Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Nov;161(5):875-80.
doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2012.05.003. Epub 2012 Jun 14.

Adiposity, fat patterning, and the metabolic syndrome among diverse youth: the EPOCH study

Marybeth Maligie  1 , Tessa Crume, Ann Scherzinger, Elizabeth Stamm, Dana Dabelea
Affiliations

Adiposity, fat patterning, and the metabolic syndrome among diverse youth: the EPOCH study

Marybeth Maligie et al. J Pediatr. 2012 Nov.

Abstract

Objectives: To assess fat distribution, prevalence of obesity, and the metabolic syndrome among diverse 6-13-year-old Colorado youth to better understand racial/ethnic influences on adiposity and metabolic syndrome.

Study design: We measured body mass index, subscapular-to-triceps skinfold ratio, waist circumference, dietary fat, and physical activity in 422 youth (47% non-Hispanic White, 44% Hispanic, and 9% African-American). Visceral adipose tissue, subcutaneous adipose tissue, and intramyocellular lipid were measured with magnetic resonance techniques. Multiple-linear regression was used to assess associations between race/ethnicity and adiposity patterns.

Results: Hispanic and African-American youth had a higher prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome compared with non-Hispanic White youth. Both groups displayed a more centralized fat distribution and larger volumes of subcutaneous tissue, compared with non-Hispanic White youth. After controlling for body mass index, these differences were attenuated, and for a given body size, African-American youth showed significantly lower visceral adipose tissue than non-Hispanic White youth. However, both Hispanic and African-American youth showed higher intermyocellular lipid in skeletal muscle compared with non-Hispanic Whites, independent of body size.

Conclusions: Racial/ethnic minorities experience higher overall adiposity, and may also have an increased risk for early development of metabolic syndrome relative to non-Hispanic White youth, beyond their increased obesity risk.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prevalence of overweight (BMI ≥85th and <95th percentile for age and sex) and obesity (BMI ≥95th percentile for age and sex) by race/ethnicity, in children aged 6–13 years
Figure 2
Figure 2
Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome by Race/Ethnicity in children aged 6–13 years
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Curtin LR, Lamb MM, Flegal KM. Prevalence of high body mass index in US children and adolescents, 2007–2008. JAMA. 2010;303:242–249. - PubMed
    1. Daniels SR. Complications of obesity in children and adolescents. Int J Obes (Lond) 2009;33(Suppl 1):S60–S65. - PubMed
    1. Weiss R, Dufour S, Taksali SE, Tamborlane WV, Petersen KF, Bonadonna RC, et al. Prediabetes in obese youth: a syndrome of impaired glucose tolerance, severe insulin resistance, and altered myocellular and abdominal fat partitioning. Lancet. 2003;362:951–957. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Weiss R, Taksali SE, Dufour S, Yeckel CW, Papademetris X, Cline G, et al. The "obese insulin-sensitive" adolescent: importance of adiponectin and lipid partitioning. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005;90:3731–3737. - PubMed
    1. Sinha R, Dufour S, Petersen KF, LeBon V, Enoksson S, Ma YZ, et al. Assessment of skeletal muscle triglyceride content by (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in lean and obese adolescents: relationships to insulin sensitivity, total body fat, central adiposity. Diabetes. 2002;51:1022–1027. - PubMed

Publication types