Obese Teenagers Have Lower Levels Of This Hormone

Lower levels of spexin, a hormone that has been tied to regulating body mass and energy balance in the body, have been seen in obese teenagers when compared to other teens with normal body weight. Spexin has been associated with weight management.

"Our study is the first to look at levels of spexin in the pediatric population," said one of the study's authors, Seema Kumar, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN via Science Daily. It was noted that there have been previous observations wherein obese adults had lower levels of the hormone. The new study has suggested that spexin influences weight gain early in life.

Teen obesity: Could it be driven by low hormone levels? https://t.co/HnptuFhspL

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Obesity Risk Greater For Those With Lowest Levels

In the study, spexin levels were sought out in 69 teenagers aged 12-18. Among these, 51, were obese while 18 weighed normally. They were grouped into four groups according to the levels of spexin in their blood.

Medical News Today reported that the 51 obese teenagers turned out to have lower levels of the hormone than the 18 who had normal weight. Also, those with the lowest levels of spexin had 5.25 times greater obesity risk than those with the highest levels of the hormone. 

More Obesity Studies Needed

"It is noteworthy that we see such clear differences in spexin levels between obese and lean adolescents," Kumar said as per Web MD. Still, further study is needed to fully understand how spexin influences childhood obesity and how it can be used for treatment, if ever.

It was also noted that the study only found an association between spexin and teenage obesity and not a cause-and-effect link. The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

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