SynthesisNutrition reviews2026
A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Sex Differences in Subcutaneous and Visceral Abdominal Fat in Children.
Synthesis in Nutrition reviews, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Abdominal obesity among Chinese children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence and study-level heterogeneity.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Discriminative Ability of TyG, TyG-WC, BAI, FGIR, and QUICKI Indexes in Identifying Metabolic Syndrome in a Pediatric Population with Obesity.Metabolites · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
contextSex-based differences in abdominal fat distribution are well documented in adults, with men typically accumulating more visceral adipose tissue (VAT), located around intra-abdominal organs, and women exhibiting higher levels of subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (SAAT), distributed in the abdominal subcutaneous layer. However, the developmental onset of these differences remains unclear.
objectiveThis systematic review and meta-analysis examined sex-specific VAT and SAAT distribution differences among normal-weight prepubertal children aged 0-10 years. DATA SOURCES: A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, LILACS, and Web of Science was conducted to identify studies published from the inception of each database through June 2024. DATA ANALYSIS: Standardized mean differences (SMDs) for sex-based differences in VAT and SAAT were calculated using a random-effects model, stratified by age group. The analysis included data from 20 studies. In the overall analysis, prepubertal girls had significantly higher SAAT compared with boys (pooled SMD = 0.23; 95% CI: 0.15-0.32; I2 = 89%). This sex difference became apparent starting in the 3- to 6-year age group (SMD = 0.59; 95% CI: 0.38-0.79; I2 = 80%). In contrast, no significant sex differences in VAT were detected in either the age-stratified analyses or the overall estimate (pooled SMD = 0.09; 95% CI: -0.01 to 0.19; I2 = 91%). However, this finding should be interpreted with caution due to the high degree of heterogeneity observed across studies.
conclusionSex differences in abdominal adiposity appear to emerge early in childhood, with prepubertal girls exhibiting higher SAAT than boys from the age of 3 years. In contrast, the absence of sex-based differences in VAT should be interpreted with caution. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration no. CRD42022361412.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.