British scientists have developed a new blood test using fats that could make it easier to identify children at risk of obesity-related complications, including type 2 diabetes, liver disease and heart disease.
The study was conducted by scientists at King’s College London, published in the journal Nature Medicine, and written about by the EurekAlert website.
By using machines that test children’s blood plasma that are already in hospitals, the researchers suggest this could help doctors detect early signs of the disease in children more quickly and help them get the right treatment.
“Early identification of children at risk of these life-threatening conditions (type 2 diabetes, liver disease and heart disease) is crucial,” said researcher Dr. Carolina Sulik. “The study provides strong evidence of the great need for obesity management and gives parents the confidence to intervene in their children’s lives… and help them lose weight.”
The study’s findings challenge the popular notion that cholesterol is the main cause of obesity-related complications in children, identifying new fatty molecules that contribute to health risks such as blood pressure, but are not just linked to a child’s weight.
It used to be thought that fats were fatty acids in the body, either good or bad cholesterol or triglycerides, the fats found in the bloodstream and most common in the human body. Recent studies from the same group of scientists have suggested that the picture is more complicated.
Using a chemistry-related technique called mass spectrometry, current evidence maps the different types of fats found in the body, thousands of them, each with separate functions.
blood fat
Taking a control sample of 1,300 obese children, the team assessed their blood lipids. Then 200 of them were put on the HOLBAEK model for a year, a lifestyle intervention for people with obesity that is popular in Denmark.
Subsequent readings showed that among the intervention group, numbers of fats linked to diabetes risk, insulin resistance, and blood pressure decreased, although some children saw limited improvement in body mass index.
“For decades, scientists have relied on a classification system for fats that divides them into good and bad cholesterol, but now with a simple blood test we can assess a much broader range of fat molecules that could act as vital early warning signs of disease,” said researcher Dr Christina Legido Quigley, group leader in systems medicine at King’s College London. “In the future, this could be a completely new way to assess someone’s risk of developing disease, and by studying how fat molecules change in the body, we could even prevent metabolic diseases, such as diabetes altogether.”