P1027 - CHILDHOOD OBESITY AND CARDIOVASCULAR RISK: THE ROLE OF DIETARY PATTERNS AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN 9-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN METABOLIC HEALTH

P1027

CHILDHOOD OBESITY AND CARDIOVASCULAR RISK: THE ROLE OF DIETARY PATTERNS AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN 9-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN METABOLIC HEALTH

P. Mascarenhas^1,2,*, J. Furtado¹, S. Almeida¹, J. Fonseca^3,4, P. Oliveira⁵

¹Egas Moniz Center for Interdisciplinary Research (CiiEM), Egas Moniz School of Health & Science, Almada, ²Programa Doutoral em Ciências Biomédicas, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Porto, ³Aging Lab, Egas Moniz Center for Interdisciplinary Research (CiiEM), Egas Moniz School of Health & Science, Caparica, 2829-511 Almada, ⁴GENE—Artificial NutritionTeam, Department of Gastroenterology, Hospital Garcia de Orta, 2805-267 Almada, ⁵Department of Population Studies, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS), Porto, Portugal

Rationale: Rising childhood obesity rates highlight the need to identify modifiable lifestyle factors associated with early metabolic dysfunction and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.

Methods: In this cross‐sectional study of 9‐year‐old children (n = 954), anthropometric measures, body fat percentage (%FAT), biochemical markers, and monocyte subsets (M1 and M2, with the M1/M2 ratio representing pro‐inflammatory to anti‐inflammatory phenotypes) were evaluated. Diet and physical activity were also assessed. Dietary patterns were derived through Exploratory Factor Analysis, and multilevel regression (adjusted for age, sex and socioeconomic status), was employed to assess associations between lifestyle factors and metabolic outcomes.

Results: Overall, 39% of participants were overweight and 62% exhibited dyslipidaemia. Notably, 60% of eutrophic children presented high cholesterol. Overweight children exhibited elevated inflammatory markers (e.g., interferon-gamma [IFN-γ]) and an increased M1/M2 ratio. A Western dietary pattern (characterised by high fat/sugar intake) was associated with elevated standardised body mass index (zBMI), increased %FAT, raised low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and greater insulin resistance. Additional dietary risk factors included meal skipping (53.6%), low vegetable intake (57.4%) and insufficient fish consumption (32.8%). In contrast, a traditional Mediterranean-like diet correlated with a healthier lipid profile. Physical activity showed an inverse relationship with triglyceride levels.

Conclusion: This study suggests that Western diet is linked to increased adiposity and early CVD risk markers, even in children with normal zBMI. Traditional diets and higher physical activity may offer a protective effect. The quality of evidence is limited by the cross-sectional design, residual confounding and biases inherent to self-reported data.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared