Fig. 1.

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and different combinations of MetS components, according to gender (a, boys; b, girls) and sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake (, non-SSB drinker; , medium intake; , high intake), among children and adolescents aged 7–18 years (n 5258) from three cities in urban China, September 2013–June 2014. *P_trend < 0·05. †Components mean the five factors included in the definition of MetS. ‡Combinations of MetS components: ‘1 component’ means the presence of only one MetS component; ‘2 components’ means the presence of any two of the five MetS components; ‘≥3 components’ means the presence of any three or more of the five MetS components. §MetS: the presence of abdominal obesity plus two or more other components (abdominal obesity is the precondition for diagnosing with MetS)