AUTHOR=Dalla Valle Marketta , Laatikainen Tiina , Potinkara Hanna , Nykänen Päivi , Jääskeläinen Jarmo 

TITLE=Girls and Boys Have a Different Cardiometabolic Response to Obesity Treatment

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Endocrinology

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2018.00579

DOI=10.3389/fendo.2018.00579

ISSN=1664-2392

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold> Childhood obesity exposes individuals to cardiometabolic disturbances. We analyzed how family-based multidisciplinary obesity treatment influenced children's cardiometabolic health.</p><p><bold>Materials and methods:</bold> In this retrospective, two-year, follow-up study of 654 2- to 18-year-old children treated for obesity in three Finnish pediatric clinics in 2005–2012, blood pressure (BP), metabolic parameters, and the influence of sex, puberty and a change in body mass index standard deviation score (BMI SDS) were analyzed.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> At baseline, at least one cardiovascular risk factor was present in 474 (80%) cases. Boys presented with more significant changes in cardiometabolic parameters than girls during the treatment. Boys' total cholesterol (TC) improved by 12 months <italic>(P</italic> = 0.009), and their low-density lipoprotein C (LDL-C) and glycosylated hemoglobin ameliorated by 12 months (<italic>P</italic> = 0.030 and 0.022, respectively) and 24 months (<italic>P</italic> = 0.043 and 0.025, respectively). Boys' triglycerides, insulin, homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and systolic BP deteriorated at 24 months (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.001, 0.004, 0.002, and 0.037, respectively). In all children, the number of acceptable TC, LDL-C, insulin, and HOMA-IR values increased if BMI SDS reduced 0.25 or more by 12 months.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> Minor cardiometabolic improvements were found during the obesity treatment. These findings indicate the need to assess treatment methods and focus on prevention.</p>