Metabolic syndrome: Prevalence and risk factors in intermediate and secondary adolescent female students in Saudi Arabia

Metabolic Syndrome (MS) has become one of the major public health challenges worldwide. There are specific risk factors for adolescence age, such as obesity, dysglycemia, dyslipidemia and elevated triglycerides levels. MS is a cluster of metabolic disorders that include being overweight and obese, physically inactive having certain genetic factors and getting older.A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the prevalence and risk factor among adolescent females in National Guard schools in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A total number of 261 female school students aged 12-18 years participated in this study from Um Kalthoom Secondary School, no 41 and Zainab Bint Jahsh High School, no 25, both located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The participants were divided into three groups fasting, random and impaired glucose sample groups. The prevalence of MS in each group was 13.4%, 15.9% and 10.7% respectively. The prevalence of MS in the fasting glucose group was more common among high school students (8.18%) while the random glucose group showed more prevalence in intermediate school students (9.78%). The most prevalent MS criterion was high waist circumference in all the groups. When assessing the potential risk factors that might contribute to the prevalence of MS; sedentary lifestyle of the students showed the higher percentage (49%) followed by fast food consumption (23%).This study was conducted to provide evidence of the increasing prevalence and risk factors of metabolic syndrome in adolescent female students in order to raise awareness and improve future health care plans. It is recommended to implement a nutritional lifestyle in the students’ daily routine. In addition to promoting physical activity by implementing sport activities and weight reduction programs in order to avoid the serious complications of MS.