title: Association between obesity and metabolic co-morbidities among children and adolescents in South Korea based on national data.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Childhood obesity has become a serious public health threat worldwide due to its many short- and long-term adverse health effects. We assessed the association between weight status and metabolic co-morbidities among South Korean children using nationally representative data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from the 2007-2008 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys for 1,526 children aged 10-19 years were used. Logistic regression models were fit to examine the association between weight status [overweight, 85th percentile≤BMI<95th percentile; obese, BMI≥95th percentile; and central obesity, waist circumference≥90th percentile, based on 2007 Korean National Growth Charts] and metabolic outcomes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  More obese children had metabolic co-morbidities than normal-weight children (P<0.05). Boys had higher means BMI than girls, WC, and BP, while girls had higher means of total blood cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol (P<0.05). Attributable risk of metabolic syndrome was high due to overweight and obesity: 91.1% for central obesity and 29.6% for high TG. Obese children had increased risk of having high BP (adjusted odds ratio (OR): 1.90; 95% CI: 1.05-3.45), dyslipidemia (OR: 6.21; 95% CI: 3.59-10.75), high TG (OR: 6.87; 95% CI: 4.05-11.64), low HDL (OR: 4.46; 95% CI: 2.23-8.89), and ≥2 co-morbidities (OR: 26.97; 95% CI: 14.95-48.65) compared to normal-weight subjects, while the associations between weight status and metabolic outcomes were stronger in boys.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Obesity was strongly associated with metabolic co-morbidities in South Korean children.
authors.forename: Hyunjung
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Global Center on Childhood Obesity, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA. youfawan@buffalo.edu.
authors.forename: Youfa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D050171:Dyslipidemias / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000209:etiology; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications*; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications; D050177:Overweight; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D055105:Waist Circumference; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids