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Puerto Rico is Overweight

A study shows that 77.5% of puertorricans from the metro area are overweight.

Recently a study published in the journal Ethnicity & Disease of the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the metro area of Puerto Rico, revealed that 77.5% of the sample, that included adults from 21-79 years old, was overweight or obese. In addition, it is estimated that 413,702 adults from the metro area of San Juan, have metabolic syndrome.

But what is metabolic syndrome and its implications? According to the US National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III, a person with metabolic syndrome has at least three of the following:

• Abdominal obesity: waist circumference ≥ 102 cm or ≥ 40 inches (male), ≥ 88 cm or ≥ 35 inches(female)
  
• Triglycerides ≥ 1.7 mmol/L (≥150 mg/dl)
  
• HDL-C (good cholesterol) < 40 mg/dL (male), < 50 mg/dL (female)
  
• Blood pressure ≥ 130/85 mmHg
  
• Fasting plasma glucose ≥ 6.1 mmol/L (110 mg/dl)
  
  

To have metabolic syndrome might be dangerous because it increases the risks to develop type II diabetes or a cardiovascular event. Currently, cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death of non-traumatic origin in Puerto Rico.

Dr. Cynthia M. Perez Cardona, professor from the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology of the School of Public Health of the Medical Sciences Campus of the University of Puerto Rico and director of the project, found that the most frequent metabolic syndrome parameters in the study were abdominal obesity and fasting glucose. This is dangerous because high blood sugar indicates that the person is developing insulin resistance and if not treated it might develop type II diabetes in the future. Dr. Perez Cardona collaborated in this study with Erick Suárez, Manuel Guzmán, Ana Patricia Ortiz and Lillian Haddock, researchers from the Medical Sciences Campus.

Fortunately, we can prevent and revert all these risks. In a routine visit to your physician, your doctor can check you abdominal circumference and blood pressure and also order some blood work to test for triglycerides, fasting and post-charge glucose, cholesterol, HDL, LDL and insulin. With all these parameters in hand, your physician can determine if you have metabolic syndrome and tell you what to do to not develop type II diabetes or a cardiovascular event.

Dr. Juan J. Rivera, a puertorrican cardiologist and CienciaPR.org member from the South Beach Preventive Cardiology in Miami, FL, was not surprised about the results because “central obesity and diabetes, components of Metabolic Syndrome, are risk factors extremely prevalent in the Hispanic communities” and Puerto Rico is not the exception. “Is for this reason that our risks to suffer a heart attack are still increasing. The key is to change our lifestyles; the way we feed ourselves and the physical activity we perform”.

Dr. Cynthia M. Perez Cardona plans to perform an island-wide study. In addition to her epidemiologic studies in metabolic syndrome she has participated in studies about hepatitis C and diabetes and its implications in the public health of Puerto Rico. All these studies are necessary because they contribute to understand what is happening in the Puerto Rico population related to these pathologies. Lacking these studies in our island will box us to be part of the US statistics that do not represent the reality of our population.

If you would like to learn more about metabolic syndrome and its implications, visit your physician or read more in Dr. Rivera’s blog, Corazon Hispano. To learn more about Dr. Cynthia Perez Cardona and her research, visit her profile at CienciaPR.org

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