Adolescence is a complex period of human development in which young people are susceptible to unhealthy behaviors, such as physical inactivity and an unbalanced diet. This study aimed to analyze the effects of 12 weeks of multi-disciplinary family and individual intervention on cardiometabolic risk parameters in overweight and obese adolescents and compare sub-groups, considering possible differences between sexes (males vs. females vs. intervention approach). Forty-three adolescents (13.73 ± 2.46 years old) of both sexes were divided into two groups: family group (FG) (n = 21; 14.24 ± 2.61 years old) and individual group (IG) (n = 22; 13.23 ± 2.27 years old). The following parameters were evaluated: anthropometry (body weight, height, waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC), calculation of body mass index (BMI), and waist–hip ratio (WHR)), body composition (fat mass (FM), lean mass (LM), fat-free mass (FFM), skeletal muscle mass (SMM), body fat percentage (BF), and visceral fat), biochemical measures (fasting glucose, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoproteins (LDL-c), and high-density lipoproteins (HDL-c)), and the measurement of systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) before and after the interventions. The multi-disciplinary interventions occurred for 12 weeks (three days a week lasting 1 h and 30 min, in which 30 min were dedicated to theoretical interventions (nutrition: nutritional education and psychology: psychoeducation) and 1 h to physical exercises. A time effect was observed for LM, FFM, SMM, FM, and HDL-c, with higher values after intervention and a significant decrease for FM, BF, visceral fat, fasting glucose, TG, TC, LDL-c, and DBP (p < 0.05). However, no group, sub-group, or interaction effects were observed when comparing FG, IG, or sexes (p > 0.05). The responses of the present study show that both multi-disciplinary approaches (family and individual) promoted improvement in the body composition indicators, biochemical markers, and DBP of overweight and obese adolescents independently of the intervention group. Given this finding, health professionals, families, and adolescents could choose the type of intervention based on their preferences.

This systematic review aimed to analyze the available studies that identified overweight and/or obesity as a risk factor for mortality, use of respiratory support, and changes in biochemical markers in adults hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2. The PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases were searched using PRISMA guidelines until January 2024. The protocol was registered with PROSPERO (code: CRD42024501551). Of the 473 articles, only 8 met the inclusion criteria (e.g., adult individuals aged 18 or over diagnosed with COVID-19 individuals with overweight and/or obesity). In addition, the Downs and Black tool was used to assess the quality of the studies. The studies analyzed totaled 9782 adults hospitalized for COVID-19, indicating that overweight and obesity are present in more than half of adults. Diseases such as diabetes mellitus and hypertension are more prevalent in adults with obesity. The systematic review also highlighted that a higher incidence of respiratory support is related to a higher incidence of hospitalization in intensive care units and that adults with overweight and obesity have a higher risk of mortality from COVID-19. Biochemical markers such as procalcitinin, C-reactive protein, and interleukin-6 are associated with the severity of COVID-19 infection. This systematic review exposed overweight and/or obesity as a risk factor for worse COVID-19 disease, as well as for the need for intensive care, respiratory support, mortality, and changes in essential blood markers.

A depressão é um transtorno afetivo caracterizado por intensa angústia e sentimentos de abatimento persistentes por períodos prolongados. Embora sua etiologia seja amplamente reconhecida como multifatorial, os papéis específicos de fatores genéticos e ambientais permanecem pouco explorados. Este estudo tem como objetivo realizar uma revisão integrativa para identificar o impacto do polimorfismo genético 5-HTTLPR na predisposição à depressão, bem como sua interação com fatores ambientais. Foi adotada uma metodologia pré-definida e sistemática com publicações de 2016 a 2024 nas línguas inglesa, portuguesa e espanhola disponíveis nas bases de dados: PubMed, Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS), Scielo e Google Acadêmico, culminando na seleção de 17 artigos que embasaram a análise e a discussão, organizadas em três categorias: Classe 1 - O polimorfismo 5-HTTLPR como fator puramente genético na predisposição à depressão; Classe 2 - Fatores puramente ambientais; Classe 3 - Herança multifatorial envolvendo o polimorfismo e fatores ambientais. Os resultados indicam que a depressão possui etiologia multifatorial, envolvendo a associação entre o polimorfismo 5-HTTLPR e situações de estresse ambiental. Apesar de esta relação não depender exclusivamente dos genótipos do polimorfismo, observa-se que o alelo S possui maior influência, uma vez que reduz o transporte e a absorção da serotonina.

Background/objectives: Considering the diverse symptomatology of COVID-19—ranging from mild to severe cases—multi-professional interventions are crucial for enhancing physical recovery, nutritional status, and mental health outcomes in affected patients. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effects of such an intervention on health-related physical fitness and biomarkers in overweight COVID-19 survivors with varying degrees of symptom severity after 8 weeks and 16 weeks. Methods: This non-randomized clinical trial included 59 overweight COVID-19 survivors (32 males and 27 females) divided into three groups: mild (n = 31), moderate (n = 13), and severe/critical (n = 15). The participants underwent a multi-professional program and were assessed for anthropometric and body composition (primary outcome), as well as physical fitness and biochemical markers (secondary outcome) 8 and 16 weeks before the intervention. Results: After 8 weeks, time effects were observed for the maximum isometric handgrip strength (p < 0.001), maximum isometric lumbar-traction strength (p = 0.01), flexibility (p < 0.001), abdominal strength–endurance (p < 0.001), the sit-and-stand test (p < 0.001), maximum oxygen consumption (p < 0.001), and distance covered in the 6 min walk test (p < 0.001). Additionally, time effects were also observed for fat mass (p = 0.03), body fat percentage (p = 0.02), abdominal circumference (p = 0.01), total cholesterol (p < 0.001), low-density lipoproteins (p < 0.001), and glycated hemoglobin (p < 0.001), with lower values after multi-professional interventions. After 16 weeks, the systolic and diastolic blood pressure showed significant reductions independently of the intervention group (p < 0.001). Conclusion: These findings suggest that multi-professional interventions can provide substantial benefits for post-COVID-19 patients, regardless of the severity of their initial symptoms.

Background: The aim was to investigate the effects of 12 and 24 weeks of interdisciplinary interventions on health-related physical fitness, biochemical markers, and food processing levels in overweight or obese adolescents. Methods: Thirty-one adolescents completed 24 weeks of nutritional, psychoeducational, and physical activity interventions in addition to assessments and tests carried out before, at 12 weeks, and after 24 weeks. Results: There were increases in lean mass (p = 0.003) and decreases in absolute and relative fat mass (p < 0.001) for both sexes, as well as increases in flexibility on the right and left sides (p < 0.001), maximum oxygen consumption (p < 0.001) increased after the interventions, time spent in isometric exercises on the plank increased (p > 0.05), total cholesterol after 12 weeks decreased (p = 0.014), triglycerides were reduced (p = 0.002), low-density lipoproteins were reduced (p < 0.001), consumption of more processed foods after 24 weeks decreased (p < 0.001), consumption of fresh foods in grams and kilocalories increased (p < 0.001), and, in addition, the consumption of processed and ultra-processed foods was reduced (p = 0.020). Conclusions: The 24-week interventions promoted superior benefits for adolescents’ physical, nutritional, and biochemical health, although the dropout rate was high (~50%).