Long‐chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in plasma lipids of obese children

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Abstract
Fatty acid composition of plasma phospholipids (PL), triglycerides (TG), and sterol esters (STE) was determined by high-resolution capillary gas-liquid chromatography in 22 obese children (age: 13.7±1.4 y, body weight relative to normal weight for height: 170±24%, mean ±SD) and compared with data obtained in 25 age-matched healthy controls. There were no differences in the levels of linoleic acid (LA, C18∶2n-6) in any of the plasma fractions from the obese children and the controls. Obese children exhibited significantly higher values of arachidonic acid (AA, C20∶4n-6) than controls both in PL (12.6 [2.4] vs. 8.3 [1.4], % wt/wt, [median (interquartile range)],PP20∶3n-6) in PL (4.0 [0.5] vs. 3.0 [0.6],PPP18∶3n-6) in STE (1.1 [0.2] vs. 0.8 [0.2],PPPPr=0.53,Pr=−0.49,Pr=−0.48,Pr=−0.57,PTG (r=−0.56,Pr=−0.56,P<0.01). We conclude that the significantly higher values of n-6 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCP) in plasma lipids of obese children than in age-matched controls may be caused by an enhanced activity of Δ6-desaturation, and we speculate that elevated fasting immunoreactive insulin seen in obese children (19.4±8.0 μU/mL) may stimulate synthesis of n-6 LCP fatty acids.