Childhood obesity is a growing global concern with far-reaching health implications. This study focuses on evaluating the knowledge and practices of physicians in Morocco regarding the link between maternal obesity and childhood obesity. Despite the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity worldwide, this issue remains inadequately addressed in the Moroccan context.

To assess the awareness and practices of physicians in Morocco concerning the connection between maternal obesity and childhood obesity.

The research encompasses a comprehensive survey of practicing physicians, revealing significant gaps in awareness and practices related to maternal obesity.

Notably, a significant portion of doctors do not provide adequate guidance to overweight pregnant women, highlighting the urgency for targeted educational programs.

In conclusion, this research illuminates critical areas for improvement in tackling childhood obesity in Morocco. By addressing these gaps, fostering awareness, and enhancing medical practices, the healthcare system can contribute significantly to preventing childhood obesity and improving the overall health of future generations.

A high level of physical fitness is associated with cardiovascular health in adolescents. The aims of this study were to assess the levels of physical fitness of French adolescents and to determine the prevalence of these adolescents below the minimum level of cardiorespiratory fitness needed to guarantee future favorable cardiovascular profile.

Participants were 12,082 French children and adolescents (5975 boys, 6107 girls) aged to 9 from 16 years. Cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular endurance, speed, flexibility and speed agility were tested. The associations of physical fitness measures with adolescent's characteristics were analyzed using Student t test, one-way ANOVA, or Pearson correlations as appropriate.

Boys were physically fitter than girls, expected for flexibility (P<0.0001). Subjects of normal weight adolescents had significantly better results than overweight or obese adolescents (P<0.05 for all comparisons), but also in comparison with underweight adolescents for muscular endurance, flexibility, cardiorespiratory fitness test (P<0.05). Our findings indicate that, on the basis of cardiorespiratory fitness, 16% of French boys and 7.7% of French girls have a risk of future cardiovascular disease (P<0.0001). This subgroup also performed poorly in all other tests of physical fitness used (P<0.0001). Aerobic fitness decreased significantly with the age (r=-0.168 for boys; r=-0.261 for girls).

Our results indicate that the physical fitness of French adolescents must be improved to help protect against cardiovascular disease in adulthood, especially in boys. The study showed also a dramatically decrease of the cardiorespiratory fitness during the adolescence period. Developing and introducing a health promotion curriculum in the French schools is suggested to improve health and physical fitness.

Increasing prevalence of obesity particularly affects underprivileged families and children. This study aimed to estimate the efficiency of an obesity prevention program for school-aged children in deprived urban areas.

This was an intervention trial with a before-and-after comparison of a cohort of school-aged children in preschool and primary school in three deprived urban areas in Grenoble, France. All school-aged children in the first and third year of preschool and the third year of primary school during the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 school years, whose parents agreed to participate in the study, were included. Children were seen again 2 years later. The staff of the school health service measured and weighed the children during a medical check-up, thus determining their body mass index (BMI) and Z score. A school doctor suggested specific care to the parents of overweight children. A lifestyle questionnaire was completed. The primary outcome was changes in BMI and the Z score over 2 years. The secondary outcome was changes in lifestyle and eating habits.

A total of 2434 children were included in the screening campaign. Of the 2434 children included in screening, 1824 children were reviewed and evaluated at 2 years. At inclusion, overweight prevalence increased with age, from 6.4% in the first year of preschool to 21.9% in the third year of primary school. More than 60% of overweight children had a high social vulnerability score. Prevalence of overweight increased from 13.8% to 21.5% in 2 years in the entire cohort (P<0.001). In the 252 overweight children, the mean BMI increased from 20 kg/m(2) to 21.8 kg/m(2) (P<0.001), as did the mean Z score, which increased from 2.72 to 2.9 (P<0.001). There was no significant interaction depending on whether the family physician was in private practice or employed by a health center. According to their eating habits, fewer of the overweight children had a snack in the morning and more had a school lunch. More than half of the children thought they had improved their eating habits. They played more sports (30% versus 49.5%).

This study failed to demonstrate that incentive for medical management of excess weight had an effect on the short-term (2 years) evolution of the children's corpulence.

