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Intra-abdominal fat in obese children
F Iwata1, K Taniguchi, H Yamazaki
1Department of Pediatrics, Nihon University, School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Insights
Visceral fat obesity is rare in obese children and does not correlate with coronary risk factors. This study found no significant link between intra-abdominal fat and metabolic issues in pediatric subjects.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Cardiovascular Risk Factors
- Obesity Research
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a growing concern with potential links to cardiovascular disease.
- Adult studies suggest visceral fat accumulation is associated with metabolic syndrome and coronary risk factors.
- The distribution of abdominal fat and its relation to risk factors in obese children requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of visceral fat obesity in obese children.
- To investigate the association between intra-abdominal fat accumulation and coronary risk factors in this population.
- To compare findings in children with those reported in adult studies.
Main Methods:
- Computed tomography (CT) scans were used to measure intra-abdominal fat at the umbilical level in 36 obese children (24 males, 12 females).
- Subjects were assessed for the presence of visceral fat obesity based on established criteria.
- Metabolic variables were analyzed for correlations with intra-abdominal fat measurements.
Main Results:
- No cases of visceral fat obesity were identified in the study cohort based on the applied criteria.
- A significant correlation was not found between intra-abdominal fat accumulation and most metabolic variables, with the exception of triglycerides.
- Intra-abdominal fat accumulation showed a weak or non-existent relationship with key coronary risk factors in obese children.
Conclusions:
- Visceral fat obesity appears to be uncommon in the studied population of obese children.
- The clustering of coronary risk factors typically associated with visceral fat obesity in adults was not observed in this pediatric cohort.
- Intra-abdominal fat accumulation does not seem to be a significant predictor of coronary risk factors in childhood obesity.
Abstract:
We investigated the distribution of abdominal fat accumulation in obese children to know whether a clustering of coronary risk factors was demonstrated in visceral fat obesity as reported in adults. The relative indicator of intra-abdominal fat accumulation was obtained from computed tomography scans at the umbilicus level in 36 obese subjects (24 males, 12 females). There was no visceral fat obesity in this study by reported criteria. All metabolic variables except triglyceride did not correlate significantly with intra-abdominal fat accumulation. We conclude that visceral fat obesity is a rare status and has no close relationship to coronary risk factors in childhood.