Metabolic impact of obesity in childhood

Childhood obesity currently is a growing problem in the United States. Usin g the euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic and hyperglycemic clamp techniques along with magnetic resonance imaging, the authors examined changes in glucose an d lipid metabolism in vivo and their relationship to fat distribution in ob ese children. The studies indicated that increased visceral fat, hyperinsul inemia, and insulin resistance are closely linked abnormalities that are ex pressed early in the natural history of obesity.