Roles of the gut in the metabolic syndrome: an overview

The metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors (central obesity, hyperglycaemia, dyslipidaemia and arterial hypertension), indicating an increased risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and premature mortality. The gastrointestinal tract is seldom discussed as an organ system of principal importance for metabolic diseases. The present overview connects various metabolic research lines into an integrative physiological context in which the...