Growing up, AnnaMarie Fortuna was always an active child. She played softball and basketball and was also a cheerleader. But by the time she was in high school, she was no longer interested in team sports.
It was around this time, in 2010, when Fortuna's dad caught wind of a Yale-based program promoting healthy lifestyles for local youth. It was called Bright Bodies, and it offered everything from physical activities to nutrition education.
Twice per week, Fortuna would attend sessions with other young people. Sometimes, they'd be in the classroom learning about processed food, carbohydrates, and sugar. Other times, they'd be outside jogging or playing basketball. "I did end up really enjoying a lot of what they had to offer," Fortuna said.
Fortuna, who is now 31, enjoyed much of what the program had to offer. It helped her feel less alone, especially as a young person struggling with her weight. And she remains friends with some of the other people who participated in the program. "We were truly all in it together," she said. "I really loved that."
The Bright Bodies program was just one piece of a broader effort by Yale researchers who over the past three decades have sought to better understand the impacts of metabolic health early in life. Over that period they have partnered with more than 2,500 children and teens from across Connecticut, working to advance the understanding of which biological factors improve or worsen metabolic health in childhood.
Today, that work continues through the Yale Legacy Collaborative, which is now calling on those children who'd been part of the program years ago - including Fortuna and her peers - to be part of the next chapter of this research.
Filling a gap
During the 1980s and 1990s, obesity prevalence among children and teens tripled, from nearly 5% to about 15%, according to the Centers for Disease Control. This rise in body weights caused unprecedented increases in abnormal glucose tolerance, prediabetes, and Type 2 diabetes.
At the time, pediatric endocrinologist Sonia Caprio was trying to understand these trends. So she launched a clinic dedicated to these young people and their families, many of struggled with these and other health challenges.
