A dysfunctional family environment and a high body fat percentage negatively affect telomere length in Mexican boys aged 8-10 years

Aim The aim of this study was to determine whether a direct relationship existed between absolute telomere length (aTL), obesity and familial functionality in a group of Mexican children. Methods We recruited 134 children (52% boys) aged 8-10 years during regular primary care check-ups in 2016 and evaluated physical activity (PA), feeding practices, anthropometrics, body fat percentage (BF%) and family dysfunction. Optimised quantitative PCR determined aTL from genomic deoxyribonucleic acid isolated from saliva samples. Results Boys with a healthy BF% showed a higher aTL than their high BF% counterparts (P < .01). aTL was higher in children who performed PA than their sedentary counterparts (P < .05). Alarmingly, 90% of the children belonged to dysfunctional families and a dysfunctional family was correlated with a higher BF% (r = -.57). Negative correlations between the BF% and aTL (r = -.1765) and the BF% and time dedicated to PA (r = -.031) were observed in boys. On the contrary, we found a positive correlation between the aTL and weekly PA (r = .1938). These correlations were not observed in girls. Conclusion Telomere shortening was associated with a high BF% in boys, but not girls. Dysfunctional families were also a key factor. School PA programmes should be mandatory.