{"title":"The Economic Burden of Obesity in Children and Adolescents in Austria.","authors":"Stephanie Reitzinger, Thomas Czypionka","doi":"10.1159/000545082","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000545082","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>In Europe, one in three school-aged children live with overweight or obesity and are at high risk of continuing to be affected by it throughout their lives. The objective of our study was to quantify the economic burden of obesity among Austrian children and adolescents born between 2000 and 2019.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We used obesity projections and the share of young adults assumed to have remained with obesity since childhood or adolescence to project the lifetime costs of birth cohorts from 2000 to 2019. We estimated lifetime costs per individual using population-attributable fractions, considering a discount rate of 3%, obesity-associated mortality, an obesity-associated \"income penalty,\" and future cost increases in the healthcare system.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>For Austria, we estimated that around 95,000 of all children and adolescents in 2019 remain with obesity as adults, which leads to a present value of EUR 9.2 billion or an annuity of approximately EUR 285 million (0.07% of GDP in 2019). Approximately 15% of costs arise from direct costs and 85% from indirect costs.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>We highlighted the long-term economic burden of early-onset obesity in Austria and concluded that public health programs addressing children and adolescents with obesity could relieve high costs not only for individuals but also for society.</p>","PeriodicalId":8269,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143690955","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Elvira Verduci, Giulia Fiore, Marta Agostinelli, Gianvincenzo Zuccotti
{"title":"Feeding Practices in the Introduction of Complementary Feeding and Implications for Future Healthy Eating.","authors":"Elvira Verduci, Giulia Fiore, Marta Agostinelli, Gianvincenzo Zuccotti","doi":"10.1159/000543126","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000543126","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Complementary feeding (CF) is the process of introducing foods that starts when breast milk or formula alone can no longer meet infant's nutritional requirements. Nevertheless, the goal of introducing solid foods is to supplement, not replace, human milk or infant formula. The timing of introduction of CF is a pivotal issue in paediatrics.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>According to the World Health organization (WHO), ideally CF begins at 6 months of age and continues until 23 months, although breastfeeding may extend beyond this period. In low-resource setting areas due to food and water hygiene issues and less availability of complementary foods (CFs) with good nutritional quality, early CF represents a harm. In the meantime, the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommend that CF should start between 17 and 26 weeks of age. This indication is provided because an early introduction of CFs before 4 months has harming results for both renal and gastrointestinal function and is inadequate with respect to neurodevelopmental skills. The concern about late introduction after 6 months mainly arises from inadequacy of breast milk in providing critical nutrients, particularly iron. Moreover, accumulating evidence suggests a potential higher risk of food allergies (i.e., peanut) when delaying exposure to allergens, rather than preventing their occurrence.</p>","PeriodicalId":8269,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism","volume":" ","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143668896","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Complementary Feeding and Future Health: The Importance of Tailored Evidence-Based Recommendations.","authors":"Raanan Shamir","doi":"10.1159/000542370","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000542370","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8269,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism","volume":" ","pages":"1-3"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143668893","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Prehabilitation: Are There Sex- and Gender-Specific Issues in Surgery Preparation?","authors":"Adriana Angarita-Fonseca, Louise Pilote","doi":"10.1159/000545024","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000545024","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Prehabilitation programs have advanced considerably; however, critical issues related to sex- and gender-specific factors remain largely unaddressed. Historically, research has been male-centered due to the underrepresentation of females in clinical trials, often attributed to concerns over hormonal variability. This focus has resulted in significant knowledge gaps and potential biases that impact effectiveness across sexes. We aim to highlight the need for integrating sex- and gender-specific considerations into prehabilitation to optimize surgical outcomes and promote equitable care for all patients.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>Both biological (sex-related) factors, such as differences in muscle mass, metabolism, and body composition, and social (gender-related) factors, such as caregiving roles and stress management, influence individuals' responses to presurgical preparation. A review of the existing literature reveals a scarcity of data on sex and gender differences in prehabilitation, highlighting a major barrier to designing equitable and effective programs. Evidence underscores that comprehensive prehabilitation approaches, integrating physical, nutritional, and psychological elements, must account for these differences to optimize recovery outcomes.</p><p><strong>Key messages: </strong>Sex- and gender-specific factors significantly shape patients' responses to prehabilitation and should be systematically incorporated into program design. The current lack of research on these differences limits the effectiveness of prehabilitation strategies, emphasizing the need for focused investigations. Addressing these gaps will facilitate the development of tailored, equitable prehabilitation programs that enhance presurgical care and improve recovery outcomes for all patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":8269,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism","volume":" ","pages":"1-5"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12060821/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143613219","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Microbiome and Brain Development: A Tale of Two Systems.","authors":"John F Cryan","doi":"10.1159/000544950","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000544950","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>For the past 2 decades, there has been a growing appreciation of the role that the microbiota (the trillions of microorganisms within and on our bodies) plays as one of the key regulators of gut-brain function and has led to the appreciation of the importance of a distinct microbiota-gut-brain axis across the lifespan but especially during neurodevelopment.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>The gut microbiota and its relevant metabolites interact with the immune and the central nervous systems during critical temporal windows of development. These critical developmental windows perinatally (during the first 1,000 days) are susceptible timepoints for insults that can endure long-lasting effects on the microbiota-gut-brain axis. Accumulating evidence shows that a variety of factors can impact the microbiota in early life, including mode of birth delivery, antibiotic exposure, mode of nutritional provision, infection, stress, as well as host genetics. Additionally, sex differences occur in response to microbial manipulations in early life although the underlying mechanisms underpinning such effects remain elusive. Animal models have been essential in delineating the role of the microbiome in neurodevelopmental disorders ranging from autism spectrum disorder to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This mechanistic perspective should be supplemented with more translational studies to evaluate the applicability of findings from animal models to human subjects.