Obesity is emerging as a serious problem throughout the world. The overall life expectancy is significantly shortened and the quality of life decreased in those who are excessively overweight. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is characterized by a constellation of individual risk factors of cardiovascular disease. Central obesity is a key feature of this syndrome, reflecting the fact that the syndrome's prevalence is driven by strong relationship between waist circumference and increasing obesity.

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... eness about MetS in medical students is the need of the hour.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Dr. PSIMS and RF, Chinnoutpalli, Andhra Pradesh, India involving 400 medical students. A pre-tested questionnaire, measurement of blood pressure, fasting glucose level, fasting lipid profile, anthropometric variables such as height, weight, waist circumference and hip circumference were taken. Metabolic syndrome was defined based on the International Diabetes Federation criteria. Data was processed using SPSS version 16. T-test, chi-square test, fisher's exact test, anova and odd's ratio were used for statistical analysis.Results: 59% of the study population was female. The prevalence of obesity was 4%, with majority being males (81.25%) The MetS prevalence as per the International diabetes federation (IDF) criteria was 6% (n=24). The prevalence of MetS in males was 12.19% (n=20) and in females 1.69%. (n=4). The risk of developing metabolic syndrome is high among those who smoke, consume alcohol, consume junk food and sleep for longer durations.Conclusions: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome is 6%. A significant association is established between life style habits like smoking, alcohol consumption, junk food consumption, sleep duration and MetS.