Pediatric Obesity

Gene Therapy Automatically Converts Omega-6 to Omega-3 Fatty Acids in the Body ST. LOUIS, Oct. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the Centers for Disease Control, nearly 20% of children and teens are considered obese. Research shows it can have a dramatic impact on a variety of health conditions, including arthritis, heart conditions and other metabolic problems, and the American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends early and intensive treatment to combat obesity. Over the last four years, Shriners Children's St. Louis researchers have been working to develop a new way to prevent the effects of childhood obesity. Using gene therapy, Shriners Children's St. Louis Director of Research Dr. Farshid Guilak and Senior Scientist Dr. Ruhang Tang have discovered a revolutionary new way to convert harmful fatty acids into beneficial ones, making it possible for children battling obesity to lower the risk of other health problems, particularly arthritis. "We've learned that the number one preventable risk factor for arthritis in children is being overweight," said Dr. Guilak. "Our typical response is simply telling kids to lose weight, without addressing the larger issue. Childhood obesity has become an epidemic, and as a result, arthritis is becoming increasingly common in children. One of our key findings is that it's not just the obesity itself that's harmful, but also the diet. The types of fatty acids children consume play a significant role in a child's weight gain. And once children are obese, it opens the door for other significant health problems that can be hard to reverse." Dr. Tang said their gene therapy technique involves utilizing an inactive virus, adeno-associated virus (AAV), to deliver the gene for a specific enzyme into cells. The new gene therapy automatically converts highly inflammatory Omega-6 fatty acids to Omega-3 fatty acids, which are better for the body's metabolic health. Dr. Guilak said Omega-6 acids, which come from fatty foods and vegetable oil such as in fried foods, tend to promote inflammation and can lead to health issues such as arthritis, heart disease, and metabolic problems. Omega-3s, as found in fish and certain nuts, can support a healthier metabolic profile by improving insulin sensitivity, promoting fat metabolism, and reducing inflammation and the risk of obesity-related diseases. Dr. Natalia Harasymowicz, co-lead of the study, said that their gene therapy was also able to lower the number of pro-inflammatory cells that are crucial in promoting obesity-related inflammation and arthritis. In this study, the researchers studied a type of arthritis that is very common in children, termed "post-traumatic arthritis", caused by injury to the knee such as a tear in the meniscus tissue that serves as a stabilizer and cushion in the knee. The team found that one injection of the gene therapy significantly decreased the effects of a high-fat, omega-6-rich diet on overall metabolic health and knee arthritis. Of particular interest was the finding that diet-induced obesity led to premature "aging" in these mice, which was prevented by gene therapy. "What we are observing is that obesity results in old knees in young patients", said Dr. Guilak. "The modern diet, especially in the United States, tends to be high in Omega-6s and low in Omega-3s, which can lead to an imbalance, especially for kids. The gene therapy we developed will automatically convert omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in your body, effectively turning bad fats into good fats. Arthritis can be a very painful and debilitating condition for children so we're hopeful that this research will help reduce the risk of it developing and make treatments more effective. The implications for how this research might be used in the future are vast but we're excited about the potential for it to help kids lead healthier lives." Dr. Guilak is also the Mildred B. Simon Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Washington University in St. Louis and co-Director of the Washington University Center of Regenerative Medicine. His team is working with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to head into clinical trials in the next 3-5 years. This research was supported by Shriners Children's and the National Institutes of Health. Ruhang Tang, Natalia S. Harasymowicz, Chia-Lung Wu, Yun-Rak Choi, Kristin Lenz, Sara J. Oswald, Farshid Guilak. Gene therapy for fat-1 prevents obesity-induced metabolic dysfunction, cellular senescence, and osteoarthritis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, Oct. 14, 2024. About Shriners Children's Shriners Children's improves the lives of children by providing pediatric specialty care, conducting innovative research, and offering outstanding education programs for medical professionals. Children with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate are eligible for care, regardless of the families' ability to pay, and receive all care and services in a compassionate, family-centered environment. For more information, please visit shrinerschildrens.org. SOURCE Shriners Children's WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED

