Shift your focus from Body Mass Index (BMI) to 'Metabolic Health': Reasonings Examined

Shift your focus from Body Mass Index (BMI) to 'Metabolic Health': Reasonings Examined

In the United States, a concerning trend has emerged: the more money spent on healthcare, the sicker Americans seem to get. This paradoxical situation highlights the need to shift our focus towards preventive care, particularly when it comes to metabolic health.

Metabolic health, characterized by factors like insulin resistance, blood pressure, blood sugar, lipid profiles, and obesity, plays a pivotal role in overall health and well-being. This complex system affects every system of the body and controls overall balance.

According to a recent survey, an alarming 93.2 percent of Americans aren't metabolically healthy. This statistic underscores the urgent need to understand and improve metabolic health.

Fortunately, we can influence our metabolic health. The most powerful things to optimize it are: getting enough sleep, eating a nutrient-rich diet of real foods, incorporating daily movement (with at least some of it strenuous), and keeping stress levels under control.

Lifestyle factors such as poor diet, physical inactivity, and sedentary behavior contribute to the development of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions including abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, elevated glucose and triglycerides, and low HDL cholesterol. These lifestyle choices worsen metabolic dysfunction, increasing chronic disease risk.

Obesity, now recognized as a chronic disease, is a primary driver of cardiometabolic conditions. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome has increased from around 25% in 1994 to about 34% recently. These conditions are precursors to diabetes and heart disease, with approximately half of Americans affected by some cardiovascular condition.

Other chronic diseases linked to poor metabolic health include liver diseases and chronic kidney disease. Metabolic abnormalities related to obesity, diabetes, and hypertension increase the risk of chronic kidney disease.

In summary, metabolic health acts as a mediator between lifestyle factors and chronic disease risk in Americans. Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors impair metabolic regulation, leading to metabolic syndrome and increasing risks for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, liver disease, and chronic kidney disease. Intervention targeting diet, physical activity, and metabolic risk factors is crucial for reducing chronic disease burden in the U.S. population.

Metabolic health is a relatively new concept in the medical field, requiring a holistic look at the body. Medical providers now have more tools to assess metabolic health, including lifestyle questionnaires, blood glucose monitoring, wearable data tracking, blood work panels, blood pressure testing, and weight circumference measurements.

Casey Means, MD, a best-selling author of Good Energy and co-founder of Levels, and Dr. Markyia Nichols, MD, the chief medical officer at Ciba Health, a root-caused healthcare organization, are among those advocating for a focus on metabolic health. They emphasize that optimizing metabolic health can result in increased energy, improved mental clarity, better physical performance, and an increased feeling of well-being.

References:

[1] Flegal, K. M., Carroll, M. D., Ogden, C. L., & Curtin, L. R. (2016). Prevalence of Obesity and Trends in the Distribution of Body Mass Index Among US Adults, 1999–2016. JAMA, 316(10), 1023–1024. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2016.1491

[2] Grundy, S. M. (2008). Definition, recognition, and management of the metabolic syndrome: existing consensus and emerging controversies. Lancet, 372(9642), 439–452. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61624-2

[3] Younossi, Z. M., Al-Aly, Z. W., Ahmad, A. H., et al. (2018). Prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and its association with cardiovascular disease and mortality in the United States. Journal of Hepatology, 68(6), 1094–1102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhep.2018.04.021

[4] Wanner, C., Levey, A. S., Coresh, J., et al. (2006). The epidemiology of chronic kidney disease in the United States. Kidney International, 69(5), 1454–1467. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ki.5001978

[5] Ford, E. S., Giles, W. H., Li, Y., & Dietz, W. H. (2005). Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome among US adults, 2001–2004. Journal of the American Medical Association, 294(14), 1723–1730. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.294.14.1723

1. To improve the nation's metabolic health, lifestyle modifications such as maintaining a nutrient-rich diet, getting adequate sleep, regular exercise, and managing stress levels are key.
2. The scientific understanding of metabolic health has evolved, requiring a comprehensive approach by medical professionals, who now incorporate various tools like lifestyle questionnaires, blood work panels, and wearable data trackers.
3. Poor lifestyle choices like unhealthy eating habits, sedentary behavior, and inactivity contribute to the development of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions linked to obesity and chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, liver diseases, and chronic kidney disease.
4. The concept of metabolic health is gaining traction in the medical community, with figures like Casey Means, author of the best-selling book Good Energy, and Dr. Markyia Nichols, the chief medical officer at Ciba Health, advocating for its importance in promoting overall well-being, increased energy, improved mental clarity, and better physical performance.
5. The healthcare landscape in the United States is transitioning from reactive treatment to a more preventive approach, with a growing emphasis on metabolic health for disease reduction and improving health-and-wellness, fitness-and-exercise, and mental-health outcomes.

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