According to this shocking new study, nearly one third of Americans suffer from a condition called metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome consists of obesity, high blood pressure, or hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterols. According to News Everyday, he disease has been found in some patients to result in increased risk of heart disease and stroke.

The American Heart Association that while each of these conditions contributes to the risk of heart disease individually, one or more of them together amplifies the risks to a frightening degree. The study examined the demographic distribution of metabolic syndrome, and found an overall increase in prevalence, despite a drop in a few of the individual symptoms.

Data collected by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2003 and 2012 revealed that about one third of American adults suffered from the symptoms that define metabolic syndrome. In Americans aged 60 and over, metabolic syndrome was present in 46.7 of respondents.

Researchers were particularly concerned about the high concentration of senior citizens suffering from metabolic syndrome. As conditions like obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes require constant care and attention, medical costs for this surging population are expected to skyrocket in the coming years.

The study also noted that African American women were at a particularly high risk of developing metabolic syndrome. Black women who reported two or more symptoms of metabolic syndrome were found to have a higher risk of developing heart disease, with the risk factor increasing significantly with weight.

The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, and its authors hope to educate Americans about the risk factors of metabolic syndrome. With obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol on the rise amongst over a third of adult Americans, the time has come for a serious examination into the causes and potential solutions to the growing problem of metabolic syndrome.