Editorial: Functional Foods and Bioactive Food Ingredients in Prevention and Alleviation of Metabolic Syndrome

TORRES, SEBASTIAN; MEDINA, ROXANA BEATRIZ; VASALLO MORILLAS, MARIA ISABEL; ISLA, MARÍA INÉS; GAUFFIN-CANO, PAOLA

Frontiers in Nutrition

Frontiers Media S.A.

Año: 2021 vol. 8

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a global metabolic disorder characterized by a constellationof interconnected risk factors, including central obesity (increased waist circumference),dysregulation of glucose (insulin resistance and hyperglycemia), hypertension, and dyslipidemia(hypertriglyceridemia and reduced HDL levels) (1). Despite this clinical condition occur whenthree or more of these metabolic risk factors are present, abdominal obesity is a commondenominator in MetS (1, 2). The excess of visceral adiposity is a source of pro-inflammatoryadipokines that contributes to the prevalence of chronic low-grade inflammation characteristicof MetS (1). Thus, expansion of abdominal adipose tissue can lead to oxidative stress, systemicinflammation, insulin resistance, and endothelial damage. The perpetuation of these dysfunctions,co-occurring with other metabolic derangements, can eventually develop into cardiovasculardiseases, type 2 diabetes mellitus, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, some obesity-related cancers,and cause early death (1, 3). MetS is associated with several factors, including genetics, lifestyle,and chronic stress, among others, which favors dysregulation of energy balance, promotingfat accumulation (4, 5). Chiefly, unhealthy lifestyles (physical inactivity, sleep disorders, stressmismanagement, Western dietary patterns, and smoking and drinking habits) have boosted thequick progress of the MetS. As a result, in this early twenty-first century, MetS incidence andprevalence have unrestraint increase, and this clinical condition has become a significant publichealth issue worldwide (2, 4). It is estimated that the global prevalence of MetS is around 25% ofthe world population (over a billion people worldwide); however, this percentage increases in theadult population over 40 years old (4, 6).The main therapeutic guideline applied in the case of MetS is aimed at modifying lifestyle,with calorie restriction as primary treatment (7). Indeed, lifestyle intervention can be effective inreducing the prevalence of MetS as well as the severity of its metabolic risk factors (8). In thissense, recent systematic reviews andmeta-analyses have demonstrated that supervisedmultifacetedlifestyle modification, including at least diet combined with physical activity, can improve MetSand its clinical implications (8). However, often MetS patients require pharmaceutical therapy,