Associations of telomere length with anthropometric and glucose changes after a lifestyle intervention in abdominal obese children

Abstract

Background and aims: In lifestyle intervention studies, we demonstrated that changes in telomere length (TL) were associated with changes in anthropometric indices. Therefore, our new hypothesis is that TL could be a predictor of changes in anthropometric or metabolic measures in children with abdominal obesity. The aim of the study was to evaluate the association between anthropometric and biochemical measurements with TL before and after an 8-week lifestyle intervention in children with abdominal obesity (7-16 years old).

Methods and results: We assessed anthropometric and biochemical outcomes at baseline and after 8-week lifestyle intervention in 106 children with abdominal obesity (11.30 ± 2.49 years old, 63% girls). TL was measured by monochrome multiplex real-time quantitative PCR. After the lifestyle intervention, anthropometric parameters and glucose metabolism indicators significantly improved in the participants. TL did not change after the intervention in participants. Significant negative correlations between baseline TL and anthropometric measures (BMI, body weight and waist circumference) were observed. Furthermore, baseline TL was a predictor for changes in blood glucose levels after the lifestyle intervention.

Conclusions: An inverse correlation between TL and obesity traits was observed in children with abdominal obesity. Interestingly, we found that baseline TL could predict changes in blood glucose levels.

Clinical trial: NCT03147261. Registered 10 May 2017.

Keywords: Adolescents; BMI-SDS; Glucose metabolism; TL; Weight loss.