Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and impaired glucose tolerance in Flemish obese children

Abstract

Childhood obesity has reached epidemic levels worldwide and is associated with an increased likelihood for having the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). We aimed to assess the prevalence of MetS and IGT in Flemish obese children and adolescents. A total of 170 obese children aged 13.9 ± 5.7 years (94 female and 76 male; BMI-SDS 2.8 ± 0.5) who completed an oral glucose tolerance test between May 2004 and April 2011 were included in the study. Height and weight were measured. BMI and BMI-SDS were calculated based on Flemish growth charts. Fasting/2h glucose, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, systolic and diastolic blood pressure were measured. MetS was defi ned according to the IDF criteria. The prevalence of hypertension (68.8%) and low HDL-cholesterol (36.5%) was high compared to elevated triglyceride (17.1%) and increasing fasting plasma glucose concentrations (6.5%) in all subjects. The prevalence of abdominal obesity plus any one, two or three metabolic components was 47.1, 27.6, and 8.8%, respectively. Hence, 62 (36.5%) subjects were classifi ed with MetS. BMI-SDS (F = 3.78; p < 0.02) and age (F = 2.69; p < 0.05) increased with the number of MetS criteria. IGT was detected in 25 (14.7%) subjects of which 10 (5.9%) also had MetS. Of all subjects, 52 (30.6%) had MetS without IGT.MetS is highly prevalent in Flemish obese children and adolescents. It remains to be shown whether MetS or IGT has the highest risk for developing type II diabetes.