Too few people are familiar with metabolic syndrome, but wellness leaders at Ontario Power Generation (OPG) are seeking to amend that with a new employee health awareness campaign.
Metabolic syndrome is caused by an unhealthy lifestyle that includes eating too many high-calorie foods, being inactive and gaining weight, particularly around the abdomen where fat cells produce the protein adipokine, which causes metabolic irregularities. Metabolic syndrome is also linked to insulin resistance, which is a problem with the body’s metabolism and is a precursor to diabetes.
On Feb. 9, 2010, the World Health Organization declared diabetes a global epidemic, affecting more than 220 million people. In Canada, more than three million people have diabetes, 90% of whom are adults with type 2 diabetes. According to the Canadian Diabetes Association, the economic burden of diabetes in Canada was $12.2 billion in 2009.
These alarming statistics are directly attributed to skyrocketing rates of obesity and physical inactivity, which can lead to metabolic syndrome. In 2009, the rate of obesity in Canada was 24%.
Health problems and risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome include at least three of the following five criteria:
- excessive fat around the waist (waist circumference greater than 102 cm for men and 88 cm for women);
- elevated blood pressure (130/85 or higher);
- high level of triglycerides (1.70 mmol/L or higher);
- elevated fasting blood sugar level (5.7-7.0 mmol/L); and
- reduced level of high-density lipoprotein “good” cholesterol (less than 1.0 mmol/L for men and 1.3 mmol/L for women).
According to the International Diabetes Federation, people with metabolic syndrome have five times the risk of developing diabetes, are twice as likely to die from diabetes and have three times the risk of heart attack or stroke, yet too many people don’t recognize these risks.
Scott Martin, OPG’s vice-president of labour relations, safety, wellness and corporate security, strongly endorses a health strategy that uses workplace programming to both educate employees and support them in making healthy lifestyle changes.
“Metabolic syndrome and diabetes awareness programs not only promote healthier employees, increase productivity and reduce benefit costs, they can even save lives, and that’s much more important,” says Martin.
The new programs at OPG involve face-to-face health and safety presentations, as well as posters, on-site blood pressure campaigns and a special Metabolic Syndrome insert in OPG’s corporate newsletter, which includes a “know your numbers” chart that employees can clip out and bring to their doctor. Family physicians can diagnose metabolic syndrome by testing blood pressure, cholesterol levels and fasting blood sugar levels on a regular basis.
Employees can effectively control metabolic syndrome and its associated risks by maintaining a healthy weight and waist circumference, being physically active, making healthy food choices and avoiding smoking. In fact, several large-scale studies found that patients who achieved a 5% to 7% weight loss and performed more than 150 minutes of aerobic exercise per week, like brisk walking, reduced their risk of developing diabetes by 58%.
Dr. Alain Sotto is chief physician at OPG. alain.sotto@opg.com
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