You may have heard of metabolic syndrome in conjunction with adult males or females. It is a set of conditions that usually indicate the presence or likelihood of coronary disease and type 2 diabetes.
Remember all of the literature recently about how belly fat, more than other kinds of fat, can be dangerous? It is one of the indicators of metabolic syndrome. And while we do usually associate metabolic syndrome with adults, as mentioned above (22 percent of Americans have it), it can also occur in adolescents (about 4 percent).
Metabolic syndrome is categorized by “insulin resistance, increased waist circumference, high blood pressure, and abnormal measures of high density lipoprotein (“good cholesterol”) and triglycerides in the blood,” according to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The hospital recently conducted a study of teenage boys with this syndrome. They found some interesting results.
One thing that the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia found, in that study, is that teenage boys who have metabolic syndrome also tend to have elevated liver enzymes. Why is this finding significant? Well, elevated liver enzymes can indicate a group of liver diseases that can then develop into irreversible liver damage.
The only treatment at the moment to reduce the elevated liver enzymes in boys who have metabolic syndrome is weight loss. There may be other treatments available in the future. And not ever teenage boy who has metabolic syndrome is obese, although it is usual to have a connection.
Interestingly enough, the study did not find a correlation between suspected liver disease and teenage girls. Still, obesity carries health risks for your teenager, no matter which sex, so it is important to seek out medical advice.
It is also important to note that not all teenagers with both metabolic syndrome and liver concerns are obese, so further research needs to be done.
You can read more blog posts by Mary Ann Romans here!