NEW ORLEANS, April 14 (UPI) -- Some 18 million Chinese adults are reported obese with 137 million overweight and 64 million with metabolic syndrome, a potential heart disease risk.
A study, published in this week's issue of the British medical journal, The Lancet, says the metabolic syndrome is characterized by a clustering of cardiovascular risk factors, including abdominal obesity, raised blood pressure and glucose concentration and abnormal blood lipid levels.
The metabolic syndrome and obesity are major risk factors for cardiovascular disease, currently the leading cause of death in China.
Jiang He of Tulane University and colleagues tested about 16,000 randomly selected people, 35-74 years old, from 20 urban and rural areas in China.
"Our results show a high prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and overweight in China," He said. "These findings indicate that the metabolic syndrome and overweight are becoming major public health problems in China."
