What is Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) refers to clustering of lipid abnormalities and insulin resistance in an individual. Its increasing prevalence in children and adolescents can be curbed by generating pertinent awareness among students at educational institutions regarding importance of BMI, nutritional content of food, food habits etc. Its prevalence is reported to vary according to racial and ethnic groups urging the need for focused studies by educational institutions on the risk factors relevant to the Indian population. Universities can also aim at introducing information regarding lifestyle interventions, plan outreach programs to ingrain the information not only in the student population but also the society as a whole. In this book chapter, we propose to review literature which will help in identifying areas that need immediate attention, possible implementation strategies in the education system along with the efforts of our lab towards understanding the etiology of this epidemic.