Dr Richard Kahn is the Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at the American Diabetes Association. His organization is warning doctors that they "should not be diagnosing people with "metabolic syndrome" (aka "diabesity", Syndrome X or Reavens' syndrome) or attempting to treat it as a separate malady until the science behind it is clear."
Metabolic syndrome became bigger when several august organizations like the WHO and the US NCEP gave official recognition to the "disorder." Interestingly, each organization had differing definitions for the condition.
Dr. Kahn and colleagues examined the evidence for the definition of metabolic syndrome and its purported association with heart disease. They found no reason to cluster the five or more risk factors for heart disease into a syndrome. There is no particular combination that increases an individual's odds of getting heart disease. Instead, each risk factor should be dealt with independently of the others.
So why the hype?
It's a nice way of segmenting the market, as Big Pharma marketeers would say: one in six Americans over age 50 could fit into the segment. They could have been a market for, say, Pargluva or Galida , for example.
http://pharmagossip.blogspot.com/2005/11/pargluva-illusion-of-safety.html
Have Big Pharma been involved in the hype?
Er, what would you think?
Asked about industry's role in spreading the word about metabolic syndrome, Dr. Kahn responded, "There are companies in the pharmaceutical world that encouraged, promulgated, and supported the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome."
Well I never!
http://health.dailynewscentral.com/content/view/1897/
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