Background: Atherosclerosis might progress from early life stage if the person is at high risk. Dyslipidemia, one of the most important cardiovascular risk factors, has increased among children in recent years in South Korea. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of overweight, and to investigate the relation of serum lipid profiles to overweight among children in Gangneung area.
Methods: The study subjects were recruited from an elementary school in Gangneung area. Anthro- pometric measurements were examined aged 6-12 years 1326 children (720 boys; 606 girls). Total cholesterol, triglyceride, and HDL-cholesterol were measured in fasting state in 725 children (393 boys; 332 girls) among them.
Result: The prevalence of overweight defined as BMI≥285 percentile by gender and age was 18.9% in boys and 20.6% in girls. The prevalence of triglyceride 2130 mg/dL, and atherogenic index (TC/HDL-C) 24.0 among overweight children was significantly higher than that of normal weight children. The triglyceride and atherogenic index increased according to BMI, and HDL-cholsterol decreased according to BMI in both boys and girls. The odds ratio for hypertriglyceridemia, and high atherogenic index in overweight children was 2.3 (1.1-5.0) and 3.7 (1.2-11.1) with adjustment for age and parental BMI.
Conclusion: The hypertriglycerdemia and high atherogenic index (TC/HDL-C) was independently associated with overweight among children. Manage- ment of overweight in children is reinforced to decrease the risk of dyslipidemia or atherosclerosis.

Keywords: Overweight, Lipid profile, Children, Atherosclerosis