Mexico faces a silent and devastating challenge: metabolic syndrome. This set of risk factors – abdominal objects, hypertension, high glucose, high triglycerides and low HDL cholesterol – is behind the epidemic of type 2 diabetes, of cardiovascular diseases and certain types of cancer.
The data is alarming, according to the National Health and Nutrition Survey (Ensenut), more than 36.5 million adults in Mexico comply with metabolic syndrome criteria. Regional studies raise the prevalence up to 57.8 %, the most common factor being abdominal obesity. In people over 40, it affects 1 in 2.
This scenario not only erodes individual health: it threatens productivity, makes the health system more expensive and compromises the country’s economic future.
Recent clinical research and programs show that metabolic syndrome is not an inevitable destination, but a dynamic process that can be prevented and, in many cases, revert.
Among the most relevant findings stand out:
• Predictive biomarkers capable of anticipating the progression towards diabetes with years of advantage.
• Strength training as medical therapy, with proven impact on insulin sensitivity and visceral fat reduction.
• Personalized algorithms that, by integrating genetics, lifestyle and body composition, multiply the effectiveness of preventive interventions.
The results in patient cohorts are clear: between 20 % and 30 % have reversed criteria of the metabolic syndrome in a period of 6 to 12 months, reducing hospitalizations due to infarcts or hyperglycemic crises.
Read more: Starbucks will close stores and cut more jobs in North America while CEO deepens the restructuring
The National Institute of Public Health estimates that the costs of overweight and obesity in Mexico exceed 2 % of the national GDP. Most of that expense is destined to treat complications, not to prevent them.
Therefore, investing in prevention not only saves lives, but also stands as the most profitable economic strategy: each weight for early detection, structured nutrition and community exercise generates millionaire savings in surgeries, medications and hospitalizations.
In this sense, scientific evidence is overwhelming; What is missing is vision to climb the models that already work. Mexico can become a regional pioneer if you bet on three axes:
1. Clinics specialized in metabolic checks, nutrition and strength programs.
2. Artificial intelligence applied to personalized prevention.
3. Public-private collaboration that placed prevention as national priority.
The country, which has proven to be an exporter of talent and creativity, now has the opportunity to export a new preventive health paradigm.
Finally, it is worth saying that metabolic syndrome is the silent epidemic that compromises our present, but also the opportunity to transform national medicine. The question is no longer whether it is possible to change the health model, but how much more time will wait to start.
Dr. Alfonso Morales, MD, DABPM is a doctor with more than 35 years of international experience. Trained at La Salle University and Trained at Boston University and University of Virginia, it is certified in Obesity Medicine, Disposal Medicine and Management. Founder of Revive MD Clinic and Viva Vitality, has developed pioneering programs for metabolic prevention and longevity, integrating biomarkers, artificial intelligence and personalized medicine. Recognized as a reference in preventive health, its mission is to transform the lives of millions through applied innovation and science.
You may be interested: I return from Jimmy Kimmel bat
