Report
Tue Aug 27, 5:55 PM ET
By Maggie Fox
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As many as one in three Americans has a condition
called insulin resistance syndrome, putting them at high risk of diabetes
and heart disease, a panel of doctors said on Tuesday.



But diet and exercise can take care of the condition in many, if not most,
cases, and a few simple tests can tell doctors and patients who is at most
risk, the experts said.

In insulin resistance syndrome, also known as metabolic syndrome or syndrome
X, a person loses his or her ability to manage insulin effectively. More and
more people--children as well as adults--are developing the condition as the
population eats more and exercises less.

Left untreated, the syndrome can develop into diabetes as well as heart
disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver and perhaps some cancers, including colon
and ovarian cancer.

On Tuesday a committee of experts from four top medical organizations--the
American College of Endocrinology, American Association of Clinical
Endocrinologists, American Medical Association and the American College of
Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine--issued official guidance
on how to diagnose the condition.

"As the prevalence of insulin resistance syndrome has skyrocketed 61% in the
last decade, it is crucial that medical professionals have consistent and
definitive criteria to assess this serious condition," Dr. Daniel Einhorn of
the Scripps Whittier Institute for Diabetes in La Jolla, California, and
co-chair of the panel, told a news conference.

"We feel that as many as one in three Americans have this," Einhorn added in
an interview.

Einhorn said pediatricians report that 7- to 10-year-old children are
developing metabolic syndrome, obesity and type 2 diabetes--once seen only
in adults.

"We never saw this before," Einhorn said. "Pediatricians are having to learn
about adult medications."

No single test can identify insulin resistance syndrome, but measurements of
weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose tolerance can. One quick
check that people can do at home is waist circumference, the experts
said--men with 40-inch waists and women with 35-inch waists are at higher
risk.

Details are available on the Internet at http://www.aace.com.

Other indications a person may have insulin resistance syndrome are
polycystic ovary syndrome, which Einhorn believes may affect up to one in 10
women. The condition is marked by infertility, excess facial hair and
obesity.

In addition, there is a skin condition, acanthosis nigricans, linked with
the syndrome.

What can patients do if diagnosed with insulin resistance?

"It doesn't require draconian measures," Einhorn said. Losing 5% to 10% of
total body weight will help a good deal--and studies show that as little as
20 minutes of extra exercise such as brisk walking, 5 days a week, can help
most people lose that much weight.

It is not necessary to cut out all sweets, he added. And like many doctors,
Einhorn does not believe claims that carbohydrates are to blame for obesity.

"It is not any one thing that's the culprit," Einhorn said. "It's not just
the fast food. It's not just the pastries. It's a combination of genetics
and the diseases of modern living--obesity and sedentary living."