Nutritional Status and Cardiovascular Risk Markers in Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Objective: We conducted a systematic review of the literature to evaluate the relationship between nutritional status and cardiovascular risk markers in adolescents. Methods: Between April and August of 2015 we searched PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and Scopus databases in to identify articles describing relationships between nutritional status and cardiovascular risk markers in adolescents. The terms used in the search were: "risk factors," "cardiovascular disease," "nutritional status," "metabolic syndrome," and "adolescents." The STROBE checklist was used for the quality methodological analysis in the selected articles. This study was based on the items in the PRISMA checklist. Results: Of the 539 articles we reviewed, 11 met the eligibility criteria and were evaluated for this systematic review. Conclusions: Cardiovascular risk markers were significantly increased in overweight/obese adolescents, suggesting that overweight/obesity may reduce the quality of life for these individuals.