October 2025

Upcoming NCCOR Webinar Introduces NCCOR’s New Implementation Scorecard: A Decision-Making Companion for Practitioners

October 2025, NCCOR

Join NCCOR on October 14, 2025, from 1:00–2:00 p.m. ET for the next Connect & Explore webinar, “Turning Evidence into Action: Using NCCOR’s Implementation Scorecard to Strengthen Childhood Obesity, Nutrition, and Physical Activity Interventions.”

Implementation science seeks to close the gap between evidence and practice, or between what we know and what is actually done. NCCOR’s new Implementation Scorecard was informed by the experiences and challenges faced by practitioners implementing childhood nutrition, physical activity, and obesity prevention interventions. During this 1-hour webinar, Taren Massey-Swindle, PhD, Associate Professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine, will discuss the development of the scorecard. Teddy Swenson, MPH, Senior Manager of Active Design at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, will then share her perspective on how the tool can benefit practitioners as they move through the four phases of implementing new interventions or programs.

Registration for the webinar is free, but space is limited, so register early to secure a spot. Please consider sharing this information on your social networks using the hashtag #ConnectExplore. We will live-tweet the webinar, so follow the conversation at @NCCOR. The webinar will be recorded and archived on www.nccor.org  for those unable to attend.

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NCCOR Toolbox: Popular NCCOR Webinar on GLP-1's Now Available Online

October 2025, NCCOR

On August 28, 2025, NCCOR hosted a Connect & Explore webinar titled “Nutritional Implications of GLP-1 Medications in Obesity Care,” spotlighting the growing use of GLP-1 agonists and their complex nutritional impact. As these medications gain traction for their effectiveness in promoting weight loss and improving cardiometabolic health, experts Sandra Christensen and Dr. Jaime Almandoz emphasized the importance of monitoring nutrition-related indicators to mitigate potential risks. The session explored how reduced appetite from GLP-1 obesity medications may lead to nutrient deficiencies and adverse changes in body composition, underscoring the need for proactive dietary guidance and clinical assessment before initiating treatment. View the recording here.

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2020-2030 Strategic Plan for NIH Nutrition Research

September 8, 2025, National Institutes of Health

The 2020–2030 Strategic Plan for NIH Nutrition Research (SPNNR) lays out four overarching strategic goals designed to further our understanding of how nutrition influences health and disease across the lifespan. This review serves as a progress check on the work that was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in fiscal years 2020, 2021, and 2022 (FY20–22) toward achieving these goals. The collection and analysis of research deliverables demonstrates progress toward meeting the first three strategic goals of the plan but revealed the potential for expanding opportunities related to Strategic Goal 4. Breaking down the analysis by the objectives contained within each strategic goal helps further identify areas for targeted growth. Tracking implementation over time and performing periodic analysis will allow potential strategic partnerships to be identified and pursued in a timely fashion to work toward achieving the vision defined in the SPNNR by 2030.

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Efficacy and Safety of GLP-1 RAs in Children and Adolescents with Obesity or Type 2 Diabetes

September 15, 2025, EurekAlert!

In this systematic review and meta-analysis of 18 trials, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) significantly improved glycemic, weight, and cardiometabolic outcomes in children and adolescents with type 2 diabetes or obesity. Available data over a relatively short follow-up suggested suicidal ideation or behaviors were not significantly different, although gastrointestinal adverse effects warrant attention in long-term management.

[Source]

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Family-Based Intervention Programs are Insufficient to Prevent Childhood Obesity, Major Study Finds

September 10, 2025, EurekAlert!

A landmark study led by the University of Sydney has found no evidence that family-based early obesity prevention programs, such as home visits from health professionals or community parent groups, improve overall body mass index (BMI) in young children.

Published in The Lancet, the study was led by Dr Kylie Hunter from the Faculty of Medicine and Health as part of the TOPCHILD collaboration with multiple scientists including those at the University Medical Center Rostock and Flinders University.

