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Objectives. To calculate the frequency of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its associated characteristics in selected populations residing in the urban areas of two districts in the Cajamarca region. Materials and methods. Cross-sectional study performed in 2014, obtaining randomized samples from three target study populations: high school students, university students, and schoolchildren mothers. In adults, MetS was defined by means of Third Adult Treatment Panel (ATP III) criteria, and in teenagers, the modified Cook criteria were used. A structured survey on healthy practices and unhealthy habits was implemented. MetS estimations were carried out for each study population, and stratified by sex. A bivariate analysis was performed to identify MetS-related characteristics. Results. We enrolled 1,427 participants (586 high school students, 305 university students, and 536 schoolchildren mothers) The estimated frequency of MetS in high school students was 3.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.7-4.8%), 1.6% (95% CI = 0.5-3.8%) in university students, and 23.5% (95% CI = 19.8-27.2%) in mothers. The most prevalent components were low HDL levels (37.0%, 60.5%, and 72.4%) and hypertriglyceridemia (46.4%, 29.9% and 38.4%), in high school students, university students, and mothers, respectively. Conclusions. MetS frequency was higher in the mothers of schoolchildren (adult women). The MetS phenotype profile in adult women was characterized by an elevated frequency of abdominal obesity and dyslipidemia (hypertriglyceridemia and low HDL cholesterol), while dyslipidemia was prevalent in teenagers and university students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]