Obesity

Metabolic Disorder

Metabolism is the sum of all the chemical reactions involved in the continual process of breakdown and renewal in the body. Metabolic processes result in growth, produce energy, eliminate wastes and control other body functions, which distribute nutrients in the blood after food is digested. A steady state is maintained by Metabolism in the body. Enzymes are important because they act as catalysts in making one chemical from another in the process of metabolism. Metabolism takes place in two steps.

• Anabolism, or construction, in which small molecules (e.g. Amino acids) are used to build larger molecules (e.g. proteins).
• Catabolism, or destruction, in which large molecules (e.g. glycogen) are broken down to smaller molecules (e.g. pyruvic acid).

A metabolic disorder is any problem in the body that causes loss of metabolic control of the body's steady state. That is, it is anything that interferes with how food is built up or broken down in the body to keep the body healthy. Inborn errors of metabolism cause hundreds of different diseases. Each disease results in changing one chemical to another. The impact on the person with one of these defects varies widely. There may be no symptoms with some defects. Other diseases can have serious results if not discovered and treated in the newborn period.