A Pilot Study to Determine the Efficacy of a Low Carbohydrate Diet in Treatment of Adolescents With Metabolic Syndrome

The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of two different non-energy restricted controlled carbohydrate programs with the American Diabetes Associations' diet on glycosylated hemoglobin and other diabetes risk factors in obese adolescents with metabolic syndrome, a constellation of symptoms associated with the development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. We plan to address the following issues: 1. To test the hypothesis that a controlled carbohydrate nutrition plan will be superior to the standard ADA diet in controlling blood sugar (as measured by glycosylated hemoglobin \[HbA1C\]), decreasing cardiovascular risk factors (Serum Lipid Levels, Blood Pressure) and decreasing weight in adolescents with metabolic syndrome 2. To evaluate the tolerability of a non-energy restricted very-low carbohydrate diet in these patients as measured by the SF-10 for Children, the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and a scaled questionnaire regarding side effects. 3. To compare two different maintenance programs in the group who receive the non- energy restricted very-low carbohydrate diet and compare each group to the group