In the past year, the phrases “metabolic health” and “metabolic dysfunction” have been the focus of many health and wellness podcasts and blogs—and with good reason. An increasing amount of research is pointing to metabolic dysfunction as the underlying cause of many Americans’ rapidly increasing chronic disease rates.
Metabolic Syndrome: An American Problem
According to a study published in 2019 in the journal Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders, the number of American adults who present as metabolically healthy is “alarmingly low.” However, the prognosis clarifies that a mere absence of metabolic syndrome does not equate to metabolic health.Still, no matter how you define it, the outlook is bleak, according to Dr. Casey Means, a physician and chief medical officer of Levels, a metabolic health company that provides real-time continuous glucose biofeedback. In an online interview, she states that a majority—over 90 percent—of Americans live with less-than-ideal metabolic health. Dr. Means believes this percentage should be close to zero. She added that “nine of the 10 leading causes of death in the United States right now are fundamentally rooted in metabolic dysfunction.”