Childhood obesity is a phenomenon of growing concern today because of its rapid growth worldwide. The aim of our study was to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among school age children in Marrakech.

We conducted a cross-sectional study of a random sample of 1418 schoolchildren aged 8-15 years in the public sector in Marrakech in May 2011. Trained physicians measured the weight and size of respondents. The body mass index (BMI) was calculated for each child. Overweight was assessed by comparing BMI with World Health Organization (WHO) and International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) references. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 16.0 and using a macro of WHO Anthro for SPSS.

The mean age was 10.8 ± 1.6 years. The sex ratio (girl/boy) was 1. The prevalence of overweight and obesity were 8 % (95 % CI [6.7, 9.6]) and 3 % (95 % CI [2.2, 4.1] based on WHO reference. This prevalence were respectively 12.2 % (95 % IC [10.5; 14.0]) and 5.4 % (95 % IC [4.3; 6.7]) using the IOTF reference.

In the absence of national data, our results reflect the importance of the phenomenon in our context, hence the importance of monitoring the nutritional status on both individual and collective levels and the need to develop strategies for prevention, diagnosis and early treatment before the problem becomes more widespread.

Recent studies have reported an increase in the prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents. However, few have focused how diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome together in parents can influence on obesity and metabolic disturbances in offspring.

To know the risk obesity and metabolic disturbance in children, adolescents, and young adults whose parents have diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome.

A comparative survey was made in healthy children of parents with diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome compared with offspring of healthy parents. We performed anthropometry and evaluated blood pressure, glucose, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides levels in plasma. We registered parent antecedents to diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome and investigated the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and metabolic disturbances in offspring.

We studied 259 subjects of 7 to 20 years of age. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 27% and 37%, respectively. The highest proportion of BMI >95th of the entire group was found in offspring with both diabetic parents. Glucose and total cholesterol levels were lower in the group with healthy parents compared with the group with diabetic mother and metabolic syndrome but with healthy father. HDL cholesterol was higher in the group with both healthy parents than in the group with diabetic mother and metabolic syndrome but healthy father.

The offspring of parents with diabetes plus metabolic syndrome showed higher proportion of variables related to metabolic syndrome compared with healthy parents.

Given the rapid increase in the prevalence of overweight, obesity, type 2 diabetes and other obesity-related conditions across the world, despite a plethora of evidence-based guidance for clinicians, innovative campaigns aimed at the general public and widespread government public health initiatives, it is clear that a novel approach is required. The importance of fluid intake has been overlooked in campaigns and guidelines and also in the clinical setting, where the question 'what do you drink?' is often omitted. It is a significant oversight that food pyramids and healthy-eating plates across the world omit fluids from their graphics and advice. While guidelines include recommendations on changes in physical activity and diet, often little or no advice is offered on the importance of healthier hydration practices, neglecting to highlight the contribution of beverages high in sugar, alcohol or additives. An interdisciplinary group of experts in medicine, nutrition, physiology and public health discussed issues surrounding healthy-hydration practices in March 2010 in Paris to create a consensus statement on hydration and gain of body weight and provide recommendations.

Adiposity rebound occurs when the ratio of the velocities of log(weight) to log(height) changes from <2 to >2. This study examined the timing of adiposity rebound in the context of the velocities of weight and height in early childhood because it is not known whether faster weight gain or slower gain in stature is the more important determinant.

This was a longitudinal study of 406 boys and 397 girls born in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1972 and 1973. Each child's height and weight were measured at 3 years of age and at least twice more as part of their two yearly assessments until 11 years of age.

The mean age of adiposity rebound was 6.6+/-1.10 years (SD) for boys and 6.0+/-1.21 years for girls. After adjusting for sex, the correlations between the timing of rebound and z-scores for BMI, weight, and height at rebound were -0.35, -0.30, and -0.14, respectively. Correlations between the timing of rebound and estimated values of weight and height velocities at 3 years were -0.48 and -0.00. The correlations with BMI and waist girth at 26 years were -0.39 and -0.35.

