Lipoproteins in obese Japanese children

The lipemic status of obese children was examined in Takatsuki city, an urban area near Osaka. In obese boys, the elevation of serum trigcerides and VLDL was most prominent. A tendency for a rise in LDL and a fall in HDL was observed with increasing obesity, but the trend was not statistically significant. Obese girls showed no significant changes in the level of total cholesterol, free cholesterol, cholesteryl ester, triglycerides, phopholipids, β-lipoproteins, LDL , VLDL, and HDL, with increasing obesity, in contrast to obese boys. The percent obesity rating increased over 13 years of age in both boys and girls. In obese boys, the triglceride level increased at over 13 years of age, accompanied by an increase of VLDL, while HDL levels decreased in the oldest group studied. In contrast, cholesterol and LDL levels showed no significant changes with age. In obese girls the above parameters did not change with age apart from a rise in trigltyceride levels. There was a ,arked increase of apo B levels in the > 50% obese group of boys, but the levels of apo A1, and A2 and LCAT did not change significantly with obesity. The HDL-cholesterol-to-apo A1 ratio decreased in the > 50% obese group of boys and the atherogenic index (AT) also increased in this group. In the obese girls, however, lipoprotein parameters showed no significant changes with increasing obesity or increasing age, and the A1 also showed no consistent relationship to obesity rating in the girls. With increasing age, apo A1 levels decreased in both obese boys and girls, and LCAT activity showed a similar decline. However, the HDL-cholesterol/apo A1 ratio only decreased with age in the obese boys.