THE METABOLIC SYNDROME:The Crucial Role of Exercise Prescription and Diet

摘要

The metabolic syndrome is the clustering of five cardiovascular (CV) risk factors that include impaired fasting glucose (IFG) or overt Type 2 diabetes (T2D), overweight/obesity (particularly abdominal obesity), hypertriglyceridemia (high triglycerides), low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and hypertension (HTN). An individual that possesses three or more of these CV risk factors would be diagnosed with the metabolic syndrome (Table 1). The underlying causes of metabolic syndrome are numerous and complex; however, research suggests the two driving forces behind the development of the metabolic syndrome are abdominal obesity and insulin resistance (14). Recent studies estimate that every three adults living in the United States are overweight or obese (22), and one third of the U.S. adult population have T2D or IFG (high blood sugar) (7), both core components of a metabolic syndrome diagnosis. In addition,physical inactivity and low levels of cardiore-spiratory fitness (CRF) are linked with the metabolic syndrome, and some researchers state that these two factors could be considered components of the syndrome (21).