A study published on bmj.com today suggests that being obese as a child or adolescent may have a larger effect on future health than previously thought.
Studies Show Concern Over Weight-loss Drug Rimonabant
Two overviews of trials of weight-loss drugs have added to concerns that the obesity treatment rimonabant may boost the risk of depression and anxiety.
Two overviews of trials of weight-loss drugs have added to concerns that the obesity treatment rimonabant may boost the risk of depression and anxiety.
Researchers at the University of Oxford show that obese children and adolescents have several risk factors for heart disease including raised blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels, and a thickening of the heart muscle, compared with normal weight children.
They warn that, if these risk factors are allowed to progress into adulthood, obese children could already be at a 30-40% higher risk of future stroke and heart disease than their normal weight counterparts.
Micro-RNA in Obesity -Related Metabolic Abnormalities
People who suffer from obesity-associated metabolic abnormalities, such as type II diabetes and fatty liver disease, have higher levels of a micro-RNA.
People who suffer from obesity-associated metabolic abnormalities, such as type II diabetes and fatty liver disease, have higher levels of a micro-RNA.
So a team of researchers based at the University of Oxford set out to examine the scale of the association between weight and risk factors for heart disease in children.
Advertisement
Minority Children at a Higher Risk for Weight Problems in Both the US and England: Study
In the US and England, race, ethnicity and immigrant status are the risk factors for weight problems among children.
In the US and England, race, ethnicity and immigrant status are the risk factors for weight problems among children.
The studies measured weight and one or more known cardiovascular disease risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and blood glucose levels.
Advertisement
Japanese Go Bananas Over Weight Loss Diet
Japanese go bananas over bananas. Yes, the new weight loss diet centered on bananas has taken the country by storm.
Japanese go bananas over bananas. Yes, the new weight loss diet centered on bananas has taken the country by storm.
Compared with normal weight children, obese children had significantly higher blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Overweight children also had raised blood pressure, but to a lesser degree than obese children.
Fasting insulin levels and insulin resistance (known markers for diabetes) were significantly higher in obese children, but not in overweight children.
Obese children also had a significant increase in left ventricular mass (a thickening of the heart muscle and often a marker for heart disease) compared with normal weight children, even after adjusting for height.The authors say that the exact ages at which changes in a child's risk factors begin need to be established to help build a more accurate picture of the cardiovascular risk these young people are likely to face as adults.
"Weight, and especially obesity, has a significant effect on the risk parameters for cardiovascular disease that are present in children from age five years," they conclude. "This effect could give them a head start on their normal and even overweight classmates for future cardiovascular disease, diabetes and stroke."
In an accompanying editorial, Lee Hudson and Russell Viner at the UCL Institute of Child Health in London, say this review "provides a stark illustration of the probable threat that childhood obesity poses to disease burden in the population."
They say further work is needed to guide assessment and treatment decisions, and to tease out the effects of age and pubertal status on cardiovascular risk. In the meantime, the findings "challenge us to rethink our approaches to identifying cardiometabolic abnormalities in obese children."
Source-Eurekalert
