Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a multidisciplinary weight loss intervention on energy intake and appetite sensations in adolescents with obesity, depending on the initial diagnosis or persistence of the metabolic syndrome. Ninety-two adolescents with obesity (12–15 years) followed a 16-week multidisciplinary weight loss intervention. Anthropometric and body composition characteristics, metabolic profile, ad libitum daily energy intake, and appetite sensations were assessed before and after the intervention. The presence of metabolic syndrome (MS) was determined at baseline (MS vs. non-MS) and after the program (persistent vs. non-persistent). While the intervention was effective in inducing weight loss (body weight T0: 87.1 ± 14.9 vs. T1: 81.2 ± 13.0 kg; p < 0.001) and body composition improvements in both adolescents with and without MS, energy intake (p = 0.07), hunger (p = 0.008), and prospective food consumption (p = 0.03) increased, while fullness decreased (p = 0.04) in both groups. Energy intake and appetite were not improved in non-persistent MS after the program and remained significantly higher among non-persistent adolescents compared with initially non-MS adolescents. To conclude, appetite control seems impaired in obese adolescents, irrespective of being affected by MS or not, whereas the treatment of MS in this population might fail to effectively preclude the adolescents from potential post-intervention compensatory food intake and subsequent weight regain.
Highlights
Pediatric obesity is an alarming public health concern with one out of five children suffering from obesity in Europe [1]
A logarithmic transformation was applied to access details the prevalence of each of the metabolic syndrome (MS) components
Even though multidisciplinary weight loss interventions are acknowledged for their effectiveness in inducing body weight reduction in adolescents with obesity [24,25], evidence
Summary
Pediatric obesity is an alarming public health concern with one out of five children suffering from obesity in Europe [1]. Taetzsch et al recently found a positive and significant association between the unhealthy metabolic profile of adult women with obesity and food craving [11], which is in line with previous results underlying a similar association between metabolic syndrome (MS) and unhealthy eating behaviors in children and adolescents [12] Despite their scarcity, some studies tried to explore the potential mechanisms linking metabolic disorders and impaired appetite control and unhealthy eating habits. Some recent research described alterations of the concentrations and regulations of some key physiological actors involved in the control of appetite (ghrelin, peptide YY3-36 , or cholecystokinin) in adults with obesity diagnosed with a metabolic syndrome [15,16] These studies suggest a potential negative impact of the metabolic syndrome in the control of energy intake and appetite that needs to be further explored
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