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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

The association between morning cortisol and adiposity in children varies by weight status

Emily E Hill1, Joey C Eisenmann, Douglas Gentile

  • 1Department of Kinesiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.

Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology & Metabolism : JPEM
|December 8, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Morning cortisol levels showed a positive association with changes in waist circumference among overweight children over nine months. This suggests a potential link between stress hormones and adiposity progression in this group.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric endocrinology
  • Childhood obesity research
  • Stress physiology

Background:

  • Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern.
  • Cortisol, a stress hormone, has been implicated in metabolic regulation.
  • Understanding the relationship between cortisol and adiposity in children is crucial for developing effective interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between morning salivary cortisol levels and measures of adiposity (BMI and waist circumference) in children.
  • To examine these associations at baseline and after a 9-month follow-up period.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses were performed on data from 649 children (aged 9.6 years) at baseline and 316 children at follow-up.
  • Adiposity was assessed using Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC).
  • Morning salivary cortisol levels were measured from single samples.

Main Results:

  • No significant correlations were observed between baseline cortisol and BMI or WC in the overall cohort.
  • Baseline cortisol did not predict changes in BMI z-score or WC over the 9-month follow-up.
  • However, among overweight children, baseline cortisol was significantly associated with increases in WC and BMI z-score over the follow-up period.

Conclusions:

  • Morning cortisol levels are positively related to increases in waist circumference over nine months in overweight children.
  • Further research is recommended to explore the association between 24-hour cortisol patterns and direct measures of trunk fat in pediatric populations.
Abstract

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