Obesity and its role in the development of metabolic syndrome in children

The health basis and correct lifestyle habits, including proper nutrition, are formed in the childhood and adolescence. An excess or deficiency of certain nutrients can cause chronic forms of alimentary-dependent pathology. Childhood obesity results in both short-term and long-term unfavorable effects on physical and psychosocial health. The article presents modern ideas about the pathogenesis of the metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents, diagnostic, prevention and treatment methods.

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Adiponectin in Childhood and Adolescent Obesity and Its Association with Inflammatory Markers and Components of the Metabolic Syndrome

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism ◽

10.1210/jc.2006-0733 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 91 (11) ◽

pp. 4415-4423 ◽

Cited By ~ 106

Author(s):

Jeffrey C. Winer ◽

Tosca L. Zern ◽

Sara E. Taksali ◽

James Dziura ◽

Anna M. G. Cali ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Insulin Resistance ◽

Metabolic Syndrome ◽

Childhood Obesity ◽

High Density Lipoprotein ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Density Lipoprotein ◽

High Density ◽

Low Grade ◽

Obese Children ◽

The Metabolic Syndrome

Abstract Context: Adiponectin levels are lower in obese children and adolescents, whereas markers of inflammation and proinflammatory cytokines are higher. Hypoadiponectinemia may contribute to the low-grade systemic chronic inflammatory state associated with childhood obesity. Objective: We investigated whether C-reactive protein (CRP), the prototype of inflammation, is related to adiponectin levels independently of insulin resistance and adiposity. Design, Setting, Participants, and Main Outcome Measures: In a multiethnic cohort of 589 obese children and adolescents, we administered a standard oral glucose tolerance test and obtained baseline measurements for adiponectin, plasma lipid profile, CRP, IL-6, and leptin. Results: Stratifying the cohort into quartiles of adiponectin levels and adjusting for potential confounding variables, such as age, gender, ethnicity, body mass index z-score, pubertal status, and insulin sensitivity, the present study revealed that low levels of adiponectin are associated not only with higher CRP levels, but also with components of the metabolic syndrome, such as low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and a high triglyceride-to-high-density-lipoprotein ratio. Conclusions: The link between adiponectin levels and a strong marker of inflammation, CRP, is independent of insulin resistance and adiposity in obese children and adolescents. Adiponectin may be one of the signals linking inflammation and obesity. Thus, adiponectin may function as a biomarker of the metabolic syndrome in childhood obesity.

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Insulin resistance and obesity in childhood

Acta Endocrinologica ◽

10.1530/eje-08-0245 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 159 (suppl_1) ◽

pp. S67-S74 ◽

Cited By ~ 120

Author(s):

Francesco Chiarelli ◽

Maria Loredana Marcovecchio

Keyword(s):

Insulin Resistance ◽

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Metabolic Syndrome ◽

Childhood Obesity ◽

Glucose Tolerance ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Glucose Tolerance Test ◽

Tolerance Test ◽

Oral Glucose ◽

The Metabolic Syndrome

Childhood obesity is a significant health problem that has reached epidemic proportions around the world and is associated with several metabolic and cardiovascular complications. Insulin resistance is a common feature of childhood obesity and is considered to be an important link between adiposity and the associated risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Insulin resistance is also a key component of the metabolic syndrome, and its prevalence in the paediatric population is increasing, particularly among obese children and adolescents. Several factors are implicated in the pathogenesis of obesity-related insulin resistance, such as increased free fatty acids and many hormones and cytokines released by adipose tissue.Valid and reliable methods are essential to assess the presence and the extent of insulin resistance, the associated risk factors and the effect of pharmacological and lifestyle interventions. The two most common tests to assess insulin resistance are the hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp and the frequently sampled i.v. glucose tolerance test utilizing the minimal model. However, both these tests are not easily accomplished, are time consuming, expensive and invasive. Simpler methods to assess insulin resistance based on surrogate markers derived from an oral glucose tolerance test or from fasting insulin and glucose levels have been validated in children and adolescents and widely used.Given the strong association between obesity, insulin resistance and the development of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease, prevention and treatment of childhood obesity appear to be essential to prevent the development of insulin resistance and the associated complications.

