Metabolic syndrome among children aged 6 to 11 years, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates: Role of obesity

Objectives: To evaluate the association of metabolic syndrome with the varying degrees of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 years in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Methods: As an ancillary to the primary study examining prevalence of MetS in a random sample of 1186 adolescents from 114 schools in Al Ain, parents and siblings aged 6 to 11 years were invited to participate in this study. After informed consent from parents and assent from children, trained nurses administered questionnaires to assess socio-demographic and lifestyle variables and conducted anthropometric measurements. Fasting blood samples were drawn to measure plasma lipids and glucose. We used Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC)-defined categories of body mass index (BMI = kg/m² ) for normal weight (<85th percentile), overweight (≥85th to 94th percentile), and obese (≥95th percentiles). MetS was defined according to National Cholesterol Education Program's (NCEP)/Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) criteria.

Results: Of the total 234 siblings aged 6 to 11 years, 8.9% (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 5.6-13.4) had MetS. The prevalence of MetS increased with the severity of obesity, 4.5% in normal, 16.7% in overweight, and 30.0% in obese subjects. The age, sex, and ethnicity adjusted odds (1.55, 95% CI: 1.23-1.96) of MetS increased significantly with per unit increase in BMI.

Conclusions: The prevalence of MetS in study subjects increased with an increase in BMI. School-based interventions targeting metabolic risks in this population are urgently needed.