Children with an earlier adiposity rebound were heavier and had above average BMIs. Early rebound is the result of higher rates of weight gain, measured in percentage terms, rather than slower than average accrual of stature. This suggests that restraining weight gain could delay adiposity rebound and prevent obesity in early adulthood.

The Nutrition, Prevention and Health for Children and Teenagers in Aquitaine program is a regional implementation of the French National Program of Nutrition and Health (PNNS). The first of two surveys of a representative sample of Aquitaine preschools was conducted in 2004-2005. This survey showed that more than 2/3 of teachers offered a morning snack to their pupils at around 10 o'clock in the morning, mainly composed of sweet cakes, cookies, or candies. Following this initial survey, actions were implemented starting in September 2005, aiming to stop systematic morning snacks or improve their composition. The same survey was repeated during 2007-2008 in order to analyze the changes in morning snack practices in preschools between 2004-2005 and 2007-2008. Data were collected from teachers of Aquitaine's preschools who filled out questionnaires. Schools were randomly chosen according to their size and whether or not they belonged to a priority education zone (ZEP). The results show that 57.9% of teachers organized a morning snack in 2007-2008, versus 68.7% in 2004-2005. In 2004-2005, 22% of teachers considered the morning snack as "unjustified" compared to 44% in 2007-2008. The composition of morning snacks improved: 17.7% of teachers offered fruit and/or milk in 2007-2008 versus 8.5% in 2004-2005. Morning snacks composed of other foods (such as sweets, chocolate pieces, cookies, pastries, bread, fruit juice) decreased from 60.2% in 2004-2005 to 40.2% in 2007-2008. In 2007-2008, 19% of the teachers reported that children had snacks in their schoolbag versus 34% in 2004-2005. The proportion of teachers reporting children having snacks in their schoolbag decreased from 34% in 2004-2005 to 19% in 2007-2008. Comparison between these two surveys is encouraging as it shows an improvement of the perception and practices of teachers regarding morning snacks. These results encourage the partners of this program to continue the fieldwork actions.

Health professionals who monitor the growth of children are also involved in the early detection of overweight. Appropriate tools are required for this purpose.

The study sought to identify predictive markers of the development of subsequent overweight using a simple set of criteria.

A consecutive cohort was composed of 1424 grade 4 children in Aquitaine, France, aged 8-9 years. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated during school health assessments at 8-9 years of age. Data from previous assessments at 3-4 and 5-6 years of age were also collected.

Of the 189/1424 children (13.9 %) who were overweight according to the French national cut off for children aged 8-9 years, 67 (33.8 %) were already overweight at 3-4 years and 107 (54.1 %) at 5-6 years. Of the 134 (9.4 %) who were overweight at 5-6 years, 43.3 % were already overweight at 3-4 years and 79.9 % were overweight at 8-9 years. On the other hand, 76 of these 134 children (56.7 %) were not overweight at 3-4 years, so they had become overweight between the two assessments. The combination of the criterion "overweight at 3-4 years or 5-6 years" and "increase in BMI>1kg/m(2) between 3-4 years and 5-6 years" appears to be the best predictor of the risk of overweight at 8-9 years, with good sensitivity (75.3 %) and specificity (87.9 %).

A predictive tool based on BMI changes between ages 3-4 years and 5-6 years could be used for the early detection of the risk of developing overweight and obesity. The tool is easy to use, especially for health care in schools. Furthermore, the present findings confirm the value of following up and managing children who are already overweight between the ages of 3 and 6 years.

