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Study Links Tobacco Smoke With Belly Fat
Exposure to cigarette smoke raises the risk among teens
of metabolic syndrome, a disorder associated with excess belly
fat that increases the chances of heart disease, stroke and diabetes,
according to a study.
Researchers said it is the first study to establish such a link
in teenagers.
"The bottom line to me is: As we gear up to take on this epidemic
of obesity, we cannot abandon protecting our children from secondhand
smoke and smoking," said lead author Dr. Michael Weitzman, executive
director of the American Academy of Pediatrics Center for Child
Health Research in Rochester, N.Y.
For the study, metabolic syndrome was defined as having at least
three of five characteristics: a big waist, high blood pressure,
high levels of blood fats called triglycerides, low levels of
good cholesterol, and evidence of insulin resistance, in which
the body cannot efficiently use insulin.
In the study, published in the American
Heart Association online journal Circulation, researchers
found that 6 percent of 12- to 19-year-olds had metabolic syndrome
and that the prevalence increased with exposure to tobacco
smoke.
The study found that 1 percent of those unexposed to smoke developed
the syndrome, 5 percent of those exposed to secondhand smoke
had the disorder and 9 percent of active smokers had it.
Looking at teens who were overweight or at risk for being overweight,
the effect of smoke was even more marked, with 6 percent of those
not exposed to smoke developing syndrome, 20 percent of those
exposed to secondhand smoke getting it and 24 percent of smokers
suffering from the disorder.
"What this shows is that the percentages of kids who are at
risk is vastly higher if they're overweight and they're exposed
to secondhand smoke, down to very low levels," Weitzman said.
Weitzman said it is not clear what it is about smoking that
appears to make teenagers more susceptible to metabolic syndrome.
However, in adults smoking has been linked to insulin resistance,
a risk factor for metabolic syndrome. Doctors also point out
that smoking can lower levels of good cholesterol and raise blood
pressure, two more markers for the disorder.
The researchers looked at 2,273 adolescents, using information
from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey. The
youngsters reported their own use of tobacco. Also, the study
looked at measurements of cotinine, a product of nicotine after
it enters the body. Two-thirds of teens who did not smoke had
cotinine levels that indicated secondhand smoke exposure.
"It's sobering," said Dr. Michael Lim, assistant professor of
internal medicine in the division of cardiology at Saint Louis
University School of Medicine. "What it points out is a very
high-risk group of people — young adults 12 to 19 — who are exposed
to tobacco products and sedentary."
The number of overweight teens in the United States has tripled
in the past two decades.
American Heart Association: http://www.americanheart.org
Reference
Source 102
August
1,
2005
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