Paris, France - Obese children may go on to develop cardiovascular disease (CVD) due to abnormalities in their arteries that form very early, according to a study in the October 27, 2001 issue of the Lancet.1

Obese children may go on to develop CVD due to abnormalities in their arteries that form very early (Source: Comedy Central)

Dr Patrick Tounian (Armand-Trousseau Hospital, Paris, France)and colleaguesstudied the carotid arteries of 48 severely obese children (severely obese was defined as having a BMI three or more standard deviations above the French national average for a child of the same age) and compared them to 27 children who were not obese. The children ranged from 4 to 17 years of age.

The children had endothelial function assessed by ultrasound. Flow-mediated dilation was measured by inducing reactive hyperemia with a blood pressure cuff and glyceryl trinitrate-mediated dilation was induced to determine endothelium-independent dilation.

The investigators found striking differences in endothelial function and arterial stiffness evident in the obese children.

It has long been known that obese children are at greater risk to go on to develop CVD, although the reasons are still not clear. The authors contend that their research hints at damage to the arteries beginning early in life, which may explain why some research has found that the risk of CVD associated with childhood obesity is independent of adult weight.

The authors cannot settle the question of whether insulin resistance (seen in many of the obese children) is a cause or a consequence of endothelial dysfunction, but did see a correlation between the two in their study.

Although they acknowledge how difficult it is to get severely obese children to lose weight, the authors warn, "The current large increase in the prevalence of childhood obesity will translate to a rise in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality unless we improve our management of obesity."