The Health Influences of Puberty (HIP) Study

Summary

The Health Influences of Puberty (HIP) Study is designed to explore the relationships between puberty and the onset of type 2 diabetes in adolescents. The results of this study will help us better understand how to prevent type 2 diabetes in these youth. Children go through many changes during puberty, including important hormonal and behavioral alterations. Among these changes, it has long been known that, during puberty, insulin does not work as well as it does before and after puberty. This is called physiologic insulin resistance. In healthy children, this does not cause diabetes or affect blood sugar in any way because the body is able to compensate by making more insulin. Indeed, this is thought to be an important part of the adolescent growth spurt. However, in some children with increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes due to obesity and genetics, the worsening insulin resistance of puberty cannot be compensated for and these youth get diabetes early. The investigators believe this is because type 2 diabetes is rarely, if ever, seen before puberty begins, and the peak of diabetes onset in adolescents occurs at the time of the worst insulin resistance. This specific research project has two goals: 1. To examine effects of obesity on how well the body's insulin works during puberty, and 2. To see if treatment of obese children during this critical period of puberty with a medication that improves insulin resistance (metformin) will help prevent early onset type 2 diabetes.

Timeline

Start

2011-06

Primary completion

2018-05-31

Completion

2018-05-31

Outcome

Missed primary endpoint

paper Two years of metformin treatment in obese youth during puberty improved BMI and body fat, but not Si or β-cell function. PMID 33728428 ↗

Publications

• Boster JM, Cree MG, Kelsey MM, Nadeau KJ, Chaidez A, Pan Z, Sundaram SS. Relative Skeletal Muscle Mass Is Associated With Hepatic Steatosis in Adolescents With Overweight and Obesity. Pediatr Obes. 2026 Apr;21(4):e70108. doi: 10.1111/ijpo.70108.
• Cohen CC, Moore JM, Bothwell S, Pyle L, Lopez-Paniagua D, Ware MA, Whooten R, Zeitler PS, Nadeau KJ, Kelsey MM. Adipose Depot Changes and Associated Metabolic Risk in the Longitudinal Health Influences of Puberty Study. Pediatr Obes. 2026 Mar;21(3):e70083. doi: 10.1111/ijpo.70083.
• Kelsey MM, Hilkin A, Pyle L, Severn C, Utzschneider K, Van Pelt RE, Zeitler PS, Nadeau KJ. Two-Year Treatment With Metformin During Puberty Does Not Preserve beta-Cell Function in Youth With Obesity. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2021 Jun 16;106(7):e2622-e2632. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgab170.
• Kelsey MM, Pyle L, Hilkin A, Severn CD, Utzschneider K, Van Pelt RE, Nadeau KJ, Zeitler PS. The Impact of Obesity On Insulin Sensitivity and Secretion During Pubertal Progression: A Longitudinal Study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2020 May 1;105(5):e2061-8. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgaa043.

Drugs

Indications