A study indicates that close to eight percent of adults in Guangdong, China, have the metabolic syndrome. The metabolic syndrome is the constellation of cardiovascular risk factors including abdominal obesity, raised blood-sugar and high cholesterol. The metabolic syndrome is known to increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease and subsequent death.

The results of the study translate to a total of about four million adults age 20 years and older with the metabolic syndrome in this Chinese province of 85 million residents. More than 60 percent were found to have at least one individual component of the metabolic syndrome. Urban residence were more likely to have the syndrome than the rural population (close to 11 percent compared to four percent).

As China continues to be the fastest economic development in the world, it is expected to further increase its rate of modernization and urbanization–translating to more people consuming energy-dense diets and living increasingly sedentary lifestyles. The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and related cardiovascular disease is therefore expected to increase enormously, according to the study.

“Urgent public health actions are needed to control this observed worsening situation in China,” the study concludes.

Citation:
1. Lao XQ, Zhang YH, Wong MCS, et al. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk factors in adults in southern China. BMC Public Health 2012; 12: 64. (open access)