Effect of body mass index on the growth hormone response to clonidine stimulation testing in children with short stature.

Objectives: An inverse relationship has been shown between body mass index (BMI) and the peak growth hormone (GH) response to stimulation in adults and in children with short stature. This relation is observed even within a normal range of BMI. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of BMI on the GH response to clonidine in a large number of children with short stature.

An INSIG2 polymorphism affects glucose homeostasis in Sardinian obese children and adolescents.

Allelic variants of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs7566605, located approximately 10 kb upstream of the INSIG2 gene have been found in association with body weight and with other clinical features related to obesity in some populations but not in others. Our objective was to test the association of this SNP in obese children and adolescents from the genetically isolated population of Sardinia. We tested the association of rs7566605 with body mass index (BMI) and with serum glucose and insulin concentrations and a surrogate measure of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in a cohort of 747 Sardinian obese children and adolescents.

Thyroid function in obese children and adolescents.

Objective: Obesity is frequently associated with modifications of thyroid size and function. We evaluated the prevalence of thyroid function abnormalities and the effects of puberty and weight loss in obese children and adolescents.

Methods: We examined 468 obese children (255 girls and 213 boys aged 3.