News
Flash:
It’s
Called Metabolic Syndrome, not “Beer Belly” The
Metabolic Syndrome At
least 47 million American adults -- or more than one in five --
have metabolic syndrome, a disorder that often includes a beer
belly, high blood pressure, poor cholesterol readings and high
blood sugar, according to a disturbing new study.
Metabolic
syndrome has been recognized since at least the 1920s, though it
has been called different things over the years. It is not a
single disease but a cluster of health problems, and despite its
name, does not necessarily mean a person's metabolism is
defective. Though
experts say the syndrome may be caused by a combination of genes
and lifestyle factors, lifestyle -- including overeating and a
lack of exercise -- are probably the most important factors, said
Dr. Earl Ford of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
who led the study. Experts
suspected the syndrome was common but were uncertain about its
prevalence. This study puts a number on the scope of the problem. "When
you consider that 50 to 60 million Americans have hypertension,
about 60 percent of adults qualify as overweight or obese, and
there are 16 million Americans with diabetes, I knew the number
would be fairly large," Ford said. Metabolic
syndrome greatly increases the risk of diabetes, heart attacks and
stroke. The
findings were published in Last Wednesday's Journal of the
American Medical Association. The
disorder often features a disproportionate amount of abdominal fat
-- the so-called beer belly -- as well as elevated blood pressure,
blood sugar and triglycerides and low levels of HDL, the good kind
of cholesterol. The CDC
reached its estimate by using the first-ever specific definition
of the syndrome developed by the National Institutes of Health. The
definition could help doctors identify and treat patients by
giving them blood pressure or cholesterol drugs or getting them to
lose weight, eat better and get more exercise. According
to the NIH definition, metabolic disorder is present if a patient
has any three or more symptoms: a waist measuring at least 40
inches for men and 35 inches for women; levels of triglycerides --
fats that circulate in the blood -- of at least 150 milligrams per
deciliter; HDL levels of less than 40 mgs in men and less than 50
mgs in women; blood pressure of at least 135/80; and blood sugar
of at least 110 mgs. The CDC
team used the definition to analyze data from a nationally
representative sample of 8,814 men and women who participated in a
1988-94 health survey. While
about 22 percent of U.S. adults were calculated to have the
syndrome, rates range from 6.7 percent among those in their 20s to
43.5 percent in adults in their 60s. The rates among men and women
were 24 percent and 23.4 percent, respectively. Dr.
Margo Denke, a professor of medicine at University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, said the report may prompt
doctors to more aggressively investigate what would previously
have been dismissed as isolated symptoms. The numbers suggest
"you're not going to have to look that hard to find
patients" who have the multiple symptoms, she said. Dr. Margo Denke says that "This is one syndrome that is exquisitely lifestyle-sensitive -- it's an area where we can get people to pay attention and if they do pay attention, there's big rewards."
|