Elisabeth Ardelt-Gattinger

Dietary restraint and impulsivity modulate neural responses to food in adolescents with obesity and healthy adolescents.

Despite alarming prevalence rates, surprisingly little is known about neural mechanisms underlying eating behavior in juveniles with obesity. To simulate reactivity to modern food environments, event‐related potentials (ERP) to appetizing food images (relative to control images) were recorded in adolescents with obesity and healthy adolescents.

Crave, Like, Eat: Determinants of Food Intake in a Sample of Children and Adolescents with a Wide Range in Body Mass

Obesity is a heterogeneous condition with obese individuals displaying different eating patterns. Growing evidence suggests that there is a subgroup of obese adults that is marked by frequent and intense food cravings and addiction-like consumption of high-calorie foods. Little is known, however, about such a subgroup of obese individuals in childhood and adolescence. In the present study, a sample of children and adolescents with a wide range in body mass was investigated and trait food craving, liking for and intake of high- and low-calorie foods was measured. One-hundred and forty-two children and adolescents (51.4% female, n = 73; Mage = 13.7 years, SD = 2.25; MBMI-SDS = 1.26, SD = 1.50) completed the Food Cravings Questionnaire-Trait, then viewed pictures of high- and low-calorie foods and rated their liking for them, and subsequently consumed some of these foods in a bogus taste test. Contrary to expectations, higher body mass was associated with lower consumption of high-calorie foods. However, there was an interaction between body mass and trait food craving when predicting food consumption: in obese participants, higher trait food craving was associated with higher consumption of high-calorie foods and this association was not found in normal-weight participants. The relationship between trait food craving and high-calorie food consumption within obese individuals was mediated by higher liking for high-calorie foods (but not by liking for low-calorie foods). Thus, similar to adults, a subgroup of obese children and adolescents – characterized by high trait food craving – seems to exist, calling for specific targeted treatment strategies.

Geschlechtsunterschiede bei psychologischen, ernährungs- und sportwissenschaftlichen Einflussfaktoren auf Adipositas/Übergewicht bei Kindern und Jugendlichen in Österreich

ZusammenfassungDas Ess- und Bewegungsverhalten unterliegt der Steuerungsfunktion durch bestimmte kognitive Muster. Es werden im Folgenden, zur Darstellung von eventuell durchgehenden Geschlechtertrends, die bei 4400 Kindern/Jugendlichen und 6600 Erwachsenen mit dem Adipositas Diagnostik- und Evalutionssystem (AD-EVA) gemessenen Unterschiede in der Teilgruppe der Adipösen dargestellt.Höhere Werte ungünstiger psychischer Steuerungsmechanismen des Ess- und Bewegungsverhaltens adipöser Mädchen liegen vor allem im Bereich der vorklinischen Essstörungen. Diese Ergebnisse sind für Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung relevant.Interessant sind auch die nicht-signifikanten Unterschiede im Bereich der Einstellung zu Bewegung wie der Bewegungsmotivation. Es würde bedeuten, dass man nicht dem Vorurteil aufsitzen darf, dass das männliche Geschlecht ohnehin mehr Freude an der Bewegung habe.Die männliche Vorliebe für „Snacks“ und „Deftiges“ konnte in der für Österreich repräsentativen Normstichprobe des Fragebogensystems AD-EVA repliziert werden, spiegelt sich aber nicht in der Teilgruppe der adipösen Mädchen und Knaben. Man kann davon ausgehen, dass sich 8- bis 18-jährige Adipöse beiderlei Geschlechts ungünstig ernähren.SummaryEating behavior and physical activity behavior are under the control of certain cognitive patterns. 6600 adults and 4400 children/adolescents (8–18 years) were tested with the Obesity Diagnostics and Evaluation System (AD-EVA). Potentially significant gender differences will be detailed for the entire juvenile cohort, the subgroup of obese children/adolescents as compared to the adult cohort in this article.Among all the subscales tested, obese girls primarily showed significantly higher values of (preclinical) eating disorders than boys. These data are relevant for both prevention and health promotion.No significant differences were found in regard to sports motivation. This warrants facilitation of physical activity for both genders. Further, a male predilection for “Snacks” and “High-fat food” that could be found in the total representative study group, could not be verified in the subgroup of obese girls and boys, thus suggesting a similarily unhealthy eating behavior in both genders of juvenility.

SALTO - Study Protocol and Rationale of a Community-Oriented Obesity Prevention Program in the Kindergarten

Background: The prevalence of early childhood overweight and obesity in Austria has reached average European levels of 20% in boys and 18% in girls. The rationale and study protocol of SALTO, Salzburg Together against Obesity will be presented, which is aimed to assist adults in increasing the rate of 4- to 6-year-old children with a healthy body weight. Methods: A controlled longitudinal sequential study design consisting of 14 intervention (IK) and 8 control (CK) kindergarten was used to investigate the effect of actions tailored for teachers and parents on BMI among 4- to 6-year-old children. The study launched in November 2014 was approved by the ethics committee of the University of Salzburg. Results: 681 children, 181 parents (119 mothers, 62 fathers) and 30 teachers were investigated until October 2016. Preliminary analyses revealed that more boys (19%) and fathers (60% IK, 43% CK) were overweight and obese than girls (16%) and mothers (19% IK, 20% CK). Conclusion: The challenges faced by the SALTO staff in the implementation of health-promoting actions in the kindergarten are manifold. The Community-Oriented Core Setting (COCS) intervention approach will show whether the actions will reduce the percentage of obesity and be sustainable in the long term.

Interdisciplinary score for the evaluation of bariatric treatment in obese children (BAREV-C)

Abstract Background: Interdisciplinary state-of-the-art interventions to treat obesity demand equally interdisciplinary outcome assessments. The Bariatric Evaluation Score for Children (BAREV-C) was developed to reliably and comprehensively assess the outcomes of non-surgical and surgical obesity treatment in children and adolescents. Methods: BAREV-C assesses medical, psychological, nutritional, and data of physical fitness data. The body mass index standard deviation score and waist measurement were selected to describe anthropometry. Serum triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, blood pressure, and plasma glucose tolerance were selected as parameters of the metabolic syndrome. Relevant interdisciplinary variables were tested using the interdisciplinary Adiposity Evaluation kit, which assesses cognitive steering variables of eating and exercise behaviour as well as psychological comorbidities, exercise motivation, nutritional preferences, and quality of life associated with obesity. Physical fitness was assessed by means of the Physical fitness test battery. The values for the BAREV-C were determined in several steps and in all relevant disciplines pre and post intervention. Results: The BAREV-C facilitated the identification and quantification of significant changes of interdisciplinary variables associated with obesity for groups and individuals (tables of critical differences) as well. The degree of success or failure of an intervention can be quantified for each of the disciplines. Conclusions: The BAREV-C is the first comprehensive outcome instrument for pre-post-intervention evaluation of obese individual children as well as groups. It can be applied for intervention studies and can provide the clinician with a differentiated overview in daily practice.

Psychological, Nutritional and Sports-Scientific Aspects of Obesity in Adolescence

Meta-analyses show that weight loss through conservative therapy and prevention does not indicate any big changes (Ebbeling et al. 2002; Miller and Jacob 2001). What is it specifically that makes it so difficult for obese adolescents to lose weight and puts so much stress on their life?