News

  • The cholesterol and calorie hypothesis are both dead – it is time to focus on the real culprit: insulin resistance

    My interest was piqued when I read the title of the column, The cholesterol and calorie hypothesis are both dead – it is time to focus on the real culprit: insulin resistance, published by a pharmaceutical journal. I thought, “Great, more advice to pop pills and ignore lifestyle changes.”

    I was wrong.

    The column is an opinion-insight piece. There are a few key points from the column that are worth summarizing here:

    • We often assume all obese people have, or will have, diabetes and that all diabetics are obese. Obesity and diabetes often correlate, but they are not always present together.
    • Roughly 80 percent of the obese population has at least one of the markers for metabolic syndrome – but – 20 percent of morbidly obese people do not have the markers. (The column defined metabolic syndrome markers as high blood pressure, high triglycerides, fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes.)
    • Up to 40 percent of normal weight adults have the diseases of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease.
    • Read the last bullet again.

    Authors concluded the risk factor most consistently associated with type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease is insulin resistance. Just a couple of years ago when I co-authored the book, “Become a Fat-Burning Machine” with a subtitle “Overcome Metabolic Syndrome” many people had not heard of metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance. Now these phrases are front-and-center in the media.

    I have not seen data on active people, specifically recreational athletes. I’m curious about the percentage endurance athletes that have insulin resistance, the diseases of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease. Is it bigger than we think?

    You can read the mentioned piece at this link. It is long, but worth the time.

    Be sure to see if I have an easy-to-use training plan for you on my site to help you reach your goals. And, there are more options on the TrainingPeaks site.

  • ← Next Post Previous Post →

  • Leave a comment

Home / News / The cholesterol and calorie hypothesis are both dead – it is time to focus on the real culprit: insulin resistance