Metabolic Syndrome Metabolism is the process your body uses to get or make energy from the food you eat. Food is made up of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Chemicals in your digestive system break the food parts down into sugars and acids, your body's fuel. Your body can use this fuel right away, or it can store the energy in your body tissues, such as your liver, muscles, and body fat. A metabolic disorder occurs when abnormal chemical reactions in your body disrupt this process. When this happens, you might have too much of some substances or too little of other ones that you need to stay healthy. You can develop a metabolic disorder when some organs, such as your liver or pancreas, become diseased or do not function normally. Diabetes is an example. Call it a silent epidemic. An estimated one in four adults is afflicted with the condition known as metabolic syndrome, and many of them don't even know it.

Obesity and lack of exercise are key components of this dangerous condition, which puts you at risk of developing serious health problems. That makes metabolic syndrome yet another reason to adopt healthier eating and exercise habits.

What Is Metabolic Syndrome? According to the National Cholesterol Education Panel, if you have at least three of the following characteristics, you're classified as having metabolic syndrome:

Abdominal obesity (a waist size greater than 40 inches for men, and 35 inches for women) Triglyceride levels of 150 or higher HDL (good cholesterol) of less than 40 in men and 50 in women Blood pressure of 130/85 or higher Fasting blood sugar of 110 or more

The clustering of these traits has been linked to an increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, heart attack, and stroke. And the more of them you have, the greater your risk.

It's very important to "know your numbers'': your cholesterol levels, blood pressure, blood sugar, and triglyceride levels (blood fats). That's because even someone who is only mildly overweight -- but who carries the extra fat around their middle and has mild high blood pressure and elevated blood sugar -- is at risk.

Most people with metabolic syndrome also have insulin resistance. That means the body does not properly use insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. An estimated 86% of people with diabetes also have metabolic syndrome.

What Causes It? A diet high in unhealthy fats, sugars, and calories along with a lack of regular physical activity can certainly contribute to the risk factors for metabolic syndrome.

The actual causes of metabolic syndrome may be many, but researchers lean toward insulin resistance as the underlying problem.

Overweight people tend to develop a resistance to insulin -- a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels, pushing sugar into the body's cells, where it is used for energy. When you're resistant to insulin, blood sugar isn't effectively delivered into the cells. That leads to high blood-sugar levels in the bloodstream, which is one of the symptoms (and causes) of type 2 diabetes.

A Growing Problem

A recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that metabolic syndrome is on the rise, especially among adults in their mid-30s. Researchers found that the young adults with metabolic syndrome had gained fat around their midsections and were much less physically active in their 30s, compared to their teen years. The researchers also noted that more men were diagnosed with the condition than women in this age group.

According to the National Cholesterol Education Program, some 24% of young adults over 20 have metabolic syndrome. That number swells to 44% by age 50.

An Ounce of Prevention To lower your odds of developing the risk factors of metabolic syndrome, make sure your eating plan is full of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy.

It makes perfect sense that the new dietary guidelines for Americans recommended three servings of whole grains each day. Studies have shown that whole grains can lower the risk of heart disease and certain cancers -- and now you can add metabolic syndrome to that list.

Eating whole grains can improve insulin sensitivity and reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome, according to a study published Diabetes Care. Whole-grain carbohydrates, fruits, and vegetables tend to be absorbed slowly by the body and help normalize blood sugar.

And wine lovers can rejoice; a glass or two per day is good for your health. The new dietary guidelines condone it -- and so does a study suggesting that a glass or two of wine may actually lower a person's risk for developing metabolic syndrome.

Moderation is key, though. The health benefits become risks if you overindulge and drink more than one or two glasses of wine a day.

Stay Active Many studies have documented the effectiveness of physical activity along with a healthy diet. One study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that exercise and weight loss helped to reduce blood pressure and improve insulin sensitivity in people with metabolic syndrome.

Exercise helps burn fat (especially around the waist), increases "good" cholesterol, and lowers blood pressure, according to a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

So add preventing metabolic syndrome to the long list of benefits that can result from a healthy diet and regular physical activity.

Source: Originally published February 18, 2005. Medically updated September 2006. SOURCES: Archives of Internal Medicine, Jan. 10, 2005. Archives of Internal Medicine, 2003; 163. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Nov. 16, 2004. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Dec. 30, 2004. Diabetes Care, February 2004. European Society of Cardiology Congress 2003, Vienna, Aug. 30-Sept. 3, 2003. News release, European Society of Cardiology. National Cholesterol Education Panel.

Obesity More Than Half of Those in Worldwide Study Are Overweight or Obese Oct. 22, 2007 -- The obesity epidemic is actually a worldwide pandemic that has global implications for health and disease, new research shows. In one of the largest studies ever to examine obesity rates across the globe, researchers found that more than 60% of men and 50% of women were either overweight or obese. They concluded that obesity is a growing problem in all regions of the world, even among traditionally lean Asian populations. "The study shows that excess body weight is pandemic, with one-half to two-thirds of the overall study population being overweight or obese," researcher Beverley Balkau, PhD, of the French health service INSERM, says in a news release.

Obesity Worldwide

The study involved 69,409 men and 98,750 women from 63 countries across five continents evaluated by their primary care doctors for body weight, height, cardiovascular disease (heart disease or stroke), diabetes, and waist circumference. The U.S. was not included in the study.

Waist circumference is now considered an important marker of obesity-related diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. A waist circumference of more than 40 inches in men and 35 inches in women is considered a risk factor for these diseases.

The people in the study had visited their doctor on one of two specially designated days in which detailed information on weight, height, waist circumference, and disease history were collected for the trial, providing a snapshot of the prevalence of obesity worldwide.

Body mass index (BMI) was calculated from the weight and height measurements. BMI looks at a person's weight in relation to height and is used to determine obesity and overweight. Forty percent of men and 30% of women met the criteria for being overweight, meaning they had a BMI of 25 to 29.9.

Fully a quarter of men and women met the BMI definition of obese (BMI of 30 or greater), but obesity rates did differ by region, ranging from a low of 7% among men and women living in southern and eastern Asian countries to a high of 36% among men and women living in Canada.

Just under one in three men and almost half of the women had waist circumferences of more than 40 and 35, respectively, putting them at higher risk for heart disease and diabetes.

The rate of diagnosed heart disease among male and female study participants was 16% and 13%, respectively. A total of 13% of men and 11% of women had known diabetes.

The men and women in the study with the largest waists were more than twice as likely as those with the smallest waists to have heart disease.

Diabetes risk was three times higher for the quarter of men with the biggest waists and almost six times higher for women, compared with the quarter of the study population with the smallest waists.

The study is published in the latest issue of the American Heart Association (AHA) journal Circulation.

Reversing the Obesity Trend

While people living in southern and eastern Asia fared better than other populations in terms of obesity and waist circumference, the researchers point out that this is not necessarily reassuring because their rates of obesity are also rising.

American Heart Association spokesman Gerald Fletcher, MD, of the Jacksonville branch of the Mayo Clinic, tells WebMD that the study provides important confirmation of the global reach of obesity.

"We have known that obesity is a worldwide problem, but this is the largest study yet to actually show this," he says.

Balkau and colleagues conclude that unless the trend is reversed, the rise in obesity will result in major increases in sickness and death from related diseases like diabetes.

Fletcher agrees, adding that major public health initiatives are needed to address the problem.

"We have seen that such initiatives can work to reduce cigarette smoking," he says. “We have to have the same kind of commitment to make a difference in obesity rates."