Lifestyle Habits, Dietary Factors, and the Metabolically Unhealthy Obese Phenotype in Youth.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether lifestyle habits and dietary factors at age 8-10 years predict the development of metabolically unhealthy obesity 2 years later among children who were previously metabolically healthy obese. STUDY DESIGN: The QUebec Adipose and Lifestyle InvesTigation in Youth cohort comprises 630 youth with a parental history of obesity. Metabolically healthy obesity and metabolically unhealthy obesity were defined using cut-offs for the components of pediatric metabolic syndrome. Dietary factors, physical activity, fitness, sedentary behavior, screen time, and sleep duration were measured. Multivariable logistic regressions were used to examine associations. RESULTS: At baseline, 48 participants with metabolically healthy obesity were identified; 2 years later, 19 became metabolically unhealthy obese and 29 remained metabolically healthy obese. Every additional daily portion of fruits and vegetables decreased the risk of converting to metabolically unhealthy obesity by 39% (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.40-0.94). Cumulating more hours of screen time and diets high in saturated fat and sugar-sweetened beverages and low in protein were associated with a tendency to develop metabolically unhealthy obesity. CONCLUSIONS: Fruit and vegetable intake and possibly screen time, saturated fat, sugar-sweetened beverages, and protein intake may be important targets for the prevention of cardiometabolic complications in obese children. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03356262.

Ethnic differences in body composition and other markers of cardiovascular disease risk: study in matched Haitian and White subjects from Quebec.

OBJECTIVES: People of African descent may be at greater risk of metabolic syndrome (MS) compared with whites. We examined the associations among MS markers, body composition, and resting metabolic rate (RMR) in black Haitians and in white subjects living in Quebec, Canada. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Forty randomly selected Haitians were matched with 40 white subjects for age, sex, and BMI. Glycemic status and insulin resistance were assessed based on a 3-hour glucose tolerance test. Blood lipids, blood pressure, abdominal fat (computed tomography), and waist circumference (WC) were measured. RMR was estimated by indirect calorimetry. RESULTS: Triglycerides were significantly correlated with blood pressure only in Haitians and with the area under the curve for insulin only in whites. Haitians had significantly (p < 0.05) lower triglycerides and higher high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol concentrations but higher blood pressure than whites at any given WC value. General linear models showed that Haitians had less visceral adipose tissue than whites for the same WC. RMR was lower among Haitians for any given value of BMI or WC than in whites. Also, WC was more strongly associated with glucose area under the curve and to log-homeostasis model assessment in white than in Haitian subjects. DISCUSSION: The MS may be ethnospecific in its features and etiology. The standard anthropometric indices of obesity may not be as effective in populations of African descent compared with whites, unless appropriate cut-off values are defined.