Obesity and metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents [Article in Serbian]

Abstract

The rapidly rising prevalence of childhood and adolescence obesity is related to increased risk of obesity-related diseases during adulthood. The importance of early identification of children at risk from developing metabolic syndrome and subsequently progressing to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in later life must not be underestimated. The metabolic syndrome in adults is defined as a cluster of cardiovascular and diabetes risk factors including abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, glucose intolerance, and hypertension. According to age-related differences in children and adolescents, a new IDF definition of metabolic syndrome has been divided according to age groups. Diagnosis of metabolic syndrome requires the presence of abdominal obesity plus the presence of two or more of the other components (elevated triglycerides, low high-density lipoproteins – HDL-cholesterol, high blood pressure, and elevated plasma glucose). The IDF criteria can used for adolescents aged ≥16 years, while a modified version of these criteria will be applied to those aged 10 to 16 years. On the basis of emerging new data, these criteria may change in the future.