How close are children with obesity to becoming an adult with chronic illnesses?

Childhood obesity has become a global threat due to its serious negative consequences. We aimed to determine the patterns of metabolic syndrome and cardio-metabolic risk factors in Turkish children with obesity.

We examined 169 schoolchildren with obesity in April and May 2019 in Samsun, Turkey. After clinical evaluation and anthropometric measurements, fasting blood samples were collected to measure total cholesterol, low and high-density lipoprotein, fasting blood glucose, triglycerides, and insulin levels.

The proportion of those who met the metabolic syndrome criteria in boys was 14.3%, but it was twice as high in girls (28.2%). The most prevalent component of cardio-metabolic risk factor was increased waist circumference (96.4%) followed by a high homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance index (74.6%) and high blood pressure (29.0%). While the average high-density lipoprotein was higher in boys than in girls, on the contrary, insulin, HbA1c, and homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance concentrations were higher in girls. The prevalence of dyslipidemia was also higher in girls (67.1%) than in boys (47.6%), as were all impaired metabolic syndrome components.

One in five children with obesity was at risk of metabolic syndrome. For early intervention and prevention, children with obesity should be monitored in terms of cardio-metabolic risk factors, but obese girls are more prioritized.