Elsie M. Taveras

Few interventions have focused on very young children for obesity prevention. This study evaluated a pilot intervention to improve the nutrition and physical activity environments of child care centers serving infants and toddlers. This randomized controlled trial took place in 32 centers in Boston, Massachusetts. The intervention aimed to improve policies and practices related to nutrition and physical activity within the center. For the outcome, observers assessed center environments using the Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation (EPAO) instrument (range 0–320 points) at baseline and the 6-month follow-up. We fit linear regression models with change in EPAO score from baseline to follow-up, controlling for potential confounders for total score, nutrition sub-score, and physical activity sub-score. Intervention centers had a mean (SD) of 98.2 (144.8) children enrolled, while control centers had 59.2 (34.5). In intervention centers, 47.5 % of children were white, compared to 46.2 % in controls. Fewer intervention centers had outdoor play areas on site (75 vs. 100 %) but more had indoor play space (67 vs. 25 %). At baseline, intervention centers had a mean (SD) EPAO score of 134.5 (7.0) points and controls had 146.8 (4.8) points. Compared with controls, intervention centers improved their EPAO scores at follow-up by 18.5 points (95 % CI 0.1, 37.0; p = 0.049), chiefly through greater improvement in physical activity (12.2; 95 % CI −1.6, 26.0; p = 0.075) and not nutrition (6.4; 95 % CI −7.1, 19.8; p = 0.385). The pilot showed promise as an intervention to improve center environments, but future studies should include child-level outcomes.

Given that it is not feasible to use dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) or other reference methods to measure adiposity in all pediatric clinical and research settings, it is important to identify reasonable alternatives. Therefore, we sought to determine the extent to which other adiposity measures were correlated with DXA fat mass in school-aged children. In 1110 children aged 6.5-10.9 years in the pre-birth cohort Project Viva, we calculated Spearman correlation coefficients between DXA (n=875) and other adiposity measures including body mass index (BMI), skinfold thickness, circumferences, and bioimpedance. We also computed correlations between lean body mass measures. 50.0% of the children were female and 36.5% were non-white. Mean (SD) BMI was 17.2 (3.1) and total fat mass by DXA was 7.5 (3.9) kg. DXA total fat mass was highly correlated with BMI (rs=0.83), bioimpedance total fat (rs=0.87), and sum of skinfolds (rs=0.90), and DXA trunk fat was highly correlated with waist circumference (rs=0.79). Correlations of BMI with other adiposity indices were high, e.g., with waist circumference (rs=0.86) and sum of subscapular plus triceps skinfolds (rs=0.79). DXA fat-free mass and bioimpedance fat-free mass were highly correlated (rs=0.94). In school-aged children, BMI, sum of skinfolds, and other adiposity measures were strongly correlated with DXA fat mass. Although these measurement methods have limitations, BMI and skinfolds are adequate surrogate measures of relative adiposity in children when DXA is not practical.

The purpose of this study was to examine Mexican caregivers’ perceptions of the role of primary care in childhood obesity management, understand the barriers and facilitators of behavior change, and identify opportunities to strengthen obesity prevention and treatment in clinical settings. We conducted 52 in-depth interviews with parents and caregivers of overweight and obese children age 2–5 years in 4 Ministry of Health (public, low SES) and 4 Social Security Institute (insured, higher SES) primary care clinics in Mexico City and did systematic thematic analysis. In both health systems, caregivers acknowledged childhood overweight but not its adverse health consequences. Although the majority of parents had not received nutrition or physical activity recommendations from health providers, many were open to clinician guidance. Despite knowledge of healthful nutrition and physical activity, parents identified several barriers to change including child feeding occurring in the context of competing priorities (work schedules, spouses’ food preferences), and cultural norms (heavy as healthy, food as nurturance) that take precedence over adherence to dietary guidelines. Physical activity, while viewed favorably, is not a structured part of most preschooler’s routines as reported by parents. The likelihood of success for clinic-based obesity prevention among Mexican preschoolers will be higher by addressing contextual barriers such as cultural norms regarding children’s weight and support of family members for behavior change. Similarities in caregivers’ perceptions across 2 health systems highlight the possibility of developing comprehensive interventions for the population as a whole.

Among US racial/ethnic minority women, we examined associations between maternal experiences of racial discrimination and child growth in the first 3 years of life. We analyzed data from Project Viva, a pre-birth cohort study. We restricted analyses to 539 mother–infant pairs; 294 were Black, 127 Hispanic, 110 Asian and 8 from additional racial/ethnic groups. During pregnancy, mothers completed the Experiences of Discrimination survey that measured lifetime experiences of racial discrimination in diverse domains. We categorized responses as 0, 1–2 or ⩾3 domains. Main outcomes were birth weight for gestational age z-score; weight for age (WFA) z-score at 6 months of age; and at 3 years of age, body mass index (BMI) z-score. In multivariable analyses, we adjusted for maternal race/ethnicity, nativity, education, age, pre-pregnancy BMI, household income and child sex and age. Among this cohort of mostly (58.2%) US-born and economically non-impoverished mothers, 33% reported 0 domains of discrimination, 33% reported discrimination in 1–2 domains and 35% reported discrimination in ⩾3 domains. Compared with children whose mothers reported no discrimination, those whose mothers reported ⩾3 domains had lower birth weight for gestational age z-score (β −0.25; 95% CI: −0.45, −0.04), lower 6 month WFA z-score (β −0.34; 95% CI: −0.65, −0.03) and lower 3-year BMI z-score (β −0.33; 95% CI: −0.66, 0.00). In conclusion, we found that among this cohort of US racial/ethnic minority women, mothers’ report of experiencing lifetime discrimination in ⩾ 3 domains was associated with lower fetal growth, weight at 6 months and 3-year BMI among their offspring.

Modeling childhood body mass index (BMI) trajectories, versus estimating change in BMI between specific ages, may improve prediction of later body-size-related outcomes. Prior studies of BMI trajectories are limited by restricted age periods and insufficient use of trajectory information.

Childhood obesity is prevalent, is of consequence, and disproportionately affects racial/ethnic minority populations. By the preschool years, racial/ethnic disparities in obesity prevalence and substantial differences in many risk factors for obesity are already present, suggesting that disparities in obesity prevalence have their origins in the earliest stages of life. The reasons for racial/ethnic variation in obesity are complex and may include differences in cultural beliefs and practices, level of acculturation, ethnicity-based differences in body image, and perceptions of media, sleep, and physical activity. In addition, racial/ethnic differences in obesity may evolve as a consequence of the socio- and environmental context in which families live. The primary care setting offers unique opportunities to intervene and alter the subsequent course of health and disease for children at risk for obesity. Regular visits during childhood allow both detection of elevated weight status and offer opportunities for prevention and treatment. Greater awareness of the behavioral, social–cultural, and environmental determinants of obesity among ethnic minority populations could assist clinicians in the treatment of obesity among diverse pediatric populations. Specific strategies include beginning prevention efforts early in life before obesity is present and recognizing and querying about ethnic- and culturally specific beliefs and practices, the role of the extended family in the household, and parents' beliefs of the causative factors related to their child's obesity. Efforts to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate care, family-based treatment programs, and support services that aim to uncouple socioeconomic factors from adverse health outcomes could improve obesity care for racial/ethnic minority children.