Association of Dietary Behaviors, Biochemical, and Lifestyle Factors With Metabolic Phenotypes of Obesity in Children and Adolescents Publisher



Qorbani M^{1, 2} ; Khashayar P³ ; Rastad H⁴ ; Ejtahed HS^{5, 6} ; Shahrestanaki E⁷ ; Seif E⁸ ; Daniali SS⁹ ; Goudarzi M⁹ ; Motlagh ME¹⁰ ; Khodaparast Z¹¹ ; Heshmat R^{2, 6} ; Kelishadi R⁹
Source: Diabetology and Metabolic Syndrome Published:2020

Abstract

Background and aims: To examine the association of dietary behaviors, lifestyle, and biochemical factors with metabolic phenotypes of obesity among obese Iranian children and adolescents. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted within the framework of the fifth phase of CASPIAN study. Of 3840 students aged 7–18 years of 30 Iranian provinces, 408 subjects were diagnosed as obese; they were divided into metabolically healthy obese (MHO) and metabolically unhealthy obese (MUO) groups. Biochemical factors, anthropometric measures, dietary, and lifestyle habits were compared between groups. Results: Of the 408 obese subjects, 68 (16.7%) were the MUO; the remaining 340 (84.3%) fall in the MHO group. The MUO group had significantly higher systolic and diastolic BPs, FBS, TG, ALT, anthropometric measures, and lower HDL levels than MHO groups (all p-value < 0.05). The frequency of high birth weight (> 4000 gr) was significantly higher in the MUO group than the MHO group (p-value: 0.04). A higher percentage of individuals with breastfeeding duration ≥ 6 month was found in the MUO group (95.5% (95% CI 86.1–98.6%)) compared to MHO group (85.7% (95% CI 80.4–89.7%)) (p-value = 0.04). Among dietary and lifestyle-related behaviors, only the frequency of salty snack consumption and eating food according to the parents’ request was significantly higher in the MUO group than the MHO group (p-value < 0.05). Conclusion: Dietary habits and lifestyle factors may determine the obesity phenotypes in children and adolescents. © 2020, The Author(s).