Clinical and Metabolic Characteristics of Children with Various Obesity Phenotypes

The aim of the study was to determine the incidence of metabolic complications of obesity in children, as well as to evaluate their clinical and metabolic profile depending on the phenotype of the disease. Material and methods. A single-stage prospective controlled study was conducted with the participation of 188 obese children and 23 non-obese children (control group). Anamnesis collection, calculation of anthropometric indicators and examination were carried out in order to diagnose metabolic complications of obesity and determine its phenotype. Bioimpedance measurement was used as an additional diagnostic method. Results. 20.74% of children had metabolically healthy obesity, 79.96% had metabolically unhealthy obesity. In patients with complications of obesity, weight and height were higher than in children without complications of obesity and children of the control group. Among the complications of obesity, hyperuricemia (46.4%) and insulin resistance (38.9%) were more common. Arterial hypertension, impaired carbohydrate metabolism, dyslipidemia and metabolically associated fatty liver disease were detected somewhat less frequently. 44.1% of the surveyed had three or more complications of obesity. According to the assessment of body component composition, children with metabolically unhealthy obesity had higher visceral fat levels, basal metabolic rate and body fat percentage. Conclusion. The results of the study demonstrate high prevalence of obesity complications in childhood, especially with a metabolically unhealthy phenotype. Therefore, it is necessary to further study the clinical and metabolic profile of such patients and ways to correct it.