Early weight is a strong predictor of future weight trajectory, with one in four children in Australia living with overweight or obesity by the time they start school.

“We found that early parent-focused obesity prevention programs did not improve BMI in children,” said Dr Kylie Hunter, lead author and research fellow at the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre and the Charles Perkins Centre.

“To shift the dial, we need to stop putting the onus on families alone. Governments, health officials and local authorities must show stronger leadership and commitment to addressing the social and environmental drivers of obesity.”

Assessing the impact of childhood obesity prevention programs

The scientists analysed data from 31 international studies evaluating different types of family-based childhood obesity prevention programs commencing during pregnancy up to the age of one.

Of these 31 international studies, the researchers focused on 17 studies, which assessed children’s BMI at the age of two, after the obesity programs had concluded.

The academics found that despite the range of interventions employed there was no meaningful difference in the BMI of children in families who participated in any of the programs compared to those who did not.

The interventions analysed in the study aimed to help parents build healthy habits for their children, focusing on diet, breast-feeding, physical activity, sleep and screen time. They were delivered in a variety of ways including home visits from health professionals and peer educators, community parent groups or via mobile apps.

Recognizing the limits of family-based health interventions

With a third of children and adolescents worldwide forecast to live with overweight or obesity within the next 25 years, researchers say programs are being undermined by societal factors beyond families’ control, especially those in lower socioeconomic groups.

Dr Hunter said: “It’s hard to make healthy choices when unhealthy options are cheaper, easier, and more heavily advertised. We must address the broader environments where children eat, learn and play – making healthy choices easier for everyone, regardless of where they live.”

The programs analysed in the study were conducted in countries such as Australia, the UK, Norway, Belarus, Brazil, the US and Sweden and lasted from two days to 39 months.

Structural change key to obesity prevention

The researchers emphasised that the programs studied were well-designed and delivered by passionate and skilled professionals, but argued that without wider systemic change, both health professionals and parents were fighting a losing battle.

“The first phase of life is challenging for many families”, said co-author Professor Anna Lene Seidler from the German Center for Child and Adolescent Health at the University Medical Center Rostock in Germany and affiliate at the University of Sydney.

“Parents may feel overwhelmed and lack the time, resources and stability to implement healthy behaviours without broader structural support.”

The researchers warn that focusing solely on parents to make changes may also widen health inequalities.

“Families most affected by childhood obesity – often those in lower socioeconomic groups – are also the least likely to access or benefit from these programs, while families in higher socioeconomic areas, who already meet many health recommendations, are more likely to be reached,” said Dr Hunter.

About the TOPCHILD Collaboration 

The TOPCHILD Collaboration is a global initiative that unites more than 70 researchers from 47 institutions, contributing original data to create the largest early childhood obesity prevention database to date, encompassing nearly 30,000 children.

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GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Prescribing Practices in a Pediatric Weight Management Program

August 26, 2025, Childhood Obesity

Introduction

Prescribing glucagon-like peptide receptor agonists (GLP1-RA) for pediatric patients with obesity is increasing. There are concerns that cost, insurance coverage, and/or provider prescribing practices will lead to inequities with GLP-1-RA use.

Objective

Describing the GPL1-RA prescribing practices in a pediatric weight management program.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed charts of patients treated from 7/1/2021 to 6/30/2023. The following was extracted from the medical record: demographic data, anthropometrics (percent of 95th percentile body mass index [BMI] for age/sex [p95%BMI] and BMI class), laboratory measures (hemoglobin A1C [HbA1c] and alanine aminotransferase [ALT]), and whether patients were prescribed a GLP1-RA and/or metformin.

Results

A total of 2,563 patients were seen in 2 years. Patients prescribed GLP1-RAs had higher HbA1c, 6.5% vs. 5.6% (p < 0.001); ALT, 79 IU vs. 37 IU (p < 0.001); and p95%BMI, 169 vs. 141 (p < 0.001), than others. There were no differences between the groups regarding race, sex, ethnicity, or insurance status.

