The metabolic syndrome is characterised by a clustering of cardiovascular risk factors, including abdominal obesity, raised blood pressure and glucose concentration, and abnormal blood lipid levels. The metabolic syndrome and obesity are major risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is already the leading cause of death in China. Little information exists on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in China.

Jiang He (Tulane University School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine, USA) and colleagues invited around 19 000 randomly selected people aged 35 “74 years from 20 urban and rural areas in China to take part in the study. Around 16 000 people completed a survey on their health and a clinical examination. Increased blood pressure, bodyweight, body-mass index, waist circumference, cholesterol, and blood glucose concentrations were found among people from northern China than from the south of the country, and among urban residents compared with people living in rural areas.

Professor He comments: Our results show a high prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and overweight in China. Economic development and consequential changes in lifestyle and diet might explain this high and increasing prevalence. These findings indicate that the metabolic syndrome and overweight are becoming major public health problems in China. The high prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and overweight underscore the urgent need to develop comprehensive national strategies aimed at the prevention and treatment of the metabolic syndrome and overweight, to reduce the increased societal burden of cardiovascular disease in China.

The metabolic syndrome is described in a Seminar in this week ™s issue of The Lancet.

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There was no link between maternal work and unhealthy snacking ™. The research challenges the stereotype of working mothers who regularly dish out ready made meals, to reveal that children of parents who work may be fed more healthily.

Less healthy eating was reduced amongst mothers who worked part-time, full-time, or were unemployed, sick or disabled.

Neither less healthy eating ™ nor unhealthy snacking ™ were related to whether or not the family ate meals together on a daily basis or to family structure (child living with both birth parents, a step- or a lone parent).

Dr Helen Sweeting, from the MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit at the University of Glasgow, said: Most studies tend to find healthier diets among children who eat more meals with their families, so our finding of no relationship is surprising. Our study, which is one of very few to look at maternal employment and children ™s diets, turns on its head the stereotype of working mothers dishing out ready-made less healthy meals and suggests that children of working mothers might be fed more healthily. But the factors which had the strongest relationships with poorer diet were living in a deprived area and having a mother with fewer qualifications.

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