Overweight/Obesity in Childhood and the Risk of Early Puberty: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

To determine the relationship between childhood overweight/obesity and early puberty in both boys and girls. Specifically, this is the first time to conduct a meta-analysis of the relationship between childhood overweight/obesity and early puberty in boys.

Relevant studies were identified from PubMed, Web of Science, and EMBASE searches. The exposure of interest was overweight/obesity in childhood. Childhood was defined internationally as the age range of 0-18 years. The overall risk estimates were pooled using random effects models. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed to explore possible sources of heterogeneity and to assess the robustness of the results.

A total of 10 studies involving 13,338 girls and 12,796 boys were included. Results showed that childhood overweight/obesity were associated with a significantly higher risk of early puberty in girls [odds ratio (OR): 2.22, 95% CI: 1.65-2.99]. Although without statistical significance, a higher risk of early puberty was also found in boys who were overweight/obese in childhood (OR: 1.29, 95% CI: 0.98-1.70). Heterogeneity in the risk estimates of early puberty was partially explained by study design, sample size, follow-up duration, definitions of early puberty and confounders controlled. Sensitivity analyses validated the robustness of the findings.

Our findings showed that for girls the associate between overweight/obesity and early puberty is definite or strong whereas for males, such an association is possible, prompting that future studies need to further explore the possible relationship between overweight/obesity and early puberty in boys.

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021264649, PROSPERO CRD42021264649.