Perspectives on Causal Mechanisms, Prevention and Management of Pediatric Obesity and Related Comorbidities
Prof. Pietro Vajro E-Mail
Full Professor, Pediatrics, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry “Scuola Medica Salernitana”, University of Salerno, Italy
Dr. Claudia Mandato E-Mail
Associate Professor, Pediatrics, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry “Scuola Medica Salernitana”, University of Salerno, Italy
Pediatric obesity is the most prevalent nutritional disorder in children and adolescents worldwide, with a relentless diffusion among all social categories, which reflects our still imperfect understanding of the disease. Due to a) the participation of several systemic and psychosocial comorbidities, and b) its tracking into adulthood, this condition represents a relevant and still unresolved public health challenge requiring more and more extraordinary multidisciplinary efforts.
Recent progress in obesity genetics, epigenetics, novel signaling pathways, and neurohormonal gut-liver-systemic circulation-brain axis appear mounting. The intent of this special issue is therefore to gather novel data and insights from basic and clinical science researchers in multiple areas to advance our knowledge on the causal mechanisms beyond the obvious unbalance between energy intake/expenditure, possibly capable of fostering novel/improved approaches for disease prevention and management. We expect contributions on the whole spectrum of pediatric obesity related conditions such as metabolic syndrome, sleep-disordered breathing, exercise intolerance, orthopedic diseases, liver and gastroesophageal disease, polycystic ovaries, idiopathic intracranial hypertension, psychopathologies, and other common and less common comorbidities.
We encourage all investigators who operate in the pediatric obesity field to submit original research articles, reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses to this Special Issue with the goal of expanding our state of the art knowledge and opening new research avenues.
Keywords: pediatric obesity, obesity comorbidities, pathomechanisms, prevention, management, nutrition, lifestyle