Thyroid axis hormones and anthropometric recovery of children/adolescents with overweight/obesity: A scoping review

Introduction: Thyroid hormones exert multiple physiological effects essential to the maintenance of basal metabolic rate (BMR), adaptive thermogenesis, fat metabolism, growth, and appetite. The links between obesity and the hormones of the thyroid axis, i.e., triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), and thyrotropin (TSH), are still controversial, especially when considering children and adolescents. This population has high rates of overweight and obesity and several treatment approaches, including nutritional, psychological, and physical exercise interventions have been used. Understanding the importance of the hormones of the thyroid axis in the recovery from overweight and obesity may help directing measures to the maintenance of a healthy body composition. The present scoping review was carried out to analyze studies evaluating these hormonal levels throughout interventions directed at treating overweight and obesity in children and adolescents. The main purpose was to ascertain whether the hormones levels vary during weight loss. Methods: We selected for analysis 19 studies published between 1999 and 2022. Results: Most of the studies showed that changes in different anthropometric indicators, in response to the multidisciplinary interventions, correlated positively with free T3 (fT3), total T3 (TT3), and TSH. With respect to free T4 (fT4) and total T4 (TT4). Discussion: The most common finding was of unchanged levels and, hence, no significant association with weight loss. Moreover, thyroxine supplementation has failed to affect the response to the interventions. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the relevance of the variations in hormone levels to the establishment of overweight/obesity and to the recovery from these conditions in children/adolescents.

Automated summary

Thyroid hormones play a crucial role in various physiological processes, and their association with obesity in children and adolescents remains controversial. This scoping review analyzed 19 studies to examine hormonal changes during interventions for overweight and obesity in this population. The majority of studies found a positive correlation between anthropometric changes and free T3, total T3, and TSH levels, while free T4 and total T4 levels showed no significant association with weight loss. Further research is needed to understand the relevance of hormonal variations in the development and recovery from overweight and obesity in children and adolescents.