RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of sodium intake on the correlations between the salt-sensitive gene α-adducin 1 (ADD1) and inflammatory cytokines in Korean childhood obesity. METHODS: A total of 2,070 students aged 8–9 years old participated in this study. The anthropometrics, serum biochemistry profile, inflammatory cytokines, and three-day dietary assessment were analyzed according to sex, obesity degree, and ADD1 polymorphism. RESULTS: The obesity prevalence was higher in boys (15.6%) than in girls (11.9%). Boys also showed higher values in anthropometrics; lipid, glucose, and insulin profiles; total calorie intakes, as well as those of sodium and calcium compared with those of the girls. The more obese were boys and girls, the higher were the anthropometrics and the blood levels (total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting blood sugar, and insulin), but the lower was high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The obese boys had significantly higher sodium and Na/K intakes, while the obese girls had higher visfatin level and Na/K intake. In addition, an increase in the risk factors for blood pressure and obesity in ADD1 variants was identified. Serum tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) significantly increased with increasing sodium intake in the ADD1 W allele carriers, regardless of sex. The presence of obesity with the ADD1 W allele induced inflammatory accelerators such as TNF-α or C-reactive protein(CRP) with higher sodium intake. CONCLUSION: Obese children with an ADD1w allele can experience a more complex form of obesity than non-obese when exposed to an obesity-inducing environment and need to be controlled sodium intake in the diet.