Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37823001›Full record

ArticleExposome2023

The contribution to policies of an exposome-based approach to childhood obesity.

Paolo Vineis, Evangelos Handakas, Rossella Alfano, Christopher Millett, Daniela Fecht, Leda Chatzi, Michelle Plusquin, Tim Nawrot, Lorenzo Richiardi, Henrique Barros and 3 more

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Exposome, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 29% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Global research trends on the human exposome: a bibliometric analysis (2005-2024).Environmental science and pollution research international · 2025
    Review
  4. Review
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 8 institutions in 6 countries.

Paolo VineisMRC Centre for Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College, London, UK.
Evangelos HandakasMRC Centre for Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College, London, UK.
Rossella AlfanoCentre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium.
Christopher MillettPublic Health Policy Evaluation Unit, School of Public Heath, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Daniela FechtMRC Centre for Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College, London, UK.
Leda ChatziDepartment of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Michelle PlusquinCentre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium.
Tim NawrotCentre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium.
Lorenzo RichiardiCancer Epidemiology Unit, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
Henrique BarrosDepartamento de Ciências da Saúde Pública e Forenses e Educação Médica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Martine VrijheidInstitute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona, Spain.
Franco SassiCentre for Health Economics and Policy Innovation, Department of Economics and Public Policy, Imperial College Business School, London, UK.
Oliver RobinsonMRC Centre for Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College, London, UK.
Hasselt University · BEMRC Centre for Environment and HealthImperial College London · GBPublic Health England · GBUniversidade do Porto · PTUniversitat Pompeu Fabra · ESUniversity of Southern California · USUniversity of Turin · IT

Funding

Medical Research Council MR/S03532X/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Childhood obesity is an increasingly severe public health problem, with a prospective impact on health. We propose an exposome approach to identify actionable risk factors for this condition. Our assumption is that relationships between external exposures and outcomes such as rapid growth, overweight, or obesity in children can be better understood through a "meet-in-the-middle" model. This is based on a combination of external and internal exposome-based approaches, that is, the study of multiple exposures (in our case, dietary patterns) and molecular pathways (metabolomics and epigenetics). This may strengthen causal reasoning by identifying intermediate markers that are associated with both exposures and outcomes. Our biomarker-based studies in the STOP consortium suggest (in several ways, including mediation analysis) that branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) could be mediators of the effect of dietary risk factors on childhood overweight/obesity. This is consistent with intervention and animal studies showing that higher intake of BCAAs has a positive impact on body composition, glycemia, and satiety. Concerning food, of particular concern is the trend of increasing intake of ultra-processed food (UPF), including among children. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain the impact of UPF on obesity and overweight, including nutrient intake (particularly proteins), changes in appetite, or the role of additives. Research from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children cohort has shown a relationship between UPF intake and trajectories in childhood adiposity, while UPF was related to lower blood levels of BCAAs. We suggest that an exposome-based approach can help strengthening causal reasoning and support policies. Intake of UPF in children should be restricted to prevent obesity.

Indexed as

adipositybranched chain amino acidsmeet-in-the-middlemetabolomicsmulti-omicspolicy

Identifiers

PMID37823001
PMCPMC7615122
OpenAlexW4378390578

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.