[Autonomic homeostasis and the specific features of adaptation in children with obesity]

The autonomic nervous system and the adaptive mechanisms associated with neuroautonomic cardiac rhythm regulation were studied in obese children. The study covered 187 untreated children aged 6-16 years who had exogenous constitutional (n = 68), diencephalic (n = 20) obesity and hypothalamic puberty syndrome (n = 99). The study was conducted by computer-aided (statistic, spectral) analysis of cardiac rhythm variability. The regulatory system activity index was calculated to assess the tension of adaptive mechanisms. The results were compared with those obtained in 107 apparently healthy children matched by gender and age. The enhanced activity of subcortical nerve centers with a predominance of sympathetic effects was observed in 38.7% of children with puberty obesity. The state of adaptive processes was regarded as a pronounced functional strain, overstrain, and exhaustion of regulatory systems in 31.1% of 6-10-year-old children and 29.5% of 11-16-year-old ones with obesity.