Minabe Shiori, Sutoh Yoichi, Otsuka-Yamasaki Yayoi, Komaki Shohei, Nakao Motoki, Ohmomo Hideki, Hasegawa Yutaka, Ishigaki Yasushi, Tanno Kozo, Sasaki Makoto, Shimizu Atsushi
Division of Biomedical Information Analysis, Iwate Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Disaster Reconstruction Center, Iwate Medical University, Yahaba 028-3694, Japan.
Division of Biomedical Information Analysis, Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Iwate Medical University, Yahaba 028-3694, Japan.
Endocr J. 2025 Jul 1;72(7):765-779. doi: 10.1507/endocrj.EJ24-0724. Epub 2025 Apr 9.
Childhood obesity is a growing global health concern, contributing to numerous non-communicable diseases and long-term health complications. The prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents continues to rise, driven by complex interactions among various factors. The key risk factors include both environmental and genetic influences. Environmental factors include family elements like household conditions and lifestyle, while genetic factors refer to inherited predispositions. More recently, epigenetic factors have gained attention, focusing on chemical modifications such as DNA methylation that are influenced by the prenatal and early-life environment and may contribute to obesity risk. Unlike obesity in adults, the risk factors for obesity in children are largely dependent on their family environments rather than individual behaviors. For effective intervention, it is important to identify at-risk children and their families as early as possible after birth. Despite advances in machine learning, polygenic risk scores, and epigenomic markers-which show promise as being more accurate and comprehensive prediction methods-no risk prediction models are currently in clinical use. Achieving predictions with higher accuracy, external validation, and consideration of population-specific factors (e.g., ethnic variability) while avoiding bias or stigma in targeted interventions is needed for effective childhood obesity prevention. Herein, we summarize environmental, genetic, and epigenetic risk factors for childhood obesity and review the unique situations and regional factors in Japan, which are the focus of our study. Furthermore, we introduce the major advances in risk prediction models for childhood obesity.
儿童肥胖是一个日益严重的全球健康问题，会引发众多非传染性疾病和长期健康并发症。在各种因素的复杂相互作用推动下，儿童和青少年肥胖的患病率持续上升。关键风险因素包括环境和遗传影响。环境因素包括家庭因素，如家庭条件和生活方式，而遗传因素指的是遗传易感性。最近，表观遗传因素受到关注，其重点在于诸如DNA甲基化等化学修饰，这些修饰受产前和生命早期环境影响，可能会增加肥胖风险。与成人肥胖不同，儿童肥胖的风险因素很大程度上取决于他们的家庭环境，而非个人行为。为了进行有效干预，在儿童出生后尽早识别出有风险的儿童及其家庭非常重要。尽管机器学习、多基因风险评分和表观基因组标记取得了进展——这些方法有望成为更准确、更全面的预测方法——但目前尚无风险预测模型应用于临床。为了有效预防儿童肥胖，需要实现更高准确性的预测、外部验证，并考虑特定人群因素（如种族差异），同时避免在针对性干预中出现偏差或污名化。在此，我们总结儿童肥胖的环境、遗传和表观遗传风险因素，并回顾日本的独特情况和地区因素，这是我们研究的重点。此外，我们还介绍儿童肥胖风险预测模型的主要进展。
