The levels of adipocyte protein, a transporter of fatty acids, and adiponectin in the adolescents presenting with obesity and their relationship with the distribution of the adipose tissue
This study included 130 patients at the age of 14-17 years presenting with constitutional exogenous obesity (CEO) and 24 children without obesity (controls). The levels of adipocyte protein, a transporter of fatty acids (FABP4), in the sera of the adolescents with CEO were significantly higher than in the absence of obesity. They did not depend on the stage of puberty and differed in the children of different sex. The serum adiponectin level in the boys showed negative correlation with the amount of visceral adipose tissue and decreased progressively with the increase in the degree of obesity. The rise in the serum FABP4 level in the girls was associated with the increase in the amount of subcutaneous adipose tissue and positively correlated with the severity of obesity. Visceral obesity in the adolescents was accompanied by a variety of metabolic disorders while changes in the waist circumference did not reflect dynamics in the amount of visceral adipose tissue.