Metabolic Syndrome in Child Follows Obesity in Mom

Mother's waist circumference associated with metabolic syndrome in her child

MONDAY, Dec. 3 (HealthDay News) -- The waist circumference of a mother predicts the presence of metabolic syndrome in her child, researchers report in the December issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Valeria Hirschler, M.D., of the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, and colleagues recruited 620 Argentine schoolchildren, aged 5 to 13 years, and their mothers. All were given physical examinations, and fasting glucose, lipid profile and insulin assays were performed. Metabolic syndrome was defined using National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III standards, adapted for the children.

Central obesity in the mothers was significantly and independently associated with the presence of metabolic syndrome in the children. The mother's waist circumference was more closely related to the presence of metabolic syndrome in the children than other risk factors, including the mother's metabolic syndrome. Prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 10.8 percent in the children and 11 percent in the mothers.

"These findings provide clues for content development of programs for prevention of childhood metabolic syndrome and for targeting at-risk children for intensive intervention," the authors conclude.

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