the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is currently the most common cause of liver disease in children and adolescents in the United States of America (USA) and probably in the entire western hemisphere, due to the increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity. Steatosis can progress to inflammation, fibrosis and even cirrhosis, which increases the morbidity and mortality associated to liver disease. In every overweight and obese child a thorough analysis should be performed including liver function tests and liver ultrasound, in order to establish a timely diagnosis. The liver biopsy is the most specific study to rule out other potentially treatable entities. It is necessary to count on non-invasive methods to detect children with NAFLD and identify those in risk of progression. Biomarkers related to inflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis and fibrosis have been reported. The main goal of the treatment is to modify the life style, starting with a healthy diet and an increase of physical activity. Regarding pharmacological treatment, there is evidence of histological improvement with vitamin E use, as opposed to metformin, but more conclusive studies regarding this subject are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child obesity is a serious problem of public health in México. If we don't reverse it quickly, it will generate unsustainable economical consequences to the health institutions in this country, as well as serious health problems. This article reviews some psychological, social and cultural factors in the health-illness process, in particular in relation to food choices, the function of the family, and the food-related parental practices, changes in physical activity, and the role of media. As a conclusion, we can say it is very important to take into account psychological and cultural aspects, as well as the family as a whole in the creation of public policies in the fight against the obesity epidemic. Other fundamental aspect to bear in mind is the generation and effective monitoring of regulations on food advertising, particularly that aimed to children, and also in regards to a labelling of edible products accessible to all people. An interdisciplinary work is essential to generate synergies that help us to control obesity in the first place, and then to be able to reverse this problem, without disregarding the role of prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity is a major health problem around the globe. The statistics of overweight and obesity at early ages have reached alarming levels and placed our country in the first place in regard to childhood obesity. In the development of obesity two major factors take part, one genetic and the other one environmental. From the perspective of environmental changes both overweight and obesity result from the imbalance in the energy balance: people ingest more energy than they expend. Despite people live in the same obesogenic environment not all of them develop obesity; it requires genetic factors for this to happen. This review focuses on the description of the main methodologies to find genetic markers, as well as the main loci in candidate genes, whose single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are associated with obesity and its comorbidities in children, highlighting the association of these genes in the Mexican population. Knowledge of the genetic markers associated with obesity will help to understand the molecular and physiological mechanisms, the genetic background and changes in body mass index in the Mexican population. This information is useful for the planning of new hypotheses in the search for new biomarkers that can be used in a predictive and preventive way, as well as for the development of new therapeutic strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The management of obesity is complex and it must be multidisciplinary. Behavioral treatments for control of childhood obesity are based on family; these have a high degree of efficiency. It has been argued that when children and their parents are the main goal of the changes of behavior as a group, results of weight loss generally are better. The objective of this study was to establish the effect of an intervention based on family to reduce weight in students with overweight or obesity. Methods: Quasi-experimental study in schoolchildren from 6 to 12 years of age, from a family medicine unit in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, México. The intervention group corresponded to 30 schoolchildren with over-weight or obesity, and one or both of their parents with overweight or obesity; the control group included 30 schoolchildren with overweight or obesity, and normal-weight parents. Weight, height and body mass index (BMI) were measured at baseline, monthly, and at the end of the study. Student t test was used to contrast quantitative variables using the SPSS v.15 program. Results: There were differences in weight, but not in BMI, probably due to the effect of size. Compared with the control group, a higher proportion of schoolchildren showed an improvement with regard to nutritional status. Conclusions: The family intervention is basic for the treatment of over-weight and obesity in schoolchildren. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The alterations caused by metabolic syndrome (MS) arise progressively throughout the years, but they can start at a pediatric age. The objective of this paper was to evaluate the biochemical and clinical characteristics of obese children with or without MS. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study, in which we analyzed, according to the 2010 classification of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 103 obese children between 10 and 15 years from an endocrinology service. The variables were weight, size, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), glucose, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, insulin, and HOMA. Means were compared statistically with Student's t test, and Mann-Whitney U. Results: Of 103 patients, 55 showed criteria for MS (53.3 %) and 48 incomplete criteria for MS (46.6 %). In the group without MS, 60.4 and 64.5 % showed insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia, respectively. In all the group, 28.1 % showed arterial hypertension, and 23.3 % prehypertension. With regards to the means of other parameters that does not belong to the MS, we obtained weight (p = 0.008), BMI (p = 0.009), insulin (p = 0.027) and HOMA (p = 0.023). More than 60 % showed pre-diabetes and almost 50 % blood pressure alterations. Conclusion: It is urgent to perform a screening in obese children, as well as an awareness campaign in mass media, in order to spread the gravity of the problem and trigger the search of medical help, and of health professionals to establish their diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The degree of overweight-obesity varies according to the conditions of each population and depending on geographical area, race or ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and susceptibility of each individual. The aim of this study was to determine anthropometric measures in urban child population from 6 to 12 years of Ciudad Obregón, Sonora. Methods: We studied 684 schoolchildren from 6 to 12 years of age, of both genders in the urban area of Ciudad Obregón, Sonora. We measured weight, height, arm circumference (AC), waist, and body mass index (BMI). We used descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages), and to compare the growth charts of this study vs. the reference standards (CDC and Ramos-Galván), we employed statistical inference (Student t test). Results: On average, weight, height, AC, BMI for age by gender were higher than the reference standards at all ages. Seventy-four boys (22 %) and 51 girls (14.5 %) were above 95th percentile. With regards to size, 42 children (12.6 %) were below the 5th percentile and 37 (10.5 %) above the 95th percentile. Conclusion: Schoolchildren in the southern zone of Sonora showed a higher anthropometric pattern than the reference standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prevalence of overweight and obesity in children under 5 years can be affected by type of anthropometric indicator and selected threshold values. We assessed variation on estimates according to national and international regulations (NOM-031-SSA2-1999, NOM-008-SSA3-2010, GPC-SSA-025-08 and GPC-IMSS-029-08; WHO-2006, CDC-2000 and IOTF, respectively). Methods: Cross-sectional study in all the daycare centers (100 %) affiliated to Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social-Nuevo León during June-December, 2010 (n = 11 141 children). Overweight and obesity were defined on the basis of each regulation, and total and stratified prevalences by age and sex were estimated. Results: According to national regulation, overweight/obesity estimates varied from 12 to 22 %, and to international normativity, from 3 to 14 %. The highest prevalence was given by NOM-008-SSA3-2010 and GPCSSA-025-08; and the lowest by WHO-2006. There were no differences by sex, but they existed by age; the highest discrepancy occurred in the 3.0-3.9 age group with 28 %. Conclusion: Health personnel and health policy makers should be aware of variation on estimates according to the definition employed. We recommend to standardize national regulation for pointing out overweight/obesity in preschoolers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This supplement of the Revista Medica del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social includes 10 original contributions, and also six current themes, all of them related to childhood obesity. It is the result of an institutional program that it has been identified as Redes de Investigación Institucional, and it has been promoted and developed by the Coordinación de Investigación of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]