'Syndrome X' leads to obesity

KANPUR: Is your waist size more than 75 cm and your male counterpart's more than 85 cm? Then you might be at risk of having `Syndrome X', health experts say.
`Syndrome X', a genetic disorder caused due to obesity. It lead to diabetes and hypertension. This problem is prevalent in urban area, with more than 60 overweight people detected every month having this disorder.Doctors say if not cured, it increases the risk of heart diseases.
Doctors have classified 11 risk factors responsible for obesity and Syndrome X is one of them. These include excessive consumption of snacks and junk food in diet, lack of physical activity, neuro-transmitters affecting appetite, alcohol consumption, obesity increasing with age, women more prone, genetic history of obesity, drug treatment, endocrinal diseases like hypothyroidism, Cushing's disease and hypothalamic tumours and higher socio-economic status.
This syndrome triggered due to high level of fat content in the body, is also referred as metabolic syndrome. Excessive fat around waist, high level of cholesterol and fat in blood, high blood pressure and sugar level are the main causes of it.
The health experts say that the prime reason for Syndrome X is insulin resistance in the body. Insulin is a hormone produced in the body to turn sugar from food into energy required by the body to perform function. Thus, if body develops resistance against the insulin it leads to the indigestion of dietary carbohydrates and sugar which in turn causes accumulation of sugar in the blood, setting stage for the disease.
Majority of overweight people have high levels of insulin. Ingestion of excessive refined carbohydrates trigger the factors for releasing high level of insulin to deal with the extra carbohydrate. If excessive glucose remain in circulation, high insulin level leads to more fat production and its storage. There are evidence that high insulin level affects the hypothalamus (the master gland) for hunger signals.
This metabolic syndrome is caused either due to genetic or environmental factors. Genetically, the disease is inherited by a person whose parents have type II diabetes and hypertension. But the weight management specialists claim that urban population have developed this syndrome mainly due to high carbohydrate diet, less physical activity, changing lifestyle and progressive weight gain.
As per the national family health survey (NFHS) report 2005-06 of the state, over 24.6 per cent of women and 22 per cent men in age group of 15-49 in urban areas are overweight or obese. The percentage is higher than the rural population, where only 7.2 per cent women and 5.7 per cent men are obese in the same age group.
Dr Raghuvir Mathur, a weight management expert said that changing lifestyle, no physical activity, high intake of food devoid of minerals and vitamins increases the insulin resistance of the body. People under stress having high blood pressure and glucose level are also prone to this metabolic disorder.
Doctors and the weight management experts advice 30 minutes of exercise six days a week and healthy diet with reduced carbohydrate level.