Fatma Ozguc Comlek
There is no widely used international definition of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) in children and adolescents, but all definitions include obesity as a prerequisite for the development of MetS, even in children. Obesity is one of the most important cardiometabolic risk factors and is strongly associated with a group of metabolic diseases associated with hyperlipidemia, hypertension and insulin resistance that are driven by underlying factors such as visceral obesity, systemic inflammation and cellular dysfunction. These risks increasingly begin in childhood and adolescence and are associated with a higher probability of future chronic disease in adulthood. Efforts should be made to recognize this metabolic risk screen for potentially associated Type 2 diabetes and primarily target affected individuals for appropriate treatment with lifestyle modification.