Researchers at King’s College London, UK, found that a new type of blood test using lipids could help identify children at risk of complications related to obesity, including type 2 diabetes, liver, and heart disease.
In their recent study, the scientists found that existing blood plasma test machines in hospitals could serve as an early warning system for conditions that affect metabolism in children.
Researchers suggested that blood plasma testing could help doctors identify early signs of disease in children to help provide the right treatment.
The study findings also challenge the common notion that cholesterol is a major cause of complications around obesity in children.
Instead, the test identifies new lipid molecules contributing to health risks such as blood pressure, which are not solely linked to a child’s weight.
The study’s principal author Cristina Legido-Quigley said: “For decades, scientists have relied on a classification system for lipids that have split them into good and bad cholesterol, but now with a simple blood test we can assess a much broader range of lipid molecules that could serve as vital early warning signs for illness.
“In the future, this has the potential to be an entirely new way to evaluate someone’s personal risk of disease and by studying how to change lipid molecules in the body, we could even prevent metabolic diseases like diabetes altogether.”
Traditionally, lipids have been classified as fatty acids, good or bad cholesterol or triglycerides, and fats in the bloodstream which are the most common in the human body.
Recent studies suggest a more complex landscape, with thousands of different lipids, each with unique functions, identified using the mass spectrometry technique.
In a controlled study, the researchers studied lipids in blood samples from 1,300 children with obesity.
After a year-long lifestyle intervention, dubbed HOLBAEK-model, 200 participants showed a decrease in lipids related to insulin resistance, diabetes risk and blood pressure, regardless of minimal BMI changes in some children.
The researchers aim to help understand how genetics affects lipids and metabolic diseases, along with different ways to modify the lipids to improve health.
Dr Karolina Sulek, who was part of the study and performed analysis at the SDCC, said: “Early recognition of children at risk for these life-threatening diseases is crucial.
“The study provides strong evidence of the great need for obesity management and gives parents confidence to intervene in their children’s life more compassionately, helping them to lose weight.”