The initiative will launch in six cities across five continentsInterventions aim to increase physical activity and healthy eating among childrenThe three-year initiative comes with an investment of more than 250 million Danish kroner Bagsværd, Denmark, 8 October 2024 – Novo Nordisk today announced a new global initiative to prevent obesity in children. The Childhood Obesity Prevention Initiative aims to accelerate the prevention of childhood obesity in disadvantaged urban communities globally. Together with a coalition of partners such as city governments, academic institutions and non-profit organisations, the initiative will support six cities in designing, implementing and evaluating tailored solutions focused on physical activity and healthy eating. The initiative is founded on a robust evidence-based framework to measure and evaluate the impact of the interventions. In the project, changes in health behaviour and well-being, including health-related quality of life and body mass index (BMI) will be measured in children aged 6-13 at baseline and with follow-ups one and two years after the intervention, respectively. It has a controlled study design and will include a target population receiving the intervention compared to a control group in each city. The aim is to collect data from approximately 1,000 children in each group. “Childhood obesity is rising at alarming rates all over the world, putting the health and well-being of this and future generations at risk. With a focus on disadvantaged urban communities, the Childhood Obesity Prevention Initiative will provide important evidence and a unique data-led framework to support city leaders in preventing childhood obesity”, says Katrine DiBona, Global Head of Sustainability & Public Affairs at Novo Nordisk. The initiative builds on over a decade of experience in city-based prevention programmes through Cities for Better Health and will be rolled out in an initial set of six cities across Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, South Africa and Spain. About childhood obesityIn 2022 more than 390 million children aged 5–19 years were affected by overweight worldwide, including 160 million who were living with obesity. This puts them at risk of developing early onset of type 2 diabetes and is a strong predictor of adult obesity1. Children from lower socioeconomic communities tend to have an increased risk of obesity2. About Childhood Obesity Prevention Initiative (COPI)In the project, global partners, Delivery Associates and Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) will support the design and delivery of the interventions and evaluation in collaboration with a coalition of cross-sector local partners such as city governments, academic institutions and non-profit organisations. After 24 months, the impact is measured through a robust monitoring and evaluation framework. The learning generated will be used as guidance to city and community leaders worldwide on how to design, implement, measure and sustain effective interventions. The initiative is part of Novo Nordisk’s social responsibility efforts to address obesity holistically as a serious chronic disease. About Cities for Better HealthThe initiative is part of Cities for Better Health, a global public-private partnership committed to accelerating change in urban health across generations by building impactful local partnerships to drive health promotion and prevention. The partnership, formerly called Cities Changing Diabetes, takes a holistic approach to drive impactful community-based action to promote healthy food consumption and physical activity among children and vulnerable communities. Today, more than 50 cities and 300 partners are collaborating through the programme. Read more here. Novo Nordisk is a leading global healthcare company, founded in 1923 and headquartered in Denmark. Our purpose is to drive change to defeat serious chronic diseases, built upon our heritage in diabetes. We do so by pioneering scientific breakthroughs, expanding access to our medicines, and working to prevent and ultimately cure disease. Novo Nordisk employs about 69,000 people in 80 countries and markets its products in around 170 countries. For more information, visit novonordisk.com, Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn and YouTube. Contacts for further information Media: Ambre James-Brown +45 3079 9289abmo@novonordisk.com Liz Skrbkova (US)+1 609 917 0632lzsk@novonordisk.comInvestors: Jacob Martin Wiborg Rode+45 3075 5956jrde@novonordisk.comDavid Heiberg Landsted +45 3077 6915 dhel@novonordisk.comSina Meyer +45 3079 6656 azey@novonordisk.comIda Schaap Melvold +45 3077 5649 idmg@novonordisk.com Frederik Taylor Pitter +1 609 613 0568fptr@novonordisk.com _______________________References World Health Organization. Obesity and Overweight. [Online] World Health Organization. Available at: Obesity and overweight (who.int)World Health Organization. The inequality epidemic: low-income teens face higher risks of obesity, inactivity and poor diet. [Online] World Health Organization. Available at: The inequality epidemic: low-income teens face higher risks of obesity, inactivity and poor diet (who.int) NHS England. National Child Measurement Programme, England, 2021/22 school year. [Online] NHS England. Available at: National Child Measurement Programme, England, 2021/22 school year - NHS England Digital Attachment PR241008-Preventing-childhood-obesity-in-disadvantaged-urban-communities

TUESDAY, Sept. 24, 2024 -- Residence in low-income, low food-access neighborhoods in early life is associated with higher subsequent child body mass index (BMI) and a higher risk for obesity, according to a study published online Sept. 16 in JAMA Pediatrics . Izzuddin M. Aris, Ph.D., from Harvard University in Boston, and colleagues examined associations of neighborhood food access during pregnancy or early childhood with child BMI and obesity risk. The analysis included 28,359 children (55 cohorts participating in the U.S. nationwide Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes consortium; Jan. 1, 1994, to March 31, 2023). The researchers reported that 23.2 percent of participants resided in low-income, low food-access neighborhoods in pregnancy and 24.4 percent during early childhood. When adjusting for individual sociodemographic characteristics, residence in low-income, low food-access neighborhoods in pregnancy was associated with higher BMI z scores at ages 5, 10, and 15 years; higher obesity risk at 5, 10, and 15 years; and higher severe obesity risk at 5, 10, and 15 years compared with non-low-income, low food-access participants. Similar findings were seen for residence in low-income, low food-access neighborhoods in early childhood. Associations persisted with alternative definitions of low income and low food access and additional adjustment for prenatal characteristics associated with child obesity. "Future studies should examine the effectiveness of investments in neighborhood resources to improve food access in preventing child obesity," the authors write. One author disclosed ties to relevant organizations.