Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 14, 2025

A Pathway Association Study Tool for GWAS Analyses of Metabolic Pathway Information
05:01

A Pathway Association Study Tool for GWAS Analyses of Metabolic Pathway Information

Published on: July 1, 2020

3.4K

Paediatric obesity: a systematic review and pathway mapping of metabolic alterations underlying early disease

Margot De Spiegeleer1, Ellen De Paepe1, Lieven Van Meulebroek1

  • 1Laboratory of Chemical Analysis, Department of Translational Physiology, Infectiology and Public Health, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820, Merelbeke, Belgium.

Molecular Medicine (Cambridge, Mass.)
|November 7, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Childhood obesity involves metabolic shifts, including altered lipid, carbohydrate, and amino acid pathways. Metabolomics identifies early biomarkers for insulin resistance, crucial for preventing future health issues in children.

Area of Science:

  • Metabolomics and Molecular Biology
  • Paediatric Endocrinology
  • Nutritional Science

Background:

  • Childhood obesity is a growing concern, linked to early metabolic complications.
  • Limited understanding of molecular mechanisms in paediatric obesity and comorbidities.
  • Need for early identification of metabolic abnormalities in children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Systematically review metabolites associated with paediatric obesity and metabolic abnormalities.
  • Identify early-stage biomarkers for childhood obesity and related insulin resistance.
  • Map metabolic pathways and networks implicated in early-onset metabolic dysfunction.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic literature search of Web of Science, Pubmed, and EMBASE (2015-2021).
  • Global metabolomic profiling across blood, urine, saliva, and adipose tissue.
  • Analysis of 40 selected articles from 2792 screened publications.

Main Results:

  • Identified differential alterations in lipid, carbohydrate, and amino acid metabolism pathways.
  • High lactate, pyruvate, alanine, and acetate indicate hypoxic conditions and dysbiosis.
  • Aberrant tryptophan metabolism (kynurenine pathway) and branched-chain amino acids linked to insulin resistance.

Conclusions:

  • Childhood obesity is characterized by dysregulated metabolic pathways, primarily driven by impending insulin resistance.
  • Metabolomics can identify early biomarkers for childhood obesity and associated insulin resistance.
  • Early detection of metabolic disturbances aids in preventing future unhealthy phenotypes.
Abstract

Keywords:
Childhood obesityDiabetesImpaired glucose toleranceLipidomicsMetabolic diseaseMetabolomics

More Related Videos

Sample Preparation to Bioinformatics Analysis of DNA Methylation: Association Strategy for Obesity and Related Trait Studies14:56

Sample Preparation to Bioinformatics Analysis of DNA Methylation: Association Strategy for Obesity and Related Trait Studies

Published on: May 6, 2022

4.7K
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study09:36

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study

Published on: February 2, 2017

27.3K

Related Concept Videos

Pharmacokinetics in Obese Patients: Drug Metabolism and Excretion01:20

Pharmacokinetics in Obese Patients: Drug Metabolism and Excretion

Drug metabolism, a critical process in the liver, involves two primary phases: Phase I reactions and Phase II conjugation. Obesity introduces significant alterations in this metabolic process, primarily due to fatty infiltration of the liver, leading to conditions such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This condition can modify the activities of both Phase I and II enzymes, impacting how drugs are metabolized in obese patients.Phase I metabolism sees variable effects across...
20
Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Metabolism01:24

Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Metabolism

In pediatric care, understanding the nuances of hepatic drug metabolism is crucial, as it significantly differs from that of adults. This divergence is primarily due to the developmental stage of drug-metabolizing enzymes, which affects how medications are processed in the body. In neonates, for instance, the activity of Phase I enzymes—critical for the initial breakdown of drugs—is markedly reduced, functioning at just 20–40% of the levels seen in adults. This reduction poses...
32
Obesity01:24

Obesity

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a numerical value derived from a person's weight and height, used to categorize individuals into weight ranges. It is calculated using the formula: weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. Obesity is a health condition characterized by excessive accumulation of adipose tissue that poses health risks, often diagnosed with a BMI ≥ 30. This excess fat storage occurs when surplus dietary calories are converted into triglycerides and stored in...
716
Inborn Errors of Metabolism01:20

Inborn Errors of Metabolism

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a protein metabolism disorder characterized by high blood levels of the amino acid phenylalanine. This results from a mutation in the gene responsible for phenylalanine hydroxylase, an enzyme that converts phenylalanine into tyrosine. When this enzyme is deficient, phenylalanine builds up in the blood, leading to symptoms such as vomiting, rashes, seizures, growth deficiency, and severe mental retardation. An early diagnosis and a diet restricting phenylalanine intake...
328
Regulation of Metabolism01:19

Regulation of Metabolism

Cellular needs and conditions vary from cell to cell and change within individual cells over time. For example, the required enzymes and energetic demands of stomach cells are different from those of fat storage cells, skin cells, blood cells, and nerve cells. Furthermore, a digestive cell works much harder to process and break down nutrients during the time that closely follows a meal compared with many hours after a meal. As these cellular demands and conditions vary, so do the amounts and...
10.4K