Metabolic Syndrome

No longer is fat simply fat

One of the newer "syndromes" in the large database of medical knowledge is the Metabolic Syndrome. Its main features are obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and elevated cholesterol.

The long term consequences of the Metabolic Syndrome are heart disease (heart attacks and heart failure), kidney failure, strokes, peripheral vascular and neurologic problems, and degenerative arthritis of the knees and hips. The cost of treatment of Metabolic Syndrome in dollars and discomfort is almost too great to calculate.

The easy, and very appropriate, response to this is, "Let's do what we can to prevent it." And the response to that one is, "Oh, ha!"

In the late 1930's we attended a rural school in whose cafeteria we could purchase (for a dime or so) a lunch which was nutritionally "adequate" but not particularly attractive or tasty. The obedient ones among us regularly ate in the cafeteria, but the really cool guys went across the street to Mr. Scott's store with their dimes. There, with the addition of a few cents, their cash would buy two greasy delicious glazed donuts and a large dill pickle.

All of these cool guys (some very close to this author) were among the best athletes in the small school, most walked or rode bikes to school and had after school jobs. None of them were obese, and very few were even overweight. There are several of them who are alive and well even now. This knowledge is a bit limited, but there is only one who might qualify for inclusion in the Metabolic Syndrome category.

Fast forward to 2000 and check out the unsupervised eating behavior of kids of the same age. Two donuts and a pickle plus an extra large Pepsi would just about cover it, although Big Macs are in the mix as well. The road to Metabolic Syndrome goes through Krispy Kreme and the Indian Fry Bread booth at the swap meet, with stops along the way at MacDonalds and Burger King.

What can we do? Let's just simply prevent this!

Well, the least rewarding career choice (after Morals Cop at the Ecstasy Shop, whatever that is) has to be Nutritionist in a high school or middle school cafeteria . God bless 'em, though,. They really try to swim upstream against a raging current. Imagine the heartache, watching your charges daily turning down your fruit and veggie trays in favor of pizza and something from the candy machine.

The best hope for trash-eating kids is that many of them will emerge from this activity still in relatively good health, not overweight at all. An increasing number, however, are at major risk for becoming Metabolic Syndrome victims in their middle years.

Treating Metabolic Syndrome is not easy, since the cornerstone of therapy must be weight reduction, and most patients have already tried (and tried and tried) that with limited success. Sure, doctors can control the blood pressure, the cholesterol, and the blood sugar with (expensive) drugs, and can also relieve the arthritis with (expensive) drugs and occasionally (very expensive) surgery. Is this type treatment behavior purely resignation to the inevitable or is it a cop-out? Whatever you may call it, it costs a bundle of money.

The answer may lie with prayer ("Please, God, teach them to eat better!") and Weight Watchers. Good advice is to walk, if possible, regularly to a Weight Watchers' meeting, since studies show that ongoing support is essential for success. If it's too far to walk all the way from home, park your car well away from the meeting site and hoof it from there.