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by Rob Faigin

Do Fat Kids Eat More?
Magnesium deficiency an underlying cause of childhood obesity?

There is more than one reason why the incidence of obesity in children is higher today than in the past. Physical inactivity – a preference for the computer screen over the ball field - surely contributes. But what about the widely accepted notion that fat kids eat more? A recent study casts doubt upon that notion, and suggests that magnesium deficiency is more to blame. Can it be that tiny amounts, or a lack thereof, of the 8^th most abundant element in the earth’s crust are at the heart of childhood obesity? Until follow-up studies are conducted to confirm initial findings, we can’t say definitively. But let me share with you some intriguing evidence.

Start with the basic premise that some kids are more prone to be fat than others, even though they may eat and exercise the same amount. Why is this? Because fat kids have a slower metabolism, right? Yes, but this raises two other questions. One, why do they have a slower metabolism? Two, why do more kids nowadays seemingly have slow metabolisms than in the past?

To answer this we must first understand that hormones, especially thyroid and insulin, regulate metabolism. Functional impairment of either of these hormones can drastically increase the risk of obesity. “Insulin resistance” describes a condition of impaired insulin function, and is associated with obesity and development of type 2 diabetes. The prevalence of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes – along with obesity - have skyrocketed among kids during the last twenty years. So what causes insulin resistance? Insufficiency of specific nutrients involved in blood sugar regulation is one cause. One such nutrient is magnesium.

A well-documented relationship exists between magnesium status and insulin function. In adults, lowmagnesium levels are associated with insulin resistance and decreased glucose tolerance^1-3 as well as an increasedrisk for type 2 diabetes.⁴One study found that low plasma magnesium levels conferred a 3.25 times higher risk of diabetes⁵ while another found a twofold greater risk.⁶ Consistent with these, a study found that subjects in the highest quintile of magnesium intake had a 33% lower risk of developingtype 2 diabetes than those in the lowest quintile.⁷ The Women’s Health Study is one of two studiesfinding an inverse correlation between dietary magnesium intake and fasting insulin levels.^8,9 Furthermore, magnesium supplementation resulted in improvement of insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control in both insulin-resistant diabetic and pre-diabetic subjects.^10,11 In rats, increased magnesiumintake reduced the rate of development of type 2 diabetes.¹²

From this evidence we see that adequate magnesium is necessary for optimal insulin function. In affluent countries where many people eat more calories than they should, they get less magnesium than they need. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, average daily magnesium intake is 323 mgs. for males 222 mgs. for females – both below the RDA.¹³ In children and adolescents, as well, magnesium deficiency is one of the more commonly observed nutrient deficiencies.¹⁴ It is estimated that approximately one-third of school-aged kids are magnesium deficient.^15,16 Perhaps not coincidentally, this matches the percentage of children who are obese.

Studies indicate that obese children and diabetic children have lower magnesium levels than healthy children.^17,18 This led researchers at the University of Virginia to examine more closely the role of magnesium in child metabolic disorders. Here’s what they found:

Total caloric intake was not significantly different between obese and lean children.
Blood levels of magnesium were directly correlated with insulin sensitivity and inversely correlated with insulin resistance.
Dietary intake of magnesium was lower in obese children than lean children.
Blood levels of magnesium were lower in obese children than lean children. (Low magnesium was present in 27% of lean children and 55% of obese children.)

