Despite the fact that up to a third of the global population has Metabolic Syndrome (MetS), it has been overlooked in clinical settings. You may be asking yourself, what is MetS? Dubbed the ‘new silent killer’, Metabolic Syndrome is a group of risk factors that can increase your chances of having a heart attack, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer. These risk factors include obesity, high triglycerides, low HDL (good cholesterol), high fasting blood glucose, and high blood pressure. Metabolic Syndrome affects 1 out of every 3 adults in the U.S., 85% of people with type 2 diabetes, as well as nearly half of adults 60 or older.
As a commitment to better understand and treat MetS, the Medi-Weightloss® Clinical Research team, led by Macklin Guzman, DHSc, MPH conducted a study on the impact of a physician-supervised nonsurgical weight management program, like Medi-Weightloss®, on the prevalence of MetS and its key indicators. The study, published in the Journal of Public Health, included 479 overweight and obese participants aged 19 years or older. Of those, 52% of participants had MetS at the start of the study. As patients successfully navigated the Medi-Weightloss® Program, the prevalence of MetS decreased by 45%. The study effectively concluded that weight loss is inversely associated with the prevalence of MetS and its key indicators. The most effective way to prevent or even reverse metabolic syndrome is to lose weight, eat healthy, and have a regular exercise plan while on a physician-supervised program such as Medi-Weightloss®.