Global metabolomic profiling targeting childhood obesity in the Hispanic population1,2

Background: Metabolomics may unravel important biological pathways involved in the pathophysiology of childhood obesity. Objectives: We aimed to 1) identify metabolites that differ signif-icantly between nonobese and obese Hispanic children; 2) collapse metabolites into principal components (PCs) associated with obesity and metabolic risk, specifically hyperinsulinemia, hypertriglyceridemia, hyperleptinemia, and hyperuricemia; and 3) identify metabolites asso-ciated with energy expenditure and fat oxidation. Design: This trial was a cross-sectional observational study of me-tabolomics by using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, and ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spec-trometry analyses performed on fasting plasma samples from 353 nonobese and 450 obese Hispanic children. Results: Branched-chained amino acids (BCAAs) (Leu, Ile, an