Inflammatory Markers in Obese Children

Abstract

Background: Childhood obesity has become a crucial problem in both developed and developing countries. In 2018, the World Health Organization estimated 41 million infants and children were obese. This number is predicted to increase to 70 million by 2025. Aim of the Work: To assess: Inflammatory markers: (tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha- high sensitive CRP (HS- CRP) in obese children and the impact of obesity and inflammatory markers as risk factors for morbidity in obese children. Patients and Methods: This study was a cross-sectional comparative study. The study group comprised forty obese and thirty control Egyptian children who were recruited from pediatric outpatient’s clinic of Al-Zahra University Hospital and National Nutrition Institute. They were 24 females (60%) and 16 males (40%) obese children. Their ages ranged between 4-8 years. Results: We found that there was statistically significant increase in high birth weight, decreased physical activity, formula feeding, junk food, high serum of tumor necrosis factor –alpha (TNF-alpha) and high sensitive CRP (hs-CRP) in obese children than control group. Conclusion: Inflammatory mediators as hs-CRP and TNF –alpha are elevated in obese and overweight children more than healthy control group, which may indicate the presence of chronic inflammation.