Are Peripheral Biomarkers Determinants of Eating Styles in Childhood and Adolescence Obesity? A Cross-Sectional Study.

Lorena Desdentado,Julio Álvarez-Pitti,Ana De Blas,Andrea Jimeno-Martínez,María Folgado-Alufre,Zaida Agüera,Jéssica Navarro-Siurana,Gloria Bueno-Lozano,Jaime Navarrete,Francisco Ponce,Rosa M Baños,Aida Cuenca-Royo,Azahara I Rupérez,Emili Corbella,Guadalupe Molinari

doi:10.3390/nu14020305

Abstract

Disturbances in eating behaviors have been widely related to obesity. However, little is known about the role of obesity-related biomarkers in shaping habitual patterns of eating behaviors (i.e., eating styles) in childhood. The objective of the present study was to explore the relationships between several biomarkers crucially involved in obesity (ghrelin, insulin resistance, and leptin/adiponectin ratio) and eating styles in children and adolescents with obesity. Seventy participants aged between 8 and 16 (56.2% men) fulfilled the Spanish version of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire for Children to measure external, emotional, and restrained eating styles. In addition, concentrations of ghrelin, leptin, adiponectin, insulin, and glucose were obtained through a blood test. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses controlling for age and sex were computed for each eating style. Results indicated that individuals with higher ghrelin concentration levels showed lower scores in restrained eating (β = −0.61, p < 0.001). The total model explained 32% of the variance of the restrained pattern. No other relationships between obesity-related biomarkers and eating behaviors were found. This study highlights that one of the obesity-risk factors, namely lower plasma ghrelin levels, is substantially involved in a well-known maladaptive eating style, restraint eating, in childhood obesity.

Highlights

Obesity is a multifactorial disease that is currently considered a public health problem.the prevalence of obesity has increased rapidly in childhood and adolescence (5–19 years old), with more than 100 million affected in 2016 [1]
The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between several peripheral obesityrelated biomarkers and eating styles in a Spanish sample of obese children and adolescents
The present study was aimed at examining the involvement of different peripheral obesity-related biomarkers to explain different eating styles, i.e., external, emotional, and restrained patterns, in childhood and adolescence obesity

Summary

Introduction

Obesity is a multifactorial disease that is currently considered a public health problem.the prevalence of obesity has increased rapidly in childhood and adolescence (5–19 years old), with more than 100 million affected in 2016 [1]. Recent literature has suggested maintenance, even slight decrease, of childhood obesity prevalence in Spain, it continues to be one of the highest prevalence of obesity and overweight in Europe [2]. These high prevalence figures are partly because there is currently no effective treatment for obesity, which can be generalized to most children and adolescents [3]. The phrase “adiposity-based” is justified because the disease is primarily due to abnormalities in the mass, distribution, and/or function of adipose tissue This fact reinforces the concept of obesity as a chronic, complex, multifactorial, and incurable disease at present. It is important to continue exploring the different roots of obesity since this is the only way to develop individualized treatments that ensure a higher success rate

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Discussion

Conclusion