It has now become established that problems like obesity, cardiovascular problems, diabetes and hypertension are closely associated to one another. This was first proposed by Gerald Reaven in the year 1988 when he presented the Banting lecture. This interlinking was collectively termed as Syndrome X during that time and is now recognized as Metabolic Syndrome.



One causative factor for this syndrome has been identified as insulin resistance. Insulin is a hormone produced by the body to keep the glucose level in the blood in check. Insulin resistance alters the glucose levels as it does not get moved into the cells of the body thereby causing high levels in the blood. Glucose is found in the body due to the breakdown of carbohydrates into smaller sugars.

Carbohydrates form a part of everyone's diet. Carbohydrates are made of polysaccharides or larger sugars that need to be broken down into smaller sugars or monosaccharides to get absorbed into the body. Polysaccharides, if they are not broken down cannot be taken up by the body.

Carbohydrates are broken down partly during the digestion process. Carbohydrate metabolism encompasses every process that is helpful in the reduction of carbohydrates and also includes the development and exchange of carbohydrates in an organism.

Cells in the body utilize the monosaccharides formed by breakdown of carbohydrates. Around 4 calories are got by the consumption of a gram of carbohydrate. The energy got from the metabolism of carbohydrates is stored in the energy units of the body called adenosine tri phosphate (ATP).

Carbohydrates are important for every living organism as an energy resource as this food is easier to utilize and breakdown when compared to fats or proteins.

Sedentary life styles and excessive carbohydrate intake in people with lower rates of metabolism reduces the rate at which carbohydrates are utilized as energy. Glucose that is not utilized by the body gets converted into fats once the glycogen levels in the body get saturated. If there is excess of carbohydrates in the diet, there is a higher chance of it getting stored up as fat. This results in obesity and is related to the disruption of carbohydrate metabolism in the body.

Excess carbohydrates in the diet have an impact on the organ systems too over a period of time. One such effect is the onset of diabetes mellitus that can be life threatening, if uncontrolled.

Diabetes mellitus has an impact on many other organ systems in the body and can lead to complications like cardiovascular problems, nervous system disorders, eye problems that can result in blindness and many skin disorders. This makes it very vital to regulate the intake of carbohydrates in the diet to keep the carbohydrate metabolism intact and to utilize all the carbohydrates that are consumed in the diet. This keeps the risk of developing disorders of metabolism like cardiovascular problems, diabetes, hypertension and obesity at a minimum.

Along with regulating the diet, everyone should also develop a regular exercise program to improve and maintain a healthy rate of metabolism to preserve good health and to have the energy and vigor to go through their day-to-day activities.