Serum lipid growth curves for children and adolescents in predicting adult dyslipidemia(Data from the Slovak Lipid Community Study)

Objectives: To create age- and sex-specific growth curves for serum lipids in Slovak children and adolescents, and to compare age- and sex-specific cut-off points with the currently recommended procedure using a single set of risk values for the whole child and adolescent population. Methods: Data were extracted from a cross-sectional Slovak Lipid Community Study conducted in 2005-2007;873 healthy chil- dren and adolescents aged 7 - 18 years were selected for this study. Smoothed percentile curves were generated by LMS Pro software. Results: All lipid parameters (except for total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol in girls) were higher in puberty than in adolescence, with the lowest serum lipids between the ages of 15 and 16 years. Mean triglyceride levels were higher in girls than in boys in all age groups. At the age of 18 years, about 19% boys and 25% girls had borderline and 6% boys and 15% girls had elevated total cholesterol. Elevated triglyceride levels were seen in 13% of boys and 11% of girls while abnormally low levels of HDL-cholesterol were found in 17% of boys and 10% of girls. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that 1) age and gender play a strong role in lipid measurements in children and adolescents, 2) Slovak children and adolescents have a relative high proportion of abnormal lipid levels, and 3) age- and sex-specific cut-off points for serum lipids could be used to identify children and adolescents with an elevated risk of dyslipidemia in adulthood.

Effect of Television Viewing on Pediatric Obesity

Objective To test the effect of television viewing on pediatric obesity in urban China. Methods Stratified multistage cluster random sampling method was used for subjects selection. Nine thousand three hundred and fifty-six children, as well as their parents, were investigated. Questionnaire survey was used for data collection. Children's weights and heights were measured in the clinic of the investigated kindergartens or schools by trained investigators following the standardized procedure. Results The percentages of children and adolescents who watched television less than 1 h, 1-2 h, 2-3 h and more than 3 h daily were 32.5%, 46.0%, 15.4% and 6.1%, respectively, while the prevalence of obesity was 10.9%, 11.8%, 13.2% and 15.1%, respectively. Each hourly increment of television viewing was associated with 1 %-2% increase in the prevalence of obesity. Conclusions Time spent watching television is directly related to an increase risk of obesity, television viewing time is an independent factor for pediatric obesity.