A new study found that teens who are exposed to tobacco smoke are more likely to develop metabolic syndrome, a condition that produces excess belly fat and increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke.
The results of the study were published in the online journal of the American Heart Association, 'Circulation.'
The study found that approximately six percent of teens between the ages of 12 and 19 had metabolic syndrome. For the purposes of the study, metabolic syndrome was defined as having at least three of the following five characteristics: a big waist, high levels of blood fats called triglycerides, low levels of good cholesterol, high blood pressure and evidence of insulin resistance, in which the body cannot efficiently use insulin.
The results showed that only one percent of teens who were not exposed to smoke had metabolic syndrome while five percent of those exposed to second hand smoke developed it. Nine percent of active smokers developed metabolic syndrome.
'The bottom line to me is: As we gear up to take on this epidemic of obesity, we cannot abandon protecting our children from secondhand smoke and smoking,' said the study's lead author Dr. Michael Weitzman.
Among teens who were overweight or in danger of becoming overweight, the numbers were even more dramatic. Six percent of those not exposed to smoke developing syndrome, 20 percent of those exposed to secondhand smoke getting it and 24 percent of smokers suffering from the disorder.
'What this shows is that the percentages of kids who are at risk is vastly higher if they're overweight and they're exposed to secondhand smoke, down to very low levels,' Weitzman told the Associated Press.
The study followed 2,273 adolescents who self reported their tobacco use. The study also examined the level of cotinine, a substance that enters the body after exposure to nicotine. Approximately two-thirds of the teens who did not smoke had been exposed to second hand smoke on a regular basis and were effected by it.
The researchers were unsure what the link was between tobacco smoke and metabolic syndrome. They hope to uncover the connection in future studies.
