Introduction: childhood obesity is an important public health problem, due to its prevalence and consequences on expectations and quality of life. In children and adolescents, there is no consensus to diagnose metabolic syndrome, this explains the different reported prevalences.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in students from three diversified educational institutions in the Municipality of Iribarren Barquisimeto, Lara State, using the criteria established by Adult Treatment Panel III.

Methods: a cross-sectional, descriptive investigation was carried out, where the anthropometric measures, the clinical and paraclinical parameters that are included in the criteria established for the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome were evaluated. The sample consisted of 108 adolescents belonging to the U.E. Colegio "Inmaculada Concepción", U.E. "Rafael Villavicencio" and "Lara Industrial Technical School". The results obtained were analyzed using absolute frequencies and percentages. Results: It was found that 4.6% of adolescents presented 3 or more established criteria for the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome. Dyslipidemia (27.78%) and hypertension (19.4%) were the most frequent factors, followed by abdominal obesity.

Conclusion: the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in adolescents was 4.6%, which reflects the importance of identifying risk factors at an early age to promote healthier lifestyle changes in order to prevent cardiometabolic diseases in adulthood.