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The Importance of Diagnosing Metabolic Syndrome
By: Guin Van Niekerk
While academics attending the ADA?s 66th Scientific Sessions debate and question the importance of clustering certain risk factors under a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome, it?s unarguable value lies in its ability to single out those individuals at risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Translated into practical terms, this means that a person diagnosed as having metabolic syndrome has three times the normal risk of developing cardiovascular disease, as well as three times the normal risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Add to this the recent reliable evidence that lifestyle interventions that result in weight loss can prevent or at least delay the onset of type 2 diabetes, and the importance of diagnosing metabolic syndrome becomes obvious. And there is a more subtle but no less significant reason for diagnosing metabolic syndrome ? the fact that insulin resistance is the underlying cause. This is because insulin resistance, by its very nature, makes weight loss on conventional diets almost impossible. Anyone who tries to lose weight on a low fat / high carbohydrate diet in order to significantly increase their life expectancy, is more or less doomed to failure if they have insulin resistance.
For example, if a person has high blood pressure, high triglycerides and a low HDL, the detractors of metabolic syndrome would argue that these risk factors, considered individually, are all associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease anyway, and should be treated. But, taken together, these three risk factors confirm a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome, and it becomes possible to focus on the cause of the problem: insulin resistance.
This, in turn, allows us to do two things. The first is to specifically target the insulin resistance with an appropriate diet, exercise, and medications such as metformin, an insulin sensitiser. The second involves excluding or confirming the presence of other conditions that are also caused by insulin resistance, for example, polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS, which can be difficult to even suspect, let alone diagnose!
In other words,the importance of diagnosing metabolic syndrome lies in our ability to approach the condition holistically, and not just see it as a cluster of risk factors associated with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This encourages us to identify and address the underlying insulin resistance, achieve significant weight loss, and so prolong wellness, and ultimately, life.
Dr. Guin Van Niekerk qualified as a medical doctor at the University of Cape Town in 1997. It was while working a few years later as a general practitioner that she developed a strong interest in insulin resistance and its associated conditions. She discovered that the concept of insulin resistance was largely unknown to the public. This led to her decision to write the book, ?Why Fat Sticks ? An Introduction To Insulin Resistance.? For more information on insulin resistance, and a checklist for testing for metabolic syndrome, go to http://www.insulinresistancesite.com |
