ESPE Abstracts

Childhood obesity (CO) is an important risk factor for the development of many chronic metabolic diseases in adulthood. Understanding the mechanisms that promote childhood obesity and eliminating these causes in childhood are critical for later life. One of the major complications of obesity is insulin resistance. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between sunlight exposure and insulin resistance in childhood. Specifically, it examines how the duration of sunlight exposure in childhood is related to insulin resistance. The study involved 115 obese children with a BMI > of the 95th percentile. After a detailed history, anthropometric assessment, and physical examination, biochemical (fasting serum glucose, lipid profile) and hormonal parameters (fasting insulin) were queried in 115 children presenting to our pediatric endocrinology clinic. Clinical assessments included insulin resistance measured by HOMA-IR ([fasting blood glucose (mmol/L) x fasting serum insulin (mIU/L)]/22.5) and 25- OH vitamin D level. We also divided our cases into two groups according to how long they were exposed to summer sunlight: (i) 3 months and (ii) less than 3 months. The mean weight and BMI SDS were 72.31 kg and 2.98, respectively. The mean HOMA-IR index of those exposed to sunlight for more than 3 months was 4.16, and the mean HOMA-IR index of those exposed to sunlight for 2 months or less was 5.56. Accordingly, the HOMA-IR levels of patients exposed to sunlight for 3 months were lower than those exposed to sunlight for 2 months or less in the summer season (P= 0.005). The analysis shows that sunlight exposure reduces insulin resistance. In this study, we show that sunlight exposure significantly reduces insulin resistance and consequently prevents obesity. These results suggest that sunlight has a beneficial effect on glucose homeostasis by increasing vitamin D synthesis. Demonstration of this mechanism may be the goal of future studies in this area.