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A new study from Finland has found an association in boys between having mental health problems as children and becoming obese an adults.

• The Finnish researchers studied 2946 boys who were eight years old in 1989, and then looked at data from their military examinations when they were between the ages of 18 and 23 years old.
  
• Underweight boys (182) were not included, leaving 2,209 participants.
  
• The males who were overweight or in the top percentile for mental health problems were the ones most likely to be obese as adults.
  
• The mental health problems included in the study were depression, conduct problems, and emotional problems, but not hyperactivity.

"Future studies should address the potential for interventions to reduce obesity risk in young adulthood for boys who manifest conduct problems early in life," the research team wrote in its report in the journal Pediatrics.

Labels: mental_health, boys, conduct disorders

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Obese teenage boys are more likely to have a marker for serious liver disease, according to a new study from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

• Dr. Rose Graham studied 1323 children ages 12 to 19 who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
• Boys who had metabolic syndrome -- that is, insulin resistance increased waist circumference, high blood pressure and abnormal levels of cholesterol -- were more likely to be at risk for serious liver disease.
• The same was not true of girls.
• Metabolic syndrome is associated with obesity.

Dr. Graham's study appeared in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition.

Labels: obese teens, boys, health_risks

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Overweight male teens are showing signs of heart disease even though they have normal blood pressure, according to a study from the Medical College of Georgia.

Researchers studied 126 boys ages 15 to 17 years old. Those who were overweight had elevated levels of aldosterone, a hormone associated with heart disease, even though they did not necessarily have elevated blood pressure.

Dr. Dayal D. Raja said that this study might indicate that certain boys should receive early treatment and intervention, especially if they have a family history of heart disease.

Dr. Raja presented his study in May during the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists' 18th Annual Meeting and Clinical Congress in Houston.

Labels: heart_disease, overweight children, boys, teens

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Teenage boys who get insufficient sleep are at risk of becoming overweight or obese, according to a new study from Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute.

• Dr. Leslie Lytle studied 723 teenagers in terms of their sleep habits, heights and weights, risk for depression, physical activity levels, and socio-economic backgrounds.
• Boys who got fewer than eight and a half to nine hours of sleep were at higher risk for overweight and obesity, but there was little association between weight and sleep for girls.

"Maybe girls are better equipped to deal with environmental stress," said Dr. Lytle. "They just biologically respond differently."

This study was presented at a meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies.
 

Labels: sleep, boys, teenagers

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 2 Comments

Boys (especially teen boys) eat more than girls -- much more, according to new research from the US U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

"Boys really can eat," Dr. Jack Yanovski said.

• Dr. Yanovski and his colleagues kept track of the amounts of food that 204 children ages eight to 17 years old consumed during lunch buffets.
• Boys ages eight to ten years old took in 1300 calories compared to 900 for girls the same age.
• By ages 14 to 17, boys consumed almost 2000 calories at lunch.
• Girls peaked at 1300 calories at ages ten to 13 years old.

Dr. Yanovski said parents should not worry about the amounts their teenage boy eats unless their child is overweight.
 

Labels: nutrition, boys, teenagers

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 0 Comments