A new study found obese teenagers have lower levels
of a hormone potentially tied to weight management
than normal-weight teens. Studies of adults have
found that the hormone, called spexin, is likely
involved in regulating the body’s fat mass and
energy balance.
“Our study is the first to look at levels of spexin
in the pediatric population,” said one of the
study’s authors, Seema Kumar, MD, of the Mayo Clinic
in Rochester, MN. “Previous research has found
reduced levels of this hormone in adults with
obesity. Overall, our findings suggest spexin may
play a role in weight gain beginning at an early
age.”
For children and teens, the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention defines obesity as having a
body mass index (BMI) at or above the 95th
percentile for children and teens of the same age
and sex.
Obesity affects about 17 percent of children in the
United States, according to the Society’s Endocrine
Facts and Figures Report. Childhood obesity is
associated with an estimated $14.1 billion in
additional prescription drug, emergency room visit
and outpatient visit costs each year.
The cross-sectional study analyzed spexin levels in
51 obese and 18 normal-weight teenagers between the
ages of 12 and 18. The participants had blood
samples taken between 2008 and 2010 as part of a
separate clinical trial. Researchers tested the
blood samples to measure spexin levels.
Researchers divided the teenagers into four groups
based on their spexin levels. Among the participants
with the lowest levels of spexin, the odds of having
obesity were 5.25 times higher than in the group
with the highest levels of the hormone.
Unlike what has been noted in adults, there was no
association between spexin levels and fasting
glucose.
“It is noteworthy that we see such clear differences
in spexin levels between obese and lean
adolescents,” Kumar said. “Since this is a
cross-sectional study, more research is needed to
explore the physiological significance of spexin,
how it may be involved in the development of
childhood obesity and whether it can be used to
treat or manage the condition.”
Other authors of the study include: Md Jobayer
Hossain of Nemours Biomedical Research in
Wilmington, DE; Nicole Nader of Park Nicollet Health
Services in St. Louis Park, MN; Roxana Aguirre
Castaneda of the University of Illinois College of
Medicine in Peoria, IL; Swetha Sriram of the Mayo
Clinic in Rochester, MN; and P. Babu Balagopal of
Nemours Children’s Specialty Care and Mayo Clinic
College of Medicine in Jacksonville, FL.
The research was supported by a grant from the
National Institutes of Health’s National Center for
Advancing Translational Sciences.
For more information
JCEM - The Journal of Clinical endocrinology &
Metabolism
Decreased Circulating Levels of Spexin in Obese
hildren
Link...
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