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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- It was once thought that obesity itself was the cause of metabolic syndrome. But now, new research indicates overeating, and not the obesity it causes, may be the actual trigger for the dangerous condition.
How and where the body stores excess calories appears to matter most when determining a persons risk of developing metabolic syndrome -- a collection of heath risks that increase a persons chance of developing insulin resistance, fatty liver, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
A new study done by researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern, found weight gain is merely an early symptom of pre-metabolic syndrome, rather than a direct cause. Excess fat is usually stored in fat cells, causing a person to gain weight. The study emphasizes its not the growing fat cells that increases a persons risk of metabolic syndrome; its the actual excess fat itself going into those cells.
Its best to eat only what you need to replace the energy that you burn, Roger Unger, M.D., professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study, was quoted as saying. But, if you eat more than you need, as most Americans do, its better to put the surplus calories in fat cells than in the rest of the body because fat cells are designed specifically for fat storage.
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SOURCE: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, published online April 14, 2008
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
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