Table 1 Comparison between clinical and biochemical data of obese children and adolescents based on the presence of metabolic syndrome and the correlation of anthropometric and metabolic variables with BMI z-score defined according to CDC or WHO criteria

Number of participants (%)

185 (75.2)

61 (24.8)

-

-

-

Females, n (%)

97 (52.4)

25 (41.0)

0.141

-

-

Pubertal Stage (pre-pub (%))³⁾

30 (16.2)

8 (13.1)

0.684

-

-

Age (years)

12.7 ± 1.8

13.4 ± 2.1

0.017

0.057

0.122

Height (cm)

158.5 ± 8.9

162.8 ± 9.9

0.002

0.189**

0.277**

Weight (kg)

78.0 (68.0-89.0)

90.2 (76.0-113.5)

<0.001

0.673**

0.726**

BMI (kg/m²)

30.55 (28.15-34.08)

34.52 (30.20-39.14)

<0.001

0.848**

0.865**

BMI z-score (CDC)

2.20 ± 0.29

2.43 ± 0.31

<0.001

0.933**

-

BMI z-score (WHO)

3.00 ± 0.62

3.51 ± 0.86

<0.001

-

0.933**

Waist circumference (cm)

99.0 (91.8-106.5)

105.0 (96.5-118.0)

<0.001

0.736**

0.778**

Waist / Height

0.630 ± 0.066

0.668 ± 0.081

0.002

0.794**

0.783**

Blood pressure

Systolic (mmHg)⁴⁾

116 ± 12

135 ± 13

<0.001

0.323**

0.360**

Diastolic (mmHg)⁴⁾

63 ± 8

70 ± 12

0.001

0.267**

0.218**

Lipid profile

TG (mg/dl)

71.0 (53.1-100.6)

126.7 (81.5-181.5)

<0.001

0.186**

0.185**

HDLc (mg/dl)

43.0 (38.3-49.0)

35.0 (32.0-38.4)

<0.001

−0.215**

−0.223**

TC (mg/dl)

150.8 (134.5-174.0)

164.0 (142.0-189.2)

0.038

0.105

0.084

LDLc (mg/dl)

92.0 (76.0-109.8)

101.0 (83.5-119.4)

0.055

0.145*

0.126*

Glucose metabolism

Glucose (mg/dl)

83.0 (77.0-89.6)

88.0 (80.0-93.8)

0.005

0.043

0.046

Insulin (μU/ml)

15.9 (12.2-22.1)

23.3 (14.6-33.3)

<0.001

0.421**

0.440**

HOMA-IR

3.18 (2.43-4.52)

4.94 (3.34-7.06)

<0.001

0.410**

0.429**

Inflammatory mediator

CRP (mg/l)⁵⁾

1.61 (0.84-4.05)

2.30 (1.00-4.59)

0.072

0.326**

0.302**