Prevalence of metabolic syndrome and improper nutritional status among adolescents

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components is a growing issue, including pediatric populations. However, because of many definitions used, it is difficult to assess the true frequency of these problems. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of MetS and its components as well as the frequency of problems with inadequate nutritional status among adolescents. One hundred ninety-six teenagers aged 15-18 years, living in Krakow and its vicinity were examined including measurement of blood pressure, anthropometric parameters and blood levels of cholesterol and glucose. The prevalence of MetS was low and varied from 0.5% to 2.0% depending on the definition. Based on Cook's definition of MetS, the most common components were hypertension (12.8%) and hypertriglyceridemia (12.8%). Improper body weight (based on BMI) was found in 23.5% of adolescents, including 5.1% underweight, and 18.4% overweight or obese. According to the body fat percentage (BF%), 45.8% of the boys were underfat and 6.3% had too much body fat, while only 4% of the girls were below the BF% reference values and 15% above. All girls and 86.5% of boys had too low total body water. In conclusion, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in population of Krakow adolescents was relatively low, but more than 12% of the adolescents had a hypertension or hypertriglyceridemia. Based on BMI most of adolescents were found to have adequate body weight, but examination of fat content in the body high prevalence of underfat was observed, especially among boys.