"By now youve probably heard all the buzz about the Mediterranean diet httparticles.cnn.comkeywordmediterraneandiet or perhaps youve tried it. Aside from helping to prevent the metabolic syndrome http_.pdf a cluster of risk factors for heart disease and diabetes a new study  httpcontent.onlinejacc.orgcgicontentabstract.in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology says the diet can have positive global effects on the individual risk factors low HDL good cholesterol high triglycerides high blood pressure and a high blood sugar rate as seen by your doctor through a blood test. In addition waist size is a risk factor a waist more than  inches for women and  inches for men is of concern. The syndrome is present when someone has three of those five risk factors. The study is one of the first studies that evaluated the role of Mediterranean diet on metabolic syndrome and revealed a beneficial association quite a big influence taking into account that the Mediterranean diet is a nonpharmacological mean said study author Demosthenes Panagiotakos from the Department of Science of DieteticsNutrition at Harokopio University of Athens in Greece. Take this test to see how well youre managing your diabetes httpinhealth.cnn.comassessmentsmanagingdiabetes The researchers looked at over half a million people from  previous studies on the Mediterranean diet http which included people in Spain Greece the U.S. France Sweden Italy and Australia among other countries. They found the beneficial effects from diets rich in fruits and vegetables olives and olive oil lowfat dairy products and whole grain cereals. Other components included a moderate daily intake of alcohol with meals mostly from red wine eating fish poultry or tree nuts like walnuts or cashews weekly and limiting eating red meat to about twice a month. The researchers say whats responsible are the antioxidant and antiinflammatory effects. Panagiotakos added that the diet includes all main food groups but in a balanced way. The study notes physical activity is also an important part in preventing the risk factors for the metabolic syndrome. Tips for managing your diabetes httpinhealth.cnn.comtipstomanagingdiabetes The Mediterranean diet isnt just a little extra olive oil noted Dr. Robert Eckel an endocrinologist and past president of the American Heart Association. Its all these other components Eckel said. I think the health professional needs to recognize that people that meet the criteria for the metabolic syndrome are at higher risk for heart disease and diabetes and we strongly recommend that lifestyle intervention is used to prevent the syndrome and also to modify its prevalence he said. According to the American Heart Association data from  shows a third of adults age  and older met that criteria. And just a few years earlier over  percent of adolescents ages  were classified as having the syndrome. That translates into . million young people. But its not only in the U.S. This is a global epidemic Eckel emphasized. This is not simply America. Its occurring throughout Mexico Central and South America Southeast Asia Australia and around the world. Eckel said obesity is by far the largest issue responsible for the metabolic syndrome. According to the World Health Organizations  http figures at least one in three of the worlds adult population is overweight and almost one in  people is obese. For children the numbers are also sobering  million kids under age  are overweight. Panagiotakos concludes that this pattern of eating can be easily adopted by people of various cultures and populations. The macroenvironment we are living promotes obesity in all age groups of people... the choice of a healthy diet like the Mediterranean diet is on our hands. Better eating from childhood to older life contributes to better quality of life he said."