Fitness and metabolic syndrome in obese fatty liver children

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2013

Authors

martins, c (Author) Other; pizarro, a (Author) Other; aires, l (Author) Other; silva, g (Author) Other; silva, f (Author) Other; mota, j (Author) FADEUP; santos, mp (Author) FADEUP

Journal

Title: Annals of Human Biology

Vol. 40 No. 1

Pages: 99-101

ISSN: 0301-4460

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 1 Citation

Scopus - 4 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Social sciences

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-002-1TX

DOI: 10.3109/03014460.2012.727470

Abstract (EN): Background: Metabolic Syndrome (MS) is highly prevalent among obese children with fatty liver. However, it is well-known that there is a lower prevalence of MS in individuals with higher cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). Aim: To analyse the association between CRF with features of the MS in obese children that present fat liver indicators, namely abnormal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) values. Methods: A total of 79 obese students (40 girls), 10-11 yearolds (+/- 0.60), with abnormal serum ALT from Porto public schools comprised the sample. Measurements included CRF (20-metre Shuttle Run Test), Metabolic Risk Factors (MRF), according to MS International Diabetes Federation criteria, ALT values (Cholestech LDX (R) analyser) and maturational stage (Tanner criteria). Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the influence of CRF on MRF adjusted for sex, maturation, and BMI. Results: The logistic regression showed that, despite being classified as being obese and presenting abnormal levels of ALT, those classified as fit were less likely to have MS than their unfit counterparts (OR = 0.52; p <= 0.05). Conclusion: Obese-fit children with abnormal ALT values have a significant reduction in the likelihood to be classified as having MS, even after adjustments for gender, maturation and BMI, Thus, CRF might be an important factor for tackling fatty liver among obese.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 3