Endocrinology News

As expected, intake of sugar-sweetened beverages is greater among children with overweight or obesity compared with normal-weight children, suggesting that taxing these beverages may curb consumption, according to findings presented at the European Congress on Obesity.

Researchers observed an “unexpected association” between longer sleep duration in early childhood and lower HDL cholesterol levels in later childhood, whereas the more comprehensive cardiometabolic risk score was not affected by sleep duration, according to findings published in Childhood Obesity.

Low-income children with chronic conditions and their families could experience drastic cost increases for health care — as much as $233 to $2,472 in annual expenditures, depending on income levels and individual needs — if the Children’s Health Insurance Program is not renewed and the families are switched to Marketplace health insurance plans.

Any breast-feeding for at least 12 months or full breast-feeding for at least 6 months decreases a child’s risk for developing type 1 diabetes compared with no breast-feeding, according to findings published in Diabetes Care.

Adolescents with common health conditions, such as diabetes, asthma and obesity, are at a higher risk for depression and major depressive episodes, compared to their peers without these conditions, according to a new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The risk for precocious puberty may be increased with childhood obesity and/or central obesity; the risk is more pronounced in girls than boys, according to findings from China published in BMJ Open.

In adolescents transitioning from male to female, estrogen therapy for at least 1 year was effective and safe for inducing puberty, study data show.

Parents who select larger “ideal” and “maximum tolerated” food portions for their children are more likely to have a child with obesity than are parents who identify smaller portions, according to published findings.

The risk for depression and depressive symptoms is greater among children and adolescents with obesity compared with those with normal weight or overweight, and the risk is higher among girls compared with boys, according to findings published in Obesity Reviews.

The prevalence of hypertension among adolescents living in the greater Houston area is highest among those with Hispanic ethnicity and those with obesity, according to study findings published in Pediatrics.