The present study was performed to determine the presence and risk factors of metabolic syndrome (MS) determinants in Indian obese children and adolescents. The study included 220 obese children and adolescents (body mass index [BMI]≥84th percentile) aged between 5-11 years(children) and 12- 17 years(adolescents). The diagnosis of MS was made according to the criteria adapted from the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) guidelines. BMI percentiles were calculated to assess the degree of obesity. The prevalence of MS and risk factors were determined. Quantitative variables were determined using unpaired t-test between two groups and ANOVA test between three groups. Qualitative variables were compared by using chisquare test or fisher’s exact test as appropriate. The prevalence of MS in male was (56.09%) higher than female (53.62%). The age at onset of obesity, sedentary life-style in patients with MS, all laboratory values (fasting plasma glucose, lipid profile: triglyceride (TG) and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL-C), were higher in patients with MS than without MS and were statistically significant (p<0.001) except LDL-C,HDL-C and total cholesterol(TC),in which mean value is slightly differentiate in patients with MS but are not statistically significant and the number of actively spent hours were lower in cases with MS. The most important determinant of MS was BMI percentile (p<0.001). A one-point increase in BMI percentile increased the prevalence of MS in group having more than two metabolic risk factors (51.66%) in comparison to the prevalence of MS in more than three metabolic risk factors (35%) and more than four metabolic risk factors (13.33%) respectively but there was no significant difference observed (p>0.05).The results from this study indicate that, although should be replace by because the correlation between MS and BMI percentile were strong, so the BMI percentile still may be an effective parameter in identification of obese Indian children and adolescents who are at risk for MS. Screening of the patients with BMI percentile≥85 for MS is important for establishing an early diagnosis.
