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Updated: May 15, 2025
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Childhood obesity: The threatening apprentice of the adiposity empire
J Karina Zapata1, Javier Gómez-Ambrosi2,3,4, Gema Frühbeck5,6,7,8
1Department of Endocrinology and Nutrition, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
Insights
Childhood obesity, defined as excessive body adiposity, is a growing global health issue. Accurate diagnosis is crucial for managing associated cardiometabolic risks and improving long-term health outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Metabolic Disorders
Background:
- Childhood obesity prevalence has tripled globally since 1975, affecting both developing and high-income nations.
- Obesity is accurately defined by excessive body adiposity, not just excess body weight.
- Body Mass Index (BMI) is commonly used but may not fully capture pathological body composition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the health impacts of childhood obesity.
- To discuss the diagnostic challenges and the role of body adiposity.
- To emphasize the need for precise diagnosis for improved health outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Review of current definitions and diagnostic tools for childhood obesity.
- Analysis of health consequences linked to excess adiposity in children and adolescents.
- Discussion of the limitations of Body Mass Index (BMI) in assessing obesity.
Main Results:
- Excess adiposity in youth is linked to adult cardiovascular disease and comorbidities like metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and fatty liver disease.
- Body Mass Index (BMI) is a widely used but potentially imprecise measure for obesity classification.
- Pathological body composition can exist within normal BMI ranges, underscoring diagnostic limitations.
Conclusions:
- Accurate diagnosis of dysfunctional adiposity is essential for effective management of childhood obesity.
- Improved understanding and diagnosis can lead to better treatment strategies and improved cardiometabolic risk prognosis.
- Health professionals need precise tools to address childhood obesity comprehensively.
Abstract:
Childhood obesity is a global health problem, with its prevalence having tripled since 1975. The increase in its prevalence has been predominantly in developing countries, but also in those with high economic status. Nowadays, there are multiple obesity definitions, however, one of the most accurate is the one which defines obesity as the accumulation of excessive body adiposity and not as an body weight excess. Nevertheless, the body mass index (BMI) is the most frequently used tool for its classification, according to the cut-off points established by the Center for Disease Control and World Health Organization tables. In children and adolescents an adiposity excess is related to the appearance of cardiovascular disease in adulthood and with many comorbidities such as metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, among others. Currently, there is still controversy about which is the ideal indicator for measuring overweight and obesity. BMI is still used as a standardized measure but may miss cases in which body composition is pathological despite a BMI within the normal-weight category. An adequate knowledge of the impact on health of dysfunctional adiposity as well as its accurate diagnosis will allow health professionals to address this condition in a more precise and comprehensive manner, and substantially improve the associated cardiometabolic risk and prognosis.
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