Does High Stress in a Home Cause Childhood Obesity? In a recent study, published in Clinical Obesity

Does High Stress in a Home Cause Childhood Obesity? In a recent study, published in Clinical Obesity, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine found associations between adverse home environments and appetite hormones in children. Researchers measured high stress factors (maternal depressive symptoms, family stress and socioeconomic disadvantage) in the households of 593 Chilean children at ages 10 and 16. At age 16, the participants provided fasting blood samples for assessment of adipokines and appetite hormones. The study found high levels of stress during childhood and adolescence can reduce levels of adiponectin, the body’s fat burning hormone, which makes it difficult to lose weight and contributes to obesity. Patricia East, PhD, senior author of the study in the Department of Pediatrics at UC San Diego, explains more and how the results from participants from Chile can be used for patients in the United States. Question: What is the clinical significance of this study?Answer: Our results show that not only are high levels of stress during childhood and adolescence contributing to the reduction in the body’s fat burning hormone, which makes it difficult to lose weight, but because fat-burning hormones reduce inflammation and help regulate the body’s glucose levels, lower levels of this hormone, adiponectin, may also be an early red flag for developing type 2 diabetes.It may be advisable for physicians to screen for diabetes in children and teens who are exposed to high levels of stress and have a lot of abdominal fat (a waist circumference above the 90th percentile or approximately greater than 70 centimeters).Like the United States, Chile is a developed, upper-middle income nation with a highly literate population and good access to health care. Prevalence of overweight/obesity is similar between the U.S. and Chile, at approximately 40 and 30 percent, respectively. A recent National Chilean Health Survey found high but equivalent prevalence of risk factors, such as smoking, high cholesterol and hypertension, between Chile and the U.S. Thus, while cultural factors, such as diet and physical activity, likely play a role in risk for diabetes, disease prevalence and contributing risk factors are similar between the two countries. Q: What types of health issues do children with obesity face?A: Rates of pediatric type 2 diabetes are rapidly increasing and are occurring at younger ages. Risk factors for children and teens include being overweight, inactivity and having a family history of diabetes.  Many children develop type 2 diabetes in their early teens. Adolescent girls are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than are adolescent boys.Q: What are next steps now that you have results? A: We are currently examining the associations between childhood adversity, appetite hormones and glucose and insulin levels at age 23 to determine if in fact early adversity and fat burning hormones link to type 2 diabetes in young adulthood. — Michelle Brubaker -- source link

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