Karen Kieffer
01-08-2008, 01:58 AM
According to the American Heart Association (AHA) (2007, 2008), in 2004 an estimated 79,400,000 Americans had one or more form of Cardiovascular disease (CVD), including metabolic syndrome. In fact, estimates extrapolated from the 2000 United States census suggest 47 million US residents currently have metabolic syndrome.
What is metabolic syndrome?
Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). The National Cholesterol Education Program’s Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) has identified 6 components of metabolic syndrome considered the underlying and emerging risk factors for CVD: abdominal obesity, atherogenic dyslipidemia, high blood pressure, insulin resistance and/or glucose intolerance, pro-inflammatory state, and pro-thrombotic state. The diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome suggested by the APT III includes three or more of the following: waist circumference >102 cm for men and >88 cm for women, fasting plasma HDL-C <40 mg/dl for men and <50 mg/dl for women, fasting plasma triglycerides ≥ 150 mg/dl, fasting blood glucose ≥ 110 mg/dl, and blood pressure ≥ 130/85 mm HG (Grundy, Brewer, Cleeman, Smith, and Lenfant, 2004).
Can the risk factors be reduced?
Scientific evidence supporting the inverse relationship between disease and physical activity continues to grow. Researchers and health professionals agree that lifestyle interventions, including diet and physical activity, can significantly reduce risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome and CVD (Lakka and Laaksonen, 2007). Moderate intensity endurance activities have been shown to lower systolic blood pressure, lower LDL cholesterol, lower triglyceride levels, and increase HDL cholesterol. Interestingly, moderate to vigorous endurance and resistance activities have been shown to provide enough physiological changes to affect insulin sensitivity independent of weight loss (Lakka and Laaksonen, 2007). Current research suggest these changes include body composition and/or fat distribution, increases in GLUT4 content (which transports glucose to the cell surface for utilization), glycogen synthase activity (the process of converting glucose to energy or ATP), and mitochondrial density and enzyme activity in skeletal muscles (which increases the metabolism of glucose and fatty acids) (Lakka and Laaksonen, 2007).
Getting the massage out
Even in light of the data supporting the positive effects of physical activity to effectively contribute to the treatment and prevention of metabolic syndrome and CVD, national surveillance studies suggest participation in leisure-time physical activity remains low for adults in the United States (Haskell et al. 2007). Data from 2005 indicates that less than half of the adults in the United States meet the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) minimum physical activity recommendations of accumulating 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity activity on most, preferably, all days of the week. There is a disconnect between the overwhelming amount of data supporting physical activity and decreased risk of disease and the amount of physical activity adults in the Unites States are engaging in. The issue is complex and multi-factorial, however I can help but wonder, is the health promotion message not reaching the American people? Has the message landed on deaf ears? Is the risk of poor health and premature mortality considered remote or unimportant? Is proactive health care through physical activity considered too much work? What will it take to get people moving?
Karen (Kieffer) Moreno
MA graduate Student emphasis Exercise Physiology, BA Social Science, USWA, FIT Personal Trainer.
What is metabolic syndrome?
Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). The National Cholesterol Education Program’s Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) has identified 6 components of metabolic syndrome considered the underlying and emerging risk factors for CVD: abdominal obesity, atherogenic dyslipidemia, high blood pressure, insulin resistance and/or glucose intolerance, pro-inflammatory state, and pro-thrombotic state. The diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome suggested by the APT III includes three or more of the following: waist circumference >102 cm for men and >88 cm for women, fasting plasma HDL-C <40 mg/dl for men and <50 mg/dl for women, fasting plasma triglycerides ≥ 150 mg/dl, fasting blood glucose ≥ 110 mg/dl, and blood pressure ≥ 130/85 mm HG (Grundy, Brewer, Cleeman, Smith, and Lenfant, 2004).
Can the risk factors be reduced?
Scientific evidence supporting the inverse relationship between disease and physical activity continues to grow. Researchers and health professionals agree that lifestyle interventions, including diet and physical activity, can significantly reduce risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome and CVD (Lakka and Laaksonen, 2007). Moderate intensity endurance activities have been shown to lower systolic blood pressure, lower LDL cholesterol, lower triglyceride levels, and increase HDL cholesterol. Interestingly, moderate to vigorous endurance and resistance activities have been shown to provide enough physiological changes to affect insulin sensitivity independent of weight loss (Lakka and Laaksonen, 2007). Current research suggest these changes include body composition and/or fat distribution, increases in GLUT4 content (which transports glucose to the cell surface for utilization), glycogen synthase activity (the process of converting glucose to energy or ATP), and mitochondrial density and enzyme activity in skeletal muscles (which increases the metabolism of glucose and fatty acids) (Lakka and Laaksonen, 2007).
Getting the massage out
Even in light of the data supporting the positive effects of physical activity to effectively contribute to the treatment and prevention of metabolic syndrome and CVD, national surveillance studies suggest participation in leisure-time physical activity remains low for adults in the United States (Haskell et al. 2007). Data from 2005 indicates that less than half of the adults in the United States meet the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) minimum physical activity recommendations of accumulating 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity activity on most, preferably, all days of the week. There is a disconnect between the overwhelming amount of data supporting physical activity and decreased risk of disease and the amount of physical activity adults in the Unites States are engaging in. The issue is complex and multi-factorial, however I can help but wonder, is the health promotion message not reaching the American people? Has the message landed on deaf ears? Is the risk of poor health and premature mortality considered remote or unimportant? Is proactive health care through physical activity considered too much work? What will it take to get people moving?
Karen (Kieffer) Moreno
MA graduate Student emphasis Exercise Physiology, BA Social Science, USWA, FIT Personal Trainer.