Metabolic Syndrome: From Etiology to Prevention and Clinical Management

Dear Colleagues,

Although metabolic syndrome has been the topic of countless original papers, review articles, editorials, and books, it has remained at times a subject of confusion and debate. Nevertheless, and although some experts have even questioned its clinical relevance, it is clear that its presence increases the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. For instance, studies have shown that the presence of metabolic syndrome increases the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease even in the absence of so-called traditional risk factors. More than a decade ago, our team made the point that one could not dissociate the most prevalent form of metabolic syndrome from abdominal obesity, which can be found even among individuals who are not considered obese by body weight standards.

Over the past decades, the development of sophisticated imaging techniques such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging has allowed us to deepen our understanding of the link between abdominal obesity, regional body fat partitioning and cardiometabolic risk. It is now widely accepted that visceral obesity is the most dangerous form of obesity, while subcutaneous obesity is seldom associated with metabolic complications. It has been proposed that excess visceral fat may indicate that an individual’s subcutaneous adipose tissue is unable to serve as an “energy sink” when facing a positive energy balance. Such failure of the subcutaneous metabolic sink may cause lipid accumulation at undesired sites such as the liver, heart, skeletal muscle, kidney and pancreas, a condition described as ectopic fat deposition.

Among effective approaches to prevent, delay or manage the metabolic syndrome, lifestyle changes are key elements, emphasizing the importance of healthy global dietary patterns, regular physical activity and adequate sleep quality.

This Special Issue welcomes original works and up-to-date review papers from scientists investigating various aspects related to the etiology of the metabolic syndrome, its prevention and its management. 

Dr. Isabelle Lemieux
Prof. Dr. Jean-Pierre Després
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.