Endocrine Abstracts

JOINT405

Background: Childhood obesity, particularly its transitions between normal weight and obesity, remains poorly understood regarding its impact on growth and body composition during pre-pubertal and early pubertal stages. Investigating these dynamics is crucial for dispelling misconceptions about obesity’s relationship with height and guiding effective early interventions.

Objective: To longitudinally analyze changes in body measurements and compositions during the pre-pubertal and early pubertal stages, comparing groups with differing obesity transitions.

Methods: Anthropometric and body composition data were collected at ages 7 and 12 from 5, 353 children categorized into four groups: obese (obese at both ages; n = 215), obese-to-normal (obese at age 7, non-obese at age 12; n = 134), normal-to-obese (non-obese at age 7, obese at age 12; n = 373), and control (non-obese at both ages; n = 4, 631). Measurements included height, weight, body fat mass (BFM), skeletal muscle mass (SMM), body mass index (BMI), body fat mass index (BFMI), skeletal muscle mass index (SMMI), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Growth differences were analyzed using a Difference-in-Difference (DID) estimator.

Results: The obese group exhibited significantly higher weight, BFM, SMM, BMI, BFMI, and SMMI at both ages compared to the control group. When comparing growth trajectories, the obese group showed greater increases in weight, BFM, SMM, BMI, BFMI, and WHR, but not height, relative to the obese-to-normal and control groups. Similarly, the normal-to-obese group displayed increased body composition metrics, excluding height, compared to controls.

Conclusions: Children remaining obese during pre-puberty and early puberty exhibit greater increases in body composition metrics, excluding height, compared to those transitioning to normal weight or remaining non-obese.