The skinny on metabolic syndrome in adolescents

The metabolic syndrome (MetS) captures a cluster of cardio-metabolic risk factors that have been shown to predict the development of both cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. With international consensus we have now arrived at a harmonized definition of MetS in adults globally (1). However, there are still several definitions of MetS in children; all definitions include an obesity element (waist circumference or BMI or BMI percentile or z-score), two “dyslipidemia” elements (elevated triglycerides and low HDL-cholesterol), elevated blood pressure, and a component representing glucose metabolism (impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance). A recent review reported that the prevalence of MetS in overweight children was around 12% and in obese children, 29% (2).