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Prevention and Treatment of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome
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Prevention and Treatment of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Infectious Diseases, Chronic Diseases, and Disease Prevention".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2024) | Viewed by 5244

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Nélson Nardo Júnior

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physical Education, Health Sciences Centre, State University of Maringá, Maringá 87020-900, Brazil
Interests: obesity prevention and treatment; physical activity; fitness; health promotion; metabolic health

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Obesity has been recognized as one of the main challenges to public health around the world because of all of its impacts on health and wellbeing. Despite this, it is still under-recognized and under-treated, and, in many countries, it is not considered a non-communicable disease. These are some challenges to designing and delivering meaningful plans for the prevention, management, and long-term treatment of obesity. There are also the differences between intensive and prohibitively expensive interventions used in clinical trials which, to ensure lifestyle changes, need to be translated into practical affordable interventions that are deliverable in real-world healthcare systems. In particular, the population that receive care in community healthcare centers are under-served. These patients have high rates of obesity and obesity-associated conditions, particularly hypertension and cardiovascular disease, and have been under-represented in obesity trials. Another problem related to obesity is the stigma, even among health professionals, against people living with obesity. This tends to delay the search for healthcare and consequently may aggravate the condition. Considering all of the above, it is necessary that the scientific community present viable and scalable solutions to this massive challenge, and these solutions must be assessed in different scenarios in order to test their effectiveness in those conditions.

Dr. Nélson Nardo Júnior
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • obesity
  • treatment
  • efficacy
  • effectiveness
  • metabolic syndrome

