Uric acid is associated with adiposity factors, especially with fat mass reduction during weight loss in obese children and adolescents.

BACKGROUND

Current adult studies suggest that uric acid (UA) is associated with body fat, but the relationship in obese children is unclear. Thus, we aim to evaluate the association between uric acid and body composition of obese children.

METHODS

A total of 79 obese children were included in this study, and 52 children (34 boys and 18 girls) underwent a 6-week weight loss camp, including 34 boys and 18 girls. Six-week weight-loss interventions were performed on all participants through aerobic exercise and appropriate dietary control. Laboratory tests and body composition were collected before and after the intervention.

RESULTS

Before the intervention, correlation analysis demonstrated that uric acid was positively correlated with height, weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, hip circumference, fat mass (FM), and free fat mass (FFM) with adjusting for age and gender ( < 0.05). After 6 weeks of intervention, the participants gained 3.12 ± 0.85 cm in height, body fat percentage decreased by 7.23 ± 1.97%, and lost 10.30 ± 2.83 kg in weight. Univariate and multivariate analysis indicated that uric acid at baseline was associated with FM reduction during weight loss ( < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

This study is the first report that uric acid is associated with BMI and FM, and may play an important role in the reduction of FM during weight loss in obese children and adolescents. The interaction between UA and adiposity factors and its underlying mechanisms need to be further explored.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This study was registered in Clinical Trials.gov (NCT03490448) and approved by the Ethics Committee of Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.