Leucocyte telomere length (LTL) is a robust marker of biological aging and is associated with obesity and cardiometabolic risk factors in childhood and adolescence. We investigated the effect of a structured, comprehensive, multidisciplinary, personalized, lifestyle intervention program of healthy diet and physical exercise on LTL in 508 children and adolescents (239 males, 269 females; 282 prepubertal, 226 pubertal), aged 10.14 ± 0.13 years. Participants were classified as obese (n = 267, 52.6%), overweight (n = 174, 34.2%), or of normal BMI (n = 67, 13.2%) according to the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) cutoff points and were studied prospectively for one year. We demonstrated that LTL increased significantly after 1 year of the lifestyle interventions, irrespective of gender, pubertal status, or body mass index (BMI). Waist circumference was the best negative predictor of LTL at initial assessment. The implementation of the lifestyle interventions also resulted in a significant improvement in clinical (BMI, BMI z-score and waist to height ratio) and body composition indices of obesity, inflammatory markers, hepatic enzymes, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C), quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI), and lipid profile in all participants. These findings indicate that the increased LTL may be associated with a more favorable metabolic profile and decreased morbidity later in life.
Keywords: adolescence; childhood; leukocyte telomere length; obesity; overweight.