Symptoms of heart disease and diabetes usually seen in adults are being found increasingly in adolescents, according to a longitudinal study published in the December 2006 issue of Pediatrics.
Researchers from The Pennsylvania State University’s Center for Childhood Obesity Research, University Park, found that reducing the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages during childhood may lessen the risk of developing chronic disease in later life.
"Research on obesity and associated problems such as hypertension and type 2 diabetes has largely dealt with adults," said Alison Ventura, MS, doctoral candidate and one of the researchers on the study. "But with increasing rates of obesity in children, we are seeing these problems at much younger ages."
The study looked at different traits—such as blood pressure, waist circumference and levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose—in 154 white, non-Hispanic 13-year-old girls and their parents from central Pennsylvania. The researchers also had data about the girls’ and their parents’ dietary, activity and lifestyle patterns starting from when the girls were 5 years old.
"We first looked for different profiles for the indicators of metabolic syndrome when the girls were 13, then worked backwards to see what was causing them in the first place," said Ms. Ventura.
The study found that statistical support was the greatest for the presence of four groups within the sample. These included girls with higher blood pressure and waist circumference values; girls with higher triglyceride levels and lower HDL cholesterol levels; girls with more desirable values on all of the metabolic syndrome indicators; and girls with more undesirable values on all of the indicators.
The study results suggest that girls within the risk groups for hypertension and metabolic syndrome also had significantly greater increases in weight and fat mass between the ages of 5 and 13 years compared with girls in the other two groups. The researchers found that those at higher risk of developing metabolic syndrome also consumed significantly more servings of sugary beverages between the ages of 5 and 9 years compared with the other three groups.
However, the researchers stress the need for caution when making general interpretations about the study.
"We do not have future data on these girls and so we can only speculate that girls in the high-risk group might develop metabolic syndrome, heart disease or type 2 diabetes," Ms. Ventura said.
Although the study could not definitely pinpoint which children will develop chronic diseases, the results show evidence of metabolic syndrome in early adolescence, Ms. Ventura said. They also illustrate several possible disease trajectories that may be avoided by taking certain measures during early childhood.
"Family history does play a role, but it appears that we can prevent the development of metabolic syndrome in children by taking certain actions in early life," Ms. Ventura said. "Controlling weight gain and the intake of sugar-sweetened drinks may prevent a child from the risk of disease later in life," she said.
This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
