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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
09:36

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study

Published on: February 2, 2017

Body size, body composition, and metabolic profile explain higher energy expenditure in overweight children

Nancy F Butte1, Maurice R Puyau, Firoz A Vohra

  • 1USDA/Agricultural Research Service Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA. nbutte@bcm.edu

The Journal of Nutrition
|November 22, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Overweight children expend more energy, but this is mainly due to larger body size and composition, not altered metabolism. Differences in energy expenditure, efficiency, and fuel use were not evident in overweight children after adjustments.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Endocrinology
  • Human Metabolism
  • Obesity Research

Background:

  • Obesity in children is often linked to altered energy metabolism, including lower energy expenditure and increased efficiency.
  • However, these associations have not been consistently proven in overweight pediatric populations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate differences in energy metabolism between nonoverweight and overweight children.
  • To determine if body size, composition, thyroid hormones, or sympathoadrenal activity explain these metabolic differences.

Main Methods:

  • 24-hour calorimetry, anthropometry, and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry were performed on 836 Hispanic children (5-19 years).
  • Biochemical analyses included thyroid hormones, catecholamines, and lipids.
  • Statistical adjustments were made for body size and composition.

Main Results:

  • Absolute total energy expenditure (TEE) and its components were higher in overweight children.
  • Overweight children exhibited lower net mechanical energetic efficiency during cycling.
  • Adjusting for body size and composition eliminated differences in TEE, its components, and energetic efficiency.
  • Net carbohydrate and fat utilization did not differ between groups.

Conclusions:

  • Higher energy expenditure in overweight children is primarily explained by larger body size and composition.
  • Minor contributions from thyroid and sympathoadrenal systems were observed.
  • No significant alterations in energy expenditure, energetic efficiency, or substrate utilization were evident in overweight children after accounting for body composition.

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