Zhongyi Zhao

BACKGROUND: Associations of dietary patterns in Chinese adolescents and children with later obesity have not previously been investigated. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the associations between dietary patterns and the risk of obesity in Chinese adolescents and children by using a longitudinal design. METHODS: Data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), a nationally representative survey, were used for our analysis. 489 participants 6-14 years of age were followed from 2006 to 2011. Factor analysis was used to identify the dietary patterns in Chinese adolescents and children. Ordered logistic regression models were used to examine the association between dietary patterns and later obesity. RESULTS: Two dietary patterns were revealed by factor analysis, the traditional Chinese dietary pattern (with high intake of rice, vegetables, poultry, pork and fish and the modern dietary pattern (with high intake of wheat, processed meat and fast food). Children in the highest quartile and the second-highest quartile of the traditional Chinese dietary pattern was inversely associated with later obesity compared with children in the lowest quartile over 5 years (OR = 0.19, 95%CI: 0.09, 0.40 for Q4; OR = 0.47, 95%CI: 0.33, 0.67 for Q3); Children in the highest quartile of the modern dietary pattern was positively associated with later obesity compared with children in the lowest quartile over 5 years (OR = 2.02, 95%CI: 1.17, 3.48). CONCLUSIONS: Dietary patterns in Chinese adolescents and children are associated with later obesity. These findings further confirm the importance of children's dietary patterns in later obesity and lay groundwork for dietary culture-specific interventions targeted at reducing rates of obesity in children and adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Most studies related to food addiction have focused on assessing food addiction among adult populations. However, evidence in adolescents has been limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of food addiction in a non-clinical adolescent sample. Psychosocial correlations of food addiction and associations with different quality of life dimensions were also tested. METHODS: The sample included 593 Chinese adolescents (51.9% female; age range: 13⁻17 years). All participants provided sociodemographic information and completed questionnaires regarding food addiction, depression, self-esteem, loneliness, psychosocial problems, and quality of life (QoL). RESULTS: The prevalence of food addiction was 6.91% in our sample. A multivariable logistic regression indicated that food addiction was associated with depression (AOR = 2.58; 95% CI: 1.32⁻5.05), low self-esteem (AOR = 2.75; 95% CI: 1.31⁻5.78), and loneliness (AOR = 2.30; 95% CI: 1.14⁻4.65). After multivariable adjustments for sociodemographic and psychological variables, food addiction was associated with lower overall QoL and psychosocial health of QoL. CONCLUSIONS: Food addiction may be common among Chinese adolescents. Food addiction was associated with depression, low self-esteem, and loneliness. Lastly, food addiction was also associated with lower overall QoL and psychosocial health of QoL. Future public health programs and interventions consider targeting the factors associated with food addiction to increase healthy eating behaviors among adolescents.

Background: Growing evidence points out that disturbance of gut microbiota may disturb gut–brain communication. However, it is not clear to what extent alteration of microbiota composition can modulate the brain function, thus affecting host behaviors. Here we investigated the effects of gut microbiota depletion on emotional behaviors. Methods: Mice in experimental group were orally administered with ceftriaxone sodium solution (250mg/ml, 0.2ml/d) for eleven weeks. The open field test and tail suspension test were employed for neurobehavioral assessment of the mice. Fecal samples were collected for 16s rDNA sequencing. Serum levels of cytokines and corticosterone were quantified using enzyme linked immunosorbent assays. Immunohistochemistry method was used for detection of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and c-Fos protein. Results: The gut microbiota for antibiotic-treated mice showed lower richness and diversity than normal controls. This effect was accompanied by increased anxiety-like, depression-like and aggressive behaviors. And then we found these changes might be associated with a dysregulation of immune system, abnormal activity of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and alteration of neurochemistry. Conclusions: The findings demonstrate the indispensable role of microbiota in the gut–brain communication and suggest the absence of conventional gut microbiota could affect the nervous system, influencing brain function.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this research was to conduct a meta-analysis of the role that physical activity (PA) plays in influencing the critical proinflammatory cytokine levels associated with overweight/obese children and adolescents to explore the effectiveness of exercise intervention within this population. METHODS: With searches of the PubMed, EMBASE, and CENTRAL databases, we updated our meta-analysis up to November 2018. The randomized controlled trials (RCT) evaluated the ability of exercise training to increase the following factors in children and/or adolescents classified as obese or overweight: tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, and C-reactive protein (CRP). RESULTS: Eleven RCT comprising 623 children and/or adolescents who were obese or overweight (i.e., 393 with PA and 230 controls) were suitable for use in this study. The meta-analysis showed that PA in general was associated with a significant reduction of CRP levels (mean difference = -0.45 mg/L, p = 0.02) in overweight/obese children and adolescents. Based on 115 overweight and obese youths, this study suggests that PA does not significantly mitigate IL-6 levels (mean difference = -0.39 pg/mL, p = 0.08), although there was a trend towards a reduction. Additionally, no close connection was observed between PA and TNF-α levels at 0.04 pg/mL (p = 0.78). Moreover, meta-regression analysis revealed a statistical association between CPR levels and changes in BMI or changes in adiponectin; likewise, IL-6 levels dramatically impacted the effect of exercise on changes in adiponectin. CONCLUSIONS: PA was associated with significantly reduced CRP levels, whereas there was no significant association with IL-6 or TNF-α in overweight/obese children or adolescents; however, there was a trend towards a reduction of IL-6.