1. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OBESITY, INFLAMMATION MARKERS,
MICRONUTRIENTS AND INSULIN RESISTANCE IN SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN
Camacho BM, Torres GAK, Estrella IP, Ronquillo GD, Rosado JL, García OP
Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Querétaro, México
BACKGROUND
RESULTS
Obesity is a disease characterized by excess body fat and is defined as chronic low-grade inflammation.
Studies suggest that micronutrient deficiencies may contribute to fat deposition and chronic inflammation (1,2).
Also, inflammation in the body leads to an increase in inflammatory markers, associated with insulin resistance (3).
Table 2: Association of obesity, inflammation markers and micronutrients with leptin concentrations.
VARIABLE 
95 % CI1 p
Body fat (%)
0.0158
to 0.023
0.0027
Abdominal fat (%)
0.0115
to 0.019
0.0056
Iron (ug/dL)
to 0.026
0.0201
Vit A (ug/dL)
0.0071
to 0.021
0.0002
HOMA-IR
to 0.018
0.0404
Triglycerides (mg/dL)
0.0008
to 0.022
0.0132
OBJECTIVE
Evaluate the association of obesity, inflammation, micronutrients and insulin resistance in school-aged children.
1CI confidence interval p < 0.05
METHODOLOGY
Table 3: Association of obesity, inflammation markers and micronutrients with vitamin E
297 children (8.0 ± 1.5) from a rural community in Querétaro, Mexico, participated in a cross-sectional study.
VARIABLE 
95 % CI1 p
CRP (mg/L)
0.0578
0.008 to 0.048
0.0498
IL-10 (pg/mL)
0.011 to 0.096
0.0078
Vitamin C (ug/mL)
0.0235
to 0.025
0.0040
Vitamin A (ug/dL)
0.0075
to 0.051
0.0043
Triglycerides (mg/dL)
0.0015
to 0.025
0.0021
Total cholesterol (mg/dL)
0.0028
to 0.032
0.0055
HDL (mg/dL)
0.0136
to 0.043
˂ 0.001
Body Composition and
Anthropometry
Biochemical Analysis
Weight, height, waist circunference, BMI, body fat and abdominal fat percentage
Glucose, lipid profile, insulin,
leptin, CRP,
IL-6,IL-10, TNF-α,
vitamins A, C, D, E, D
Fe, Zn
1CI confidence interval, p < 0.05
Table 4: Association of obesity, inflammation markers and micronutrients with insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)
RESULTS
The combined prevalence of obesity and overweight was 28.5%.
The only micronutrient deficiencies observed were vitamin D (19.9%) and zinc (15.5%).
A total of 17.7% of the children had insulin resistance.
VARIABLE 
95 % CI1 p
Leptin (ng/mL)
0.984
0.128 to 0.788
0.045
TNF-α (pg/mL)
0.615
0.021 to 0.424
0.011
Triglycerides (mg/dL)
0.006
to 0.110
0.024
LDL (mg/dL)
0.018
to 0.021
Abdominal fat (%)
0.237
0.011 to .165
0.043
Table 1 Glucose, insulin resistance and inflammation
markers concentrations according to BMI
1CI confidence interval, p < 0.05
VARIABLE
NORMAL
Mean  SD1
n = 211
OVERWEIGHT
n = 55
OBESITY
n = 31
Glucose (mg/dL)
81.8  7.2a
83.2  5.8a
83.9  4.8a
Insulin (uU/mL)
11.4  7.0a
13.5  6.0a
16.6  8.1b
HOMA-IR
2.3  1.3a
2.8  1.3ba
3.4  1.8b
CRP (mg/L)
1.1  1.6a
1.7  2.4a
3.2  1.7b
Leptin (ng/mL)
1.8  1.5a
6.5  5.6b
11.7  7.2c
TNF-α (pg/mL)
3.4  1.8a
5.7  4.2b
7.3  2.6c
IL-6 (pg/mL)
2.1  1.7a
3.2  5.4a
10.2  4.4b
IL-10 (pg/mL)
4.4  7.3a
4.2  3.3a
3.8  2.1a
CONCLUSIONS
Leptin and insulin resistance were associated positively with abdominal fat
Triglycerides was an important variable associated positively with leptin, vitamin E and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)
Vitamin A and iron were associated positively with leptin
Insulin resistance was positively associated with leptin, TNF-α, triglycerides, LDL and abdominal fat.
1 SD standard deviation
a, b, c Variables with different superscripts are significantly different (p < 0.05)
REFERENCES
1 García OP, Long KZ, Rosado JL Impact of micronutrient deficiencies on obesity. Nutr Rev. 67:
2 García OP, Ronquillo D, Caamaño M, Camacho M, Long KZ Rosado JL Zinc, vitamin A and vitamin C status are associated with leptin concentrations and obesity in Mexican women. Results from a cross-sectional study.
Nutr. Metab. 9:59
3 Chang CHJ, Jian DY, Lin MW, Zhao JZ, Ho LT, Chang CJ Evidence in obese children: contribution of hyperlipidemia, obesity-inflammation and insulin sensitivity. Plos One 1:1-12
Acknowledgments: We wish to thank the TPO/ CONACYT network for the support to attend this forum