Specific Health Guidance, the Nationwide Lifestyle Intervention Program Targeting Metabolic Syndrome, Seems to be Successful in Japan

[See article vol. 25 : 308-322] The concept of metabolic syndrome has been proposed by several committees, although there has been considerable disagreement over the definition and diagnostic criteria. The first definition and criteria referring to abdominal obesity was proposed by the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment (ATP III) in 2001. ATP III adopted abdominal obesity estimated by waist circumference (WC) rather than by body mass index (BMI) as one of five factors, in addition to hypertriglyceridemia, low HDL-cholesterol, high blood pressure, and hyperglycemia, as the basis of establishing metabolic syndrome, although ATP III did not require abdominal obesity as an essential component. In 2005, the International Diabetes Foundation (IDF) reported a new definition and diagnostic criteria of metabolic syndrome, making abdominal obesity an essential factor required in the diagnosis, with particular emphasis on waist measurement as a single screening tool.