The risks are very real, especially once your health deteriorates to the point where you can be diagnosed with the Metabolic Syndrome, which consists of any three of the following:
• abdominal obesity >40 in. for men and >35 in. for women
• triglycerides >150 mg/dL
• HDL cholesterol <40 mg/dL for men and <50 mg/dL for women
• blood pressure >130/85 mmHg or drug treatment for high BP
• fasting glucose >100 mmg/dL or drug treatment for high blood glucose1
When any three of these conditions exist together, your risk of becoming a type 2 diabetic increases by 9 to 34-fold, and risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke increases 3-fold3. Given the tremendously increased risks of these and associated diseases, how can rudimentary lifestyle changes make enough of a difference?
Effectiveness of Exercise
Regular exercise is consistently associated with reduction in abdominal fat. Abdominal fat is strongly associated with high triglycerides, high blood sugar/insulin resistance, high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and death. Reducing fat deposited around your middle significantly lowers disease risk.
Sixty minutes of exercise a day for three months can reduce abdominal fat by 30% and waist circumference by almost three inches. As little as 20 to 25 minutes of exercise a day reduces abdominal fat by 6% to 10%, although only a minimal reduction in waist circumference. Even if weight is not affected, regular exercise can significantly reduce abdominal fat.
Effectiveness of Diet
The effectiveness of appropriate dietary change is equally impressive. Those already with the Metabolic Syndrome who followed a Mediterranean-style diet (whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and olive oil as the main fat) enjoyed reduced weight, lower inflammatory markers CRP and IL-6 (signs of heart disease risk), reduced insulin resistance (sign of diabetes risk), improved arterial function (sign of blood pressure risk), and reduced symptoms of the Metabolic Syndrome3.
Another group with the Metabolic Syndrome and following the DASH diet (fruit, vegetables, low-fat dairy, whole grains, lower saturated fat, total fat, and cholesterol) reported increased HDL (good) cholesterol, lower triglycerides, blood pressure, weight, and fasting blood sugar3.
The dietary approaches in these examples are very similar, omitting most processed and high fat foods common in the typical Western diet. Coupled with regular physical activity, these lifestyle changes are indeed very effective in promoting abdominal fat loss and a reduction in the appearance and severity of components of the Metabolic Syndrome.
References
1. SM Grundy et al. Diagnosis and management of the metabolic syndrome: and American Heart, Lung, and Bllod Institute Scientific Statement. Circulation. 2005;112:2735.
2. PM Janiszewski et al. Themed review: Lifestyle treatment of the metabolic syndrome. Am J Lifestyle Med. 2008;2(2):99-108.
3. M Firdaus, TJ Lyons. Preventing diabetes and cardiovascular disease in older adults: Controlling metabolic syndrome through lifestyle interventions. Geriatrics Aging. 2007;10(9):561-568.
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