1 Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, México.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), overweight and obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension and hyperglycemia are metabolic disorders that increase non-communicable diseases (NCD) development, that are long lasting and evolve slowly. In Mexico, the prevalence of obesity is increasing and short and medium-term consequences go through psychosocial to metabolic disorders such as dyslipidemia and insulin resistance (IR), among others. These changes are widely studied in adults, even in childhood. Youth is considered a positive stage in terms of health concerns, however, some apparently healthy young people could present metabolic disorders without symptoms. That is why the aim of this study was to evaluate the most prevalent metabolic disorders in young people. A crosssectional study was performed with 1735 students from Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, México, ranging from 17 to 29 years. Conventional standardized methods for measuring body weight, height, waist and hip circumference and blood pressure were used. A blood sample was taken after a fasting period of 12 h in order to determine glucose, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides (TG), and insulin levels. The HOMA index was calculated in order to determine IR. Alcohol intake and sedentary lifestyle were the mayor exogenous risk factors determined. The prevalence of overweight plus obesity was 29%. Regarding the biochemical markers, alterations on TG (16%), low HDL (27%) and hyperinsulinemia (23%) were found. The prevalence of IR was 24% with a HOMA-IR average of 2.1 ± 1.7. Young people with normal body mas index showed IR (48%), hyperglycemia (52%), hypertriglyceridemia (40%) and low HDL (57%). This study shows evidence of the importance of monitoring young people in order to prevent the occurrence of NCD and to generate adequate guidance programs in their control.