Abstract
BackgroundObesity has become a serious epidemic health problem in both developing and developed countries. There is much evidence that obesity among adolescents contributed significantly to the development of type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease in adulthood. Very limited information exists on the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and associated metabolic risk factors among Syrian adolescents. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between obesity determined by body mass index and the major metabolic risk factors among Syrian adolescents.MethodsA cross-sectional study of a randomly selected sample of 2064 apparently healthy Syrian adolescents aged 18 to 19 years from Damascus city, in Syria, was performed. Body mass index and blood pressure were measured. Serum concentrations of glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol were determined. Metabolic syndrome was defined using the national criteria for each determined metabolic risk factor. Individuals with a body mass index 25 to 29.9 were classified as overweight, whereas individuals with a body mass index ≥30 were classified as obese.A receiver operating characteristics curve was drawn to determine appropriate cut-off points of the body mass index for defining overweight and obesity, and to indicate the performance of body mass index as a predictor of risk factors.ResultsThe obtained data showed that blood pressure and the overall mean concentrations of fasting blood sugar, triglycerides, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and triglycerides/high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol were significantly higher in overweight and obese adolescent groups (p <0.0001) in comparison with the normal group. Based on receiver operating characteristics calculation for body mass index and some metabolic risks, the data suggest the best body mass index cut-offs ranged between 23.25 and 24.35 kg/m2.ConclusionsA strong association between overweight and obesity as determined by body mass index and high concentrations of metabolic syndrome components has been demonstrated. Although body mass index values were lower than the international cut-offs, these values were good predictors of some metabolic abnormalities in Syrian adolescents; body mass index is a good predictor of these abnormalities in this population.
Highlights
Obesity has become a serious epidemic health problem in both developing and developed countries
Data from the present study suggested that populations who have high body mass index (BMI), high Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and high levels of serum fasting blood sugar (FBS), TG, Chol, LDLChol, and TG/HDL-Chol are more likely to experience a cardiovascular effect
Specificity, and ROC calculation, we found that BMI had a good accuracy for identifying adolescents with some metabolic risk factors including DBP, TG, Chol, LDL-Chol, and TG/HDL-Chol; these data suggest the best BMI cut-offs ranged between 23.25 and 24.35 kg/m2
Summary
Obesity has become a serious epidemic health problem in both developing and developed countries. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between obesity determined by body mass index and the major metabolic risk factors among Syrian adolescents. Obesity is one of the main components of the metabolic syndrome (MetS), which is a cluster of risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) [3]. These factors lead to reduced quality of life given their protracted nature, they lead to premature death [4]. The American Health Association and other professional societies recommend assessment of obesity using indices such as body mass index (BMI) [7, 8]
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