Metabolic Syndrome In Obese African American Adolescents

METABOLIC SYNDROME IN OBESE AFRICAN AMERICAN ADOLESCENTSbyYULYU YEHAugust 2014Advisor: Dr. K.L. Catherine Jen Major: Nutrition and Food ScienceDegree: Doctor of PhilosophyLimited research regarding the relationship of metabolic syndrome (MetS),serum calcium, vitamin D level, nutrition knowledge, and food environments (FE)has been conducted in obese African American adolescents (oAAA). MetS is aconstellation of risk factors that increase the risk for chronic diseases and is defined as presence of any 3 or more of the 5 criteria: fasting glucose 100mg/dl,waist circumference 90 percentile, triglycerides 150 mg/dl, blood pressure (BP) 130/85 mmHg and HDL <40mg/dl. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of MetS in oAAA and the relationship between MetS and, FE, serum calcium, leptin, and 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D (1, 25D3) levels. Principlecomponent analysis was used to cluster all the variables. One hundred and fiftyone OAAA (mean age: 14.3 ± 1.4 years, 65.6% girls, mean BMI: 37.4±7.2 kg/m)took part in this study. Anthropometric data, fasting blood samples, and self-report questionnaires were collected. The MetS rate for OAAA was 61.6% andboys had higher MetS than girls (73.1%, 55.6% respectively). The lipid profile+calcium, insulin resistance, and nutrition knowledge + vitamin D clusters