Metabolic Syndrome and its determinants in a sample of young Iranian children with obesity

Objective: childhood obesity increases the risk of metabolic syndrome (mets) both in childhood and adulthood. the present study aimed to determine the prevalence of mets and its potential determinants in a sample of iranian obese children. methodology: this cross-sectional study was conducted in 2011 among 150 obese children (body mass index ≥ 95th percentile) with seven years of age. they were randomly selected from 9 health centers in three districts of the north tehran. trained nutritionists completed a socio-demographic questionnaire by interviewing parents, and conducted the physical examination. mets was defined based on modified adult treatment panel iii criteria. results: the mean (sd) of weight, height, and bmi was 37.5 (6.3) kg, 127.2 (4.7) cm and 23.08 (2.9) kg/ m2, respectively. the prevalence of mets was 13.4%, without significant difference in terms of gender. the most common component of mets was abdominal obesity (79%). while 21.3% of children did not have any component of mets, 42% of them had at least one component. most children with mets had a history of breastfeeding for less than six months. waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, and triglyceride levels were higher in mets compared to controls (p < 0.05). logistic regression model revealed that children with birth weight of ≤ 2500 gr. were at higher risk of mets than children with a higher birth weight (or=4.3; 95%ci: 1.1-9.7). conclusion: primordial prevention of childhood obesity, and screening the components of mets among obese children, should be considered as a health priority at individual and public levels. prevention of low birth weight can have long-term impact on prevention of childhood obesity.