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Associations Between Body Composition and Metabolic Health in Children With Obesity

Desiree Lopez-Gonzalez1,2, Patricia Clark1,2, Nayely Garibay-Nieto3

  • 1Clinical Epidemiology Research Unit, Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez, Mexico City, Mexico.

Maternal & Child Nutrition
|December 15, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Children with obesity and metabolic syndrome have more fat and lean mass than those with metabolically healthy obesity. Body composition significantly impacts metabolic health and risk in pediatric obesity.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Metabolic Health
  • Body Composition Analysis

Background:

  • Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern with varied metabolic outcomes.
  • Differentiating body composition in metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) versus metabolic syndrome (MS) is crucial for understanding metabolic health impacts.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between body composition and metabolic health status in children with obesity.
  • To compare body composition between children with MHO and those with MS.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study of 193 children aged 6-10 years with obesity (BMI >95th percentile).
  • Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) used to measure fat and lean mass distribution.
  • Classification of MHO and MS based on established criteria.

Main Results:

  • 45.1% of children had MHO; 25% had MS.
  • Children with MS exhibited significantly greater fat mass and lean mass compared to those with MHO.
  • Body composition indices strongly correlated with metabolic dysfunction (insulin resistance, hypoalphalipoproteinaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia).

Conclusions:

  • A clear association exists between body composition and metabolic syndrome status in pediatric obesity.
  • Not all obese children develop metabolic abnormalities, emphasizing the need for detailed body composition assessment.
  • Detailed body composition analysis is vital for assessing metabolic health risk in children with obesity.

Keywords:
DXAbody compositionchildrenmetabolic syndromemetabolically healthy obesity

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