Sex-Specific Associations of Childhood BMI Patterns with Cardiometabolic Risk: An 11-Year Korean Longitudinal Study

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Public Health
• Endocrinology

Background:

• Childhood overweight and obesity are significant risk factors for adverse cardiometabolic outcomes.
• Longitudinal data is essential for understanding the long-term health implications of sustained childhood weight status.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the sex-specific associations between maintained childhood overweight status and cardiometabolic risk factors in late adolescence.
• To utilize data from a Korean longitudinal study for this analysis.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of the Korean Children-Adolescents Study cohort (n=899) with consistent body mass index (BMI) status from ages 7-9 and 10-12.
• Categorization into normal weight maintenance and overweight maintenance groups.
• Multivariable linear regression to assess associations between BMI patterns and cardiometabolic risk factors, adjusting for covariates.

Main Results:

• Boys with maintained overweight status showed significantly higher BMI, waist circumference, body fat percentage, trunk fat mass, and liver enzymes at ages 15 and 18.
• Girls with maintained overweight status exhibited elevated BMI, waist circumference, body fat percentage, trunk fat mass, blood pressure, and earlier pubertal onset.
• 12.8% of boys and 5.9% of girls were classified in the overweight maintenance group.

Conclusions:

• Sustained overweight status in childhood is associated with adverse cardiometabolic profiles in adolescence.
• Significant sex-specific differences exist in these associations.
• Emphasizes the need for early, sex-tailored interventions to mitigate long-term health risks from childhood obesity.