The research, published in eBioMedicine, involved children from the CORALS cohort (Childhood Obesity Risk Assessment Longitudinal Study) to examine the link between diet and metabolism. The findings identified two main metabolic profiles: the first associated with higher levels of triglycerides, insulin, and fasting glucose, and the second related to lower levels of adiposity and insulin resistance.
"What is significant is that we can detect metabolic differences associated with diet when children are only between three and six years old," explains Nancy Babio, senior researcher on the study and principal investigator of CORALS. "We are not yet talking about cardiovascular disease, but about early metabolic signals that help us understand how diet relates to cardiovascular health from the earliest stages of life."
Incorporating these metabolic profiles into the analysis, alongside indicators such as weight and blood pressure, improved the ability to identify children with less favorable cardiovascular profiles by 9.2%. "These results reinforce the importance of paying attention to dietary quality from the earliest years of life," notes Jordi Salas-Salvadó, a researcher at the URV's Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology.
The authors emphasize that the study identifies an association and does not establish a cause-and-effect relationship. The ongoing follow-up of the CORALS cohort will allow for the study of whether these profiles are maintained as children grow and their relationship with the evolution of their cardiovascular health. The study was conducted by Josué A. Pérez-Acosta, under the leadership of Nancy Babio and Jordi Salas-Salvadó, along with Jesús F. García-Gavilán, as part of IRB CatSud and CIBEROBN.
