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High-fat meal, systemic inflammation and glucose homeostasis in obese children and adolescents

International Journal of Obesity volume 41, pages 986–989 (2017)Cite this article

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Abstract

We aimed to assess in obese youths the relationships between interleukin-6 (IL-6), fat meal-induced endotoxemia and glucose homeostasis. Twenty obese children/adolescents (9–17 years old, 11 boys) underwent a standard oral glucose tolerance test and, 7–14 days later, a 5-h fat meal test (fat=69% of energy, saturated/monounsaturated/polyunsaturated fatty acids=31.5%/35%/33.5%), with serial measures of IL-6 and two markers of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure and translocation, LPS-binding protein (LBP) and soluble CD14 (sCD14). IL-6 correlated not only with basal (homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance) but also with post-prandial (Matsuda index) insulin sensitivity (r=0.61 (0.24–0.82), P=0.005, r=−0.53 (0.12–0.78), P=0.03, respectively). IL-6 did not change after the meal whereas LBP and sCD14 decreased significantly, indicating LPS translocation. Neither basal sCD14 and LBP nor their incremental concentrations correlated with IL-6 or glucose homeostasis. In our sample, IL-6 was associated with insulin sensitivity but not with LPS exposure, suggesting that meals with a balanced content of saturated/monounsaturated/polyunsaturated fatty acids may not be associated with LPS-induced inflammation and metabolic impairment.

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Acknowledgements

We are sincerely indebted to the children and adolescents who participated in the study and to their families. We thank the dedicated staff of the Pediatric Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders Unit of the University Hospital in Verona for their support during the clinical study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Pediatric Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders Unit, Dentistry, Paediatrics and Gynaecology, University of Verona, Verona, Italy

    A Morandi, E Fornari, F Opri, M Corradi, M Tommasi & C Maffeis

  2. Division of Endocrinology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University Hospital of Parma, Parma, Italy

    R Bonadonna

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  1. A Morandi
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  2. E Fornari
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  4. M Corradi
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  7. C Maffeis
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Correspondence to C Maffeis.

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Morandi, A., Fornari, E., Opri, F. et al. High-fat meal, systemic inflammation and glucose homeostasis in obese children and adolescents. Int J Obes 41, 986–989 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2017.48

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