Metabolic Syndrome in Brazilian Adolescents
The effect of body weight
- Isabel Cristina Britto Guimarães, MD, MS,
- Alessandro Moura de Almeida, MD and
- Armênio Costa Guimarães, MD, PHD
- From the Post-Graduate Course in Medicine and Health, Federal University of Bahia, Bahia, Brazil
- Address correspondence to Isabel Cristina Britto Guimarães, MD, MS, Rua de Ebano, 251, Apt. 501, Caminho das Arvores, Salvador, 41820-370, Bahia, Brazil. E-mail: isabelguima{at}terra.com.br
Overweight/obesity plays a central role in metabolic syndrome, a major health problem from infancy to adulthood (1). To identify and apply preventive and therapeutic measures at its earliest stages, the prevalence of its components were studied among a sample of high normal–weight, overweight, and obese Brazilian adolescents (2).
A total of 314 adolescents aged mean ± SD 13.8 ± 1.97 years were selected from two private and two public schools, of whom 178 (56.7%) were girls and 163 (51.9%) nonwhites. The approval of the university ethics committee and written informed consent were obtained. The students were divided into three BMI-based groups: high normal (≥50th and <85th percentile) …
