Etiology of Adolescent Obesity

本研究将使用社会生态学框架来研究青少年肥胖的横截面和前瞻性预测因素。我们将从目前正在参加明尼苏达州青少年社区队列（MACC）研究的现有青少年队列中招募420名青少年和他们的一名父母。MACC队列是一个具有代表性的样本，来自明尼苏达州的60个地缘政治单位，并已被跟踪4年，作为研究州和地方烟草计划对青少年烟草使用影响的一部分。Dr. Jean Forster是这项正在进行的研究的主要研究者。对于我们的TREC研究，我们将邀请15-16岁并居住在明尼阿波利斯都会区的MACC队列中的学生 和圣保罗参与这项青少年肥胖病因的研究。我们将在24个月的时间内收集三个时间点的数据，以评估个人、家庭、学校和社区层面的潜在致胖因素。个体测量将包括人体测量和各种与饮食和活动有关的心理社会、偏好和行为评估。家庭措施将包括家庭社会经济地位，父母体重和身体组成，家庭膳食和活动模式，以及家庭食物和活动环境。学校一级的措施将包括体育活动的机会、有竞争力的食物以及学校的食物和活动政策。社区一级的措施将包括： 使用地理信息系统（CIS）评估致肥胖的环境因素，如步行和自行车道，便利店和快餐店的存在。这项研究是多学科的，涉及来自明尼苏达大学四个系的研究人员（流行病学系，护理学院，运动机能学学院和建筑与园林学院），包括具有生物科学，运动生理学，营养学，行为科学，心理学和城市规划专业知识的科学家。这项研究提案旨在成为一系列提案中的第一个，这些提案将包括跟踪队列进入青年期，以评估肥胖风险和相关癌症，帮助指导未来干预措施的重点，以预防儿童超重和肥胖的发生，以降低慢性病风险。

This research will examine cross-sectional and prospective predictors of adolescent obesity using a social-ecological framework. We will recruit 420 youth and one of their parents from an existing cohort of youth who are currently participating in the Minnesota Adolescent Community Cohort (MACC) study. The MACC cohort is a representative sample, drawn from 60 geopolitical units throughout the state of Minnesota, and has been followed for 4 years as part of a study examining the effects of state and local tobacco programs on youth tobacco use. Dr. Jean Forster is the Principal Investigator for this on-going study. For our TREC research, we will invite students in the MACC cohort who are 15-16 years old and live in the metro area of Minneapolis and St. Paul to be involved in this study of the etiologic factors of obesity in adolescents. We will assess potential obesogenic factors at the individual, family, school and community level by collecting data at three time points over a period of 24 months. Individual measures will include anthropometry and a variety of psychosocial, preference and behavioral assessments related to eating and activity. Family measures will include family socioeconomic status, parent weight and body composition, family meal and activity patterns, and the home food and activity environments. School level measures will include opportunities for physical activity, competitive foods, and school food and activity policies. Community-level measures will include the use of Geographical Information System (CIS) to assess obesogenic environmental factors such as the presence of walking and bike paths, convenience stores, and fast food restaurants. This research is multidisciplinary involving researchers from across four departments at the University of Minnesota (the Division of Epidemiology, School of Nursing, School of Kinesiology, and the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture) and including scientists with a expertise in the biological sciences, exercise physiology, nutrition, the behavioral sciences, psychology, and urban planning. This research proposal is intended to be the first in a series of proposals that will include following the cohort into young adulthood to assess obesity risk and related cancers, help in directing the focus of future interventions to prevent the onset of childhood overweight and obesity in order to reduce chronic disease risk.