Sindroma Metabolik pada Remaja Obesitas (The metabolic syndrome among obese adolescents)

Background: Obesity and metabolic syndrome beginning in childhood progressing into adulthood lead to a substansial risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus and coronary heart disease. The study of the metabolic syndrome among children and adolescents were limited. The purpose of this study is to define the prevalence and distribution of metabolic syndrome among adolescents. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in one junior high school in Semarang. The anthropometric, blood pressure, and lipid profile from venous blood sample were taken during 2005-2007. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome is defined as the presence of 3 of the following risk factors: triglyceride 110 mg/dl, HDL 40 mg/dl, fasting glucose level 110 mg/dl, and blood pressure or waist cirmcumference at or above the 90th percentile. The independent t-test was used to compare the anthropometric and lipid profile of the two groups, and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome were described with 95% CI. Results: Grade 7th students consist of 82 boys (57 obesity and 25 normal) and 34 girls (22 obese and 12 normal) with mean age 13.0 years were participated in this study. There were significantly different in anthropometric and lipid profiles between the obesity and normal. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome among the obese was 31.6% and none of the normal students got metabolic syndrome. However the lipid profile especially in the obese were higher than normal. Conclusions: More than 30% obese adolescents meet the criteria of metabolic syndrome. These findings may have important implications for prevention and intervention of childhood obesity