The Effect of Nutrition and Sleep Habits on Predisposition for Metabolic Syndrome in Greek Children.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of lifestyle habits in childhood Metabolic Syndrome (MTS). DESIGN AND METHODS: Descriptive correlation study with 480 participants (5-12 years old) using a specially designed questionnaire was conducted. Anthropometric and biochemical analyses were performed. RESULTS: Fifteen percent of children exhibited predisposition for MTS. Regarding sleep habits, logistic regression analysis (LRA) showed that hour of sleep -before 2200- was associated with decreased waist circumference (WC%) (p = .026). Midday siesta was negatively correlated with systolic (SBP) (p = .001) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (p = .046). In children without MTS, lack of sleep and night time sleep was positively correlated with DBP (p = .044) and fasting blood glucose (FBG) (p = .005). Regarding nutrition habits, fast food consumption was positively correlated with SBP (p = .006) and meat consumption was positively correlated with both Body Mass Index% (BMI%) (p = .038) and WC% (p = .023). LRA showed that fruit (p = .001) and legume (p = .040) consumption was associated with decreased FBG; fish consumption with decreased Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (p = .031), vegetable (p = .054) and cereal consumption (p = .012) with decreased DBP. In children with MTS, fruits were associated with increased FBG (p = .034). In children without MTS, meat consumption was associated with increased LDL (p = .024), cereal with increased WC% (p = .002) and olive products with increased High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and BMI% (p = .037). CONCLUSIONS: The adoption of both balanced diet and sleep habits seemed to be crucial for the prevention of MTS. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Clinical health nurses could develop and implement preventive intervention programs in order to avoid metabolic complications in adulthood.