Completely agree with you. I think we all know that developed society is becoming more and more obese but a lot of us don't quite realise how much. In the UK 58% of women and 68% of men (OVER 2/3rds!!) are classified as obese!

As you said Metabolic Syndrome is essentially a risk classification and a huge part of day to day medical practice involves educating your patient's about these risks. Its a simple enough topic to discuss - if you're overweight, eat unhealthy, and have high bloods pressure then your RISK of dying early goes up (Huge oversimplification I know but essentially being unhealthy puts you at greater risk of getting basically any illness).

The challenge is effecting that change. although people understand that their lifestyle could make them unwell years down the line its too far away for most to be worried. We like to see immediate change and unfortunately changing lifestyles gives slow rewards. This is why it often takes a significant event to exact change e.g Heart attack, friend getting cancer due to smoking.

UK Stats page if interested -
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-obesity-physical-activity-and-diet-england-2017