At least 47 million American adults — or more than one in five — have a disorder that often includes a beer belly, high blood pressure, poor cholesterol readings and high blood sugar, according to a new study.The disorder, called metabolic syndrome, has been recognized since at least the 1920s. 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 lifestyle and genes, habits such as overeating and a lack of exercise are probably the most important factors, said Dr. Earl Ford of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
Ford led the study, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Metabolic syndrome greatly increases the risk of diabetes, heart attacks and stroke. 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, or fats that circulate in the blood, and low levels of HDL, the good kind of cholesterol.
The CDC analyzed data from 8,814 men and women who participated in a 1988-94 health survey.
Though 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 of adults in their 60s. The rates among men and women were 24 percent and 23.4 percent, respectively. Personally, this brings my tally of known disorders to three.
From the Associated Press by way of The Detroit Free Press