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Novel Insights in the Metabolic Syndrome in Childhood and Adolescence

Hormone Research in Paediatrics ◽

10.1159/000479510 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 88 (3-4) ◽

pp. 181-193 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

Sarah Bussler ◽

Melanie Penke ◽

Gunter Flemming ◽

Yasir S. Elhassan ◽

Jürgen Kratzsch ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Metabolic Syndrome ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Sleep Disturbances ◽

Childhood And Adolescence ◽

Metabolic Disturbances ◽

Alcoholic Fatty Liver ◽

The Metabolic Syndrome ◽

Essential Components ◽

Obesity Hypertension

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is recognized as an escalating major health risk in adults as well as in children and adolescents. Its prevalence ranges from 6 to 39% depending on the applied definition criteria. To date, there is no consensus on a MetS definition for children and adolescents. However, most authors agree on essential components such as glucose intolerance, central obesity, hypertension, and dyslipidemia; each representing a risk for cardiovascular disease. Recently, associations between MetS and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, hyperuricemia, and sleep disturbances have emerged. Biomarkers like adipocytokines are a subject of current research as they are implicated in the pathogenesis of the MetS. Epigenetics and gestational programming, especially the role of microRNA, comprise a novel, rapidly developing and promising research focus on the topic of MetS. MicroRNAs are increasingly valued for potential roles in the diagnosis, stratification, and therapeutics of MetS. Early detection of risk factors, screening for metabolic disturbances, and the identification of new therapies are major aims to reduce morbidity and mortality related to MetS. Dietary modification and physical activity are currently the only adopted treatment approaches. Pharmacological therapies and bariatric surgery are still contradictory and, therefore, are only recommended in selected high-risk cases.

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Children and adolescents’ obesity is the 21st century health problem

Kazan medical journal ◽

10.17816/kmj2020-381 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 101 (3) ◽

pp. 381-388 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

O V Bocharova ◽

E D Teplyakova

Keyword(s):

Childhood Obesity ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Intestinal Microbiota ◽

Genetic Factors ◽

Molecular Genetic ◽

Psychosocial Health ◽

Overweight And Obesity ◽

Pubmed Central ◽

Obesity In Children

The article presents a literature review which devotes to one of the major issues of healthcare today obesity in children and adolescents. The consequences of childhood obesity, methods of determination and pathophysiology of obesity are described in detail. It was considered the influence of genetic factors in the formation of obesity, the effect of intestinal microbiota in the pathogenesis of obesity. The literature search was carried out in the databases of NCBI, PubMed, PubMed Central, eLIBRARY.ru, etc. Obesity in children and adolescents is one of the most important issues for people from most countries in today's world. Worldwide, the prevalence of this pathology has increased over the past three decades. Obesity in children and adolescents is a complex, multifactorial disease in which genetic and non-genetic factors can be identified. Although the vast majority of childhood obesity incidents are exogenous, a small proportion may have endogenous causes. Currently, particular importance is attached to the study of hereditary predictors of obesity and its main complications. Being a complex and inherited trait (disease), obesity is a consequence of the interaction of genetic predisposition, epigenetics, metagenomics, and the environment. Also, recent experimental and clinical data show the importance of intestinal microbiota, which can cause overweight and obesity in some patients. Molecular genetic studies have confirmed changes in intestinal biocenosis with developing obesity in children and adolescents. Obesity, which began in childhood, causes short-term and long-term adverse effects on physical and psychosocial health and largely becomes a risk factor for the development of various metabolic disorders and cardiovascular pathology. Understanding the multifactorial mechanisms involved in the formation of obesity in children and adolescents provides opportunities for the early prevention of obesity and its complications.

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Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in Children and Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus and Possibilities of Prevention and Treatment: A Systematic Review

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu13061782 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 1782

Author(s):

Monika Grabia ◽

Renata Markiewicz-Żukowska ◽

Katarzyna Socha

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Metabolic Syndrome ◽

Type 1 Diabetes ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Treatment Options ◽

Overweight And Obesity ◽

Excess Body Weight ◽

Healthy Population ◽

Prevention And Treatment

Overweight and obesity are an increasingly common problem, not only among the healthy population, but also in adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1DM). Excess body weight is related to many cardiometabolic complications as well as a high risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS). The purpose of this systematic review is to provide a concise and critical overview of the prevalence of MetS in children and adolescents with T1DM and, ultimately, to discuss prevention and treatment options. The study was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. This review shows that, apart from the growing percentage of overweight and obese children and adolescents with T1DM (on average 20.1% and 9.5%, respectively), the problem of the increasing incidence of MetS (range from 3.2 to 29.9%, depending on the criteria used) is one of the most important phenomena of our time. One of the methods of prevention and treatment is a combined approach: changing eating habits and lifestyle, but there are also reports about the beneficial effects of the gut microflora.

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