injuryupdate
15-04-2005, 02:34 PM
From the news.com site/AAP.
Based on the government's response to cigarette smoking as a risk factor it will be about 2015 before the government does anything about obesity.
Epidemic 'threatens 30pc of Australians'
By Janelle Miles in Berlin
April 15, 2005
From: AAP
ALMOST one in three Australians have a little heard of condition which threatens to turn into the biggest health epidemic in world history, surpassing HIV/AIDS, a Berlin conference was told today.
An estimated 31 per cent of Australians had Metabolic Syndrome, making them twice as likely to die of a heart attack or stroke than the rest of the population, world medical experts were told.
The syndrome is characterised by having a "tubby tummy" in combination with two or more of a cluster of conditions - high blood pressure, raised cholesterol, diabetes or diabetes risk factors such as elevated blood sugar levels.
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Based on ground-breaking Australian research, International Diabetes Federation (IDF) experts have agreed that even people who regard themselves as only moderately overweight are vulnerable to having Metabolic Syndrome.
They say the key lies in where a person carries their fat.
If it's around the stomach, then they're at risk of having the syndrome, a modern illness which scientists say has evolved from changing diets and lifestyles lacking in exercise.
"This is a silent epidemic. People with the Metabolic Syndrome are dying from heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure," said Melbourne-based epidemiologist Paul Zimmet.
"In terms of epidemic proportions, we used to talk about yellow fever and typhoid, cholera, and more recently, AIDS.
"The Metabolic Syndrome epidemic ... is an epidemic of enormous magnitude over and above AIDS or any of those other epidemics."
Professor Zimmet chaired an IDF task force which released a new definition of Metabolic Syndrome in Berlin today.
Under the definition, women of European origin who have waists of 80 cm or over and men with 94 cm girths or bigger - your typical beer belly - should be considered at risk of having the syndrome, which is recognised by the World Health Organisation.
Philip Barter, director of Sydney's Heart Research Institute, described Metabolic Syndrome as the "epidemic of the 21st Century".
"Just as we thought we were winning the battle against heart disease by treating cholesterol and blood pressure this new epidemic is arising. It's huge," he said.
"It's going to make infectious disease, including AIDS, pale into insignificance worldwide ... if we do not do something about it.
"The consequences of ignoring this new epidemic ... is to see the decline in heart disease stop, begin to rise, and rise to levels much greater than we've seen in the past.
"We really cannot afford to do nothing."
Opinion differs on the best way to tackle the problem but most experts agree some form of government intervention is crucial.
Suggestions include introducing a junk food tax based on the amount of fat and sugar in food, restrictions on fast food advertisements and better urban planning.
"If we recommend physical activity and having people walk to the shop but we don't have footpaths, and people take their lives into their hands trying to walk to the shop, or we don't have local shops ... we are providing a real disincentive for people to be active," Prof Barter said.
He was speaking during the first International Congress on Pre-Diabetes and the Metabolic Syndrome which has attracted 2500 delegates from across the world
Based on the government's response to cigarette smoking as a risk factor it will be about 2015 before the government does anything about obesity.
Epidemic 'threatens 30pc of Australians'
By Janelle Miles in Berlin
April 15, 2005
From: AAP
ALMOST one in three Australians have a little heard of condition which threatens to turn into the biggest health epidemic in world history, surpassing HIV/AIDS, a Berlin conference was told today.
An estimated 31 per cent of Australians had Metabolic Syndrome, making them twice as likely to die of a heart attack or stroke than the rest of the population, world medical experts were told.
The syndrome is characterised by having a "tubby tummy" in combination with two or more of a cluster of conditions - high blood pressure, raised cholesterol, diabetes or diabetes risk factors such as elevated blood sugar levels.
Advertisement:
Based on ground-breaking Australian research, International Diabetes Federation (IDF) experts have agreed that even people who regard themselves as only moderately overweight are vulnerable to having Metabolic Syndrome.
They say the key lies in where a person carries their fat.
If it's around the stomach, then they're at risk of having the syndrome, a modern illness which scientists say has evolved from changing diets and lifestyles lacking in exercise.
"This is a silent epidemic. People with the Metabolic Syndrome are dying from heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure," said Melbourne-based epidemiologist Paul Zimmet.
"In terms of epidemic proportions, we used to talk about yellow fever and typhoid, cholera, and more recently, AIDS.
"The Metabolic Syndrome epidemic ... is an epidemic of enormous magnitude over and above AIDS or any of those other epidemics."
Professor Zimmet chaired an IDF task force which released a new definition of Metabolic Syndrome in Berlin today.
Under the definition, women of European origin who have waists of 80 cm or over and men with 94 cm girths or bigger - your typical beer belly - should be considered at risk of having the syndrome, which is recognised by the World Health Organisation.
Philip Barter, director of Sydney's Heart Research Institute, described Metabolic Syndrome as the "epidemic of the 21st Century".
"Just as we thought we were winning the battle against heart disease by treating cholesterol and blood pressure this new epidemic is arising. It's huge," he said.
"It's going to make infectious disease, including AIDS, pale into insignificance worldwide ... if we do not do something about it.
"The consequences of ignoring this new epidemic ... is to see the decline in heart disease stop, begin to rise, and rise to levels much greater than we've seen in the past.
"We really cannot afford to do nothing."
Opinion differs on the best way to tackle the problem but most experts agree some form of government intervention is crucial.
Suggestions include introducing a junk food tax based on the amount of fat and sugar in food, restrictions on fast food advertisements and better urban planning.
"If we recommend physical activity and having people walk to the shop but we don't have footpaths, and people take their lives into their hands trying to walk to the shop, or we don't have local shops ... we are providing a real disincentive for people to be active," Prof Barter said.
He was speaking during the first International Congress on Pre-Diabetes and the Metabolic Syndrome which has attracted 2500 delegates from across the world