</p>","PeriodicalId":8269,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism","volume":" ","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143596011","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Biological and Experiential Factors That Impact the Acceptance of Complementary Foods.","authors":"Julie A Mennella","doi":"10.1159/000542296","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000542296","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Flavor, a complex sensation mediated by the chemical senses of taste, smell, and chemesthesis, is a primary driver of food acceptance. Because what we eat is an important influence on health in modern societies, we need to understand what shapes the acceptance of foods from an early age.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>As infants transition from an all-milk diet to one that contains complementary foods of varying flavors and textures, biological factors interact with early experiences in shaping the acceptance or rejection of these complementary foods. Children are naturally drawn to foods that taste sweet or salty. However, repeated exposures to more complex flavors, transmitted from the mother's diet to amniotic fluid and to human milk, and inherent in infant formulas and complementary foods (with 8-10 exposures or more), familiarize and facilitate children's acceptance of the varying sensory properties of foods. Family members modeling eating these foods also encourage acceptance in children. Such functional plasticity, one of the main characteristics of the brain, highlights the ability to change behavior based on experience.</p>","PeriodicalId":8269,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143490524","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Nutrition for Optimal Lactation.","authors":"Otilia Perichart-Perera","doi":"10.1159/000541757","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000541757","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Breastfeeding is the ideal method of feeding for all newborns and is associated with multiple positive health outcomes. Human milk provides all essential nutrients and bioactive molecules needed for optimal infant health and development. Maternal nutrition during lactation plays an important role in supporting breastfeeding and in preventing nutrition and metabolic imbalances. The aim of this narrative review was to describe the most prevalent nutrition issues in lactating women and provide a summary of current diet recommendations as well as controversies on supplementation, in order to facilitate the information for clinicians and health professionals.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>Breastfeeding is a nutritionally demanding stage and adequate nutrition is key to avoid alterations in maternal nutritional status, to produce an adequate quantity of milk with good quality, and to avoid nutrition programming of diseases. Anemia and vitamin D, A, iodine, and iron deficiencies are common, while obesity and metabolic diseases keep rising. Inadequate maternal intake of many nutrients is also frequent in this stage.</p>","PeriodicalId":8269,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism","volume":" ","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143482234","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Nutrition during Pregnancy and Birth Outcomes.","authors":"Nandita Perumal, Alison D Gernand","doi":"10.1159/000541205","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000541205","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The \"first 1,000 days\" - the duration of pregnancy and the first 2 years of life - is widely recognized as a sensitive period of early life, with implications for health and developmental outcomes throughout the life course. Optimal nutrition during pregnancy is therefore essential to reduce the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes and support healthy life trajectories.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>This narrative review summarizes the physiological changes during pregnancy and how these changes affect the energy and nutrient requirements in pregnancy to support maternal, placental, and fetal development and tissue accretion. Recommendations for weight gain and macro- and micronutrient requirements during pregnancy are summarized along with the current evidence.</p>","PeriodicalId":8269,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism","volume":" ","pages":"1-14"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143413173","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Breastfeeding and Health Benefits for the Mother-Infant Dyad: A Perspective on Human Milk Microbiota.","authors":"Ener Cagri Dinleyici","doi":"10.1159/000541711","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000541711","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Current scientific research on breastfeeding provides substantial evidence of its numerous positive impacts, not only for children in both the short and long term but also for mothers who engage in breastfeeding.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>In addition to the gold standard effect of human milk on infant nutrition, breastfeeding is associated with a lower incidence of infections, reduced infant/childhood mortality, necrotizing enterocolitis, and obesity during childhood and later in life, better cognitive performance, and a higher IQ score. For mothers, breastfeeding prolongs lactational amenorrhea, may facilitate postpartum weight loss, and may reduce breast and ovarian cancers and cardiovascular diseases. Breastfeeding can also play a beneficial role in preventing antibiotic resistance, which is a global concern across all age groups. Implementing exclusive breastfeeding for all infants has the potential to enhance child development and decrease healthcare expenses, leading to economic savings for both individual families and society. Human milk is a biologically active food that functions as both prebiotic and probiotic because of its oligosaccharides and the composition of its microbiota, which act as synergistic synbiotics.</p>","PeriodicalId":8269,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism","volume":" ","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143363437","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An Overview of Early-Life Gut Microbiota Modulation Strategies.","authors":"Hania Szajewska","doi":"10.1159/000541492","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000541492","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The gut microbiota, or microbiome, is essential for human health. Early-life factors such as delivery mode, diet, and antibiotic use shape its composition, impacting both short- and long-term health outcomes. Dysbiosis, or alterations in the gut microbiota, is linked to conditions such as allergies, asthma, obesity, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>This article reviews current strategies to influence the early-life gut microbiome and their potential health impacts. It also briefly summarizes guidelines on using biotics for gastrointestinal and allergic diseases in children. Key strategies include vaginal or fecal microbiota transplantation for cesarean-born infants, breastfeeding, and biotic-supplemented formulas. While vaginal microbial transfer and maternal fecal microbiota transplantation show short-term benefits, further research is needed to determine long-term safety and efficacy. Breast milk, rich in human milk oligosaccharides, promotes a healthy microbiota and offers protection against infections. Biotic-supplemented formulas can improve the gut microbiota in formula-fed infants and show clinical effects, though each biotic must be evaluated separately. Probiotics given as dietary supplements outside of infant formulas show promise for treating gastrointestinal disorders but require further investigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":8269,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism","volume":" ","pages":"1-6"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143027832","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}