Obesity is a major global epidemic, with over 300 million obese people worldwide, and nearly 1 billion overweight adults. Being overweight carries significant health risks, reduced quality of life, and impaired socioeconomic success, with profound consequences for health expenditure. The most successful treatment for obesity is gastric bypass surgery, which acts in part by reducing appetite through alterations in gut hormones. Circulating gut hormones, secreted or suppressed after eating food, act in the brain, particularly the hypothalamus, to alter hunger and fullness. Stomach-derived ghrelin increases food intake even in those with anorexia from chronic illness, while pancreatic polypeptide (PP), intestinal peptide YY 3-36 (PYY), oxyntomodulin, and other hormones reduce food intake and appetite. While obese subjects have appropriate reductions in orexigenic ghrelin, other gut-hormone disturbances may contribute to obesity such as reduced anorexigenic PYY and PP. Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) arises from the loss of paternally inherited genes on chromosome 15q11-13, leading to life-threatening insatiable hunger and obesity from early childhood, through developmental brain, particularly hypothalamic defects. The study of genetically homogenous causes of abnormal-feeding behavior helps our understanding of appetite regulation. PWS subjects have inappropriately elevated plasma ghrelin for their obesity, at least partly explained by preserved insulin sensitivity. It remains unproven if their hyperghrelinemia or other gut-hormone abnormalities contribute to the hyperphagia in PWS, in addition to brain defects. Postmortem human hypothalamic studies and generation of animal models of PWS can also provide insight into the pathophysiology of abnormal-feeding behavior. Changes in orexigenic NPY and AGRP hypothalamic neurons, or anorexigenic oxytocin neurons have been found in illness and PWS. Functional neuroimaging studies, using PET and fMRI, will also allow us to tease apart the hormonal and brain pathways responsible for controlling human appetite, and their defects in obesity.

To establish BMI percentiles and cutoffs for underweight, overweight, and obesity in South Korean schoolgirls.

A total of 1229 South Korean schoolgirls aged 8 to 18 years were randomly selected to complete a self-administered questionnaire. BMI charts and cutoffs were constructed after analyzing data from 1107 subjects. Percentile curves were established by the modified LMS method.

The percentiles for underweight, overweight, and obesity corresponding to BMI of 18.5, 23.0, and 25.0 kg/m2 at age 18 were the 13.0th percentile, the 77.8th percentile, and the 91.2nd percentile, respectively. The corresponding prevalences of underweight, overweight, and obesity were 12.1, 12.5, and 9.8%, respectively.

We established for the first time, to our knowledge, new BMI cutoffs for ages 8 to 18 that corresponded to BMIs of 18.5, 23.0, and 25.0 kg/m2 for Asian adults designated by the International Obesity Task Force. These newly established BMI cutoffs might help to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Asian children.

Improving our understanding of factors driving fat gain in young children should increase our ability to manage the rising problem of obesity. Accordingly, studies associating timing of adiposity rebound with later obesity are reviewed.

Investigations in many countries have confirmed that early adiposity rebound increases risk of high blood pressure and obesity in young adults. The magnitude of the effect can be substantial (>3 body mass index units at 18-21 years) for those undergoing early (<5 years of age) compared with late (>7 years of age) rebound. Early rebound is also associated with impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes in adulthood. Because adiposity rebound is determined using serial measurements of body mass index, the actual changes in body composition occurring during this time are obscured. Recent data show that changing body mass index during adiposity rebound is due to higher than average deposition of weight rather than slowing of the rate of height gain. Moreover, this increased weight gain occurs because of rapid deposition of fat rather than lean tissue, with early rebounders gaining fat mass at almost three times the rate of late rebounders.

Future work is needed to identify reasons for early adiposity rebound. Because high physical activity and low inactivity are associated with lower body fat during the period of adiposity rebound, studies should be undertaken to see whether stepping up activity can slow fat gain, delay the onset of adiposity rebound and lower adult obesity.

Several epidemiologic studies show in a concordant way that the prevalence of the overweight and that of obesity increase in France. Obesity is an important risk factor in public health. The main aim of the National Program of Nutrition and Health is to stop the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity. In this framework, we conducted a prevalence study among 1507 schoolchildren (boys: 51,6%; girls: 48,4%) aged from 11 to 17 years old. A self-questionnaire was used to collect information concerning the weight, height and diet. The findings show that 17,6% of collegians are either over weighted or obese, 7,7% of the girls and 10,0% of the boys are in overweight; 5,5% of the girls and 11,7% of the boys are obese, according to the French charts of body mass index (BMI). This study shows a decreasing frequency of the overweight with the age in both males and females: 28,9% at the 11 years old and 13,2% at the 17 years old. Preventive actions are needed at early stages to try to stop and, if possible, to reverse the present increase of overweight. In this context, the itinerant forum of health promotion carried out in the Hauts-de-Seine department with school doctors can play a determining part.