Inflammatory mediators in overweight and obese Spanish adolescents. The AVENA Study

The aim of this study was to clarify if there is an association between overweight and a state of chronic, low-grade inflammation in adolescents.

The study is a part of the cross-sectional multicenter study AVENA, designed to evaluate the nutritional status of a representative sample of Spanish adolescents. The adolescents were divided into two groups: (1) nonoverweight and (2) overweight/obesity using the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) standards.

A geographically representative subsample of the AVENA study including 493 Spanish adolescents, aged 13-18 y (236 females/257 males), participated in this study.

Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and in vitro production of interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha were measured, together with a detailed anthropometry.

The inflammatory markers showed generally higher values in subjects with overweight/obesity than in those with nonoverweight, with only CRP showing significant differences (the means were 0.83 and 1.27 mg/l in the nonoverweight and overweight/obesity groups, respectively).

Although we have not studied if adolescent overweight and obesity play an initiating role in the development of future diseases, we suggest it may induce a chronic low-grade inflammatory state, which points out the importance of maintaining an appropriate body weight, to avoid obesity-related diseases in adulthood.