Abdominal Obesity, Insulin Resistance, and the Metabolic Syndrome: Contribution of Physical Activity/Exercise

The metabolic syndrome, a constellation of metabolic abnormalities, which include abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, an atherogenic dyslipidemia, elevated blood pressure, a prothrombotic profile, and inflammation is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes ( 1), cardiovascular disease ( 2), and mortality ( 3). The prevalence of individuals with these clustering abnormalities has been steadily increasing over the past two decades, is now estimated to affect at least a quarter of the US population, and is particularly prevalent among older adults ( 4). Similarly, abdominal obesity, as crudely estimated by an elevated waist circumference, is the most prevalent manifestation of the metabolic syndrome and affects 36% of men and 52% of women, according to the 1999-2000 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Study ( 5).