Assessment of left ventricular mass index could predict metabolic syndrome in obese children.

Background: Childhood obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases in children and adults.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the serum leptin level and the cardiac changes in normotensive obese children and to study the relationship between left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and serum leptin with the parameters of metabolic syndrome (MS) in obese children.

Methods: This study was conducted in al Jeddani Hospital and Ibn Sina College Hospital in Saudi Arabia in the period from July 2012 to December 2013, and included 82 obese children.