Characteristics of obese children with low content of arachidonic acid in plasma lipids.

Background: Although there have been many studies on the relationship between obesity and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA), the results and their interpretation are controversial, especially in children. Arachidonic acid (AA), the product of n-6 LCPUFA, is reported to be related to insulin resistance. The purpose of the present paper was to investigate the LCPUFA profile in obese children and mechanisms that contribute to reduced AA content.