Abstract

TREVINO VILLARREAL, D.C.; LOPEZ GUEVARA, V.; RAMIREZ LOPEZ, L.E.  and  TIJERINA SAENZ, A.. Relationship of serum cortisol and metabolic syndrome components, dietary intakes and anxiety disorder in children at 8 to 12 years of age with obesity. Nutr. Hosp. [online]. 2012, vol.27, n.5, pp.1562-1568. ISSN 1699-5198.  https://dx.doi.org/10.3305/nh.2012.27.5.5909.

Introduction: Obesity is a disorder associated to an inappropriate food intake and psychological problems predisposing to complications such as metabolic syndrome (MS), which has been related to chronic stress due to hypercortisolism-mediated impairments of the hypothalamushypophysis-adrenal (HHA) axis activity. Objective: To determine the relationship between serum cortisol and MS components, the food intake, and anxiety disorder in 8-12 years old obese children. Methods: 78 children, 40 with obesity and 38 with appropriate weight. The following serum and clinical indicators were assessed: cortisol, glucose, HDL-cholesterol (c-HDL) and triglycerides; anthropometrical and clinical indicators: weight, height, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and blood pressure (BP); food intake: deficient or excessive consumption and intake of energy and nutrients; psychological indicator: anxiety. Results: There exists a significant relationship between cortisol level and the number of MS components in obese children (p < 0.05). When assessing the cortisol level against each one of these components, there were no significant differences. When analyzing the total sample, the cortisol level showed a negative relationship with c-HDL (r = -0.228, p = 0.045). We found a significant relationship between the cortisol level and excessive intake of foods of animal origin and sugars and with the subsets of fats and sugars (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in energy or nutrients intake or anxiety in obese children. Conclusion: There exists a relationship between the cortisol level and the number of MS components as well as with excessive intake of foods of animal origin, sugars, and fats in obese children.

Keywords : Serum cortisol; Metabolic syndrome; Dietary intakes; Anxiety; Childhood obesity.

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