The relationship of metabolic syndrome and health-promoting lifestyle profiles of Latinos in the Northwest

Latinos are at elevated risk for metabolic syndrome (MetS), a cluster of metabolic factors predictive of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. This study summarizes the association of MetS risk factors with selfreported health behaviors for 225 low-income, Northwest Latino men and women according to age and gender. The Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP II) in English and Spanish was used to measure the extent to which participants engaged in health-promoting behavior. Biophysical measures included body composition, blood pressure, and fasting venous blood analysis. Men had significantly higher triglycerides, blood glucose, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings. Both men and women had central obesity measurements above the recommended cutoffs. There were no statistically significant differences except for physical activity on the HPLP II scores according to level of risk for MetS.