Conclusions

GLP1-RA prescribing was associated only with disease burden.

[Source]

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Proportion of Obesity-Related Conditions Attributable to Obesity and Overweight in US Youth

JAMA Network, August 25, 2025

Obesity and obesity-related conditions (ORCs) have been increasing in US youth.^1,2 It is unclear to what extent obesity and overweight contribute to the development of ORCs in US youth. We estimated the population attributable fractions (PAFs) of ORCs due to obesity and due to overweight in US adolescents and young adults.

Methods

We performed a cross-sectional study of pooled data from the 2013-2023 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). We included adolescents aged 12 to 17 years and young adults aged 18 to 25 years with body mass index (BMI) data, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. Exclusion criteria were pregnancy and underweight, defined for adolescents as BMI less than the fifth percentile for age and sex and for young adults as BMI less than 18.5.

We calculated prevalences of ORCs by BMI and age. BMI-based overweight and obesity definitions were consistent with clinical definitions.^2 ,3 ORCs were selected based on diseases included in the consensus definition of clinical obesity¹ and data availability. ORCs were operationalized consistent with clinical definitions and previous epidemiological analyses (eMethods in Supplement 1).

We calculated the adjusted relative risk of having each ORC in participants with obesity and in participants with overweight compared to participants with normal BMI, controlling for age, sex, NHANES cycle, insurance status, and self-reported routine health care using logistic regression.⁴ We then calculated PAFs due to obesity (ie, the proportion of cases for each ORC that is attributable to obesity) and PAFs due to overweight.⁵ Population-level estimates and 95% confidence intervals accounted for the complex survey design and were calculated using R version 4.2.3 (R Foundation). A PAF was statistically significant if its 95% confidence interval did not cross zero.

Yale University’s institutional review board did not require review because NHANES data are public, deidentified data. This study followed the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) reporting guideline.

Results

The 2013-2023 study sample included 4199 adolescents and 3200 young adults, representing 25 171 549 adolescents (weighted mean [SD] age, 14.5 [1.7] years; 50% female; 6% Asian, 24% Black, 14% Hispanic, 51% White, and 6% other [including undefined non-Hispanic races]/multiracial) and 30 957 997 young adults (weighted mean [SD] age, 21.7 [2.3] years; 47% female; 5% Asian, 23% Black, 12% Hispanic, 54% White, and 5% other/multiracial). Race and ethnicity were self-reported by NHANES participants. Among adolescents, 18.7% (95% CI, 17.2%-20.2%) had overweight and 22.3% (95% CI, 20.5%-24.1%) had obesity. Among young adults, 25.8% (95% CI, 23.9%-27.8%) had overweight and 29.7% (95% CI, 26.9%-32.5%) had obesity. Population prevalences of ORCs ranged from 0.3% for type 2 diabetes in adolescents to 36.4% for liver steatosis in young adults (Table 1).

[Source]

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Assessing Alignment of Referrals with Guidelines for the Treatment of Children with Obesity

August 20, 2025, Childhood Obesity

It is unknown how many children with obesity are offered treatments aligned with clinical practice guidelines. This study examined electronic medical record data from a Midwest, USA, health system to quantify referrals to obesity treatment among patients 2–17 years old with obesity presenting for well-child visits in 2022 and/or 2023. Mixed-effects logistic regression models tested associations of referral placement with child characteristics, the Area Deprivation Index, and distance to specialty care. Of 14,893 patients, 591 (4.0%) received a referral. Referrals were associated with severe obesity (p < 0.001), older age (p < 0.001), proximity to specialty care (p < 0.001), number of well-visits (p ≤ 0.001), and identification with a minoritized race or ethnicity (p < 0.05–0.001). Findings indicate a large gap from the current state of referrals to alignment with practice guidelines for pediatric obesity. Furthermore, research needs to explore and address barriers to referrals and treatment access.

[Source]

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