In the survey, 48 percent of U.S. adults had heard the term “metabolic health” but weren’t sure what it meant, and 32 percent said the term was new to them.
Knowledge gaps about the pillars of metabolic health exist, including:
“I would say those estimates track with my experience talking to people,” says John Thyfault, PhD, a professor at KU Medical Center and a spokesperson for the Obesity Society. Dr. Thyfault was not involved with the survey.
He says that people often don’t understand the relationship between blood glucose, fat metabolism, and conditions such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Arthi Thirumalai, MD, an endocrinologist with UW Medicine in Seattle, says her patients also incorrectly believe they’re in “good metabolic health” if they’re thin and in “bad metabolic health” if they’re overweight. But “it’s not as simple as that,” says Dr. Thirumalai, who was not involved in the survey.
Despite these misunderstandings, 74 percent of U.S. adults correctly agreed that maintaining healthy blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, and waist circumference may support healthy aging, but they struggle with how exactly to achieve these metrics.
A strong area of understanding: 68 percent correctly rejected the idea that only people with diabetes need to watch their blood sugar.
“Metabolic health is critical for a long and healthy life,” says Thyfault, and improving metabolic health can happen at any age and have long-term health effects, such as lowering your risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
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