Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #298193

Title: The impact of metabolic syndrome on child weight outcomes in pediatric obesity program for Mexican Americans

Author
item JOHNSTON, CRAIG - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item MORENO, JENNETTE - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item GREEN, LANCE - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item EL-MUBASHER, ABEER - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item MCFARLIN, BRIAN - University Of North Texas
item FOREYT, JOHN - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)

Submitted to: Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/13/2012
Publication Date: 4/20/2013
Citation: Johnston, C.A., Moreno, J.P., Green, L., El-Mubasher, A.A., Mcfarlin, B.K., Foreyt, J.P. 2013. The impact of metabolic syndrome on child weight outcomes in pediatric obesity program for Mexican Americans [abstract]. In: Proceedings Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Conference 2013, April 20-24, 2013, Boston, Massachusetts. 27:1063.24.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Adults with metabolic syndrome (MetS) are three to five times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Given the long term consequences of MetS, the growing number of children meeting criteria for MetS is concerning. In order to determine the impact of MetS on pediatric weight management, data were collected from overweight and obese Mexican American children (n = 150) aged 10 to 14 who were randomized to either an instructor-led intervention (ILI; n=91) or self-help condition (SH; n=59). Approximately 20% of participants met criteria for MetS. Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed that participants without MetS in the ILI significantly decreased their zBMI at 3 months compared to children with MetS (F=12.9, p <.01). For those who met criteria for MetS, there was no difference in weight change for participants enrolled in the ILI compared to the SH condition (F=0.2, ns). Binary logistic regression demonstrated that students in the ILI with MetS were 2.4 times (95% CI, 1.0 through 5.6) more likely to gain weight compared to students without MetS (p < .05). Overall, students in a weight management program with MetS were not as successful as children without MetS in terms of maintaining or decreasing their zBMI. This is concerning as these children remain at greater risk for associated conditions in adulthood.