Determinants of childhood obesity and association with maternal perceptions of their children's weight status: the "GENESIS" study.

Prevention of early childhood obesity requires a clear understanding of its determinants. This study examined perinatal, parental, and lifestyle determinants of childhood obesity and how these factors are associated with maternal misperceptions of their children's weight status. The current work presents a cross-sectional analysis of 2,374 children, age 1 to 5 years, living in Greece (April 2003 to July 2004). The 2000 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth charts were used to classify children as overweight (≥85th and <95th body mass index [BMI]-for-age percentile for children older than 24 months) and obese (≥95th weight-for-length percentile for children younger than 24 months and ≥95th BMI-for-age percentile for children older than 24 months). Maternal perceptions about their children's weight status were assessed via interviews with the mothers. Early infancy growth data were obtained from pediatric medical records. The present study showed that the prevalence of overweight and obesity was 16.2% and 17.5%, respectively. Each unit increase of maternal and paternal BMI significantly increased the likelihood of childhood obesity by a factor of 1.03 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01 to 1.07) and 1.15 (95% CI: 1.10 to 1.20), respectively. Furthermore, children with a rapid weight gain in infancy were 1.9 (95% CI: 1.3 to 2.7) times more likely to be overweight and 1.5 (95% CI: 1.2 to 1.9) times more likely to have their weight status underestimated by their mother. In conclusion, rapid infancy weight gain and higher parental BMI were the main determinants of obesity in preschool years. Maternal underestimation of children's weight status was more likely for children with rapid weight gain in infancy.

Description and analysis of genetic diversity among squash accessions

In this work, the part of the squash core collection, maintained in the Greek Gene Bank, was assessed using the morphological and molecular data. Sixteen incompletely classified accessions of the squash were characterized along with an evaluation of their resistance against two isolates of Fusarium oxysporum. A molecular analysis using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers was also performed, revealing high level of polymorphism. To study the genetic diversity among the squash accessions, a clustering procedure using Unweighed Pair Group Method and Arithmetic Average (UPGMA) algorithm was also adopted. Two independent dendrograms, one for the morphophysiological and one for molecular data were obtained, classifying the accessions into two and three main clusters, respectively. Despite the different number of the clusters there were many similarities between these two dendrograms, and a third dendrogram resulting from their combination was also produced, based on Gower's distance and UPGMA clustering algorithm. In order to determine the optimal number of clusters, the upper tail approach was applied. The more reliable clustering of the accessions was accomplished using RAPD markers as well as the combination of the two different data sets, classifying the accessions into three significantly different groups. These groups corresponded to the three different cultivated species of C. maxima Duch., C. moschata Duch., and C. pepo L. The same results were also obtained using Principal Component Analysis.

A abobrinha de inverno compõe um cultivo agrícola com valor econômico determinado exercendo, no entanto, um papel importante em zonas caracterizadas por um cultivo menos intensivo. Na Grécia, o cultivo da abobrinha se baseia, principalmente, em variedades locais conservadas a muitos anos por agricultores locais. Uma parte do cultivo nuclear da abobrinha, que é conservada pelo Banco Grego de Genes, foi melhorada utilizando-se dados morfológicos e moleculares, especialmente dezesseis cultivos de abobrinha classificados incompletamente, que foram diferenciados apenas com base em características morfológicas, em relação a uma avaliação à resistência contra o Fusarium Oxysporum, em dois isolamentos. Foi realizada uma análise molecular utilizando DNA Polimórficos Casual Amplificados índices (RAPDs), revelando um alto nível de polimorfismo. Para estudar a diversidade genética entre a coleção de abobrinhas, um procedimento de agrupamento foi realizado usando-se o algoritmo U.P.G.M.A. Dois dendrogramas independentes, um morfofisiológico e outro para dados moleculares, foram coletados, classificando as coleções em dois e três grupos básicos, respectivamente. Apesar do número diferente dos grupos, foram introduzidas muitas semelhanças entre os dois dendrogramas e um terceiro dendrograma foi produzido como resultado da combinação dos dois primeiros, baseado na distância de Gower e no algoritmo de agrupamento U.P.G.M.A. Para determinar o número ótimo dos grupos, a aproximação "upper tail" foi aplicada. O grupo mais aceitável das coleções foi conseguido usando-se índices RAPD, assim como a combinação dos dois grupos de dados diferentes, classificando as coleções em três grupos consideravelmente diferentes. Os grupos que correspondem às três espécies cultivadas diferentemente, que correspondem às três espécies cultivadas diferentemente por C.máxima Duch., C.moschata Duch. e C. pepo L. além disso, os mesmos resultados foram conseguidos usando-se a "Principal...

Obesity and television watching in preschoolers in Greece: the GENESIS study.

The aim of the current work was to evaluate the effect of preschoolers' television (TV) watching time on the prevalence of obesity even after controlling for their total energy intake and their physical activity status. A representative sample of 2,374 Greek children aged 1-5 years was examined ("Growth, Exercise and Nutrition Epidemiological Study in preSchoolers", GENESIS study). Children's TV watching time on a usual weekday and at a usual weekend was recorded. The overall mean of children's TV viewing time was 1.32 h/day. The majority of participants (74.0%) spent <2 h/day watching TV whereas only 3.1% spent >4 h/day in front of a TV set. Overall, 65.2% of participants were normal weight, 17.2% were overweight, and the rest 17.6% were obese. The prevalence of obesity was significantly higher among those with TV viewing time >or=2 h/day (21.7%) compared to those watching TV <2 h/day (16.1%, P = 0.003). TV viewing time remained significantly associated with the likelihood of being obese even after controlling for potential confounders (i.e., socio demographic and other characteristics and physical activity status) only among children aged 3-5 years. However, further adjusting for children's total energy intake revealed that the association between the TV viewing time and the probability of being obese was no longer statistically significant. On the other hand, physical activity status continued to be an independent factor of being obese. The current findings support the hypothesis that the effect of TV viewing time on childhood obesity is independent of physical activity status and may be attributed to the increased total energy intake during TV watching.

The effect of maternal obesity on initiation and duration of breast-feeding in Greece: the GENESIS study.

OBJECTIVE: The current paper aims to describe the characteristics of mothers failing to initiate breast-feeding, provide information on the factors contributing to longer duration of breast-feeding and identify the association of maternal obesity with both initiation and duration of breast-feeding in the Greek population. DESIGN: Data from the cross-sectional GENESIS (Growth, Exercise and Nutrition Epidemiological Study In preSchoolers) study were used. Mothers were categorized by their pre-pregnancy BMI and their gestational weight gain according to guidelines from the Institute of Medicine. SETTING: Preschool children aged 1-5 years in five counties in Greece. SUBJECTS: Preschoolers (n 2374) with full maternal anthropometric data before and during pregnancy and breast-feeding data. RESULTS: A higher percentage of mothers with increased pre-pregnancy BMI or high gestational weight gain failed to initiate breast-feeding compared with their normal-weight counterparts. Obese mothers were 2.86 times more likely to fail in initiating breast-feeding in a multiple logistic regression model. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that among women initiating breast-feeding, those who were either underweight before pregnancy or smoked at the third trimester of pregnancy breast-fed their children for about 1.5 weeks less than their normal-weight or non-smoking counterparts, respectively. Similarly, multiparous women breast-fed their children for about 7 weeks less than uniparous women. In women who initiated breast-feeding, no significant differences in breast-feeding duration were found between women of different gestational weight gains. CONCLUSIONS: Mothers with high pre-pregnancy BMI are less likely to initiate breast-feeding while high gestational weight gain has no effect on either the initiation or duration of breast-feeding in Greece.