Table 1: Characteristics of the study subjects.

Variable Controls () Obese adolescents () Age (Years) 12.9 ± 2.7 (4–18) 12.4 ± 2.9 (4–18) Body Length (m) 1.56 ± 0.14 1.56 ± 0.14 Body Weight (kg) 47.2 ± 13.4 74.5 ± 24.2** BMI (kg/m²) 18.7 (16.9–20.4) 28.9 (26.2–32.4)+++ BMI-SDS 0.21 (−0.7–0.8) 5.4 (4.0–7.2)+++ Carotid IMT (cm) 0.052 ± 0.009 0.070 ± 0.09*** Neopterin (nmol/L) 5.3 ± 1.9 4.9 ± 1.8* C-Reactive protein (mg/dl) 0.26 (0.17–0.84) 1.9 (0.9–3.8)+++ HDL-cholesterol (mg/dl) 48.4 ± 12.0 41.9 ± 11.2*** Oxidized LDL (mg/dl) 35.1 ± 15.3 44.3 ± 16.9*** Insulin (uE/ml) 7.9 (5.1–12.7) 15.4 (8.8–29.1)+++ HOMA-IR 1.7 (1.0–2.7) 3.5 (1.8–6.9)+++ Resistin (ng/ml) 3.7 ± 1.5 4.3 ± 1.6** SBP (mmHg) 115 ± 4.9 125 ± 15.5*** DBP (mmHg) 63.1 ± 9 68 ± 8.8***

Results are expressed as mean ± S.D. analysed by Student’s -test (*, **, ***) or as median (25th–75th percentile) and Mann Whitney test (+, ++, +++ depending on the distribution of data. BMI, body mass index; BMI-SDS, BMI-standard deviation score; HOMA-IR, homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance; SBP, systolic blood pressure; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; carotid IMT, carotid intima-media thickness.