The growth of adipose tissue in children and adolescents. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of adipose cell number and size.

TLDR

The study measured adipocyte size and number in 288 children and adolescents (110 obese, 178 non‑obese) and followed 132 participants over 4 years. In non‑obese children, adipocyte number and size contributions to fat depot growth change with age, whereas obese children show early, rapid, and sustained increases in both parameters, exceeding adult non‑obese levels by age 11 and suggesting that altered cellular development underlies their enlarged fat depots.

Abstract

Adipocyte size and number were determined in 288 subjects ranging in age from 4 mo to 19 yr. The study was performed in 110 obese and 178 non-obese subjects. 4-yr, longitudinal, follow-up studies were also performed in 132 subjects. The results demonstrate that the contribution of cell number and size to the growth of the fat depot in nonobese children varies with age. Deviations from this normal development were observed in obese children shortly after 1 yr of age. By 11 yr of age obese children exceeded the mean cell number found in nonobese adults. Indeed, obese subjects displayed more rapid and earlier elevations in both cell number and size, which were maintained throughout the study. Thus obese children display both quantitative and qualitative differences in fat tissue development when compared to nonobese children. The data indicate that the rate and type of adipose tissue cellular development one encounters in children may play a role in the development of the enlarged fat depots found in obese subjects.