Does Family History of Obesity, Cardiovascular, and Metabolic Diseases Influence Onset and Severity of Childhood Obesity?

Objectives: The objectives were to evaluate (1) the metabolic profile and cardiometabolic risk in overweight/obese children at first assessment, stratifying patients according to severity of overweight and age; and (2) to investigate the relationship between family history (FH) for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases and severity of childhood obesity.

Methods: In this cross-sectional, retrospective, observational study, 260 children (139 female), aged between 2.4 and 17.2 years, with overweight and obesity were recruited. Data regarding FH for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases were collected. Each patient underwent clinical and auxological examination and fasting blood sampling for metabolic profile. Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), triglyceride-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio, and atherogenic index of plasma were calculated. To evaluate the severity of obesity, children were divided into two groups for BMI standard deviation (SD) ≤2.5 and BMI SD >2.5. Moreover, study population was analyzed, dividing it into three groups based on the chronological age of patient (<8, 8-11, >11 years).

Results: BMI SD was negatively correlated with chronological age (p < 0.005) and significantly higher in the group of children <8 years. BMI SD was positively associated with FH for obesity. Patients with more severe obesity (BMI SD >2.5) were younger (p < 0.005), mostly prepubertal, presented a significantly higher HOMA-IR (p = 0.04), and had a significantly higher prevalence of FH for arterial hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and coronary heart disease than the other group.

Conclusion: (1) Family history of obesity and cardiometabolic diseases are important risk factors for precocious obesity onset in childhood and are related to the severity of obesity. (2) Metabolic profile, especially HOMA-IR, is altered even among the youngest obese children at first evaluation. (3) Stratification of obesity severity, using BMI SD, is effective to estimate the cardiometabolic risk of patients.