Prevalence of the Metabolic Syndrome in U.S. Youth

This chapter summarizes the national prevalence estimates of metabolic syndrome in U.S. youth based on various definitions that employ either a clinical threshold value for each component or a percentile threshold based on some combination of age, sex, and ethnicity. The national estimates are followed by a summary of large, key regional studies. The possibility of becoming obese is greater than ever for U.S. children and adolescents. If current prevalence trends continue, our children will grow up to be the most obese generation of adults in U.S. history, faced at increasingly younger ages with the onset of chronic conditions, such as metabolic syndrome, which in turn will lead to chronic and costly outcomes, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, even more troubling is that before reaching adulthood, large proportions of overweight and obese children are already experiencing substantial medical effects related to their overweight in the form of metabolic syndrome.