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Published on: February 2, 2017
Obesity Risk Assessment Tool among 3-5 Year Olds: Validation with Biomarkers of Low-Grade Chronic Inflammation
Marilyn S Townsend1, Mical K Shilts2, Louise Lanoue1
1Nutrition Department, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
Insights
The Healthy Kids (HK) tool effectively assesses pediatric obesity risk in low-income families. Children with less healthy behaviors showed increased inflammation markers over one year, validating the HK tool for early intervention.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric obesity and inflammation research.
- Family-based lifestyle behavior assessment.
- Biomarker analysis for chronic disease risk.
Background:
- Childhood obesity is linked to inflammation and metabolic diseases.
- Existing pediatric obesity risk tools require validation in diverse populations.
- Low-income families face unique challenges in nutrition and lifestyle behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- Validate the Healthy Kids (HK) obesity risk assessment tool in low-income families with literacy challenges.
- Assess the relationship between HK scores and an inflammation index.
- Evaluate the HK tool's utility for identifying children at risk for unhealthy weight gain.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 104 parent/child pairs from Head Start and WIC programs.
- Administered the Healthy Kids (HK) tool and collected blood samples for inflammation biomarkers.
- Analyzed data using mixed models, adjusting for child's age and BMI, over a 1-year period.
Main Results:
- A significant interaction between HK scores and time was observed for the child inflammation index (p=0.039).
- Children with less healthful HK scores exhibited a significant increase in inflammation over 12 months (p=0.007).
- Children with more healthful HK scores did not show significant changes in inflammation (p=0.58).
Conclusions:
- The Healthy Kids (HK) tool demonstrates validity in assessing pediatric obesity risk, even in low-income families with literacy issues.
- Elevated inflammation markers in children with less healthful HK scores indicate a chronic inflammatory state.
- The HK tool is a promising, rapid assessment for family environments and child obesity risk, aiding federal nutrition programs.
Abstract:
Many families with young children practice nutrition, parenting, and lifestyle behaviors that set their children on trajectories for unhealthful weight gain. Potential adverse health effects of excessive body fat can result in the secretion of proinflammatory molecules and increased risk of inflammation and metabolic diseases. A pediatric obesity risk assessment tool named Healthy Kids (HK), demonstrated validity in a longitudinal study with child's measured BMI and 36-hour diet, screen, sleep, and activity logs. Our objective was to provide additional evidence of validity with low-income families with literacy issues using an inflammation index composed of four proinflammatory biomarkers. Parent/child pairs (n = 104) from Head Start and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provided HK, blood samples, and measured heights/weights. Select child inflammatory markers were discretized into two groups of HK scores. Data were analyzed with a mixed model adjusted for children's age and BMI. A significant HK-time interaction effect was shown for the child inflammation index with two data collection points 1 year apart (pdid = 0.039). This index increased over 12 months in children with less healthful behaviors (p = 0.007), but not in children with more healthful profiles (p = 0.58). Children with less healthful HK scores had an elevated inflammation index indicating a low-grade chronic systemic inflammatory state. Taken together with our previously published findings, the HK tool has potential as a rapid and easy-to-administer assessment of the family environment and the child's obesity risk. HK can be useful for federal nutrition programs for evaluation, risk assessment, goal setting, and/or program planning in clinical and community environments.
