Metabolic syndrome — don’t blame the belly fat
Do you have a spare tire? Not in the trunk of your car, but that abdominal fat that seems to never go away? It has long been suspected that this fat was a primary contributor to metabolic syndrome along with a cluster of conditions that includes the most dangerous heart attack risk factors: pre-diabetes, diabetes, high blood pressure, and changes in cholesterol.
A team of Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers at Yale University School of Medicine has found that insulin resistance in skeletal muscle leads to alterations in energy storage that sets the stage for the metabolic syndrome. They found that energy from carbohydrates in meals were stored as glycogen in both the liver and in skeletal muscle. Another key observation was that skeletal muscle insulin resistance precedes the development of insulin resistance in liver cells, and that fat production in the liver is increased.
Metabolic syndrome is a very common metabolic abnormality. The syndrome afflicts more than 50 million Americans and almost half of all Americans are predisposed to metabolic syndrome. This makes metabolic syndrome one of the nation’s most serious health issues.
However there is good news. Insulin resistance in skeletal muscle can be countered through a simple intervention: exercise. So get away from your computer, or get off the couch, and take a walk with a friend or a loved one.
Tags: glycogen, heart attack, high blood pressure, hughes medical institute, insulin resistance, metabolic abnormality, metabolic syndrome, pre diabetes, skeletal muscleRelated posts
