Includes bibliographical references and index.

History, definition, and diagnosis of the metabolic syndrome -- Insulin resistance in the metabolic syndrome -- Is it necessary to redefine the metabolic syndrome? -- Is insulin resistance a disorder of the brain? -- Obesity -- Perinatal nutrition and obesity -- Essential hypertension -- Dietary factors and hypertension -- Is hypertension a disorder of the brain? -- Type 2 diabetes mellitus -- Pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus with particular reference to hypothalamus -- Insulin and insulin receptors in the brain and their role in the pathogenesis of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus -- Insulin, endothelial nitric oxide, and the metabolic syndrome -- Obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, the metabolic syndrome, and the gut microbiota -- Is it possible that the metabolic syndrome originates in the perinatal period? -- Essential fatty acids : biochemistry and physiology -- Role of EFAs/PUFAs in brain growth and development and pathophysiology of the metabolic syndrome -- EFAs/PUFAs and their metabolites in insulin resistance -- EFAs/PUFAs and atherosclerosis.