The Danger of Muffin Tops and Manboobs!
So you think that your “muffin top”or your “man boobs”are telling you that you are a little overweight,
but that doesn’t mean you have any health problems? Think again. That little bit of excess body fat could be causing you more harm than you think. Excess body fat and its often close relative, insulin resistance, are key drives in the development of Metabolic Syndrome (previously known as Syndrome X).
What Is Metabolic Syndrome and Why Do I Need to Avoid It?
Metabolic Syndrome is a cluster of risk factors for Type 2 Diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Having several of these risk factors puts you on the path that rapidly increases your risk of the major causes of death in our society. So what are the risk factors? Firstly central abdominal obesity (a waist greater than 88cm in females or 104 cm in males), insulin resistance or glucose intolerance (as measured by a fasting blood sugar level), dyslipidaemia (irregular cholesterol and triglyceride levels), high blood pressure and fatty liver disease (non-alcoholic) .
Are There Any Other Symptoms of Metabolic Syndrome ?
Look out for :
- Darkening and roughening of the skin, particularly behind the neck &/or skin tags;
- Mental health problems such as depression, memory loss and dementia;
- Migraines and headaches;
- In females, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, irregular or infrequent menstrual periods, infertility or early puberty;
- In males, low libido, erectile dysfunction, impotence or prostate problems;
- Sleep problems such as sleep apnoea, snoring, and daytime sleepiness and fatigue.
Sadly it is generally believed that our poor lifestyle habits are responsible for initiation of this syndrome.
Abdominal obesity (visceral body fat) is known to contribute to cholesterol problems, blood pressure and heart problems, blood clotting problems, increases inflammation, hyperglycaemia, glucose intolerance, and possibly renal problems. Maybe that extra serve of chips wasn’t such a good idea after all??
High calorie, nutrient poor foods, lack of exercise and poor stress management all contribute. The good news is – all of these factors are easily rectified when you make small, but regular lifestyle changes. Try eating ¼ of a cup of nuts every day, replace white flour with high protein or nut flours, use good fats such as olive oil instead of bad fats and eat fish regularly. In an age of fast living and fast foods, it is unfortunate that so many of us have forgotten how to cook and give our body the fuel that it craves for.
