Professor of Medicine represents the Bahiana In the USA

The Medicine course of Bahiana was represented by the endocrinologist and professor Maria de Lourdes Lima, American Diabetes Association International Congress, which took place in June in Philadelphia. On the occasion, she presented the work "Hip Circumference: a protective factor for the development of metabolic syndrome in overweight women?".

Paper "Hip Circumference: a protective factor for development
of metabolic syndrome in overweight women?".

The study is the result of the work developed in the Overweight Study Project, which works at the Teaching-Assistance Clinic of Bahiana. The research notes the importance of hip circumference in protecting the development of metabolic syndrome in overweight women.

According to Professor Maria de Lourdes Lima, the metabolic syndrome "is a set of cardiovascular risk factors present in a single patient, including: high blood pressure, blood glucose greater than 100 mg/dL, triglycerides greater than 150 mg/dL, HDL cholesterol less than 40 in men and less than 50 in women and waist size greater than or equal to 80 in women and greater than or equal to 90 in men. These factors are usually associated with central obesity and resistance to insulin action."

Studies have already pointed to the size of the waist circumference to assess cardiovascular risks. This time, the hip measurement is an important factor in the patient's assessment. "It is well established that waist measurement is associated with the presence of a higher concentration of visceral fat, rich in inflammatory cytokines that promote atherosclerosis, facilitate the development of diabetes and hypertension. However, peripheral fat (well represented by hip circumference) , produces adiponectin which is a hormone that protects from the deleterious effects of inflammatory cytokines, helping to prevent diabetes and cardiovascular disease", Explica.

Professor Maria de Lourdes Lima, at the Congress
Diabetes Association International.

The teacher draws attention to an important fact: "Women who are universally obese (has accumulation of fat not only on the abdomen but also on the hips) and especially those with a predominance of fat on the hip, tend to be healthier from a metabolic and cardiovascular point of view than those with a predominance of fat on the hip. abdomen". 

The good news is that metabolic syndrome is preventable and, in cases where it has already occurred, it can be reversed. For this, the researcher advises the adoption of healthy habits such as a balanced diet, physical exercise and the early diagnosis of conic diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and dyslipidemia (imbalance in cholesterol and triglyceride levels).