International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

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Prof. Dr. Marco La Marra

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Guest Editor

Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
Interests: neuroscience; obesity; cognitive functions; body weight regulation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The prevalence of obesity has approximately tripled in the past few decades in both developed and developing countries, leading to its official recognition as a global epidemic by the World Health Organization. Obesity is the most common nutritional disease in youth, representing a major risk factor for adult obesity. Weight increase is determined by a significant imbalance between excessive caloric intake and energy expenditure. However, it is well-known that obesity is a multifactorial condition involving several interactions between genetic, physiological, psychological and social alterations. This is the result of altered metabolic parameters (such as lipid profile, insulin resistance, chronic pro-inflammatory state, etc.) and dysfunction of important central nervous system mediators. These could represent additional risk factors for the development of brain diseases, such as cognitive and psychopathological disorders. As a result, childhood obesity represents one of the most serious public health problems of the 21st century. In this context, manuscripts on these topics are invited for this Special Issue. In particular, we are interested in manuscripts combining empirical results and effective solutions to counter both the onset of obesity and the development of effective treatments to reduce excessive body weight in childhood.

Prof. Dr. Marco La Marra
Guest Editor

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Keywords

childhood obesity
eating behavior
metabolic syndrome
body weight regulation
adipose tissue
body weight management

Published Papers (1 paper)

Research

13 pages, 763 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Prospective Associations between Maternal Depressive Symptoms during Early Infancy and Growth Deficiency from Childhood to Adolescence

by Linda S. Pagani, Kianoush Harandian, Beatrice Necsa and Marie-Josée Harbec

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(23), 7117; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20237117 - 27 Nov 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2436

Abstract

Maternal health represents an important predictor of child development; yet it often goes unnoticed during pediatric visits. Previous work suggests that mental state affects parenting. The relationship between infant exposure to maternal depressive symptoms suggests conflicting findings on physical growth. Body mass index (BMI) has not been rigorously examined across development. Using a prospective-longitudinal birth cohort of 2120 infants (50.7% boys), we estimated the prospective relationship between symptoms of maternal depressive symptoms at 5 months postpartum and later BMI in typically developing children. We hypothesized that maternal depressive symptom severity would predict later BMI through to adolescence. Mothers self-reported depressive symptoms at 5 months. Child BMI was measured by a trained research assistant at ages 6, 8, 10, 13, and 15 years. We estimated a series of sex-stratified regressions in which BMI was linearly regressed on maternal symptoms, while controlling for potential pre-existing/concurrent individual and family confounding factors. Boys born to mothers with more severe depressive symptoms at age 5 months had a significantly lower BMI than other boys at subsequent ages. There were no such associations observed for girls. Maternal depressive symptoms were prospectively associated with later BMI for sons and not daughters, predicting risk of faltering in growth through to adolescence. Health practitioners should routinely assess maternal psychological functioning during pediatric visits to optimize parent and child flourishment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Children and Adolescents Obesity: Causes, Risks and Prevention)

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