Clinical and physical characteristics of thinness in adolescents: the HELENA study

Jérémy Vanhelst (1, 2) , Laurent Béghin (2, 3) , Elodie Drumez (4, 5) , Manuel Castillo (6) , Anthony Kafatos (7) , Dénes Molnar (8) , Kurt Wildhalm (9) , Mathilde Kersting (10) , Marcela Gonzales-Gross (11) , Christina Breidenassel (12) , Laura Censi (13) , Stefaan de Henauw (14) , Luis Moreno (15, 16, 17, 18) , Frédéric Gottrand (2)

1 CRESS - U1153 - Equipe 3: EREN- Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle
2 INFINITE (Ex-Liric) - Institute for Translational Research in Inflammation - U 1286
3 CIC Lille - Centre d'Investigation Clinique - Innovation Technologique de Lille - CIC 1403 - CIC 9301
4 METRICS - Evaluation des technologies de santé et des pratiques médicales - ULR 2694
5 CHU Lille
6 UGR - Universidad de Granada = University of Granada
7 UOC - University of Crete [Heraklion]
8 UP MS - University of Pécs Medical School
9 Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
10 RUB - Ruhr University Bochum
11 ImFine Research Group
12 University of Bonn
13 CREA - Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria = Council for Agricultural Research and Economics
14 Department of Public Health and Primary Care
15 IA2 - Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón
16 IIS Aragón - Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Aragón [Zaragoza]
17 GENUD - Growth, Exercise, NUtrition and Development
18 CIBEROBN - Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de la Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición

Purpose Thinness in adolescence has not been studied as extensively as overweight or obesity. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence, characteristics, and health impacts of thinness in a European adolescent population. Methods This study included 2711 adolescents (1479 girls, 1232 boys). Blood pressure, physical fitness, sedentary behaviors, physical activity (PA), and dietary intake were assessed. A medical questionnaire was used to report any associated diseases. A blood sample was collected in a subgroup of the population. Thinness and normal weight were identified using the IOTF scale. Thin adolescents were compared with adolescents of normal weight. Results Two hundred and fourteen adolescents (7.9%) were classified as being thin; the prevalence rates were 8.6% in girls and 7.1% in boys. Systolic blood pressure was significantly lower in adolescents with thinness. The age at the first menstrual cycle was significantly later in thin female adolescents than in those with normal weight. Upper-body muscular strength measured in performance tests and time spent in light PA were significantly lower in thin adolescents. The Diet Quality Index was not significantly lower in thin adolescents, but the percentage of adolescents who skipped breakfast was higher in adolescents with a normal weight (27.7% vs 17.1%). Serum creatinine level and HOMA-insulin resistance were lower and vitamin B12 level was higher in thin adolescents. Conclusions Thinness affects a notable proportion of European adolescents with no physical adverse health consequences.

Keywords: Thinness; Youth; Prevalence; Europe; Characteristics; Lifestyle

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]; Food and Nutrition; Human health and pathology

Jérémy Vanhelst, Laurent Béghin, Elodie Drumez, Manuel Castillo, Anthony Kafatos, et al.. Clinical and physical characteristics of thinness in adolescents: the HELENA study. European Journal of Nutrition, 2023, ⟨10.1007/s00394-023-03104-0⟩. ⟨hal-04067983⟩