Heart Disease Risk Lowered with Physical Activity
Middle-aged women who move around more in their daily life have lower levels of intra-abdominal fat, a risk factor for heart disease, according to a report from the American College of Sports Medicine.
"A minor modification to your weekly activity, such as reducing the time you watch TV or increasing the time you walk to work or school, can make a difference in your long-term health," says study author Dr. Sheila Dugan, a physiatrist at Rush University Medical Center.
The results held true for both Caucasian and African-American women.
Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, at Lenox Hill Hospital, says, "Focusing on visceral fat has become a real hot topic because of metabolic syndrome [which predisposes people to disease], and part of what leads us to diagnose metabolic syndrome is visceral fat content."
"Here, they're targeting one of the highest risk factors which causes metabolic syndrome, which is one of greatest reasons to develop coronary artery disease,” she says. “Not only does exercise help condition your heart, but it helps to decrease this risk of visceral fat, which is huge."
Metabolic syndrome is a condition that includes the presence of a cluster of risk factors specific for cardiovascular disease.
Metabolic syndrome significantly raises the risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, and/or stroke.
Most people who have metabolic syndrome have insulin resistance.
Intra-abdominal fat, or the fat that wraps around the organs in the abdomen and chest, tends to accumulate at midlife and can contribute to developing diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease.
"Separately, the fat around the organs is known to be more related to heart disease and diabetes and other things that can cause long-term chronic problems," confirms Dr. Dugan.
And a woman does not need to appear outwardly heavy to have a potentially troublesome extra "tire" around her organs.
Previous studies have found that exercise can reduce the amount of intra-abdominal fat a woman carries around.
Dr. Dugan and her colleagues looked at physical activity levels and intra-abdominal fat measurements of 338 women in the Chicago area.
Participants filled out surveys indicating how much physical activity, including housework, they engaged in each week and month, and each received a score reflecting that activity.
This score was correlated with their levels of intra-abdominal fat.
Intra-abdominal fat was measured by CT scan, which, says Dr. Dugan, is the "gold standard measurement."
"Those with a higher physical activity score had lower intra-abdominal fat," Dr. Dugan says. "Just being more physically active in your life will have a positive impact on your body, which will have a positive impact on your health."
Always consult your physician for more information.
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The body makes insulin to move glucose (sugar) into cells for use as energy.
Obesity, commonly found in persons with metabolic syndrome, makes it more difficult for cells to respond to insulin.
If the body cannot make enough insulin to override the resistance, the blood sugar level increases and diabetes can result. Metabolic syndrome may be a beginning of the development of type 2 diabetes.
The cluster of conditions and risk factors related to metabolic syndrome was first named in 1988. Dr. Gerald Reaven proposed that insulin resistance was central to the cause of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular artery disease.
Dr. Reaven called this cluster of abnormalities "Syndrome X." Since that time, Syndrome X has come to be known by various names, including metabolic syndrome, dysmetabolic syndrome, and insulin resistance syndrome.
Syndrome X is now widely known as metabolic syndrome.
The American Heart Association (AHA) recognizes metabolic syndrome as a problem of growing concern. For those over age 60, the percentage is estimated to be about 43 percent.
Because the population of the US is aging and because metabolic syndrome prevalence increases with age, the AHA has estimated that metabolic syndrome soon will become the primary risk factor for cardiovascular disease, ahead of cigarette smoking.
The indications of metabolic syndrome may resemble other conditions. Consult your physician for a diagnosis.
Always consult your physician for more information.
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