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The prevalence of impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and diabetes mellitus (DM) has reportedly increased significantly among Chinese children and adolescents. We aimed to examine the prevalence of IFG and DM, the disparities in sex and region and related risk factors among Chinese children and adolescents. A total of 16 434 Chinese children aged 6-17 years were selected from a national cross-sectional survey, and fasting glucose was measured for all participants. Overall, mean fasting plasma glucose (FPG) concentration was (4·64 (sd 0·51)) mmol/l, and the prevalence of DM and IFG was 0·10 and 1·89 %, respectively. Compared with girls, boys had higher FPG concentration (4·69 v. 4·58 mmol/l, r 0·107, P<0·001) and IFG prevalence (2·67 v. 1·07 %, r φ 0·059, P<0·001). Compared with rural children and adolescents, urban children and adolescent had higher FPG concentration (4·65 v. 4·62 mmol/l, r 0·029, P<0·001) and DM prevalence (0·15 v. 0·05 %, r φ 0·016, P<0·01). In addition, self-reported fried foods intake and overweight/obesity were positively associated with IFG, and the proportion of consuming fried foods more than or equal to once per week and overweight/obesity prevalence in boys and urban children and adolescents were significantly higher than girls and rural children and adolescents, respectively (P<0·05). Although the prevalence of IFG and DM was relatively low in Chinese children and adolescents, sex and region disparities were observed, which may be associated with differences in overweight/obesity prevalence and dietary factors.

Summary: As an important factor for neighbourhood walkability, the speed limit in the neighbourhood may influence children's physical activity (PA) outdoors, especially active transport, and further their weight status. This review aimed to systematically evaluate the association between neighbourhood speed limit and obesity‐related behaviours and outcomes among children and adolescents. PubMed, Embase and Web of Science were systematically searched for relevant studies published from the inception of the database to 1 January 2019. Sixteen studies were included, with 13 cross‐sectional studies and three longitudinal studies. Speed limit was measured as the percentage/number of high‐speed roads, perception of safe driving speed, perception of speeding and use of traffic‐calming tools in the neighbourhood. Eleven studies measured the use of active transport as the outcome of interest, and seven studies measured PA directly. Eleven studies revealed an association between a lower speed limit and increased PA, whereas one study showed a negative association, and three studies reported non‐significant associations. Only one study associated speed limit with weight status, which reported a non‐significant association. This review generally supported a negative association between speed limit and PA among children and adolescents. More studies are needed to examine their causality, as well as the association between speed limit and weight status, in order to increase the impact of this research area on public health policy making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The lack of bike lane access has been a proven risk factor for childhood obesity due to its role in discouraging healthy lifestyles. However, there has not been a systematic review of this important association in the existing literature. This study aims to fill this gap. A literature search was conducted in the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science for studies published from 1 January 2019 onwards that examined the association between bike lane access and weight‐related behaviours and outcomes among children aged <18 years. A total of 21 studies were included in this systematic review. Among them, most of the studies showed that bike lane access was significantly associated with children and adolescents' physical activity (PA), whereas only two studies showed a negative association. Meta‐analysis also supported these findings and showed that bike lane access was significantly associated with children and adolescents' PA (odds ratio [OR] = 1.57, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.37–1.81). Additionally, we reviewed how bike lane characteristics and microenvironment variables such as children and adolescents' choice of bicycle travel mode, the degree of separation of cycle path, cycle path unevenness, and street maintenance were associated with adolescents' preferences and intention to cycle. This systematic review and meta‐analysis strongly suggests that bike lane access is associated with children and adolescents' PA. Nonetheless, it was difficult to draw a conclusion on the association between bike lane access and weight‐related outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Excessive access to fast‐food restaurants (FFRs) in the neighbourhood is thought to be a risk factor for childhood obesity by discouraging healthful dietary behaviours while encouraging the exposure to unhealthful food venues and hence the compensatory intake of unhealthy food option. A literature search was conducted in the PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase for articles published until 1 January 2019 that analysed the association between access to FFRs and weight‐related behaviours and outcomes among children aged younger than 18. Sixteen cohort studies and 71 cross‐sectional studies conducted in 14 countries were identified. While higher FFR access was not associated with weight‐related behaviours (eg, dietary quality score and frequency of food consumption) in most studies, it was commonly associated with more fast‐food consumption. Despite that, insignificant results were observed for all meta‐analyses conducted by different measures of FFR access in the neighbourhood and weight‐related outcomes, although 17 of 39 studies reported positive associations when using overweight/obesity as the outcome. This systematic review and meta‐analysis revealed a rather mixed relationship between FFR access and weight‐related behaviours/outcomes among children and adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Grocery store is usually considered to be a healthy food outlet as it provides access to a variety of healthy food, such as fruits and vegetables, which may potentially improve overall dietary quality and protect against obesity. However, findings of the association between grocery store and childhood obesity are controversial. This study aimed to systematically review the evidence on the association between access to grocery stores and childhood obesity. A literature search was conducted in the PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science for articles published before January 1, 2019, using the combinations of three groups of keywords separately for grocery store, children and adolescents, and weight‐related behaviours and outcomes. A total of 27 cross‐sectional and eight longitudinal studies were identified. Controversial results existed among 24 studies, which examined the association between the access to grocery stores and weight‐related outcomes. A null association was observed in almost all meta‐analyses conducted by different measures of grocery stores and weight status, except the analysis between presence of grocery stores and overweight, which reached borderline significance. For weight‐related behaviours, mixed findings were reported between grocery stores and dietary behaviours, and no significant associations were found for physical activity. This systematic review and meta‐analysis suggested that access to grocery stores may have a rather small influence on child weight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was to examine the relationship between measured weight status and three experiences as victims, bullies and bully-victims. The participants were 10,587 Chinese school-aged students (girls: 5,527, boys: 5,060) who ranged in age from 7 to 18 years old. Height and weight were measured. Bullying behavior was obtained by one-to-one interview in 7–10 years older students and group-administered surveys in 11–18 years older students. The results showed that, obese girls were more likely to be victimized (OR = 1.73, CI: 1.16–2.59) compared to normal students. For boys, obesity was not associated with victimization, but obese boys (OR = 1.45, CI: 1.04–2.03), especially 7–13 years old boys (OR = 1.98, CI: 1.35–2.90) were more likely to bully others; obese boys also were more likely to be victim/bullies (OR = 1.67, CI: 1.05–2.64). Weight victimization in Chinese school-aged children is not as common as in the west countries, but obese girls clearly realize more victimization, and obese younger boys show obvious aggression. Related departments should provide specific intervention for school bullying according students’ weight status, age and gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]