Gastroenterology

An analysis of data from nearly 750,000 adolescents from more than 40 countries offers insight into the changing, and possibly inaccurate, perceptions of healthy body weight among younger people since the turn of the century.

Nicole Peña Sahdala, MD, internist, gastroenterologist specialist in bariatric endoscopy, ABIM certified, discusses the rise in bariatric surgery among youth, and why other forms of care, such as lifestyle changes and education, are essential before any surgery is performed.

Links between teenager anxiety and gastrointestinal (GI) issues are the subject of this Contemporary Pediatrics® interview with Julia Anderson, MD, MSCI; and Sara Francis, PhD.

Based on results from a recent C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health, find out how comfortable parents feel when it comes to abdominal pain in their child, and how likely they are to handle the issue themselves, or to reach out to a health care provider for help.

The American Medical Association is asking doctors to scale back the use of the body mass index (BMI) when assessing obesity and health in patients, noting it should be used jointly with other measurements, and not solely. 

Kirk Thame, MD, associate professor, pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, Tennessee, explains how linaclotide differs from other treatment options for pediatric functional constipation, and why children will benefit from its recent FDA approval.

This decision marks the first functional constipation treatment approved by the FDA for this patient population.

Providers who refer patients for clinical hypnosis must ensure that the chosen hypnotherapist has appropriate knowledge about the patient’s gastrointestinal condition and has conducted clinical hypnosis for it.

A new analysis found differences in the gut bacteria seen in adults with obesity, suggesting that changes in the gut microbiota that predispose to adult obesity may begin in early childhood.

Erica Gunderson, PhD, MS, MPH, RD, senior research scientist, Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research, professor of Health Systems Science, Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine discusses how cardiometabolic health and childhood obesity are linked to breastfeeding. Gunderson also discusses receiving the 2022-2023 March of Dimes Agnes Higgins Award at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in Washington, DC on April 30, 2023.

In addition, 17 female patients who completed PENFS showed improvements in various symptoms, such as pain, disability, and catastrophizing, while carbohydrate degradation and LCFA synthesis pathways decreased in the post-treatment and follow-up analysis.

In a recent study, children of women in an IR-hyperglycemic group were 5 times more likely to develop childhood obesity than those from a control group.

Children exposed to maternal COVID-19 during pregnancy showed lower birth weight, lower birth BMI, and accelerated postnatal weight gain, compared with those unexposed.

In part 3 of our obesity series, Candice W. Jones, MD, discusses how obesity affects mental health in children, along with how mental health can be managed in these patients.

Built environments, but not social and economic environments, were negatively associated with BMI and overweight or obesity status, with a stronger association among adolescents with longer exposure to their built environment.

In a recent study, reductions in body mass index along with further beneficial effects were found when using oral butyrate supplementation for treating pediatric obesity.

In part 1 of our obesity series, Katherine H. Saunders, MD, DABOM, discusses methods of treating pediatric obesity, including medicines approved by the FDA and the advantages of Intellihealth.

A study from Slovenia suggests a physical activity intervention that would require physical activity every day while at school was effective for reducing BMI and reversing obesity in young children.

Youth who underwent metabolic and bariatric surgery as teenagers are at heightened risk for alcohol use, according to a recent study.

A sugary drinks tax in England may have prevented over 5,000 cases of obesity a year in older girls, but had no significant association with obesity levels in year six boys or younger children.

A follow-up to a Texas Sprouts gardening intervention found improved glucose control and reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in individuals at a high risk of metabolic diseases.

The February 2023 edition of Pediatrics included evidence-based guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics on evaluating and treating obesity in children and adolescents.

Using data from more than 25,000 preschool-aged children in Sweden provides an overview in trends of weight gain and BMI changes that may have impacted pediatric populations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a recent study, it was found that children with medical complexity are at a greater risk of overweight and obesity compared to children without medical complexity.

Novo Nordisk has announced their product Wegovy received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for use in adolescents aged 12 years and older with obesity.