1Yonago Acta medica 2013;56:1–6 Original Article Physical and Mental Factors Associated with Obesity in Individuals with Mental Disorders Attending Psychiatric Day-Care Facilities

The prevalence of obesity as well as metabolic syndrome is high among individuals with chronic mental disorders who lived in communities.1, 2 Metabolic syndrome en-compasses a cluster of abnormalities, including obesity, elevated blood pressure, dysregulation of glucose and lipid metabolism, and insulin resistance, thereby result-ing in the onset and progression of arteriosclerosis-relat-ed diseases such as cerebral stroke and cardiovascular disease.3 Being overweight is a significant risk factor for metabolic syndrome, and several factors, including an-tipsychotic medications,4, 5 have been implicated in the occurrence of high rates of obesity and metabolic abnor-malities in psychiatric patients. Lifestyle factors can also result in the onset of metabolic syndrome because pa-tients with psychiatric disorders often cannot look afte