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The single biggest problem facing humanity right now is the epidemic of poor metabolic health (hackertalks.com)

submitted 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by jet@hackertalks.com to c/opinionhavers@lemmy.world

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Only 7% of US adults have optimal metabolic health Source

While the US might be leading the way, the rest of the world isn't far behind.

Poor metabolic health costs billions of dollars a day, millions of lives shortened needlessly, and is totally preventable.

Manifestations of Poor Metabolic Health

Type 2 Diabetes
Cardiovascular Issues -- Hypertension -- CVD -- Atherosclerosis
Obesity
Systematic Inflammation

Quiz - Do you have optimal Metabolic Health?

BMI < 25kg/m^2 && WC < 88cm (34.6in) women || WC<102cm (40.1in) men
Fasting Blood Glucose < 100mg/dL && HbA1c <5.7% && No diabetes medication
TC/HDL <3.5 && No lipid medication
SBP <120 && DBP <80 && No BP medication
No history of CVD

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[–] RBWells@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

I am mid 50s and have watched the rise in obesity in the US. I think if you say metabolic disease is the biggest HEALTH problem facing individuals, I agree. Obesity in particular complicates every aspect of care for people. Not the biggest problem overall, that I would say is the degradation of environment and resulting climate impacts.

Personally, I just try to stay in shape, stay active, not get fat, eat real food mostly and don't worry about cholesterol, do take BP meds to keep it below 117 SBP.

[–] earphone843@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Yeah, while this is a problem for sure, it's absolutely not the biggest threat to humanity.

Climate change, looming world wars, and microplastics are a much bigger threat.

[–] YtA4QCam2A9j7EfTgHrH@infosec.pub 1 points 3 weeks ago

Climate change is a threat to every species on the planet. It is obviously the largest threat to the species and one that will probably be fatal because everyone seems to minimize it.

[–] jet@hackertalks.com 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

how many people die every year from microplastics?

https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes

In 2021, diabetes was the direct cause of 1.6 million deaths

https://www.heart.org/en/-/media/phd-files-2/science-news/2/2025-heart-and-stroke-stat-update/2025-statistics-at-a-glance.pdf

Cardiovascular disease (CVD), listed as the underlying cause of death, accounted for 941 652 deaths in the United States in 2022.

That is just the US, far more if you go globally

[–] earphone843@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

The number of deaths a year is not a great metric for threats to humanity. If we're replacing humans as fast if not faster than the deaths, then it's not the greatest risk.

Microplastics threaten our species as a whole, largely because there are fertility impacts. Coupled with the earth becoming uninhabitable for humans (which would likely solve the obesity issue due to mass starvation), it's a much greater threat.

[–] jet@hackertalks.com 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

The most common causes of fertility issues are PCOS and ED booth rooted in metabolic dysfunction.

Metabolic health is not a obesity issue

[–] earphone843@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 weeks ago

What? PCOS and ED are absolutely not a leading cause of infertility. For men it's sperm quality and quantity, and for women PCOS is a cause, but there are many others such as uterine issues, fallopian tube issues, endometriosis, and hormone imbalance (including thyroid issues).

The diets that lead to obesity lead to metabolic health issues.