Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity in Adolescents Aged 12 to 19 Years: Comparison between the United States and Korea

This study compared the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS), its risk factors, and obesity in adolescents in the United States (US) and Korea. Data were obtained from 2003-2004 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and 2005 Korea NHANES for adolescents aged 12-19 yr in the US (n=734) and in Korea (n=664). The 2007 International Diabetes Federation (IDF) pediatric definition for diagnosis of MetS and the 2000 US Growth Charts and 2007 Korea Growth Charts for assessment of obesity were utilized. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in US and Koreans was 5.5% and 2.5%, respectively. The prevalence of obesity was 18.1% in US compared to 9.0% in Koreans. The prevalence of abdominal obesity, hyperglycemia, and hypertriglyceridemia were higher in the US, whereas that of low HDL-C levels was higher in Korea. Despite the doubled prevalence for the single entities of MetS and obesity in the US, the prevalence of MetS in obese US and Koreans did not differ (20.8% and 24.3%, respectively). In conclusion, there are differences in the prevalence of MetS, obesity, and the individual MetS risk factors between the US and Korean adolescents; however, the risk of MetS among obese adolescents is similar in both countries.