Metabolic Syndrome on the Rise Among Obese Teens

“ A cluster of heart disease and diabetes risk factors known as the metabolic syndrome is becoming increasingly common in adolescents, paralleling the rise in teen obesity, a new study shows. Obese teens are now more likely to have the syndrome than they were just a few years ago. However, the prevalence varies widely - from 12.4 percent to 44.2 percent -- depending upon which definition of metabolic syndrome is used. The metabolic syndrome is seen almost exclusively in overweight kids, Dr. Stephen Cook of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in New York, the study's lead author, told Reuters Health.”