Preventive Metabolic Medicine in Primary Care

Abstract

The responsibility, and right, of promoting metabolic
health, and preventing metabolic disease, is that of the
primary care physician. This communication lists the facets
of metabolic care in a simple (Seven Rs) manner,
connecting them with the various levels of prevention. All
individuals should be counselled about regulation of
lifestyle and mindstyle (primordial prevention). Those at
risk of metabolic disease should reduce/redistribute their
energy intake, and rescue overburdened storage system by
using energy through exercise (primary prevention).
Persons with established disease will need physio-friendly
therapy to replenish and restore the physiological buffering
of the body (secondary prevention). In persons with target
organ damage, resilience of organ- systems can be
enhanced, and existing damage repaired, by using modern
drugs (tertiary prevention). Quaternary prevention and
quinary prevention must be practiced. Reframing the Rs of
preventive metabolic medicine, using the rubric of levels
of prevention, will make this discipline more appealing to
all.

Keywords: Community medicine, diabetes, family
medicine, obesity, prevention, primary health care