Exercise, calcium may lower metabolic syndrome risk
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Regular exercise and a calcium-rich diet could be two ways to help lower the risk of metabolic syndrome, according to a new study.
Metabolic syndrome refers to a cluster of risk factors for diabetes and heart disease — including abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, low levels of “good” HDL cholesterol and high triglycerides (another type of blood fat). The syndrome is typically diagnosed when a person has three or more of these conditions.
In the new study, of more than 5,000 Illinois adults, researchers found that metabolic syndrome was less common among those who got the recommended amounts of exercise and dietary calcium.
Overall, the study found, people who failed to get adequate exercise — at least 30 minutes of moderate activity, such as walking, on most days of the week — were 85 percent more likely to have metabolic syndrome than their active counterparts.
Similarly, men and women who said they did not regularly eat calcium-rich foods had a 61 percent higher risk of the syndrome than those who frequently consumed calcium-packed foods.
“As with many health conditions, when the good behaviors are absent, the condition is more prevalent,” lead researcher Adam Reppert, a dietitian at Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago, said in a written statement.
He and his colleagues report the findings in the American Journal of Health Promotion.
Beyond lifestyle factors, the researchers also found that African Americans and lower-income study participants had higher risks of metabolic syndrome.
About one-quarter of black adults had the condition, versus 16 percent of whites and 17 percent of Hispanics. When it came to income, more than one-third of people who earned less than $15,000 per year had metabolic syndrome, compared with only 10 percent of those earning more than $50,000.
The implication, the researchers say, is that it will be particularly important to encourage lower-income African Americans to take up exercise and healthier eating.
Lifestyle is also vitally important for anyone who already has metabolic syndrome, Reppert pointed out, as a healthy diet and exercise are ways to “intervene to prevent heart disease or diabetes.”
SOURCE: American Journal of Health Promotion, November/December 2008.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Related Posts:
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Having the so-called metabolic syndrome may raise the risk of chronic kidney disease in people with type 2 diabetes, researchers from China report. Metabolic syndrome refers to a cluster of risk factors for diabetes and heart disease — including abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, low levels of “good”
Full Post: Metabolic syndrome predicts kidney disease
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Amy Norton NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Taking a walk instead of turning on the TV may help African-American women lower their risk of type 2 diabetes, a large study suggests. Researchers found that among more than 45,000 African-American women they followed for a decade, those who said they walked for exercise at least five hours
Full Post: More exercise may prevent diabetes in black women
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LONDON (Reuters) - Adding nuts to a traditional Mediterranean diet rich in fruit and vegetables appears to provide extra health benefits, Spanish researchers said on Monday. A daily serving of mixed nuts helped a group of older people manage their metabolic syndrome, a group of related disorders such as obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and
Full Post: Nuts boost health benefit of Mediterranean diet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Anne Harding NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who live in poorer neighborhoods in the U.S. are less likely to have easy access to supermarkets carrying a wide variety of fresh produce and other healthy food, an analysis of 54 studies confirms. But they probably have plenty of unhealthy fast food joints to choose from, Dr.
Full Post: Access to healthy foods worse in poor areas
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Amy Norton NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Poorer lifestyle habits may go a long way in explaining why people with depression or anxiety face a higher risk of heart disease and stroke, a study published Monday suggests. British researchers found that of nearly 6,600 adults they followed for seven years, those who were under significant psychological
Full Post: Lifestyle may be why distress is hard on the heart