FACILITY: Feeding the fAmiLy: the Intergenerational approaCh to fIght obesiTY

Launched by BUZZI CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL · Dec 1, 2023

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

The FACILITY study is a research project designed to understand the factors that contribute to childhood obesity and overweight. Specifically, it looks at various social, cultural, economic, and lifestyle influences on both mothers and children to see how they affect a child's weight and health. This study will include two parts: the first part involves gathering information from families at a specific time, while the second part will compare different cases to see what might lead to weight issues in children.

To participate in this study, mothers must be at least 18 years old and admitted to the Buzzi Children's Hospital in Milan, Italy, along with their children aged between 2 and 18 years who are identified as overweight or obese. Both parents or guardians must give their consent for the child to participate. Participants can expect to share their experiences and information about their lifestyle and health, which will help researchers better understand and address childhood obesity. It's important to note that certain health conditions, like hormonal disorders or genetic diseases, will prevent some families from participating.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• • Inclusion criteria (CASE GROUP)
• For mothers:
• • Age ≥ 18 years old;
• • Admitted to the Department of Pediatrics, Buzzi Children's Hospital, Milan, Italy;
• • Written and signed informed consent.
• For the children/adolescent:
• • Age \> 2 years and \< 18 years old;
• • Early adiposity rebound (\< 5 years of age);
• • Overweight (between 2-3 Z-score) and obesity (≥ 3 Z-score) diagnosis according to the CDC growth charts.
• • Admitted to the Department of Pediatrics, Buzzi Children's Hospital, Milan, Italy;
• • Mother and father/legal guardian had written and signed informed consent.
• • Inclusion criteria (CONTROL GROUP)
• For mothers:
• • Age ≥ 18 years old;
• • Admitted to the Department of Pediatrics, Buzzi Children's Hospital, Milan, Italy;
• • Written and signed informed consent.
• For the children/adolescent:
• • Age \> 2 years and \< 18 years old;
• • Early adiposity rebound (\< 5 years of age);
• • Admitted to the Department of Pediatrics, Buzzi Children's Hospital, Milan, Italy;
• • Mother and father/legal guardian had written and signed informed consent.
• • Exclusion criteria (CASE GROUP and CONTROL GROUP)
• For the mothers:
• • Mother had not written and signed informed consent;
• • Inability to understand the Italian and English language.
• For the children/adolescent:
• • Endocrine disorders (hypothyroidism, hypercortisolism, growth hormone deficiency);
• • Central nervous system damage (hypothalamic-pituitary damage because of surgery or trauma);
• • Genetic diseases either monogenic (leptin deficiency, MC4R mutation) or pleiotropic genetic syndromes (Prader-Willi, Bardet-Biedl);
• • Mother and father/legal guardian had not written and signed informed consent.