Epidemic of metabolic syndrome in Latin America

Description of the epidemiology, etiological factors, and consequences of the metabolic syndrome in Latin America.

Latin American populations exhibit a high prevalence of abdominal obesity, and some genetic variations exacerbated by environmental factors have been claimed as main etiological factors of this condition.

Actually, the Latin American populations exhibit a high prevalence of abdominal obesity and metabolic syndrome, similar or even higher than developed countries. It is attributed to changes in their lifestyle, migration from rural to urban areas and a higher susceptibility to accumulate abdominal fat and develop more insulin resistance compared to other ethnically different populations. Some genetic factors and metabolic adaptations during fetal life can be claimed as etiological factors of this condition. Consequently, a greater burden of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease is expected to occur in the near future. Thus, it is important to establish scientific-based criteria for the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome in the region to implement the best preventive and therapeutical strategies to combat this epidemic disease.