Waistlines Continue to Expand

Characterized by central obesity, hypertension, and adverse glucose and insulin metabolism, Metabolic Syndrome is a condition associated with increased risk of type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Hiram Beltran-Sanchez, from Harvard University (Massachusetts, USA), and colleagues report that while fewer Americans met diagnostic criteria for Metabolic Syndrome, more now wrestle with abdominal obesity and elevated blood sugar (fasting hyperglycemia).  The researchers  analyzed data from six 2-year cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES): 1999 to 2000 through 2009 to 2010, with the cumulative study sample involving 10,814 participants.  Whereas rates of hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, and low HDL declined in 2009-2010, waistlines — particularly women’s — continued to expand, such that more than half of adults met the diagnostic criterion for obesity by 2009 to 2010. And the prevalence of hyperglycemia increased by 65%, so that by the last 2 years of the study period, a fifth of all US adults had elevated fasting glucose.  The study authors warn that: “The increasing prevalence of abdominal obesity, particularly among females, highlights the urgency of addressing abdominal obesity as a healthcare priority.”