[Antioxidant vitamin intake in obese children].

BACKGROUND

Obesity has been associated with a markedly increased oxidative stress. Antioxidant vitamins play an outstanding role in the protection against oxidative stress. The authors found reduced concentration of alpha-tocopherol and alpha- and beta-carotene, in a previous study, in obese boys compared to nonobese children. The differences between obese and nonobese subjects may be explained either by the increased expenditure of antioxidant vitamins for antioxidative protection or by the entrapment in the adipose tissues or the reduced dietary intake.

OBJECTIVE

The authors investigated dietary antioxidant vitamin intakes in obese and nonobese children.

METHODS

97 obese [body weight (kg) mean +/- SD: 82.6 +/- 18.6; age (year) mean +/- SD: 13.1 +/- 2.8] and 46 nonobese children [body weight (kg) mean +/- SD: 60.5 +/- 15.4; age (year) mean +/- SD: 14.5 +/- 2.8] were investigated. Anthropometric data were measured and a 3 days self-reported food intake were investigated (NutriComp software).

CONCLUSIONS

The authors found, that the antioxidant vitamin intake was not significantly lower in the obese group than in control subjects. The authors suggest that dietary intake does not explain the decreased serum concentration of antioxidant vitamins in obese children. Increased expenditure and/or the entrapment in the adipose tissues may be the possible explanation.