Yesterday I had the pleasure of sitting down with a delightful couple here in the DFW metro for coffee and a chat about their coaching needs.
The wife had recently been scolded by her physician and told “she was a walking metabolic syndrome disaster”, and left to an apparently under-equipped physician’s assistant to discuss it further, which consisted by report of being handed a three-page pamphlet and being told to “lose weight or you’ll need a (weight loss) surgery…”.
They were (quite reasonably) aghast at the interaction, and intimidated by what her “metabolic syndrome” implies. What follows here is meant to serve as a quick introduction to the issue, not an exhaustive discussion in critical detail.
So Just What is the Metabolic Syndrome?
At the most basic level, the metabolic syndrome is the name given a group of risk factors that increase an individual’s risk for a number of bad actors, for example, both cardiovascular (heart) and cerebrovascular (stroke) disease as well as diabetes.
The American Heart Association estimates that as many as 34% of American adults currently meet the criteria to have the metabolic syndrome, an astounding number when you think about. On the other hand, when you ponder how overweight and inactive a large portion of the population actually is, perhaps it shouldn’t be all that surprising.
While not part of the absolute diagnostic criteria for the metabolic syndrome, most authorities (correctly) implicate insulin resistance, a frustrating consequence of eating the Standard American Diet for many, in the development of the metabolic syndrome.
Not all physicians agree that the metabolic syndrome should be viewed as a distinct condition, and you might hear or read it described by other names, including the mysterious sounding Syndrome X, the insulin resistance syndrome, and the dysmetabolic syndrome.
Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factors
There are host of risk factors for developing the metabolic syndrome, here are some of the most common:
Overweight/Obese. Living above your ideal body weight, particularly with abdominal fat stores, is a major risk factor.
Age. Similar to many other health bugaboos, risk increases with age. Life choices in your 30’s really do matter; by age 60, the risk of developing a metabolic syndrome tops 40%.
Diabetes. Risk for developing metabolic syndrome goes up with a family history of T2 diabetes or having developed gestational diabetes during pregnancy for women.
Race. At least in the United States, Mexican-Americans, African-Americans, Asians, and Native Americans are considered to have higher risk.
Sex. Women have a slightly higher risk of developing metabolic syndrome than men.
Smoking. While perhaps not directly causal in the metabolic syndrome, tobacco use clearly worsens the health consequences.
Insulin resistance. A critical and expansive topic to be covered on its own; it must be included on any list of metabolic syndrome risk factors.
Other medical conditions: Non-alcoholic fatty live, polycystic ovary syndrome, cardiovascular disease, certain types of biliary disease (gallstones), lipodystrophy, and more.
Tomorrow we’ll take a quick look at the diagnostic criteria for the metabolic syndrome.
