Obesity in Egyptian Children: Influence of Oxidant-Antioxidant Status on Lipid and Glucose Homeostasis

Aim: We aimed to assess antioxidant status in Egyptian children with obesity and investigate the mutual relationship between oxidative stress markers, body composition, and metabolic pattern. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 52 obese and 20 healthy-weight children. Subjects underwent through clinical assessment. Serum lipid profile, fasting glucose, and serum insulin were measured in plasma. A range of antioxidant activities was tested. Steady state beta cell function (%B), insulin sensitivity (%S), and insulin resistance (IR) were calculated. Results: Children with obesity had high prevalence of family history of obesity, hypertension and type 2 diabetes and 18 of them had hypertension. Sixteen (30.7%) children with obesity had high level (90th percentiles) of lowdensity lipoprotein (LDL-C) and triglycerides and 14 (24.9%) had low level (10th percentiles) of high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C). Plasma malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) were significantly higher, whereas catalase, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and vitamin E were significantly lower in children with obesity. Both MDA and GST correlated positively with anthropometric measures, triglycerides, fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR. Both catalase and TAC correlated negatively with anthropometric measures, and cholesterol. Furthermore, catalase correlated negatively with diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides, LDL, fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR, but positively with age. Conclusion: There is a substantial burden of oxidative stress represented by the high level of oxidants (MDA, GST) and low level of antioxidants (catalase, TAC) in children with obesity necessitating improvement in the management of childhood obesity