Knowledge mapping and bibliometric analysis of metabolic phenotypes in childhood and adolescent obesity: research hotspots and emerging trends from 2000 to 2026.

Authors

Guodong Ren, Zhanpeng Feng, Xiuzhi Wang, Jun He, Zhongtao Yu, Liquan Cao

Published in

Frontiers in public health. Volume 14. Pages 1907434. Epub Jul 16, 2026.

Abstract

Childhood and adolescent obesity is increasingly understood as a heterogeneous condition in which excess adiposity may be accompanied by distinct cardiometabolic phenotypes. Metabolically healthy obesity and metabolically unhealthy obesity have become important concepts for risk stratification, but the overall knowledge structure and emerging research directions in this field remain insufficiently mapped.
Records on metabolic phenotypes in childhood and adolescent obesity published between 1 January 2000 and 20 February 2026 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection and PubMed on 20 February 2026. English-language articles and reviews were independently screened by two researchers. After database merging, deduplication and data cleaning, 4,963 records were retained for bibliometric analysis, including 4,384 WoSCC-retained records and 579 PubMed-only records. CiteSpace 6.4. R1, VOSviewer 1.6.20, R 4.5.2 and bibliometrix 5.4.1 were used to analyze annual publication trends, country and institutional collaboration, author and reference co-citation, keyword co-occurrence, clustering and burst terms. Citation-dependent analyses were based on WoSCC-retained records with complete cited-reference metadata.
Publication output increased overall and showed three broad phases: an initial phase centered on BMI criteria, obesity prevalence and metabolic syndrome recognition; a rapid growth phase associated with insulin resistance, glucose-lipid abnormalities and metabolic heterogeneity; and a recent consolidation phase emphasizing phenotype transition, gut microbiota, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, physical activity, cardiometabolic health and precision intervention. The United States, Spain, China and England were leading contributors, although cross-regional collaboration remained uneven. Co-cited references, author networks and keyword clusters indicated that the field has moved from weight-based classification toward integrated cardiometabolic risk identification, with emerging attention to central adiposity, visceral fat, microbiome-related mechanisms and phenotype-guided management.
Research on metabolic phenotypes in childhood and adolescent obesity is shifting from BMI-centered description toward risk-stratified interpretation of metabolic heterogeneity. Future studies should harmonize pediatric phenotype definitions, strengthen multicenter longitudinal cohorts and integrate body composition, fat distribution, insulin sensitivity, liver fat, inflammatory markers, lifestyle exposure and gut microbiota to support early identification and precision prevention of cardiometabolic risk.

PMID:
42534462
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 31 Jul 2026.

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