Aug. 18 – Overweight and obesity are serious health hazards for children, further demonstrates a study published in the scientific journal Jama Pediatrics (published by the American Medical Association) conducted by the Pediatric Hospital Bambino Gesù. The study involved more than 5,700 children between the ages of 2 and 6 visited by pediatricians members of the Italian Pediatricians Federation (FIMP) between 2011 and 2012. About 600 cases (10%) developed overweight or obesity symptoms in the last year; and on 219 of these, the researchers were able to perform a detailed analysis of the blood. Of the 219 surveyed patients, almost 40% had at least one abnormal reading in their metabolism (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, or low levels of “good” cholesterol). Specifically, in 35% of the cases, insulin resistance was detected; in 39% of the cases, there was at least one metabolic complication; in 6% of the samples, the patient was in a state of pre-diabetes; in 25% of the cases, there were high values of cholesterol; and in 13% of the patients, there were signs of hypertension. About a third of the children had nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, or a buildup of fatty deposits in the liver. The same diseases, in adult studies, have been linked to an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. The study also found that this sample also had a higher body mass index (BMI) compared to obese children even though they don’t show metabolic abnormalities. The results show that the metabolic alterations associated with obesity are already present in the preschool years, although the children have been overweight or obese for a short time. “The results show that the risk of obesity-related metabolic disorders begins to appear early in the natural history of weight gain,” says Dr. Melania Manco, a researcher of multifactorial diseases and complex phenotypes. The study further suggests the need to perform appropriate screening for such abnormalities in a younger age than those currently recommended.
