Background: Metabolic Syndrome (MS) increases the risk of developing type-2 diabetes (DM2) and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and it is thought to be prevalent in Nigeria. This study aims at determining the prevalence of MS and its component risk factors among apparently healthy traders in a local market in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Results: 301 (56.4%) of traders studied were overweight (176, 33.0%) or obese (125, 23.4%) while 17 (3.4%) and 125 (40.4%) were underweight and normal weight respectively. The prevalence of MS and obesity were 87 (16.3%) and 125 (23.4%) respectively. There was significant association between obesity and MS (p < 0.05). Both MS and obesity were significantly associated with gender (p < 0.05). The prevalence of MS and obesity was higher in female (20.9%; 31.0%) than male traders (6.5%; 7.1%) respectively. The prevalence of MS increased from normal weight (8.3%) to overweight (18.8%) to obesity (28.8%). There were significantly higher differences in age, BP (systolic and diastolic), weight, BMI, WC, HC, WHT, WHR, and PBF but lower difference in height when overweight/obese groups were compared with normal weight group (p < 0.05). TC and LDL-C were significantly higher in only obese than normal weight traders. However, FPG, TG and HDL-C were similar in all groups (p >0.05).