Abstract
Childhood obesity represents an important public health issue worldwide and is strongly linked to metabolic alterations such as hypertension, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia. The constellation of these conditions is commonly known as Metabolic Syndrome (MetS). Metabolic syndrome is not just a simple cluster of metabolic complications due to excess of adipose tissue, but is considered a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Evidence from several human and animal studies suggests that environmental and nutritional exposure during pregnancy may affect the newborn development and future health through epigenetic changes, playing a potential role in determining obesity and obesity-related complications. Understanding how nutritional epigenetic mechanisms contribute to the “transgenerational risk” for obesity and metabolic dysfunction is crucial in order to develop early prevention strategies for children’s health. Nutrigenetics is the science that studies the role of nutrients in gene expression. Long Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (LCPUFAs) are known for their health benefits, especially in relation to their ability to modulate inflammation and improve some obesity-associated comorbidities, mainly by decreasing plasma triglycerides. Recent nutrigenetic research is focusing on the potential role of LCPUFAs in influencing epigenetic markers. In this review, we present the most recent updates about the possible interaction between n-3 LCPUFAs and epigenetic pathways in metabolic syndrome. Literature from MEDLINE® and the Cochrane database between May 2005 and December 2018 has been scanned.
Highlights
Childhood obesity is an important public health problem all over the world
According to a meta-analysis of 18 prospective cohort studies including 540.184 participants and 25.670 cases of incident type 2 diabetes, there is no significant association between incidence of diabetes and fish/seafood consumption or estimated intake of Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) plus Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) [39]
Understanding through nutrigenetic research how diet affects human health, especially in the early phases of life, could be crucial to personalize nutritional intervention in order to prevent the transgenerational risk of obesity and its complications in children. n-3-Long Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (LCPUFAs) are well known for their health benefits in adults, but the beneficial effect of supplementation in children is still debated
Summary
Childhood obesity is an important public health problem all over the world. The prevalence of obesity has increased in school-aged children from the 1980s (from 6.5% to 18% in children and from 5.0% to 18.4% in adolescents) to the present [1,2]. From recent epidemiologic studies emerges a ‘’plateau trend” showing that, in the last few years, the percentage of overweight and obese children/adolescents remained almost stable in both sex groups [3]. The WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI), in its third edition in 2012, revealed that overweight and obesity rates among primary school-children ranged from 18–52% in boys and from 13–43% in girls. The data showed a higher percentage of obesity in Southern European countries, these are traditionally recognized as models of the Mediterranean diet [5]
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