Wrist circumference is a biomarker of adipose tissue dysfunction and cardiovascular risk in children with obesity

To evaluate the relationship between wrist circumference, markers of adipose dysfunction, and cardiovascular risk in youths with obesity. In this cross-sectional study, we measured body mass composition by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, wrist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, fasting blood insulin, glucose, lipid profile, adiponectin, and leptin in 280 children with overweight/obesity and without diabetes (age: 7–18 years). Cardiovascular risk was estimated by “metabolic syndrome score” (MetS score). Study participants had median [25th–75th percentile] wrist circumference of 17.5 [16.7–18.5] cm and waist-to-height ratio of 0.62 [0.59–0.67]. Lower adiponectin–leptin ratio was found among subjects in the upper 50th percentiles of wrist circumference [0.17 (0.09–0.36) vs. 0.38 (0.16–0.79); p