Lower grip strength in youth with obesity identifies those with increased cardiometabolic risk

Background: We examined whether grip strength differentiates youth with obesity with increased cardiometabolic risk.

Methods: The sample comprised 43 youth with severe obesity (mean age 14.8, standard deviation 3.0 years) enrolled in the Childhood Overweight BioRepository of Australia. Grip strength was normalized to body mass and categorized as low and moderate/high.

Results: Youth with low grip strength had higher systolic blood pressure (mean difference 13mmHg), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (0.26mmol/l), continuous metabolic syndrome score (0.36), and carotid intima-media thickness (0.05mm) compared with those with moderate/high grip strength.

Conclusions: Low grip strength may differentiate youth with obesity with increased cardiometabolic risk.