Association of childhood obesity with pubertal development in boys: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Summary Childhood obesity leads to early puberty development in girls, but its effect in boys remains unclear. We conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis to study the association between childhood obesity and puberty development in boys. We included 14 cohort studies with 114,822 boys. Meta‐analysis showed that childhood overweight (RR, 1.44; 95%CI, 1.08–1.93; the number of studies [ N ] = 4) and obesity (RR, 1.35; 95%CI, 1.11–1.64; N = 5) were associated with the earlier occurrence of testicular volume ≥4 mL (Tanner stage 2). Age reaching Tanner stage 2 in overweight boys was earlier than normal‐weight boys (mean difference: −0.23 years, 95% CI: −0.37 to −0.08; N = 2); a similar trend was observed in obese boys, but the effect estimate did not reach significance level (mean difference: −0.27 years, 95% CI: −0.59 to 0.05; N = 3). Similarly, the age at pubarche in boys with overweight/obesity was earlier than those with normal weight. Qualitative analysis shows first nocturnal emission; change in voice and peak height velocity in boys with overweight/obesity appeared to develop earlier than those with normal weight. These findings suggest overweight/obesity is associated with earlier pubertal development in boys. Due to the limited number of studies identified in this review, further studies are warranted to confirm these associations.