Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents with obesity: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract Objective This study investigated the prevalence trends of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in children and adolescents with obesity by systematically analyzing global data. Additionally, it aimed to compare regional disparities and criteria used to identify at‐risk subpopulations among this demographic group. Methods We searched three major databases, i.e., PubMed‐Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science, from inception to August 31, 2023, yielding 2432 articles. We included original research papers reporting MetS prevalence among children and adolescents with obesity, irrespective of their regions and MetS diagnostic criteria used. We aggregated prevalence estimates using random‐effects models to obtain the overall prevalence and conducted subgroup analyses for MetS criteria and study regions. Results We included 57 studies, amounting to 27,923 participants. The overall prevalence of MetS in participants with obesity varied greatly across studies, ranging from 2.1% to 74.4%, with an average prevalence of 29.4%. This high prevalence of MetS was further supported by a meta‐analysis comprising 57 studies that further strengthened the observation of a high prevalence of MetS, revealing an overall prevalence of 26% (95% CI: 0.22–0.30; I 2 = 98%). Conclusions Children and adolescents with obesity face a heightened risk of developing MetS. There is a pressing need for heightened attention to this issue, particularly in low‐ and middle‐income countries such as those in sub‐Saharan Africa.