Excessive body weight during adolescence represents a significant public health problem worldwide. Identifying factors associated with its development is crucial. We estimated the prevalence of overweight and obesity in a representative sample of 11, 13 and, 15-year-olds living in Greece and explored the association with diet-related behaviours and habits. Self-reported data on weight, height, diet-related behaviours and habits were used from 3816 students (1898 boys, 1918 girls) participants in the Greek arm of the international Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) study during 2018. Overweight and obesity were defined using the 2007 WHO growth charts classification. Prevalence of overweight was 19.4% in the total sample, 24.1% for boys and 14.7% for girls, and prevalence of obesity was 5.3% in the total sample, 7.3% for boys and 3.4% for girls, respectively. In the total sample, overweight (including obesity) was positively associated with male gender, low family affluence, skipping breakfast, and being on a diet, and inversely associated with age and being physically active. Eating rarely with the family was positively associated with overweight only among boys and eating snacks/meals in front of screens only among girls. No association was noted for eating in fast-food restaurants, consuming vegetables, fruits, sweets, and sugar-sweetened beverages.

Hypertension is a leading cardiovascular risk factor with substantial global impact on morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. While lifestyle interventions remain central to management, mHealth technologies offer promising adjunctive support, though their clinical effectiveness remains uncertain. This study evaluated whether combining dietetic counseling with digital tools improves hemodynamic markers in adults aged ≥55 years with increased cardiometabolic risk. This 3-month RCT (NCT05031299) included 954 adults with at least one metabolic syndrome risk factor, allocated 1:1:1 to Standard Care (dietetic counseling), Platform (counseling plus web-based platform), or Platform + Devices (counseling plus platform plus wearables). Outcomes included anthropometrics, lifestyle characteristics, blood pressure, pulse pressure, and estimated pulse wave velocity, analyzed using linear mixed-effects models adjusted for age and sex. All groups improved over 3 months. Waist circumference decreased by -6.29, -4.92, and -4.69 cm across Standard Care, Platform, and Platform + Devices groups respectively, and systolic blood pressure declined by -4.84 to -7.15 mmHg across groups. The Platform + Devices group showed greater increases in physical activity (94.62 MET-min/week; 95% CI 66.49 to 122.76) and greater reductions in pulse pressure (-3.90 mmHg; -6.58 to -1.22) versus Standard Care. Weight loss was associated with lower odds of hypertension (OR 0.4; 95% CI 0.2-0.7), greater likelihood of hypertension reversal (OR 3.6; 1.2-10.3), and higher probability of achieving normal pulse pressure (OR 1.8; 1.1-3.1). Dietary lifestyle intervention improved cardiometabolic outcomes, with limited added benefit from digital tools. Weight loss was the primary driver of hemodynamic improvement.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of dietetic counseling with digital tools on obesity‐related and metabolic outcomes in adults aged ≥ 55 years at high risk for metabolic syndrome (MetS). Methods: In this 3‐month randomized controlled trial, 984 adults aged ≥ 55 years with ≥ 1 MetS risk factor were randomized (1:1:1) to: standard care (monthly dietetic counseling), standard care plus web‐based platform, or standard care plus platform and digital devices. Analyses included 954 participants and used linear mixed‐effect models under a missing‐at‐random assumption adjusted for age and sex. The primary outcome was change in waist circumference. Secondary outcomes included BMI, body composition indices, physical activity, and glycemic markers. Results: Waist circumference decreased in all groups (−6.29, −4.92, −4.69 cm), with smaller reductions in the platform (MD −1.38 cm; 95% CI −2.37 to −0.38) and platform + devices groups (MD −1.61 cm; 95% CI −2.61 to −0.60). BMI, body composition indices, and glycemic markers improved similarly across groups. Physical activity increased more in the platform + devices group (MD +55.52 MET‐min/week; 95% CI 15.32 to 95.72). Conclusions: Dietetic counseling improved anthropometric and metabolic outcomes in adults at risk for MetS. Digital tools enhanced physical activity but did not provide additional short‐term metabolic benefits. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05031299

Dietary and physical activity interventions are considered the cornerstone in obesity management, however their efficacy at community settings has not been