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Cardiometabolic health related to onset, duration of obesity in adolescents
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Adolescent boys with obesity considered metabolically unhealthy were obese from an earlier age and for a longer period than boys with obesity who were considered metabolically healthy, according to study data.
“The relation of [metabolically healthy obesity] and metabolically unhealthy obesity (MUO) phenotypes in adolescence with the age of onset and the duration of obesity has not been widely studied,” Hana Zamrazilova, MA, PhD, of the Institute of Endocrinology in Prague, and colleagues wrote. “The aim of our study was to recognize potential determinants of [metabolically healthy obesity], particularly with respect to the time course of obesity, as well as lifestyle and dietary factors.”
The cross-sectional study identified two cohorts of adolescent boys with obesity from the Czech Republic with a BMI in the 97th percentile or higher for their ages. All participants were aged 13 to 17.9 years. Cohort 1 included 18 boys with at least three cardiometabolic risk factors such as hypertension, dyslipidemia and dysglycemia who were matched based on height, weight and BMI with 18 boys with metabolically healthy obesity (MHO). Cohort 2 consisted of 35 boys with at least two cardiometabolic risk factors who were compared with 31 boys with MHO. Participants provided information on their dietary habits by recording their dietary intake for two weekdays and one weekend day.
Researchers determined that the status of a participant’s cardiometabolic health was not related to their birth weight or length. However, boys with MUO had an earlier onset of obesity than those with MHO (4.3 vs. 9.1 years; P = .005). The adolescents with MUO also had been obese for a longer period of time than those who had MHO (11.2 years vs. 6.4 years; P = .003). The researchers noted that they found no association between sleep duration or diet and cardiometabolic health.
“In conclusion, the study provides some evidence that a longer duration and earlier onset of obesity in boys is related to unhealthy metabolic phenotype already at adolescence,” the researchers wrote. – by Andy Polhamus
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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