Adiposity and cardiovascular risk factores in a large contemporary population of pre-pubertal children

Aims To examine the associations of several markers of adiposity and a wide range of cardiovascular risk factors and biomarkers in pre-pubertal children. Methods and results Four measures of adiposity,body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)-determined fat mass, and leptin concentration, were available in up to 7589 children aged 8.8–11.7 (9.9 mean) years from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Thirteen per cent of boys and 18.8% of girls were overweight, and 5.3% of boys and 5% of girls were obese. Body mass index was highly correlated with waist circumference (r = 0.91), DXA fat mass (r = 0.87), and leptin concentration (r = 0.75), and all had similar associations with cardiovascular risk factors. A 1 kg/m2 greater BMI was associated with 1.4mmHg (95% CI 1.25–1.44) higher systolic blood pressure (BP). In 5002 children, a 1 kg/m2 greater BMI was associated with a 0.05 mmol/L (95% CI 0.036–0.055) higher non-high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and 0.03 mmol/L (95% CI −0.034 to −0.025) lower HDL cholesterol. There were also graded associations with apolipoproteins A1 and B, interleukin-6, and C-reactive protein. Comparing children who were obese with those who were normal weight, the odds ratio for hypertension was 10.7 (95% CI 7.2–15.9) for boys and 13.5 (95% CI 9.4–19.5) for girls. Conclusion In pre-pubertal UK children, overweight/obesity is common and has broadly similar associations with BP, HDL cholesterol, and non-HDL cholesterol to those observed in adults. Future research should evaluate whether effective interventions to maintain healthy weight in childhood could have important benefits for adult cardiovascular risk.