Who typically has metabolic syndrome?

In recent years this syndrome has become much more common in the United States. About 20 to 25 percent of adult Americans are estimated to have it.

The syndrome is associated with central obesity (fat in the stomach area) and insulin resistance. Obesity contributes to hypertension, high blood cholesterol, low HDL (“good”) cholesterol and hyperglycemia (high blood sugar).

Abdominal obesity especially correlates with metabolic risk factors. Metabolic syndrome is considered a clustering of metabolic complications of obesity.

In insulin resistance, the body can’t use insulin efficiently. That’s a problem because the body needs insulin to convert sugar and starch into energy for daily life. Insulin resistance can lead to diabetes. Some people inherit a tendency toward insulin resistance. In these people, acquired factors (excess body fat and physical inactivity) can trigger insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome. Most people with insulin resistance have central (abdominal) obesity.

Metabolic syndrome is a syndrome of insulin resistance. Obesity is known to promote insulin resistance, although not all insulin resistant individuals are overweight. Some people, who are not recognized as obese by established criteria, may still have insulin resistance. Many of these patient's, however, have fat distributions characterized by upper body fat. Upper body obesity is more strongly correlated to insulin resistance than lower body obesity. This may be related to higher levels of lipid accumulation in the muscles and liver of patient's with upper body obesity.

Metabolic syndrome is characterised by a constellation of cardiovascular risk factors such as abdominal adiposity, elevated triglyceride levels and elevated blood pressure.

Based on the NCEP ATP II Guidlines, the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome is made when at least three cardiovascular risk factors are present. 

In 2005 The International Diabetes Foundation proposed a new definition for metabolic syndrome that is based on the presence of abdominal adiposity in two addition cardiovascular risk factors.