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 774 KiB  
Article
Prevalence of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and Its Associated Risk Factors among Medical Students in Two Countries
by Gulam Saidunnisa Begum, Noor Alhuda Talal Almashaikhi, Maryam Yousuf Albalushi, Hajar Mohammed Alsalehi, Rayan Salih Alazawi, Bellary Kuruba Manjunatha Goud and Rajani Dube
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2024, 21(9), 1165; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21091165 - 2 Sep 2024
Viewed by 476
Abstract
Introduction: PCOS, a common hormonal disorder in women of reproductive age, affects fertility and increases the risks of other diseases. Early detection, risk factor assessment, and intervention are crucial to prevent long-term complications. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted using a pre-validated [...] Read more.
Introduction: PCOS, a common hormonal disorder in women of reproductive age, affects fertility and increases the risks of other diseases. Early detection, risk factor assessment, and intervention are crucial to prevent long-term complications. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted using a pre-validated questionnaire at two medical colleges in the UAE and Oman. The first study (UAE) results are already published. Here, we present the findings of the second study (Oman) and compare them. Results and Discussion: The prevalence of PCOS was 4.6% (n = 7) in Oman and 27.6% (n = 69) in the UAE using the NIH criteria. The most common symptoms were irregular periods, acne, and thinning of hair. Students showed acne as the most prevalent symptom of clinical hyperandrogenism. Omani students showed significantly more acne [70.1% (n = 108) vs. 41.6% (n = 104)], while Emirati students showed a higher prevalence of hirsutism [32% (n = 80) vs. 23.3% (n = 36)]. A higher number of students had irregular periods 30.8% (77/150) in the UAE, although the difference was not statistically significant. The prevalence of PCOS was significantly higher in Emirati medical students than in Omani students (p < 0.05). The prevalence was also lower among medical students in Oman compared to an unselected population, reported by a study that included all consecutive women between 12 and 45 years of age attending a hospital. An increased trend in unhealthy lifestyle practices was observed in the recent study. Obesity was a strong predictor of PCOS symptoms across the populations in both countries (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The prevalence of PCOS and clinical signs of hyperandrogenism vary significantly between countries in the MENA region. There is a need to identify specific risk factors associated with PCOS in different populations, explore the genetic basis, and undertake collaborative efforts among healthcare professionals from various disciplines to raise awareness about PCOS and its associated risks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prevention and Treatment of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome)
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18 pages, 719 KiB  
Article
Effects of 12 Weeks of Family and Individual Multi-Disciplinary Intervention in Overweight and Obese Adolescents under Cardiometabolic Risk Parameters: A Clinical Trial
by Déborah Cristina de Souza Marques, Lilian Rosana dos Santos Moraes, Marilene Ghiraldi de Souza Marques, Joed Jacinto Ryal, Isabella Caroline Santos, Marielle Priscila De Paula Silva Lalucci, Jorge Mota, Pablo Valdés-Badilla, Greice Westphal Nardo and Braulio Henrique Magnani Branco
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(20), 6954; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20206954 - 20 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2439
Abstract
Adolescence is a complex period of human development in which young people are susceptible to unhealthy behaviors, such as physical inactivity and an unbalanced diet. This study aimed to analyze the effects of 12 weeks of multi-disciplinary family and individual intervention on cardiometabolic [...] Read more.
Adolescence is a complex period of human development in which young people are susceptible to unhealthy behaviors, such as physical inactivity and an unbalanced diet. This study aimed to analyze the effects of 12 weeks of multi-disciplinary family and individual intervention on cardiometabolic risk parameters in overweight and obese adolescents and compare sub-groups, considering possible differences between sexes (males vs. females vs. intervention approach). Forty-three adolescents (13.73 ± 2.46 years old) of both sexes were divided into two groups: family group (FG) (n = 21; 14.24 ± 2.61 years old) and individual group (IG) (n = 22; 13.23 ± 2.27 years old). The following parameters were evaluated: anthropometry (body weight, height, waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC), calculation of body mass index (BMI), and waist–hip ratio (WHR)), body composition (fat mass (FM), lean mass (LM), fat-free mass (FFM), skeletal muscle mass (SMM), body fat percentage (BF), and visceral fat), biochemical measures (fasting glucose, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoproteins (LDL-c), and high-density lipoproteins (HDL-c)), and the measurement of systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) before and after the interventions. The multi-disciplinary interventions occurred for 12 weeks (three days a week lasting 1 h and 30 min, in which 30 min were dedicated to theoretical interventions (nutrition: nutritional education and psychology: psychoeducation) and 1 h to physical exercises. A time effect was observed for LM, FFM, SMM, FM, and HDL-c, with higher values after intervention and a significant decrease for FM, BF, visceral fat, fasting glucose, TG, TC, LDL-c, and DBP (p < 0.05). However, no group, sub-group, or interaction effects were observed when comparing FG, IG, or sexes (p > 0.05). The responses of the present study show that both multi-disciplinary approaches (family and individual) promoted improvement in the body composition indicators, biochemical markers, and DBP of overweight and obese adolescents independently of the intervention group. Given this finding, health professionals, families, and adolescents could choose the type of intervention based on their preferences. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prevention and Treatment of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome)
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14 pages, 1065 KiB  
Article
Exploring New Tools for Risk Classification among Adults with Several Degrees of Obesity
by Greice Westphal-Nardo, Jean-Philippe Chaput, César Faúndez-Casanova, Carlos Alexandre Molena Fernandes, Eliane Cristina de Andrade Gonçalves, Raquel Tomiazzi Utrila, Karine Oltramari, Felipe Merchan Ferraz Grizzo and Nelson Nardo-Junior
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(13), 6263; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20136263 - 30 Jun 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1618
Abstract
The epidemic of obesity worldwide has been recognized as a very important challenge. Within its complexity, the identification of higher-risk patients is essential, as it is unsustainable to offer access to treatment to all people with obesity. Several new approaches have recently been [...] Read more.
The epidemic of obesity worldwide has been recognized as a very important challenge. Within its complexity, the identification of higher-risk patients is essential, as it is unsustainable to offer access to treatment to all people with obesity. Several new approaches have recently been presented as important tools for risk stratification. In this research, we applied several of these tools in a cross-sectional study involving adults with obesity classes I, II, III, and super-obesity. The participants had their cardiometabolic risk profiles assessed. The study included adults with obesity aged 18 to 50 years (n = 404), who were evaluated using anthropometric, body composition, hemodynamic, physical fitness, and biochemical assessments. These variables were used to identify the prevalence of risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases according to the classes of obesity by gender and age group. The results showed high prevalence of risk factors, especially among the upper classes of obesity (BMI > 35 kg/m2) using single parameters as the waist circumference, with almost 90% above the cut-off point. For smaller numbers such as Glycated Hemoglobin, however, the prevalence was around 30%. Indexes such as the atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) had the highest prevalence, with 100% of the male participants identified as being at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prevention and Treatment of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome)
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