The University of Virginia study confirmed prior studies showing that magnesium levels are lower in obese children than lean children. It went beyond prior studies by showing: 1) magnesium intake is lower among obese children 2) a direct correlation between magnesium levels and insulin resistance in children. Summarizing the significance of their findings, the study’s authors wrote: “to our knowledge, this is the first studyto report a physiologically relevant effect of deficient dietarymagnesium intake in children.”^{19

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Dietary intake of magnesium is important for proper insulin function and blood sugar control in kids, but according to one line of research a predisposition to insulin resistance is acquired in the womb. A recent study found that, in rats, maternal magnesium restriction “irreversibly increases body fat and induces insulin resistancein pups by 6 mo of age.”²⁰Japanese researchers are currently investigating the pediatric health consequences of low fetal magnesium, theorizing that “chronic intrauterine magnesium deficiency in the fetus may lead to or program the insulin resistance after birth.”²¹

1. Ma J, et al. Associations of Serum and Dietary Magnesium with Cardiovascular Disease, Hypertension, Diabetes, Insulin, and Carotid Wall Thickness: The ARIC Study. J Clin Epidemiol 1985;48:927.

2. Rosolova H, Mayer O Jr, Reaven GM: Insulin-Mediated Glucose Disposal is Decreased in Normal Subjects with Relatively Low Plasma Magnesium Concentrations. Metabolism 2000;49:418.

3. Resnick LM, et al. Hypertension and Peripheral Insulin Resistance: Possible Mediating Role of Intracellular Free Magnesium. Am J Hypertens 1990;3:373.

4. Tosiello L. Hypomagnesemia and Diabetes Mellitus. A Review of Clinical Implications. Arch Intern Med 1996;156:1143.

5. Wang JL, et al. Magnesium Status and Association with Diabetes in the Taiwanese Elderly. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 2005;14:263.

6. Kao WH, et al. Serum and Dietary Magnesium and the Risk for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. Arch Intern Med 1999;159:2151

7. Lopez-Ridaura R, et al. Magnesium Intake and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Men and Women. Diabetes Care 2004;27:134.

8. Ma J, et al. Associations of Serum and Dietary Magnesium with Cardiovascular Disease, Hypertension, Diabetes, Insulin, and Carotid Wall Thickness: The ARIC Study. J Clin Epidemiol 1985;48:927.

9. Song Y, et al. Dietary Magnesium Intake in Relation to Plasma Insulin Levels and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Women. Diabetes Care 2004;27:59.

10. Paolisso G, et al. Improved Insulin Response and Action by Chronic Magnesium Administration in Aged NIDDM Subjects. Diabetes Care 1989;12:265.

11. Guerrero-Romero F, et al. Oral Magnesium Improves Insulin Sensitivity in Non-Diabetic Subjects with Insulin Resistance. Diabetes Metab 2004;30:253.

12. Balon TW, et al. Magnesium Supplementation Reduces Development of Diabetes in a Rat Model of Spontaneous NIDDM. Am J Physiol 1995;269:E745.

13. Rude RK, Gruber HE. Magnesium Deficiency and Osteoporosis: Animal and Human Observations. Nutr Biochem 2004;15:710.

14. Johnson RK, et al. Characterizing Nutrient Intakes of Adolescents by Sociodemographic Factors. J Adolesc Health 1994;15:149.

15. Gillis L, Gillis A. Nutrient Inadequacy in Obese and Non-Obese Youth.
Can J Diet Pract Res 2005;66:237.

16. Suitor CW, Gleason PM. Using Dietary Reference Intake-Based Methods to Estimate the Prevalence of Inadequate Nutrient Intake among School-Aged Children. J Am Diet Assoc 2002;102:530.

17. Yakinci C, et al. Serum Zinc, Copper, and Magnesium Levels in Obese Children. Acta Paediatr Japonica 1997;39:339.

18. Takaya J, et al. Intracellular Magnesium of Platelets in Children with Diabetes and Obesity. Metabolism 2003;52:468.

19. Huerta MG, et al. Magnesium Deficiency is Associated with Insulin Resistance in Obese Children. Diabetes Care 2005;28:1175.

20. Venu L, Kishore YD, Raghunath M. Maternal and Perinatal Magnesium Restriction Predisposes Rat Pups to Insulin Resistance and Glucose Intolerance. J Nutr 2005;135:1353.

21. Takaya J, Kaneko K. Fetus and Magnesium. Clin Calcium 2005;15:105.