Insulin Resistance, Metabolic Syndrome, and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Obese Youth

Abstract

School nurses are well aware of the childhood obesity epidemic in the United States, as one in three youth are overweight or obese. Co-morbidities found in overweight or obese adults were not commonly found in youth three decades ago but are now increasingly "normal" as the obesity epidemic continues to evolve. This article is the second of six related articles discussing the co-morbidities of childhood obesity and discusses the complex association between obesity and insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and polycystic ovary syndrome. Insulin resistance increases up to 50% during puberty, which may help to explain why youth are more likely to develop co-morbidities as teens. Treatment of these disorders is focused on changing lifestyle habits, as a child cannot change his or her pubertal progression, ethnicity, or family history. School nurses and other personnel can assist youth with insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and polycystic ovary syndrome by supporting their efforts to make changes, reinforcing that insulin resistance is not necessarily type 2 diabetes even if the child is taking medication, and intervening with negative peer pressure.

Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in Elementary School Children in East of Iran

“…Childhood obesity tracks into adulthood, thus increasing the risk for conditions like the MS, type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, polycystic ovarian syndrome, hypertension and dyslipidemia later in life. 4 , 5 MSis believed to increases the cardiovascular mortality rate by 2.5-fold and the all-cause mortality rate by 1.5-fold. 6 , 7 Evaluation of autopsies has shown early atherosclerotic changes in the cardiovascular system in young patients with obesity, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, and low HDL-C. 6 By aging of such patients the rate of cardiovascular diseases increase.…”